OCTOBER
13, 2009 | SAN FRANCISCO I
know plenty of burger fanatics will be happy with the
news that Hubert Keller’s ~BURGER
BAR~ (say it with a French accent) is opening
this Friday on the sixth floor of Macy’s Union Square.
It’s spacious: 240 seats in all, including a private
room. The menu has quite the list of burgers that you
get to pick your patty from (and there is an in-house
butcher room where the meat is ground daily). You can
choose either Black Angus beef ($9.75), sustainable
Country Natural beef ($10.50), American Kobe beef from
Snake River ($16.50), or buffalo ($16.50), plus vegetarian,
Atlantic king salmon, free-range turkey, or hormone-free
chicken options. There are all kinds of toppings, from
nine kinds of cheeses to foie gras. And speaking of,
yes, the famed Rossini burger (the $$$ one you heard
about in Vegas) is on there: $60 will get you a burger
made with Kobe beef, sautéed foie gras, shaved Perigord
truffles, and Madeira sauce on an onion bun. (Get the
paddles out. Clear!) Personally, I’m most excited about
trying the jalapeno bacon. Oh, and you can pick Fleur
de Lys sauces, like rich red wine and shallots reduction
($2.50), or black Perigord truffle sauce ($5.50). There
are sweet burgers to finish, but fear not, there’s no
beef—they’re more like a donut with chocolate and passion
fruit inside, or a cheesecake version with caramelized
pineapple. I took a peek at the cocktail list by Nikola
Varsic and it has a nice range of cocktails, from whiskey
to rum to pisco-based drinks made with good ingredients.
Hours are Sun–Thurs 10:30am–11pm, and Fri–Sat 10:30am–2am.
Yeah, you saw that right: burgers until
2am on the weekend. Enter Macy’s on Geary St. 170
O’Farrell St. at Stockton, 415-296-4272.
More
burgers: ~BEST-O-BURGER~ is
opening their second location next Monday the 19th in
a dining space with a small group of restaurants in the
One Market building. Hours will be 10am–3pm Mon–Fri.
One Market St., 415-828-1717.
This
just in: Eater
New York broke the story that local boy ~JONNATAN
LEIVA~ (Jack Falstaff) is off to the Big Apple
to head up 10 Downing. Good for him—I wonder if he’ll
put THAT
burger on a secret menu. SF is a safer place without
that burger lurking around, but Leiva will be missed!
Rock it, Jonnatan!
And
now for a little something sweet: the new dessert
café from Dennis and Eloise Leung, ~DELISE~,
opens this Friday October 16th. (They used to run the
pastry kitchen at Bong Su.) The small space will open
in the morning, serving muffins and breakfast scones
(both sweet and savory, like a tomato basil scone will
be on offer), plus Four Barrel coffee and espresso,
hot chocolate, and chai lattes, in addition to teas
from Red Blossom. There will also be cookies made with
healthy ingredients like whole-wheat flour. I look
forward to trying the ice creams and sorbets made with
Asian flavors, including toasted rice, sesame, and
pandan, plus vegan/soy-based ice creams as well. Look
for some inventive ice cream flavors, like a deconstructed
pesto, with basil and pine nuts; you can get ice cream
in a cup or pint—homemade cones are coming soon. There’s
talk about sandwiches coming later as well. Opening
hours are Mon–Fri 8:30am–8:30pm, and Sat–Sun 10:30am–6pm
(tentatively)—so call first before heading over. 327
Bay St. at Powell, 415-399-9694.
More
sweeeeeet news: as I tweeted last
week, ~HUMPHRY
SLOCOMBE~ is now open on Mondays.
Yup, you can now get your fix of their scrumptious ice
cream seven days a week. 2790 Harrison St. at 24th St.,
415-550-6971.
Opening next Wednesday October 21st will be ~PANAM~,
Mickael Azoulay and Laurent Guillaume’s new restaurant,
bar, and lounge in the former Frisee space in
the Castro (under the newly remodeled The Café). Since
the owners are behind Chouquet’s and Blush!
Wine Bar, it should be no surprise the menu will
offer “neo-French fusion cuisine,” with an international
wine list, and a full bar. In the evening it will transform
into more of a lounge, with a DJ booth and an amped up
bar scene. As for the name, Panam is Parisian slang for
Paris. Panam will be open nightly for dinner and drinks
5pm–1am, plus there will be a weekend brunch from 10am–4pm.
