The Chatterbox

Are you mystified by the magic of tamales? Yeah, me too. Fortunately, there is hope. ~LA COCINA~ and Evernote Food are pairing up to host a Tamale Cooking Class on Saturday August 25th, taught by Alicia Villanueva of Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas and Maria del Carmen of Estrellita’s…

Didn’t make it to the Cape this year? Or maybe hard times have forced you to sell your cabin in Maine? Not to worry, you can still get your New England-style summer on at ~PRESIDIO SOCIAL CLUB~. On Sunday August 19th, they’ll be throwing their third annual good…

(Softly) opening Wednesday in Oakland’s Chinatown is SOBO RAMEN from Gabriel Cole and Stella Loi. (Yes, ramen is the new pizza.) Their 24-hour broth uses organic pork bones from Llano Seco Rancho and organic chicken bones from Mary’s Free Range chicken, served with organic noodles custom-made by Yamachan…

A report by Dana Massey-Todd: As previously reported on tablehopper, MISSION ROCK RESORT is coming to Dogpatch this month. Owner Peter Osborne, of Golden Bear Restaurants (MoMo’s, Pedro’s Cantina, Pete’s Tavern), led me and other media types on a sneak-peek tour last week and, boy, does it…

A report by Dana Massey-Todd: Well, we’ve seen beer elevated to the status of fine wine, but over in the old Ozone space some adventurous folks are bucking that trend in favor of cider. UPCIDER is now open on Polk Street, and they are serving some excellent and hard-to-find…

At the end of last week I heard word that BOULETTES LARDER was expanding, but before someone would confirm it, it looks like the Scoop got the phone call. Amaryll Schwertner and business partner Lori Regis are taking over the former Culinaire space next door in the Ferry Building and…

Some Downtown updates for you: first, MACHINE COFFEE & DELI is having its grand opening/ribbon cutting this Thursday August 9th with Mayor Ed Lee. And then it’s time to release the sandwiches, featuring meats from Foreign Cinema’s in-house charcutier, Peter Temkin. The sandwiches feature house-smoked, natural meats…

Details have emerged about THE MORTIMER, the new Union Square bar that has opened in the former Cortez and Bar Adagio space in the Hotel Adagio (which just finished a multimillion dollar renovation). The hotel dates back to 1929, so look for elements of its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture to…

Some closures around town: was sorry to learn this morning that ROTEE in the Lower Haight is closing in a couple of weeks due to some unfortunate landlord and lease issues. Damn, and this was just after I enjoyed a delivery dinner of their tasty tikka masala and onion naan…

Tipster Jason B. writes in: “Went to TANGERINE for dinner tonight and they had a sign up they are moving at the end of August to a new location a few blocks away.” Still waiting to hear back from the chef-owner on where exactly that is; stand by for news…