The Chatterbox

By Dana Eastland. As previously reported on tablehopper, taco restaurant TACORGASMICO is, um, coming soon to the Castro. It’s opening in the former Blue Restaurant space on Market Street, and they are serving “simple Mexican pleasures” like tacos, tlayudas, and sopes, along with micheladas and sangria. And maybe happy…

Just a little update for you since our last report on SAM WO RESTAURANT, which we mentioned is moving into the Anna Bakery space in Chinatown. Since they will continue to offer some baked goods and will be keeping the Anna Bakery baker, the new name will be SAM WO…

Sightglass just keeps on growing: in spring of 2016, they will be opening a new coffee bar on the SFMOMA’s third floor, just next to the John and Lisa Pritzker Center for Photography. (Blue Bottle was the previous SFMOMA partner.) Across the Bay in Emeryville, Counter Culture Coffee has…

After the closure of Baker & Banker last year, chef Jeff Banker has reemerged as executive chef at ~BLUESTEM BRASSERIE~. He’ll be starting at the restaurant in late May and will launch his first new menu in August. The focus of the menu will remain on American brasserie classics,…

You a fan of the FOG CITY burger? You know the one: a classic burger with a well-proportioned patty, topped with housemade American cheese, smoked tomato aioli, tomato, onion, and dill pickles, all sandwiched into a King’s Hawaiian sweet bun. Well, it normally runs $17.50 (and comes with…

~SPRUCE~ chef John Madriaga is teaching a Fruits de Mer cooking class on Saturday May 9th from 11:30am to 2:30pm (this would make an awesome early Mother’s Day gift or experience). The class will cover selecting and caring for seafood, along with preparation techniques. At the end…

The Center for Asian American Media has released some new food-focused offerings for the month of May as part of its yearly celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. First, check out the documentary Soul of a Banquet, about local culinary hero Cecilia Chiang. Director Wayne Wang (The…

By Dana Eastland. Oakland’s classic hall, THE STARLINE SOCIAL CLUB, is reopening tomorrow, April 29th. The space, which is more than 100 years old, comes from a partnership of Sam White (one of the owners of Ramen Shop) and local artists Adam Hatch, Drew Bennet, and Eric Siemens. The…

San Francisco is already so fortunate to have the talented Melissa Perello and her restaurant Frances in our collection of culinary crown jewels, and now there is another ruby to add: ~OCTAVIA~. The corner location dates back to the 19th century, and was home to the Meetinghouse, the first Quince,…

On Friday April 17th, AATXE (say “aah-CHAY”) opened on the ground floor of the Swedish American Hall and Cafe du Nord, a project in conjunction with the Ne Timeas Restaurant Group and the Bon Vivants. This Spanish- and Basque-inspired restaurant has chef Ryan Pollnow at the helm (he was previously…