2367 Market St. at Castro, 415-556-6200.
Uh,
yeah, HOLD THE PHONE. According to Serious
Eats/Slice, Anthony Mangieri, aka
the former master of the New York pizza universe
is reopening his much-beloved establishment in SoMa, ~UNA
PIZZA NAPOLETANA~, hopefully by March 2010. So
we lose Nate, we get Anthony, and the per capita
number of tattoos remains the same. For more on Anthony,
check out this gorg mini food porn film about him
making pizza, Naturally
Risen.
And
according to liquor licenses, ~OSHA
THAI~ continues its methodical takeover
of the city and looks to be moving into Bong Su’s former
digs. At least they won’t need to change the décor
very much, if at all. 311 3rd St. at Folsom.
Some breakfast and brunch news around town: ~PICCINO~ has started
serving brunch Sat–Sun, starting at 10am. On the
menu: items like a savory bread pudding with prosciutto,
onions, and tomatoes; a skillet-pressed focaccia with
ricotta and house-made strawberry jam; a cazuela of
wild mushrooms, kale, and two baked eggs; a breakfast
pizza with Jonathan apples, gorgonzola, house-made
sausage, and two eggs; and house-made granola and yogurt
with end-of-season plums. And zeppole (Italian-style
doughnuts)! 801 22nd St. at Tennessee, 415-824-4224.
~BAR
TARTINE~ will kick off breakfast next
Wednesday October 21st, serving every Wed–Fri from
8am–11am. The menu will feature jars of the restaurant’s
own organic yogurt, and they’re working on perfecting
house-made English muffins to be topped with slow-cooked
eggs and house-cured ham. 561 Valencia St. at 17th
St., 415-487-1600.
And then there’s breakfast for dinner: ~SOUTH~ is
offering a breakfast-inspired happy hour (inspired
by that Aussie/U.S. time change thing) every Mon–Fri
4:30pm–6:30pm. $5 bar bites include spicy lamb
sliders with shallot marmalade and a quail egg, and shrimp
toasts with vegemite. There are also $6 drinks specials
and $5 imported beers. One more thing to note: in honor
of South's two-year anniversary, you can go in during
the month of October and get a free glass of
bubbles with
your dinner. 330 Townsend St. at 4th St., 415-974-5599.
Got word that ~DOSA~ (both
locations) is launching a new holiday menu this Thursday
for Divali (the Indian New Year), and will be
celebrating this weekend (October 16th–17th) with new
dishes, cocktails, and desserts. 995 Valencia St. at
21st St., 415-642-3672; 1700 Fillmore St. at Post, 415-441-3672.
More spicy news: on Monday October 19th, The San Francisco
Professional Food Society is hosting the event ~SPICE
ROUTE MEETS CALIFORNIA CUISINE~. Executive chef Sri
Gopinathan, Campton Place, Southern India; chef-owner
Hoss Zare, Fly Trap, Iran; and chef Afreen Wahab, academician,
Pakistan, will be on a panel to discuss different spices
they use from their homeland, preparation techniques
such as "bhuno," and how to incorporate spices
in your cooking, whether in the home, or in a restaurant.
6pm–8:30pm. After the panel discussion, there will be
small bites of host chef Sri's spice-laden delicacies.
$30 SFPFS members; $40 guests. For more information and
to purchase a ticket, click
here or call 650-344-3663. Campton Place Hotel
Dining Room, 340 Stockton St. at Post.
Have you been enjoying this season of ~TOP
CHEF~? I think it’s one hell of a lineup
this year—am especially impressed with the Voltaggio brothers,
and I love the dark horse Kevin,
who is turning out some great dishes. Of course
am rooting for our home talent Laurine,
but am putting my money on badass Jennifer to
take it to the end—she’s thrilling to watch. Anyway, casting
has started for Season Seven—aspiring cheftestants
should come to the casting call at the newly opened The
Parlor this Sunday October 18th from 10am–2pm.
For additional casting information and to download
an application, visit BravoTV.com/casting.
2801 Leavenworth St. at Beach.
There are a couple local events coming up called ~SUSTAIN
ABRUZZO~ to promote and sustain
small farmers and producers in Abruzzo that have
been affected by the terrible earthquake in April
(click the Sustain Abruzzo link to see all events).
First up, ~FARINA~ is
hosting a fundraiser dinner on Tuesday October
20th, featuring traditional dishes served à la
carte (25% of the sales will go to the farmers
from Abruzzo). You can look at the sample menu here.
3560 18th St. at Guerrero St., 415-565-0360.
Next, ~LA
CICCIA~ will be hosting a family-style Sustain
Abruzzo dinner on Monday November 2nd,
featuring goat, lamb, and traditional wines from
Abruzzo. 25% of sales will go to Sustain Abruzzo
farmers. 7pm. $85 per person for family-style food
and wine, plus tax and gratuity. 291 30th St. at
Church, 415-550-8114.
