The Chatterbox

This is interesting and unexpected news: Eater reports that chef de cuisine Michael Gaines (previously Manresa) is out at ~CENTRAL KITCHEN~, just as the restaurant completes its third month. Chef-partner Thomas McNaughton spins it thusly: “He and I have been friends for eight years. He came on to help us…

If you have a sweet tooth, you’re in luck, because there are some exciting developments in the world of candy (and soda too). In the Mission, Taylor’s Tonics of unusual soda-flavor fame is getting ready to open THE FIZZARY. The Fizzary will offer retail sales of Taylor’s…

As most of us have heard, public education has been hit particularly hard by the recession, and dwindling public funds have caused cuts to many of our public universities’ finest programs. City College’s highly respected Culinary Arts and Hospitality program has been no exception, and some of the city’…

~ATELIER CRENN~ will continue their fascinating and poetic take on cooking on Tuesday August 14th and Wednesday August 15th when they host chef Scott Anderson of Elements in New Jersey in another installment of Dialogue: A Series of Collaborations, Creativity, and Conversations. The dinner will be a food “conversation” between…

Peter McNee, the executive chef and partner at ~POGGIO~, has just returned from a two-week culinary trip through Italy sponsored by the government, where he was hosted by wineries and restaurants. That’s right, the Italian government partially paid for him to study the art of Roman cooking. But don’…

Now open in Oakland is UMAMI MART, a spiffy new shop specializing in kitchen and barware from Japan. (Cue cool product lust now.) Owners Yoko Kumano and Kayoko Akabori have been selling their special goods online for the past couple of years, but now they have this brand-new, brick-and-mortar shop…

All kinds of news brewing in Berkeley, starting with an upcoming organic Greek restaurant called PATHOS RESTAURANT & BAR opening this fall. (How does it make you feel?) Diablo Dish mentions the owner is “Nicholas Eftimiou, an alum of San Francisco’s Kokkari and Palo Alto’s Evvia. It sounds…

Release the loaves! At last, ~BAR TARTINE~ is opening its sandwich shop this Wednesday August 1st. You’ll be able to come by for sandwiches and more Wed-Fri 10:30am-2:30pm, either dine-in or for takeout. It’s almost like a shop within the restaurant: there’s a counter with…

A couple of interesting projects in historic buildings are on the horizon. First up, there was some liquor license activity for FIREHOUSE 8, a project that is going into a 1917 firehouse that has been vacant for 30 years: San Francisco Landmark #188 in Russian Hill. The site mentions: “the…

Lots of chef moves to report on, starting with Sean Eastwood, the new chef de cuisine for NAVIO RESTAURANT (music alert!) at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay. Eastwood’s extensive background includes time in France with the renowned three-star Michelin chef Paul Bocuse and in Britain with two-star Michelin chef…