The Chatterbox

Fans of the taco dorado should know that LA TAQUERIA is now closed on Mondays so that their “employees can get a much needed break.” Effective Monday March 6th. OLD BUS TAVERN in Bernal has closed for a couple of weeks, and when they reopen on Sunday March 12th, they…

Extremely sad news for the many regulars and lovers of the pancakes at BETTE’S OCEANVIEW DINER (and the special woman behind them): chef and co-owner Bette Kroening has tragically passed away at 71 from cancer. Be sure to read this thoughtful piece by Jonathan Kauffman about her important contribution…

Are you excited to check out the upcoming ~CHINA LIVE~, being hailed as the Eataly of Chinatown, with multiple floors of restaurants, retail, bars, and more? Yeah, me too. Here’s my in-depth piece from almost three years ago on the huge multilevel project. I’m going to be attending…

The sadness over the closure of Marsha McBride’s beloved CAFÉ ROUGE after 20 years on Fourth Street in Berkeley can be a bit softened with the exciting news of what is taking its place, POMPETTE. Chef David Visick, an alum of Chez Panisse and SF’s Cafe Kati (yup,…

There’s a new taker for the former Bin 38/Scotland Yard space in the Marina. Barrel Room owner Sarah Trubnick has purchased the lease and is launching a concept with Barrel Room’s executive chef Manny Hewitt based on food and wine pairing—all dishes will have recommended pairings…

Some staffing news around town for you, starting with who’s on deck at ~COI~, working with chef Matt Kirkley. The general manager is Dan Page from Chicago’s L2O, wine director Courtney Olson was previously at Quince (Coi’s previous wine director, Mark Mendoza, has stepped into a larger…

Fans of Josey Baker’s thin-crust pizza at THE MILL will be fired up to hear you’ll be able to come by for pizza every night (except for Tuesdays) starting this Saturday February 25th. You can also enjoy seasonal salads, beer, and wine, all from 6pm-9pm. And don’t…

We reported a while ago that Santa Cruz’s fantastic VERVE COFFEE ROASTERS would be opening a café in the Castro, their first in SF, and it’s now open. The 1,200-square-foot café was designed by LA firm Design, Bitches—look for a naturalistic look with deep blues, woods,…

Here’s a recap on other exciting news happening in the East Bay. Over in Piedmont, Rich and Rebekah Wood (Frascati, Wood Tavern, Southie) have opened THE WOLF in the former Bay Wolf, which closed after 30 years. They have partnered with executive chef Yang Peng, who is also the…

San Francisco’s upscale Indian restaurant scene keeps on ramping up, and the latest addition is ROOH (which means soul or spirit). It’s the first project in the U.S. from Good Times Restaurant Group (the Bhambri family) in India—they have restaurants and nightclubs in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune,…