The ~CELEBRITY
CHEF TOUR~ benefiting the James Beard
Foundation is coming to our fair city on Thursday
October 22nd. Pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner of
Orson and Citizen Cake and Jeffrey Surprise of Aurea/The
Stanford Court will team up to cook a multicourse
fall meal paired with wine and beer. 7pm. Tickets
are $175 per person and can be reserved by calling
720-201-1853 or clicking here.
905 California St. at Powell.
Over in Berkeley, the food-e-sphere has been buzzing
over ~EMILIA'S
PIZZERIA~, a new casual pizza joint from
the reportedly nice and talented Keith Freilich,
who is turning out some killer pies (thin crust, New
York-style). He’s keeping it small and simple to start;
follow the dough shortages and closings on Twitter.
Open Tue–Sat at 5pm until the dough is gone (for now).
2995 Shattuck Ave. at Russell, Berkeley, 510-704-1794.
~TAMARINDO~ in
Oakland is going to be opening a tequila bar by
December in the space next door (it used to be New World
Vegetarian). There will be 30 more seats and later hours—you’ll
be able to pass through a shared doorway, but the spaces
will be kept separate. 468 8th St. at Broadway, Oakland,
510-444-1944.
I also asked owner Alfonso Dominguez about his other
project, ~ERA~,
the upcoming gallery and bar project he is doing with
Kevin Best of B Restaurant and Bar, and Gairy Jacques
of Air. It’s about a month or so out, will keep you posted.
19 Grand Ave. at Broadway, Oakland.
The Marin
Independent Journal reported Tyler
Florence and Sammy Hagar are pairing up
to take over the ~EL
PASEO~ in Mill Valley. According
to the article,
they are going to be turning it into more of a rustic
American tavern, due to open in December—and they “also
plan to open a bakery within the El Paseo complex.”
Read more details here—there
will additionally be outside seating and great wines.
The article mentions El Paseo’s owners, Seigo Tekei
and his wife, Keiko Takahashi, “are close to signing
a lease for a restaurant in San Francisco's Nob
Hill.” Hmmm, I wonder where that is... 17 Throckmorton
Ave., Mill Valley, 415-388-0741.
I
wanted to make sure you knew about the annual ~DEVIL’S
GULCH RANCH FALL FUNDRAISER~ on Saturday
October 24th for Devil’s
Gulch Educational Services (the link is
to a great short video), which helps support a summer
camp where kids of all ages learn about
agriculture, nature education, and indigenous skills.
The day starts at 3pm, with the opportunity to
visit Devil’s Gulch Ranch and purchase their agricultural
products directly on the ranch (until 5pm). From
3pm–6pm, there will also be a wine tasting of Marin
County wines for tasting and purchase in Druid’s
Hall, as well as Devil’s Gulch Ranch sausages.
Tasting prices vary, no admission charge. And then
from 6pm–9pm, there will be a wonderful gourmet
dinner with Devil’s Gulch Ranch meats and local
produce prepared by renowned chef Stuart Brioza
(ex-Rubicon) and others. Dinner is $65 per
person, and includes a glass of Marin pinot noir.
There will also be a silent auction with amazing
lots, like a French Laundry afternoon, a guided
hog hunt, two nights and dinner for two at the
Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, plus gift certificates
from Chez Panisse, Zuni Café, Perbacco,
Bi-Rite Market, and many other fabulous Bay Area
restaurants. Devil’s Gulch Ranch and Druid’s Hall
(located on the Historic Nicasio Square). Reservations
are required, please call 415-662-1099 and/or 707-953-0923.
Last week, San Francisco lost an amazing restaurateur
and local personality, ~TOM DUFFY~; he succumbed
after a long battle with cancer. Tom was mostly known
for his popular restaurant Myth, but his background in
the restaurant scene was incredibly extensive. I had
the honor of interviewing him for a piece in DiningOut magazine (it’s
a PDF) a few years ago, and it was definitely one of
the more colorful interviews I’ve done—colorful like
his ties and handkerchiefs. (Unfortunately a lot of it
wasn’t fit to print, heh.) I know so many people are
tipping their caps and raising their glass to this one-of-a-kind
talent, a San Francisco original who will be missed.
Rest in peace.
I also learned ~ALBERT TORDJMAN~ of the Flying
Saucer passed away at the age of 57; here’s an
article and video about him on GrubStreet.
We should all make some vertical food this week in
his honor. 
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