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JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO No sleep for the wicked. Cold or no cold, I still had major book research to do, and fortunately my ability to taste was not affected. Last week I did a tablehoppin' trip around Oakland (Flora, Tamarindo, MUA, Bar Lata), plus a mini Italian tour of 54 Mint (pictured), flour + water, and Pizza Nostra, and let's not forget Sunday brunch at Pomelo on Church, and a boozy dinner at Heaven's Dog. Quite the international tour, no? I have a little over three weeks left before the SF portion of my manuscript is due, and I have about 40 places to check out in the meantime, eep. If you want to keep up with 140-word reports of my tablehopping, you can follow my Twitter feed.

And now in the media file: I'm going to be heading down to Palo Alto to be on the Ask "Dr." Business show with Roy Blitzer this Thursday June 18th as part of his cable access series on PEOPLE WHO EARN THEIR LIVING WITH FOOD AND WINE. The show is live at 9pm with viewer call-ins, so please call in with questions at 650-856-1491. I'd be really stoked to have some tablehopper readers call in, and to answer any questions you have about how to make it as a food writer! Reach out and touch someone, yo. Anyone can watch via the internet through the webcast, here's the link. The channels are 27 or 30.

I am making one exception to my "no food or wine events this month" rule (you know it is KILLING me to not go to The Golden Glass this Sunday), and will be swinging by the SummerTini event this Friday June 19th at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Since ticket sales are down a bit this year, they wanted to offer a special tablehopper discount: for just $65 you can sip on martinis, graze on hors d'oeuvres from restaurants like Poleng Lounge, Ducca, LarkCreekSteak, 4505 Meats, and more, and help fight homelessness in San Francisco. Really good auction lots, too. Will I see you this Friday? It's from 6pm–9pm. Just write in "Tablehopper" as the discount code when buying your tickets on brownpapertickets.com. All proceeds benefit CHEFS (Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Service). Please consider coming (surprise a friend with a ticket?)—it's an effective and very important cause to support.

Thanks to my guest writer this week, Pete Mulvihill from Green Apple, I have a bookworm to share with you about Novella Carpenter's new book, Farm City. Watch out, you might get inspired to raise some critters. Although really now, who am I kidding? The most I can currently manage is making my own kombucha (batch two was a success!); but I do hope to have my own chickens someday—I love eggs too much. I just can't quite raise them on a fire escape, the extent of my "backyard" at the moment.

On that note, let's get crack-a-lackin'.

Bwok!
~Marcia

MAY 12, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO A little birdie tells me Erica Holland-Toll (most recently the chef at the former Lark Creek Inn) is the new executive chef of ~DUCCA~ and the Westin (she just started yesterday). The current menu is going to be intact for a few months, and she will start making changes then. Chef Richard Corbo's last day is this Friday. 50 Third St. at Market, 415-977-0271.

~MARINO~ in Hayes Valley has opened (it's the spot that used to house Frjtz, and Mad Magda's for you old timers). Owner Raul Vargas has put together a menu that is designed to please the neighborhood: namely, he acquiesced and is offering burritos. But they don't come cheap: the initial menu I received says $8.95. There are also a number of seafood dishes, from a coctel or tostada or tacos de camaron to shrimp and crab enchiladas. The menu seems pretty straightforward (plates of carne asada, carnitas, or chile verde with rice, beans, and tortillas) and isn't specific to any one region of Mexico. But it's definitely more of a restaurante than a taqueria. Beer and wine served. Open daily 11am–10pm. 579 Hayes St. at Laguna, 415-626-1162.

Your outdoor dining options with a view just got bigger and better: ~SLANTED DOOR~ is now offering seating on their patio, 44 seats in all. The tables are available for walk-ins, but if someone with a reservation for inside wants an outside table, they get first dibs. The tables are good for two or four, and there are heat lamps to help deal with our typical brisk weather. The full menu is available, and the tables are open for both lunch and dinner. 1 Ferry Building #3, 415-861-8032.

More in Phan-land… I have some exciting news for late-night diners: starting on Monday June 29th, ~HEAVEN'S DOG~ will serve the full menu from Monday–Saturday until 1am! Based on the delicious meal I just had last week, I am pretty excited with the prospect of having their edamame salad (made with bean curd ribbons and chili oil) and the meaty/fatty char sui pork late in the evening. This would be after getting tipsy off of Erik Adkins's bevvies, like the tasty Gin Fizz Tropical, and the Manhattan I tried that he made with absinthe and curacao. Yes, dangerous. (FYI, hours on Sunday are 4:30pm–9:30pm). 1148 Mission St. at 7th St., 415-863-6008.

