The Chatterbox

Hoodline reports that ~IZAKAYA ROKU~ has a new chef. Well, actually, two new chefs: it turns out that owner Jay Hamada made friends with a pair of brothers from his hometown in Miyazaki, Japan, and now the pair is running the kitchen. They’re still in the process of tweaking…

Here’s a trio of folks who could use your help in getting their projects off the ground, please take a look! All the projects come with some great perks, so please read about them and give what you can! First, the lovely Azalina Eusope of AZALINA’S MALAYSIAN is…

This month at VINYL, check out the Soused pop-up from chef David Wilcox, who got a lot of buzz while he was at Mill Valley Beerworks, and was previously at Gjelina in Los Angeles. The pop-up is vegetable-focused, with an emphasis on marinated, pickled, and “drenched in sauce” (or soused)…

Tanjia in Oakland has changed names and concepts, and is reopening on Wednesday April 16th as DOUKKALA. The new concept has a California-Moroccan menu and a new chef, Eric Lanvert (previously at SF’s Rue Saint Jacques), according to East Bay Express. On the menu, there are two versions of…

La Cocina alum Guisell Osorio has been making superlative empanadas, alfajores, and other South American specialities for years now (she was La Cocina’s very first business!), and now she’s opening her very own brick-and-mortar location. SABORES DEL SUR is opening in Walnut Creek on Thursday April 17th, in…

Some very exciting news here: Chad Robertson and Liz Prueitt of TARTINE BAKERY AND CAFE and BAR TARTINE have just signed a lease to a 5,000-square-foot space in the Heath Ceramics factory and showroom building at 18th Street and Alabama in the Mission. How’s that for a symbiotic…

A little more than a year after a fire damaged CASTAGNA in the Marina, the restaurant and wine bar from co-owners and brothers Jerome (general manager) and Stephane Meloni (executive chef) is reopening sometime this week. The new chapter brings some changes, including a more upscale look, with a menu…

~VERBENA~ on Polk Street is now serving brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, starting April 5th. The menu offers seasonal dishes, many of them with a twist on the usual selections, including a pork trotter terrine with fried quail eggs and chile oil, and poached eggs with duck ragout and peas.…

Here’s a new pop-up for your radar: The Other Guys from friends Nathan Holden, Stephen Thorlton, and John Thurmond. The first one will happen on Sunday April 6th from 6pm-9:30pm at ~20TH CENTURY CAFÉ~, and will hopefully be the beginning of a regular series. The menu will be…

After a winter hiatus, Off the Grid is returning to the Presidio on Sunday April 6th, with both their Sunday Picnic at the Presidio and their Thursday evening Twilight at the Presidio. On Sundays from 11am-4pm, the Picnic includes both food trucks and local restaurants serving from food stands, including…