New Restaurants
| Name |
Address |
City |
Phone |
| ad hoc |
6476 Washington St. |
Yountville |
707-944-2487 |
| Barracuda |
2251 Market St. |
San Francisco |
415-558-8567 |
| Bruno's |
2389 Mission St. |
San Francisco |
415-643-5200 |
| Go Fish |
641 Main St. |
St. Helena |
707-963-0700 |
| Ici |
2948 College Ave. |
Berkeley |
510-665-6054 |
| Toast |
1748 Church St. |
San Francisco |
415-282-4328 |
New Nightspots
Coming Soon
Angelina
Neapolitan-style pizza, along with other Southern Italian specialties, will be the focus of this forthcoming Glen Park venue (2842 Diamond St.) from Lime chef Sharon Ardiana, opening this winter.
Essencia
Anne Gingrass (formerly of Desiree Café and Hawthorne Lane) is lending her culinary expertise to this authentic Peruvian restaurant debuting in Hayes Valley (401 Gough St.) later this month. As partner and consulting chef, Gingrass is overseeing everything from the sophisticated menu with hints of Italian and Japanese influences to the equestrian-feeling contemporary-ranch dining room with red acacia tabletops, oak floors and a massive canvas that conjures up the three natural elements of Peru – mountain, ocean and jungle.
Farina Focaccia and Cucina Italiana
This focacciaria and restaurant is set to open next month in the Mission's Gourmet Ghetto (3562 18th St.), in the long-abandoned Anna's Danish Cookies space. Serving everything from breakfast to late-night dinner, it will highlight Ligurian classics such as pesto, ciuppin (a relative of cioppino) and, of course, focaccia aplenty.
Le P'tit Laurent
Former Clémentine chef Laurent Legendre will bring his classic French repertoire to Glen Park (699 Chenery St.) at this très authentique, affordable bistro that's replacing the Red Rock Bar. Owner Ric Lopez, a local merchant, is also debuting a yet-to-be-named, modern sushi joint at 678 Chenery St. Both projects are slated to open this winter.
Oxbow Public Market
This Ferry Market–inspired gourmet market complex, scheduled to open in the fall of 2007 in Downtown Napa, has announced three new tenants. They are RoliRoti, a branch of the popular rotisserie-on-wheels parked outside SF's Market Hall; Fatted Calf, the artisan charcuterie shop; and Oxbow Market Wine Merchant and Wine Bar, run by the folks of the similarly named wine store in SF (including bacar owner Debbie Zachareas). In addition to a stellar wine collection, the shop will offer a limited tapas-style menu and cheese flights.
Piqueos
Loosely translated as "small plates," this forthcoming restaurant showcasing Peruvian tapas from the jungle region will be the second venture for the chef-owner of SoMa's ceviche-centered Mochica. Look for a winter opening in Bernal Heights (830 Cortland Ave.), in the original Moki's Grill space.
Sam's Chowder House
It may have missed lobster roll season, but Cetrella owner Paul Shenkman's sprawling, bluff-side East Coast–style seafood restaurant and oyster bar is finally setting up shop in Half Moon Bay (4210 N. Cabrillo Hwy.) on October 18th.
Also Coming Soon
New York City–based chef Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto) has scooped up the recently shuttered Lucy's restaurant on the Sebastapol town square (6948 Sebastopol Ave.). No word yet on what the former bad boy chef of Californian cuisine will serve when he debuts later this fall, but he's teaming up again with partner Stephen Singer, with whom he owned Napa's short-lived Table 29, which subsequently became Bistro Don Giovanni.
Good Deals and Other News
Asian Transformation
The apple has fallen quite far from the tree at the Bernal Heights branch of Jocelyn Bulow's petite French cafe, Chez Maman. Last month, it closed and reopened as Aura, with a new look and a new menu concept by chef Mike Yakura that jettisons its Gallic roots for Asian-Vietnamese fare. The menu suggests the culinary direction of Bulow's forthcoming venture, Opium, a Pan-Asian restaurant opening this month in the former La Suite space at 100 Brannan St. Look for more information on Aura and Opium in the November ZagatWire.
Michael Mina has transformed his San Jose venue into a modern American steakhouse featuring classic cuts, sides that reflect his signature style (duck fat fries, truffled mac 'n' cheese) and some of his hallmark dishes from the original menu, including lobster corn dogs, Maine lobster pot pie, root beer floats and tableside-prepared ahi tuna tartare. Much of the menu will be a breeding ground for Mina's forthcoming Strip Steak, slated to open at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas later this fall.
Downtown's hippest hang has introduced two new menus to tantalize tentative diners in its lounge. Offered everyday from 5–7 PM, "5@5" features five bar bites and five drinks priced at $5 each. "10@10," served Thursday–Saturday from 10 PM–closing, presents half portions of favorite menu items for $10, along with a selection of $10 drink options, including a flight of wines.
Hawthorne Lane
David Gingrass plans to morph his long-running Hawthorne Lane at 22 Hawthorne St. into a more casual restaurant – to be named Two – early next year. Two will represent the vision of two chefs, current toque Bridget Batson and Gingrass, who will bring the charcuterie skills he honed at Postrio to the ingredient-focused Mediterranean menu, which will feature pizzas, pastas and rustic meat preparations. The restaurant will close after Christmas and reopen in early January with a quieter, more intimate back dining room and a front room reconfigured to allow more seating at the central bar. In October and November, Gingrass and Batson will begin testing new menu items at a series of "In the Kitchen Test Dinners"; interested parties should contact christiana@hawthornelane.com.
Assuming the reins of Bradley Ogden's bucolic Traditional American Victorian in Larkspur is new chef Jonathan Wright (formerly of Raffles in Singapore and the hurricane-ravaged Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans).
Wine drinkers will feel their bill and mood lighten on Tuesday nights, when this Mission nightspot takes 50 percent off all bottles of wine, part of a promotion to fete its two-year anniversary.
The kitchen expands its soul-food repertoire on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month with a "Southern Fried Night" menu featuring its popular fried chicken plus dishes such as Coca-Cola–braised short ribs and blackened catfish. (Note: During the month of October, "Southern Fried Night" will be offered on October 17th only.)
Believe the hype – Myth Cafe, the casual daytime sidekick (490 Pacific Ave.) of this Jackson Square New American, is now serving moderately priced weeknight dinners until 9 PM.
New executive chef Shotaro "Sho" Kamio (ex Ozumo) has rolled out a revamped menu since coming on board to this legendary Oakland-based Jack London Square jazz club and Japanese restaurant. New items include nontraditional sushi dishes such as Sho's signature sashimi hamachi shabu-shabu. To celebrate the new offerings, the club is hosting a weekday happy hour (Monday–Friday, 4:30–6:30 PM) featuring half-priced drinks and appetizers. Sho will also bring his unique style of contemporary Japanese cuisine to the forthcoming San Francisco location of Yoshi's, which is scheduled to open in the Fillmore Jazz Heritage Center in the summer of 2007.
- Chez Maman (803 Cortland Ave. branch only)