The Chatterbox

Just around from the Dottie’s (on Stevenson at 6th Street) will be MONTESACRO, an open-all-day-and-night enoteca from Gianluca Legrottaglie, a partner and the wine director of nearby ~54 MINT~ in Mint Plaza. Legrottaglie worked for six years in the Montesacro quarter, a Roman neighborhood that was a bit hardscrabble…

Last week I attended the preview party of the new STEM KITCHEN & GARDEN, which we mentioned awhile ago. It is in Mission Bay, very near where the new Warriors event center will be built. The 120-seat restaurant is now open and serving breakfast and lunch, plus happy hour. It’…

Ramen shops continue to open at a breakneck pace in SF. The two latest shops to join the fray are HAPA RAMEN and KIRIMACHI RAMEN. Hapa just opened this past Sunday November 23rd, serving three flavors of ramen (ranging from the classic Hapa version for $16, ratcheting up to a…

SEED + SALT is a new restaurant from owner Mo Clancy and executive chef Ariel Nadelberg (Al Di La in NYC) that’s scheduled to open in the Marina on Sunday November 30th. It’s all about healthy and plant-based eating, so this is the place to find vegan, gluten-free, and…

According to a Craigslist ad, Chris Cosentino’s latest, COCKSCOMB is opening in SoMa very very soon. We couldn’t confirm anything, but test dinners (or a soft opening) appear to be under way. They are currently seeking a “shuck and swallow champion…the best oyster shucker” to join their…

According to a very exciting post on their Facebook page, closed Chinatown institution SAM WO is reopening. They’ve reportedly secured a location in Chinatown and are hoping to open sometime after the Chinese New Year. To recap, the original Sam Wo building (which was built in 1907) needed at…

Three new places join our coffee scene: first is RED DOOR COFFEE, which we wrote about a few months ago. This project is the second location of the Red Door Coffee that founder Eiming Jung runs out of 111 Minna (and will continue to do so). He partnered with David…

After the news that executive chef Casey Thompson left AVELINE, we’ve got an update on who is moving into the executive chef role at the restaurant and attached bar, THE EUROPEAN. Blake Askew (who might win a prize for best name) had been the opening executive sous chef and…

TRILOGI, an Asian-inspired catering company, is popping up at Nabe in the Inner Sunset on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30am-2pm. Their delicious jook saved the ‘hopper during a bad bout of food poisoning last week, and a sample menu also lists a fried chicken sandwich with egg salad (whoa)…

HOG’S APOTHECARY is now serving weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-2:30pm. The menu, which will change seasonally, showcases their house-butchered meats in their full glory, with dishes like a the butcher’s breakfast (that’s an egg, grilled quail, scrapple, a choice of pork or sausage,…