The Chatterbox

Have you had a hard time scoring a reservation at the popular (and very delicious) BELLOTA? Well, lucky you: the Spanish SoMa hot spot is now serving lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm. Chef Ryan McIlwraith’s menu includes a range of salads, montaditos (open-faced sandwiches), bocadillos (warm sandwiches, which includes…

Looks like the reopening of THE ELITE CAFE is getting close. According to a post on Facebook, they are aiming to open the week of September 19th. Based on their Instagram feed, oysters and fried chicken will be on the menu, plus red beans and rice with house-pickled pork and…

Anyone who has traveled to Miami, or even better, Cuba, has hopefully enjoyed a medianoche (midnight) sandwich, with layers of roast pork, ham, mustard, Swiss cheese, and dill pickles pressed inside sweet egg bread that is not unlike challah (a Cubano is on a crustier style of bread—here’s…

Back in May, we noted the folks behind Andalé (you know, the place you get a breakfast burrito before hopping on a plane at SFO) were taking over the former Reverb/Verbena space in Russian Hill on Polk. Details have now been released: the Andalé Management Group project is called…

FiDi workers, you should know that starting Thursday September 8th, LA FROMAGERIE CHEESE SHOP is starting a happy hour from 4pm-7pm. You can enjoy a flight of three wines and cheeses with matching jams and honey and wood-fired bread for $19 (there are more than 40 wines and cheeses to…

A couple of quick notes: Aaron Toensing and Erik Lowe of SPAGHETTI BROS. have changed the name to MAYBECK’S. Seems the impression of the original name was too casual for what they’re doing, and there’s more than spaghetti on the menu. The Inside Scoop notes the name…

There’s a new ramen house that opened in Emeryville over the weekend, YUZU, with 48 seats, both inside and outside on their patio. The partners are Steven Yamaji, Nori Itasaka, and Scott Sada, and they are focusing on different broths (beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and vegetable) made in-house and…

It looks like NOMICA in the Castro should be opening this week, hopefully, if the permit sign-off gods behave. (This is the project from the Sushi Ran team: Yoshi Tome, Paul Quinn, and Mynor Morales.) In the meantime, I’m happy to show you the latest menu (with pricing) of…

After 11 years with Delfina Restaurant Group, group executive chef Anthony Strong is leaving at the end of September. He has been busy over the years, first at Delfina, then opening Locanda, as well as expanding Pizzeria Delfina to its four current locations. What’s next? Scoop reports he is…

After we ran the initial story that ~PIZZETTA 211~ was opening a new Mediterranean-focused project on the corner, a follow-up to our piece adds that owner Jack Murphy, working with chef Mel Lopez, probably won’t be opening the project until summer 2017. The menu, which we mentioned will highlight…