Fortunately the other place where I am likely to tie one on while dining is also extending their kitchen hours to 1am: ~ALEMBIC~! The kitchen is doing their magic until 1am nightly. Huzzah. 1725 Haight St. at Cole, 415-666-0822.

In case you happen to run into Steven Oliver at ~ENRICO'S~, it's because the local GM and (party) host extraordinaire has been brought on to help out for a few months. Swing by, have a cocktail, and say hello! 504 Broadway Ave. at Kearny, 415-982-6223.

When I was pedaling home from brunch on Sunday at Pomelo, I noticed the long-awaited/mysterious ~XANATH ICE CREAM~ is finally open. While every ice cream place around town is giving us flavors like burnt caramel or prosciutto, Xanath is being true to its name and offering a variety of vanillas, including Mexican or regular vanilla. There's also saffron, espresso, and 10 or so other flavors (using Straus Family Creamery ice cream mix), plus frozen yogurt, and milkshakes. Everything is organic, and the spoons and cups are compostable. Fun fact: the owners import vanilla and saffron, hence the ginormous bottles of vanilla extract in the window. The windows could also use a little merchandising help, but hey, we all can't be Simon Doonan. Hours Sun–Thu 12pm–10pm, Fri–Sat 12pm–11pm. 951 Valencia St. at 21st St., 415-648-8996.

Thanks to a tip from tablehopper reader Paul G., ~CHA-YA~, the Japanese-vegetarian restaurant on Valencia will be opening a third location, this time in the Inner Sunset. It's going to be in the long-shuttered Empress Garden Restaurant space. I called to confirm with the Cha-Ya folks, and it should be open within the next week or two. 1386 9th Ave. at Judah.

The Cha-Ya opening will perhaps help soften the blow of the closure of ~CAFÉ GRATITUDE~ for vegans and vegetarians, which just shuttered its Sunset location after three years of business. 1336 9th Ave. at Irving.

A little activity out in the Richmond: some soju-lovin' locals were bummed with the closure of ~ROHAN LOUNGE~ back in May. Well, a former Rohan server, her sister (who is a chef), and their good friend (who was a bartender and server at Rohan) all went in together, and are now taking over the space. They are going to reopen it in July as ~MAZU~, named after a mythological goddess of the sea. The partners are sisters KK and Silma Salamin, and Leah Adiol—they are all local San Franciscans who grew up together. They will continue the soju lounge style, serving Pan-Asian fare (chef Silma Salamin has worked at Ozumo, Hayes Street Grill, and Mezze in Oakland). Look for new art, DJs, and a freshening up of the space (new upholstery for the booths, paint, etc.). They're excited to take good care of the space and bring it back. I'll keep you posted as it gets closer. 3809 Geary Blvd. at 2nd Ave.

More Richmond news: the second location of ~PAGAN~ is now open in the former Eva's Hawaiian Restaurant, serving Burmese dishes for lunch and dinner, Tue–Sun (but they won't be serving any Thai food like the original location does). 731 Clement St. at 8th Ave., 415-221-3888.

According to permits, it looks like there's a shabu place opening called ~PRIME RIB SHABU~ in the Wang Daegam tofu/BBQ house, a few doors over from Troya. 308 5th Ave. at Clement, 415-668-1858.

tablehopper reader Peter F. went to check out ~ORALIA'S~, the new café/deli from The New Spot owners (Julia and Gilbert Rivera), and even sent in this picture of his pastrami sandwich. On the menu: hand-carved meats, like corned beef, ham, turkey, pastrami, and roast beef, which you can have put into a sandwich ($8) or as a lunch plate with two sides and a roll ($8.49). There are also some hearty daily specials like lamb or ribs, salads made with organic greens, and regular cold sandwiches, like egg salad, plus coffee from La Colombe, and bagels for breakfast. Oh yeah, and Fridays you get a free side with an order of a hot sandwich. Hours are Mon–Fri 7:30am–4pm. 2347 3rd St. at 22nd St., 415-621-2346.

