The Chatterbox

I am sorry to hear about the impending closure of the very kind “Tak” Matsuba’s ~BUSHI-TEI~ at the end of the month—he has reportedly sold the restaurant to an unnamed buyer. Eater posted his note announcing the upcoming closure. Best wishes to him and the staff. A friend…

Some special sandwiches for my fellow sandwich lovers: on Friday April 20th, ~PAL’S TAKEAWAY~ is celebrating their third anniversary, and will have some enticing creations. Carlo Espinas from Comstock Saloon will be doing his rabbit pâté banh mi, and the coffee-rubbed and smoked pulled pork with special barbecue sauce…

Perhaps some of the city’s most showstopping desserts are at ~ATELIER CRENN~, and now you can stop by for a six-course dessert tasting menu from chef pâtissier Juan Contreras. The $55 menu also has a dessert wine pairing option ($30). You can check out a video of his new…

Now open in Union Square in the Mystic Hotel is BURRITT TAVERN from chef-owner Charlie Palmer, his first restaurant in San Francisco. To recap a previous report on tablehopper, the Tavern is building on the film noir/speakeasy-ish vibe of the flanking historic Burritt Room bar—sure to be the…

The crumbled Criolla Kitchen saga continues: it ends up some of the crew have banded together and are launching a weekly pop-up in the Mission called THE WESTWOOD POPUP in the former B3/Winemakers’ Speakeasy space. GM Hans Purohit, chef Jonny Becklund (previously Randy Lewis’ sous chef), and Rob Renteria,…

After Sean Canavan left his position as executive chef of ~BLUESTEM BRASSERIE~, chef de cuisine Josh Lucas—formerly the executive chef of Luna Park and he opened Bluestem with Sean—has been helming the kitchen. New dishes include a roasted half chicken with crispy spinach and macaroni and cheese. He’…

The ambitious 150-seat restaurant and bakery opening in the former Stars, MAESTRO, is reportedly open now/this week (as I drove by on Saturday, a sign said “open”). Eater has a look at the French bistro menu by chef Neil Marquis. 555 Golden Gate Ave. at Van Ness. Just across…

Beginning this weekend, ~MISSION BOWLING CLUB~ is starting brunch service Sat-Sun 11am-3pm. You can check out the menu here, which includes loco moco ($12), which is basically a rendition of the Mission Burger for breakfast, fried chicken and waffles ($11), and more. Whether you bowl or not is beside the…

I haven’t been able to successfully reach anyone at CHEZ BERLUE, the new French market and wine bar in Cow Hollow that Eater mentioned was going to open in the former Sean men’s clothing store. According to its Facebook page, it appears to be open daily 11am-8:45pm…

Are you one of the many fans of the espresso at ~FOUR BARREL COFFEE~? Those lines can be brutal, so you should know you can order a single-origin espresso in the Caledonia alley on the weekends from 9am-5pm. A while ago, I mentioned some changes at Coco-luxe in the Haight,…