August 15, 2006

I am a bit bummed to not be in town for the opening, well, not totally bummed since Lake Tahoe is pretty darned dreamy, but checkity check it: ~THE FRONT PORCH~ opens today! You can see my previous mention of this fab new gastropub here, and they'll even start serving their all-day brunch this coming Sunday—until 9pm, how marvy is that? That's so civilized I can't stand it.

Did someone say brunch? Why yes: ~FARMERBROWN~ is starting up their weekend brunch this weekend, on Saturday the 19th. Eat up.

Fans of the tasty eats at ~SELLERS MARKETS~ (at the corner of Front and Pine Streets) will be fired up to know Deborah and Jim Sellers will be opening their second restaurant at 595 Market Street (at the backside of the building, on the side of Second and Stevenson Streets). The opening date is set for Monday, October 2. They will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

And I love the sound of this café: ~FIERRO EN GUERRA~ is a new café that just opened Saturday in the former Emerald Garden Vietnamese place on California, next to the Lumiere Theater. The name comes from the San Francisco flag's motto, "Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra" (Gold in Peace, Iron in War). Did you know that was our city flag's motto? I sure didn't. You'll find it on police badges (I certainly hope you don’t have to look at one closely any time soon) and city documents… Funny sidebar: it ends up our founding fathers got the "iron" part wrong—they used the word for a branding iron, and not real iron. Way to go founding fathers. Anyway. The café just opened on Saturday, and they have a boutique coffee that is exclusive to San Francisco, Caffé del Doge. It's shipped weekly from the Caffé del Doge roaster in Venice, Italy. It's a fair trade product and roasted by a reportedly finicky guy following a coffee roasting tradition stretching back to the very beginning of coffee consumption. Considering Italy's oldest café is in Venice (Caffé Florian, since 1720), I'd say this coffee is something to be tried. They will also offer 17 varieties of tea that were personally selected for them by Peter Luong, one of the owners of Red Blossom Tea in Chinatown—Red Blossom specializes in only fine teas from China. Fierro en Guerra's space has a garden-inspired indoor/outdoor feeling, and will have an SF international-style bistro menu with some breakfast items like a hangover special with egg and avocado, and pancakes, plus some panini, soup, and salads. Fierro en Guerra is open daily from 10am-10pm. 1550 California St., between Polk and Larkin Streets.