Also a bit off the beaten path, reader Karen Z. writes in this tip about ~LA MICHOACANA ON BAYSHORE~: "In the space of the former El Potrillo, 300A Bayshore at Oakdale. I used to like Potrillo for its big beefy carne asada burritos, but haven't been to the new version: fresh paint, a newly glassed-in patio, big 'Grand Opening' sign. Maybe they're preparing for an influx of visitors to what may be Lowe's in the site of the old Goodman's Lumber (where "

Just a reminder for you Showplace Square-worker types: ~HORATIUS~, a bistro and market in Potrero Hill, is slated to open tomorrow, on Wednesday June 17th. And the 30 outdoor seats are reportedly on the sunny side of Kansas Street. Bistro hours: Mon–Sat 7am–3pm, and lunch entrées start at 11am. 350 Kansas St. at 16th St., 415-252-3500.

Curious what is going into the soon-to-be-revamped line-up at the ~METREON~? The fast-casual players include a La Boulange from Bay Bread, Mixt Greens, a Best-o-Burger, and a "new Asian noodle concept from Arnold Eric Wong and the other owners of E&O Trading Co." You can read the San Francisco Business Times article here for all the details. (The article also mentioned that Steve Weber's Best-o-Burger will be opening "in One Market in about two months and a third will open near Union Square before the Metreon's official rebirth." As for Tavern on the Green opening here in SF, the timing is still TBD since the New York location's lease renewal is in flux—stand by. Mission and 4th St.

More life is happening on Sacramento Street: as previously reported, ~WEXLER'S~ opened last week, servin' up southern comfort food and new American BBQ and more for lunch and dinner. 568 Sacramento St. at Montgomery, 415-983-0102.

And now ~PALIO D'ASTI~ is open on Saturday nights again, from 6pm–9pm. (They haven't been open on Saturdays since 1995.) And bonus, there's plenty of free street parking around there after 7pm, so you can actually go out in heels without the hike. On Saturdays only, they will also throw in a complimentary antipasto platter. A few more things to note: every night, including Saturday, the first martini is only $1 with a three-course meal ($37/head, no matter what you order). And if you're doing the three-courser, there is no corkage either (every night)! That makes for one heck of an inexpensive meal: a $1 martini, $37 for three courses, and you could even bring your own wine. Plus a free antipasto platter if you're comin' in on a Saturday. 640 Sacramento St. at Montgomery St., 415-362-6003.

Sounds like it's time to segue to meal deals, no?

Does it get much cheaper than hot dogs? They may be recession-friendly, but they are also perfect for customizing and gourmand-izing. I got to taste an early prototype of ~4505 MEATS'~ hawt dawg a few weeks ago (verdict: delicious, naturally). And now the 2.0 version of the dog will be served at Wexler's, in addition to a BBQ at Elixir on Sunday from 4pm–7pm. $5 for a hot dog, just pay inside and you'll get a ticket, then go visit mister-chef Ryan Farr, who will be manning the big half-keg grill setup outside. Elixir will then have the dogs available at the bar on other nights, warmed up on a George Foreman grill. Good old George. 3200 16th St. at Guerrero, 415-552-1633.

~PALS' TAKEAWAY~ is going to be doing a weekly 4505 chili dog every Friday, consistently starting next Friday the 26th.There will be various styles (cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, etc.) at about $7 a pop (I am basing this on a previous chili dog Friday price). 2751 24th St. at Hampshire.

I also hear those evil geniuses at ~BROKEN RECORD~ are wrapping their 4505 dogs in bacon, dipping them in corn batter, and deep frying 'em. Brutal. Beautiful. 1166 Geneva Ave. at Naples St., 415-963-1713.

~SOZAI~ in the Sunset is now offering $1 oysters during their happy hour, which runs Wed–Sun from 5:30pm–7pm. During happy hour, Sapporo pitchers are $8, 12 oz. Asahi beers are $3, and warm sake is $5 per carafe. There are also two happy hour food specials daily, each for $3. 1500 Irving St. at 16th Ave., 415-235-7745.

