The Chatterbox

The Inner Sunset will no longer be getting a new LA BOULANGE BAKERY in the former Bistro 9 space—they have withdrawn their application, according to the December 16th planning board’s minutes. The process was ultimately going to be too involved, and the team decided the location wasn’t…

Just when I didn’t think ~COTOGNA~ could become any more tempting, they had to start offering Saturday brunch and extended daytime service. Yeah, you know that kitchen is going to do some evil things with eggs, like poached farm eggs “fricco caldo” with Montasio cheese, potato, and speck; plus…

I was curious about an ad I saw on Craigslist about a North German restaurant and bakery coming to North Berkeley called GAUMENKITZEL. The owners are Anja Voth and her husband, Kai Flache, who are committed to a very seasonal, housemade, and whole ingredient approach (along with sustainable, local, organic,…

It’s a new year, and a new start for the Garibaldi’s/Marzano on College Avenue, which just closed for a remodel and will be reopening in a couple weeks as HUDSON from restaurateur John Hurley and co-owner Justin Hafen. Looks like running two restaurants simultaneously was proving to…

Sorry, I forgot to run this last week, but better late than never: AMANDA’S FEEL GOOD FRESH FOOD RESTAURANT in Downtown Berkeley closed on the last day of the year. Owner Amanda West said, “We’ve enjoyed two and a half wonderful years in Downtown Berkeley and we will…

After months of remodeling, Brenda Buenviaje is ready to unveil the expansion of her restaurant, ~BRENDA’S FRENCH SOUL FOOD~ on Polk. When? It might be tomorrow (Wednesday), or possibly this Thursday. The ex-laundromat next door was transformed into a new dining room (which brings the count from 28 seats…

The Divisadero corridor is about to get even better: Mark Bright and Kris Esqueda (Saison, Markris Wine) are partnering with Nabiel Musleh (yes, that Nabiel) to open VINYL in the CAFE DIVIS space. They are working with the building owners (who operate Cafe Divis) on Vinyl, which will be a…

Rather than do a series of four different posts, here’s a little grab bag for ya: Well, my fellow night owls, I am sorry to report the kitchen at ~BAR AGRICOLE~ is now closing at 11pm instead of 1am—it was just proving to be too costly to keep…

I was happy to read the news on Eater that Vijay Bist of (the very delicious) ~AMBER INDIA~ is going to be opening another location into the large, vacant space on Valencia Street next to Luna Park. The name will be Amber Dara (the word dara reportedly means “earth” in…