The Chatterbox

I had a chance to check out the new ~TWENTY FIVE LUSK~ at a pre-opening party last week. For a second there it felt like 1996, with all the football types and fillies prancing about (indubitably there because Joe and Jennifer Montana were co-hosts). The sprawling SoMa/South Beach restaurant…

Opening tonight in the former AQUA space, here’s a look at the menus at ~MICHAEL MINA~. For lunch at the bar, there is an extensive menu of apps like smoked sea trout blini, crème fraîche, American caviar ($14); crispy Dungeness crab “BLT” with charred tomato, jamon serrano…

A tablehopper reader let me know something was going on at MECCA on Market Street, and Scoop revealed the details just as I was heading over. The restaurant moving in will be called Pudong, serving traditional Shanghaiese dishes, along with French elements. The chef is Jason Xu, most recently the…

After handing out complimentary treats to passers-by on Valencia Street for the past couple weeks, ARIZMENDI BAKERY has opened a fifth bakery cooperative, just next door to Heart. You’ll be able to pick up a variety of their tried-and-true breads, pastries (like a pecan roll), and of course their…

According to a post on SFoodie, a new café called STARSTREAM from John Quintos (Cento, Special Xtra, and Vega) and Remi Hayashi (owner of Goody Goodie) is soft opening this Thursday October 21st . You’ll be able to pick up breakfast, lunch, and Blue Bottle coffee, and eventually some additional…

After 22 years in business, Lower Pac Heights residents are no longer getting their pad Thai at NEECHA THAI—the owners have retired. The location has morphed into the newly opened Sweet Lime Thai Cuisine. 2100 Sutter St. at Steiner, 415-674-7515. And not too far away, after being in business…

~ZERO ZERO~ is starting weekend brunch service this Saturday October 23rd, with dishes like Star Route Farm nettle pizza with house-cured pancetta, roasted garlic, and a poached egg; fried chicken thighs with waffles and chestnut honey; creamy polenta with braised Llano Seco pork, chanterelles, and a semolina-crusted egg; and wild…

Comedienne Holly Horn and car and racing legend Kjell Qvale are opening HOLLY’S on November 4th in the historic Don Lee building at 1000 Van Ness Avenue (it was the original home and showroom for Cadillac, built in 1921). Holly’s is going to be a comedy club, bar,…