The Chatterbox

Last week a friend texted me some pics of PLÄJ, letting me know it was open. This Scandinavian restaurant (wow, SF’s first—finally!) has opened in the former Ovations space at Inn at the Opera. The Scoop shares some additional info: the name is pronounced “play,” and the chef-owner…

Since there are so many upcoming projects coming to Valencia, I thought you could use a quick recap on intended opening dates: The bread and sandwich shop at ~BAR TARTINE~ is looking like August 1st—the team is working out the ventilation with the brand-new oven. Yup, that baby is…

Due to open in mid-August in the former Mecca space will be SHANGHAI (site coming later, FYI). Owner Francis Tsai, an 83-year-old native of Shanghai, who has been working in hospitality since he was 18, has brought on chef Leo Gan, opening chef for Shanghai 1930. The menu will feature…

Wow, I was surprised to see on The Tenderlife blog that the old-school fish-and-chips shop, THE OLD CHELSEA, has closed and been replaced by ARIA, “a Korean-American snack bar.” According to Yelp, items on the menu include KFC (Korean fried chicken), deep-fried seaweed with garlic soy sauce, and pot stickers.…

Via Eater, I learned ~GIOIA~ on Polk Street is now serving weekend brunch, with dishes ranging from breakfast pizza to buttermilk flapjacks to sausage and potato hash. Sat-Sun 11am-3pm. The fab folks at the OLD SKOOL CAFE in Bayview have started a Sunday brunch and buffet. For $20, Sunday’s…

There are quite a few one-off dinners this month that you’ll want to consider. First, the Dinner Party Project, a series of dinners around the city before SF Chefs 2012 hits in late August, has added a few more events. I have attended two so far, and each was…

There are a whole bunch of exciting book events coming up, including a few New York chefs passing through town and a local author too! Bring me your picky, your proud! Now you finally have an event to take that picky eater friend you can’t go out to dinner…

A report from Dana Massey-Todd: This last Saturday, I had the opportunity to don a sundress and some dirt-clomping boots and hit the road to Sunol, a small town about an hour southeast of San Francisco, to attend an OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD dinner. These dinners are pretty special, I…

A couple of new openings for you 650 dwellers. First, 31ST UNION is now open in San Mateo in the former Bollywood Indian Cuisine space, featuring American comfort food with local ingredients in a small-plates format by executive chef Paul Burzlaff (and owner David Hunsaker). There are also classic and…

With the looming statewide ban on foie gras that’s happening this weekend, many San Francisco diners are out on the town having their final foie farewell (it’s like citywide human gavage out there). Just last night, chef David Bazirgan of Fifth Floor tweeted he did 96 covers, 66…