Here's the latest dish on the city's peripatetic toques and proprietors:
Jamie Lauren (ex Levende), whose Indian-inspired Prana restaurant failed to come to fruition for permit reasons, will join Absinthe on July 1st as the new executive chef. Although she intends to maintain the restaurant's overall French/Med bent, she plans to employ more seasonal and sustainable products.
Half Moon Bay restaurateur Paul Shenkman has sold his interest in Cetrella Bistro & Café to his longtime partner so that he can focus on his latest venture, the coastside Sam's Chowder House, which recently added an outdoor kitchen.
Grand Cafe has hired Mauro Pando (formerly of Lark Creek Inn) to replace Ron Boyd, who is now chef de cuisine at Aqua.
The Brazen Head owner Eddie Savino has taken over Liverpool Lil's, the longtime hangout nestled between the Marina and the Presidio serving American pub grub and weekend brunch.
Chef-about-town Mike Yakura (Sutra, Le Colonial) is now installed at Nob Hill’s Cal-Asian Sparrow as well as behind the robata grill at Ozumo, the swanky Embarcadero Japanese hot spot.
William Werner, former pastry chef of the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, is the new pastry chef for The Village Pub in Woodside and the soon-to-be-opened Spruce in San Francisco.