AUGUST 11, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO Over
at ~THE
ALEMBIC~ in the Haight, co-chef Jordan Grosser has departedco-chef
Ted Fleury will now be running the kitchen
solo. In an email, Grosser mentioned making some fresh goat or sheep
cheeses (perhaps turning up on restaurant menus around town soon?)
and is looking to take part in a variety of local food-oriented events.
The man can cook, so I hope to see his name pop up somewhere soon.
1725 Haight St. at Cole, 415-666-0822.
Also heard executive chef Mauro Pando is no
longer at ~GRAND
CAFÉ~ as a result of a position
elimination; executive sous chef Sophiane Benaouda
is now heading up the kitchen. 501 Geary St.
at Taylor, 415-292-0101.
~STARBELLY~ is
on track to open in the former Asqew Grill
space by next Tuesday August 18th. To recap,
chef Adam Timney's menu will be focused
on affordably priced California comfort food
for brunch, lunch, and dinner, offering late-night
dining until 12am, plus beer and wine-based
cocktails. Open daily Mon–Fri 11am–12am, and
brunch Sat–Sun starts at 10am. Wanna check
it out before it opens? Take a look in the
sugar mama for details on how! 3583 16th St.
at Market, 415-252-7500.
Looks
like some new folks will be taking over the Quince location on
Octavia when the Tusks move over to Pacific
Avenue: according to liquor license permits,
Lori Baker and her husband Jeff Banker are
moving in, and the license says it's called ~BROWN
BUTTER~. It's actually fitting, because
part of their extensive resume includes time
at The Meetinghouse, which used to be at that
location. Baker was also the pastry chef at
Home restaurant for four years while Jeff Banker
was the executive chef. They have worked all
over SF for the last 10 years, including Postrio,
Bix, Acme Chophouse, Gordon's House of
Fine Eats, Bizou, Fifth Floor, and Slow Club.
They have been looking for a space for some
time, so I look forward to hearing what they
have in store now that they have their spot.
Also stand by for an upcoming hardhat piece
on Quince and Cotogna, with a sneak peek and
details on the when and what of those projects.
1701 Octavia St. at Bush.
Found
out at the last minute that the ~PARKSIDE
TAVERN~ is supposed to open this
week (Wednesday?) in the former ~RICK'S
ALOHA CAFÉ~. A while
back I mentioned Larry Doyle, the chef at
Johnny Foley's Irish House in Union Square
is behind this "food-driven" neighborhood
tavern. Didn't get the details in time for
my deadline, so look for more next week. 1940
Taraval St. at 29th Ave.
And now, some closures: sadly ~CORTEZ~ in
the Hotel Adagio near Union Square and ~PRES
A VI~ in the Presidio have both
been taken down this past week by this challenging
economy. And… scene.
Thanks to a tip from a tablehoppin' reader,
there's a new place to get crepes in SoMa in
the morning: ~CREPERIE
SAINT GERMAIN~. It's a small crepe
trailer next to Temple, run by owner Zee Aynaci.
On offer: both savory and sweet crepes made
with organic buckwheat and seasonal ingredients,
plus waffles too. You can follow the trailer's
tweets here.
Open from 6am–9pm, and until 4am Fri–Sat. There's
an "opening party" this Friday at 7pmnot sure
what it entails, but I can imagine some tasty
bites will be involved. 546 Howard St. at 1st
St., 415-948-7348.
Mission
Mission mentioned a Thai/Vietnamese
pop-up brunch happening at Doc's
Clock on Sundays called ~THREE
PAPAYAS~. Entrées include Vietnamese
crepes and papaya salad, reportedly $8
and under. 12pm–4pm. 2575 Mission St. at
22nd St., 415-824-3627.
More sweet treats: ~PACIFIC
PUFFS~ is now open in Cow
Hollow, serving six kinds of fresh-baked
cream puffs made from an old family recipe.
Open daily 11am–8pm. 2201 Union St. at
Fillmore, 415-440-7833.
