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Jan 13, 2011 2 min read

This week's tablehopper: bubbles o' clock.

This week's tablehopper: bubbles o' clock.
At the chef’s counter at Plum in Oakland.
Table of Contents

Hey, you busy freaking out about that dang thirteenth zodiac sign? I mean, really, what the hell? And the earthquakes, and crazy reports of birds falling out of the sky and flying into trucks… At least it isn’t Friday the thirteenth. And hopefully not the rapture. But it is time for Good Food Month, and Dine About Town, and the Fancy Food Show, and two “underground” markets this Saturday.

And, perhaps most importantly, it’s time for a drink.

As a thank you for all your support, and to cheers the New Year, from now until January 29th, 2011, you can swing by Dcantr (the wine bar adjacent to Saison) for a complimentary glass of Charles Duret, Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé, on me! (But hey, just one glass per person.) All you have to do is say the password “bubbles o’clock” to get your complimentary glass. It’s delicious, it’s pink, and it goes all too well with their chicken liver mousse. Cheers!

So, as you know, my restaurant reviews are always of San Francisco spots, unless I’m doing a jetsetter getaway piece about, say, Paris. It’s not that I am anti-Berkeley or adverse to dining in Marin—it’s just that there’s only one of me to get this dang column done each week, and try as I might, I can’t be everywhere. But there are many places I really love around the bay, so I thought for the next couple weeks, I’d cover some places in Oakland and Berkeley that I happily cross the Bay Bridge for. Sure, today’s two reviews are for restaurants that have been open for about a year or so, but I know plenty of San Franciscans who haven’t made the trek to them yet. So here’s hoping I can inspire a little cross-bay trip. Hell, I did it!

Oh, and one small note: sorry to report the I-Talian I-Ranian American Spaghetti Feed that was supposed to be at Long Bar on Monday has been postponed until late March—they decided to let the holiday madness subside a little first. FYI!

All-righty then, have a swell weekend (which is a three-day one for some of you!). But whether you have Monday off or not, may we all think of and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the MLK Day of Service.

Marcia Gagliardi

At the chef’s counter at Plum in Oakland.View tablehopper Newsletter from Friday, Jan 14 2011

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