Dine About Town has ended, which means ~ANA MANDARA'S~ Stimulus Menu will be available again. It's $35 per person, with your choice of starter (lemongrass chicken skewers, vegetarian wraps, or banana blossom salad); an entrée (sautéed garlic prawns, crispy-skin five-spiced poussin, or wokked lemongrass beef); and for dessert, Valhrona dark chocolate semifreddo or house-made ice cream or sorbet. Ana Mandara also has live jazz and happy hour specials in the Cham Bar Thu–Sat every week. I have to admit I have never eaten there, but I was impressed with chef Khai's cookin' at Pot de Pho, so it's now on my "to check out" list. 891 Beach St. at Polk, 415-771-6800.

And now, the bad news: some closures/changes:

Noe Valley blog noticed that Stefano Coppola's short-lived ~CITY GRILL~ (previously Kookez) has shuttered. According to a commenter, Coppola is reportedly opening a French bistro in its place, Bistro 24. Stand by for more. 4123 24th St. at Castro, 415-285-2400.

A reader wrote in to tell me it appears that ~INDULGENCE~ in the Financial District has closed. Didn't get a chance to indulge? Me neither. 375 Bush St. at Belden.

Another Financial District casualty: was informed by Jason B. that the ~FIRE HOUSE CAFÉ~ has closed as well. 545 Sansome St. at Washington.

Some news south of the City:

Redwood City's ~MARTINS WEST~ finally got its liquor license, cheers. Cocktails will now be shaken, and Scotch will be lovingly poured. 831 Main St., Redwood City, 650-366-4366.

~DONATO ENOTECA~ in Redwood City will open on Monday June 22nd. Chef Scotti (who is from Bergamo) has crafted a menu that looks mighty appetizing, including fried baby artichokes, house-made pastas like agnolotti dal plin and ravioli made of fava beans and ricotta. There are also a few pizzas from the wood oven, plus grilled branzino, and a couple meat dishes. 1041 Middlefield Rd. at Jefferson, Redwood City, 650-701-1000.

~SAKOON~, the new Indian restaurant in downtown Mountain View, is due to open this Friday the 19th. 357 Castro St., Mountain View, 650-965-2000.

Down in San Jose, Roland Passot's ~LB STEAK~ (as in Left Bank) opens today, June 16th. To recap, this is the modern steakhouse that's opening in the Tanglewood space. You can read a sneak peek from Carolyn Jung on her Food Gal blog. One staggering item on the menu: Passot's escargot-bone marrow gratin. Mon dieu. The lunch menu includes sandwiches, pastas, salads, and six kinds of burgers, plus seafood and vegetarian dishes. There is also a bar and lounge area for drinks and small bites. Open daily for lunch and dinner. 334 Santana Row, San Jose, 408-551-4611.

Got a hot tip? You know I'd love it (and you). Just reply to this email

Explore the best of sustainable living with the 2009 San Francisco Green Zebra guide. There's something for everyone including exclusive offers from eco-friendly local businesses (free breakfast at La Boulange and Sellers Market, free pie at Mission Pie, free veggies at LarkCreekSteak, One Market, and Slanted Door, 2-for-1 at Maggie Mudd, The Plant Café Organic, Ritual Coffee Roasters, and Regalito Rosticeria, and more). Many passes allow you to recoup your investment in the guide in a single visit ($20 off a $100 Rainbow Grocery purchase, anyone?).

Green Zebra's efforts to make it easy and fun for people to live greener also nurture the community. Sales benefit Graze the Roof (Glide Foundation's edible rooftop garden), and passes encourage you to support local businesses—our neighborhoods' lifeblood. A separate edition covers the Peninsula/Silicon Valley.

To purchase your Green Zebra at the special tablehopper discounted price of $15 (40% off retail), click here. Don't even try to resist!

JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO This Saturday June 20th is the ~ST. GEORGE SPIRITS SUMMER OPEN HOUSE~! They open up the hangar doors, fire up the stills, and let you get a close-up look at the distillation process in action. Your entry includes three cocktail tasters, food from La Cocina and 4505, Absinthe root beer floats with a custom root beer sorbet, live music, shuttle service, and a few cool surprises. Also included: tastings of most of their spirits.They are providing shuttle service between the West Oakland BART station and the Alameda Main Street ferry building to and from the distillery. Shuttle service from West Oakland BART starts at 12:30pm and continues every half hour until 5pm. Yes, the shuttle is free, just show the driver your Open House ticket and get on! Main Street ferry service at 12:15pm, 1:50pm, and 3:45pm. Tickets are available in the distillery store and by phone for $35 (during tasting room hours). Call 510-864-0635 (Wed–Sat noon–7pm) to order your tickets. Tickets will be $45 at the door. Cash only at the door. This is a 21 and over event. Please bring your picture ID! 1pm–6pm. St. George Spirits/Hangar One Distillery, Alameda.

