The Chatterbox

Chef Aaron Martinez, who is currently the chef de cuisine at Oakland’s Commis, is going to be popping up again at ~20TH CENTURY CAFE~ on Monday May 26th. His pop-up’s name is Bolete, which is a type of mushroom. He’ll be offering a five-course dinner, with two…

A reader tipped us off to a liquor license activity for a new Japanese restaurant coming to town, in the former Buck Tavern space. It’s called SHIDO and comes from partners Karina, Jessica, Kevin, and Willson Ma. We had a chance to catch up with Karina, who says that…

Congratulations to Romney “Nani” Steele and Steve Day on getting their new place open, THE COOK AND HER FARMER, in the historic Swan’s Market in Old Oakland (the whole process has been a bit of haul—the landlord is a nonprofit, so getting approval for the space took awhile)…

More changes continue in the Daniel Patterson Group. The latest news is ~PLUM~ is closed and will be reopening tonight (yes, tonight) as UME. After having numerous chefs in the location, Patterson realized it was the concept that needed a do-over. The menu will be Japanese through a Northern California…

Big changes are coming to a semi-cursed space in Oakland’s Uptown, near Plum Bar. East Bay Express reports that the bar formerly known as 2212 Wine Bar will be reopened as CAPTAIN & CORSET on Friday May 23rd. Paul Fitzpatrick and Sam Patel (of the Ike’s empire) are…

Yesterday I took a jaunt to Chinatown to meet with part of the CHINA LIVE team (which included founder George Chen, managing partner Richard Miyashiro, director of programming and corporate communication Janine Shiota, and director of marketing Doug Collister) to tour the space and hear more about the plans for…

Things are getting close for KUSAKABE, the new sushi restaurant opening with Mitsunori “Nori” Kusakabe at the helm (you can see our previous post here). The intimate 31-seat space will be focused on serving sushi in a kaiseki style, based on seasonality and harmony. This multicourse format has its roots…

A report by Dana Eastland. As previously reported in tablehopper, Jocelyn Bulow of Chez Maman and co-owner David Alexander are expanding a second Potrero mainstay into Hayes Valley. This time, it’s a second outpost of Papito, called PAPITO WEST. It’s going into the former Moishe’s Pippic space…

In Cow Hollow, the former Nettie’s Crab Shack is getting ready to reopen as PALM HOUSE on Wednesday May 21st. The project comes from Anderson Pugash (Bergerac), Bruce McDonald (Bergerac, Foreign Cinema), Benson Wang, and Gayle Pirie (Foreign Cinema), and is a tropical-inspired bar and restaurant, with a seasonal…

As reported in tablehopper last month, Divisadero mainstay Tortilla Heights has been sold to partners Miles Palliser and Ezra Berman of the Corner Store, along with a third partner, Neil Holbrook of The Kezar Pub. We’ve got some details on their plans for the new space, including the name:…