The Chatterbox

By Dana Eastland. On Sunday October 25th, catch a pescatarian pop-up at ~IZAKAYA RINTARO~ from the upcoming The Perennial. Chef Chris Kiyuna (Front Porch, Coi, Noma, and Mission Chinese Food) of the forthcoming restaurant will be at the stoves, creating progressive, fresh dishes from impeccable ingredients. The six-course dinner still…

It’s hard to believe that truffle season is already here, but it’s true. Coming up on Tuesday November 3rd, ~LOCANDA~ is hosting Franco Conterno of Poderi Aldo Conterno for an evening of Barolo and truffles. Oh yeahhhh. On the menu: à la carte dishes include a winter squash…

I almost can’t believe ~BAR CRUDO~ is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Monday October 26th. Happy anniversary to owner-brothers Mike and Tim Selvera! The party will start early, as they’ll be opening at 3pm for an extra-long happy hour, which will include their $1 oysters, seafood chowder, and…

By Dana Eastland. On Thursday November 19th, the Headlands Center for the Arts is hosting a dinner called Aeroir: Taste of Place. Um, sorry, what’s aeroir, you ask? It’s the term used by artist-in-residence Nicola Twilley of the blog Edible Geography to describe the local atmosphere that creates…

By Dana Eastland. Back in February, news hit that New York’s famed HALAL GUYS has a franchise deal to expand into Northern California, starting with locations in San Francisco and Berkeley. Well, now Scoop is reporting that they’ll be opening in the former Le Regal space in downtown…

Last night was the latest tablehopper supper, a Sri Lankan feast at ~1601 BAR & KITCHEN~. I have been a fan of this underrated and soulful restaurant since it first opened, but was so captivated by chef Brian Fernando’s newly launched tasting menu a couple of months ago that…

Good news for all the ~NOJO~ fans: the restaurant has reopened after its closure in August, now under new ownership! Previous chef-owner Greg Dunmore—who is now the corporate chef for the new owners, AP Company—says the menu will still feature all the Nojo standards, like yakitori of all…

Posole fans, this one is for you. Taking over the former and vacant Minako space on Mission will be POSOLE from Pete Mrabe of Don Pisto’s and Chubby Noodle Marina and North Beach (and the former Amante, which he is morphing into Pete’s). He’s going to be…

Some changes (again) over at ~ST. VINCENT~: owner David Lynch is going to be changing the format to more of a wine bar—with a focus on retail sales in the wine shop—and less of a restaurant. Although they will still serve food, it will enoteca-style fare, with tramezzini…

By Dana Eastland: After our mention last week of the drama going on with Castro landlord Les Natali and the potential closure of ZAPATA, it appears the long-standing Mexican restaurant may be allowed to stay where they are—for another year, at least. Hoodline reports that Natali and Zapata’s…