Ay, dios mio, this event may get you into trouble: Duggan McDonnell of Cantina and Joanne Weir are doing a ~TEQUILA TASTING~ in honor of Weir's newest book, Tequila: A Guide to Types, Flights, Cocktails and Bites. You'll get to learn about the brewing, distilling, and aging process, how to appreciate Tequila in a vertical tasting, plus how to make a couple drinks in the cocktail portion of the class, and there will be fantastic Mexican food from El Huarache Loco. AND you get to leave with a copy of the book. It all goes down on Thursday June 25th at La Cocina from 6pm–8pm. $60 per person. 70% of all ticket sales are tax-deductible. Buy tickets here. 2948 Folsom St. at 25th St., 415-824-2729.

~FARALLON~ has kicked off a happy hour program called 6 until 7, which features six bites and six drinks for $6 each from 4:30pm–7pm every night. They're serving fried oysters with lobster relish, wild mushroom gnocchi, and the Jack Rose cocktail, just to name a few items. (These items are only available in the bar areas.) You can peek here at a PDF of the menu. Farallon is also celebrating their 12th anniversary for the rest of June with a four-course menu of Farallon classics for $65, and an additional $35 for wine pairings. 450 Post St. at Powell, 415-956-6969.

Who knew? ~LIMON ROTISSERIE~ in the Mission has a new lounge downstairs that is open on the weekends (serving wine and bites). Read all about it in Urban Daddy. Looks like it would be a perfect party rental space. 1001 South Van Ness Ave. at 21st St., 415-821-2134.

From June 24th–June 28th is the fifth annual ~PINOT DAYS~, culminating in the Grand Tasting, featuring 200 acclaimed pinot producers and their spectacular 2007s. In an effort to share the weight of the %$#$ economy, they reduced their Grand Festival ticket price by $15, so it's only $50. The tasting event will run from 1pm–5pm on June the 28th. There are special talks, tastings, dinner and more: check it all out on the site.

Mediterranean Dinner Benefit with Joyce Goldstein and Hoss Zaré
Sun. July 12th, 2009

Zaré at Fly Trap
606 Folsom St.
Cross: 2nd St.
San Francisco, CA 94107

415-243-0580
website

6pm reception
7pm dinner

$200 per person excluding tax and gratuity

For reservations, contact GM Mario Nocifera at 415-243-0580.

JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO Zaré at Fly Trap chef and owner Hoss Zaré and Joyce Goldstein are hosting a ~MEDITERRANEAN DINNER BENEFIT~, a special evening including a cocktail reception and five-course Mediterranean feast, benefiting Meals On Wheels of San Francisco. The dinner celebrates and commemorates three decades in the evolution of Mediterranean cuisine in the Bay Area. Goldstein and Zaré will prepare alternate dishes in the five-course meal.

Master Sommeliers Evan Goldstein, Joyce Goldstein's son, and Chris Blanchard will pair unique Mediterranean wines with the five-course feast. Each sommelier will pour a two-ounce taste of their selected wine to accompany each dish.

It all begins with a Champagne reception with light appetizers at 6pm, followed by dinner at 7pm. Seats are available for $200 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Net proceeds will be donated to Meals On Wheels of San Francisco.

For twelve years, Joyce Goldstein was chef and owner of SQUARE ONE restaurant, which pioneered Mediterranean cuisine in San Francisco by combining influences from Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa. Goldstein is the recipient of several James Beard Awards including Best Chef, California, in 1993. A prolific cookbook author, many of her works have won industry awards.

Hoss Zaré, who immigrated to San Francisco from Tabriz, Iran in 1986, ran his namesake Zaré restaurant and Bistro Zaré in San Francisco and Zaré Napa before buying historic The Fly Trap, the restaurant where he held his first job in the U.S. as a line cook, in August of last year.

photo by Pete Mulvihill

JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO

Pete Mulvihill of Green Apple Recommends

Don't forget: the books mentioned below are available at 20% off for tablehopper readers for two weeks following this mention at Green Apple Books—simply use the code "tablehopper" at checkout (either at the store or online) for your discount.