As Eater noted,
it looks like ~CHAPEAU!~ has moved
homes and is now in the Clementine spacewe'll
have to see what owner Philippe Gardelle decides
to open in the original space (one rumor is
a wine bar). 126 Clement St. at 2nd St.
Things are close for the ~NEW
PEOPLE COMPLEX~ in
Japantown, due to open this Friday August
15th. There will be a Japanese movie
theater in the basement showing anime
movies, Japanese fashion stores (like
Sou Sou and Japanese Lolita brand Baby
the Stars Shine Bright), art galleries,
and the Viz Cinema Café, serving Blue
Bottle Coffee and bento boxes and curry
dishes from Delica rf-1. 1746 Post St.
at Webster.
According to some posters
on Yelp, ~SUSHI TONI~ is
officially open in the former Sushi Man
space. The reviews so far mention rolls
like the Hanukah (salmon skin, smoked
salmon, ikura), the Swamp Roll (wakame
salad and spicy tuna), and the Philly Roll
(yup, with cream cheese). (If those kinds
of rolls turn your crank.) 731 Bush St.
at Powell.
And
here's more sushi-related news: a contact
at La Cocina told me that there's yet another
new sushi restaurant in town, but this one's
got a twist. Serving a very specific clientele,
and to be located in the Financial District,
sushi chefs straight from Hastings, Japan will
be creating crazy rolls like The California
Bar (crab meat and avocado in a square roll),
Tortes and Appeals (smoked salmon and watercress
with wasabi-ginger-yuzu dressing), and more.
Anyway, sounds a little random, but who am
I to judge? The name of the place? ~SOSUMI~.
Also
in the random file: for those of you
trying to plan a group party, if you just want
to do drinks and bites, ~ANDALU~ is
offering a special group set menu of small
plates for parties of six or more for $19.95
per person. You can also request all-you-can-drink
sangria or beer on tap for $15 for two hours
(but you have to "pre order" that when making
arrangements). Don't blame me for your sangria
headache the next day, that's all I'm sayin'.
3198 16th St. at Guerrero, 415-621-2211 .
More random-ness: if you're going to the de
Young for the Tutankhamun and the Golden
Age of the Pharaohs exhibit, you might
want to know on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings,
there is a special program, ~TUT AT TWILIGHT~,
offering a special prix-fixe menu as well as
discounted admission to the exhibition. The
local and seasonal menu includes a trio of
warm summer tomato soup, cucumber garbanzo
salad, and tabbouleh, plus an entrée of grilled
Marin Sun Farms beef tenderloin skewer, and
a strawberry and rhubarb tart. The menu is
$14, or $21 with a glass of wine; discounted
Tut at Twilight admission is $20 for adults,
seniors, students, and groups, and $15 for
youth 6–17 and FAMSF members. Now through September
30th. For more information, visit www.deyoungmuseum.org/tut/twilight.
Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive.
Coming up this Saturday August 15th is ~YBCA'S
WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? LATE-NIGHT PARTY~,
and farmerbrown's Little
Skillet will be serving food,
like three kinds of sliders (pulled pork,
goat cheese with fig-onion jam and arugula,
or goat cheese with heirloom tomato and
arugula), fried chicken, mini pecan pies,
and more. There's also live music, art,
cocktails, and more. 9pm–2am.
Lots
of seasonal events around town, including
a local, sustainable, organic ~TOMATO DINNER~ on
Sunday August 16th with chef Liz Bills (California
Table) and Melissa Axelrod (Melissa
Claire). It will be held at Mercedes
Hair of the Dog on Commercial Street.
Guests will be greeted with bubbles and passed
appetizers. The meal will then be served family-style
(except a few dishes that get their own plate).
The dinner is a prix-fixe menu at $55 a person,
with optional wine paring (all local wines!)
for an additional $30. There will also be a
cash bar at the dinner for those who opt to
purchase wine by the glass. 5pm. Check out
the menu and purchase tickets on the website.
653 Commercial St. at Montgomery.
There
is also a ~FIG FEST~ at the Ferry
Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday August 15th
from 10am–1pm, with a fig education booth,
you can pick up a handmade fig bar ($1 donation),
a talk with an urban gardener, and fig-focused
cooking demonstrations. (Photo from CUESA.org.)
Feeling crafty? Monday August 24th is a pickling
workshop through ~URBAN
PEASANT~ on quick, canned, and
fermented cucumbers with Michelle Feurst
from 6:30pm–8:30pm. (Michelle worked as the
pickles curator for Slow Food Nation last
fall.) $45. Buy
tickets here. Hands On Gourmet, 2325
3rd Street, No. 330, at 20th St.
~URBAN
KITCHEN~ is hosting a slew of
events, including a kombucha brewing
class on Tuesday August 18th; Butchery with
Dave the Butcher of Marina Meats and Avedano's
on Tuesday August 25th; Growing Food
in Containers: the new Victory Garden
and urban edible landscaping on Thursday
August 27th; Jamming with Happy Girl
Kitchen Co. and CUESA on Friday August 28th;
and Vermi-composting (love your worms!)
on Saturday August 29th. Dates, times, locations,
and prices vary.
The renovated ~TAVERN
AT LARK CREEK~ is now serving Sunday
brunch from 10am–2pm, with dishes
from chef Randy Lewis like a Southern
Benedict over biscuits ($13.50); lunch
items like shrimp and grits ($14.50);
and special brunch cocktails like the
Tavern Fizz with vodka, lemon, orange,
egg white, sugar, cream, and seltzer.
234 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur, 415-924-7766.
On Thursday August 20th, Jude Becker of Becker
Lane Organic Farm in Iowa
will be the guest speaker and guest of
honor at a dinner at ~CAFÉ
ROUGE~ featuring his organic
pork. A sixth-generation hog farmer,
he produces 6,000 humanely raised, organically
certified pigs each year at his family-run
farm. His organically raised, farm-milled
grains are the feed for his exceptional
product. On this evening, Café Rouge
will add liverwurst, headcheese, spit-roasted
leg of pork, meatballs, cured pork chops,
and other dishes to its usual menu. Jude
will be on hand to answer questions and
provide information on his Berkshire
and Chester White breeds. 1782 4th St.
at Hearst, Berkeley, 510-525 1440.
There
are some changes at ~GARIBALDIS
ON COLLEGE~: the restaurant
is closing on August 17th, and when it
reopens, half of it will be like the
San Francisco Garibaldi's (sexy vibe,
narrow space, 80–90 seats, dark woods,
smaller bar area), while the other half
(the bar area) will transform into a
second Marzano location.
Garibaldis will also reopen with a new
(and more affordable) menuexecutive
chef Scott Sasaki has been working with
Marzano's exec chef, Rob Holt, on the
new dishes. The Marzano part will open
first on August 24th, while the Garibaldis
side is scheduled for September 1st.
5356 College Ave. at Bryant, Oakland,
510-595-4000.
Some folks have been asking me about the timing
of the second location of ~BAKESALE
BETTY~ in Uptown/Franklin Square;
I spoke with Alison Barakat, who said things
have gotten delayed, so fingers crossed they
open the second location in six months or so.
2228 Broadway at West Grand Ave., Oakland.
Carlos Altamirano of Mochica and Piqueo's is
opening a third Peruvian location, ~COSTANERA~,
in Montara this October. It's opening in the
former Chart House, a three-story, 10,000-square-foot
restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean that
will be redesigned by Michael Brennan (Miss
Pearl's Jam House, Marinitas, Cortez). Brennan
will use natural elements, creating a more
romantic atmosphere. The menu will feature
up to ten ceviches from the Cevicheria Bar,
and as many as 30 Peruvian dishes, plus the
full bar will feature handcrafted pisco cocktails,
Southern American wines, and quality beers.
8150 Cabrillo Hwy., Montara. 
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