Here's the story of the woman who convinced me to raise chickens in the Sunset (like three-year-old twins isn't hard enough). Actually, Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter is much more than that: it's a very cool book. It's not perfect, but it's very cool: inspirational, bold, funny, sometimes outrageous.

I should back up. Novella Carpenter moved to a, um, "very affordable" part of Oakland from Seattle a few years ago. Next to her apartment was a vacant lot. She planted a few plants, then got some bees, then chickens and turkeys and rabbits, pigs, goats. Oh my. Now she's a bone fide urban farmer, not a backyard enthusiast.

She has some hippie roots: her parents were back-to-the-landers in Idaho. And she's more willing than I am to let her livestock into her home. So slaughtering her first "game bird" wasn't quite as harrowing as it would be for many city slickers, but it was tough (as was the meat—she still had much to learn).

The book traces her journey and that of the vacant lot as Novella learns the ins and outs of farming in Oakland, from dumpster diving for scraps to feed the animals to "harvesting" her own rabbits, from loading horse manure into a borrowed truck, to buying baby pigs at auction.

As I said, it's inspirational. My wife and I had been toying with the idea of raising a few laying hens in our Sunset backyard, and Novella's experiments inspired us to pull the trigger and go for it. (The verdict is still out for us; we're in between cute fuzzy chicks and having eggs, so it's a waiting game.)

Novella goes way further than most people can or want to, of course. What is she thinking raising pigs in Oakland? But at a publicity party for the book's launch, I got to try some salumi made from her pigs, and while I didn't exactly taste the Oakland terroir, it was darn yummy, and I much enjoyed reading about her learning processes.

This book has a rich cast, populated by other lively Oakland characters, Novella's (amazingly patient) boyfriend, and her livestock. Her voice is no-nonsense and earnest and self-effacing. Overall, this book is a great read for anyone at all interested in food.

NOTE: You can come meet Novella and buy her book at the following East Bay events:

Tuesday June 16th, Eccolo restaurant on 4th Street in Berkeley, book release party! Featuring produce grown on Bay Area urban farms and the prosciutto she made with chef Chris Lee. Nima from Analog books will be there to sell Farm City.

Friday June 18th, Berkeley, in conversation with Michael Pollan as part of the Berkeley Arts and Lectures author series. First Congregational Church, 7:30pm, $10 at door.

JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO Tomorrow night (June 17th) is the latest session of ~GET SMART RADIO~: Food Fight! The Challenge of Making Food Taste Good While it Saves Your Life. Join Get Smart Radio's host Deborah Pardes with Dr. Daphne Miller, author of The Jungle Effect: A Doctor Discovers the Healthiest Diets From Around the World—Why They Work and How to Bring Them Home, along with chef Traci Des Jardins (Jardinière, Acme Chophouse, Mijita). They will discuss indigenous diets and specific foods and food combinations that Dr. Miller has found to fight specific modern diseases like heart disease, colon cancer, and diabetes. Every time she mentions a food, Traci will provide easy preparation tips and recipes to make sure we can easily integrate good food into our lifestyles. Bring your questions about everything from lard to lentils. This show is going to whet your appetite and help you live to eat and eat to live. Audience questions are essential. And there's a quiz show at the end with food prizes, plus live music. 7pm seating, 8pm show. Coffee Bar, 1890 Bryant St. (on the corner of Florida and Mariposa). More info: 415-307-3181.

I was also sent this little tidbit about a kombucha-making class with ~URBAN KITCHEN SF~ in the Mission on June 25th at 7pm. A local herbalist will talk about the history and benefits of kombucha, and then participants will be taught how to brew their own tea. Everyone goes home with a starter kit containing a SCOBY starter baby (the culture that makes tea into kombucha). $30, plus $15 supply fee (check the website for info on the sliding scale price). The Women's Building, Rm. B, 3543 18th St. #8 at Guerrero.

JUNE 16, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett of Metallica had dinner at Ozumo San Francisco. He preferred mainly sushi and was reportedly very interested in the origin of each cut. He drank Kubota Manju and also seemed quite knowledgeable about sake. Rock!

John O'Hurley, AKA King Arthur in Spamalot (and the unforgettable J. Peterman in Seinfeld) came into Venticello.

Last Thursday, Robin Williams was at Bardessono in Yountville with the winemakers from Twenty Rows (they also produce wines from his land in Napa).