Alas. The nearly unpronounceable Txoko, which took over the historic Enrico's spot in North Beach, announced that it will close this week. Though they did unfurl some damn noteworthy grub -- we slammed their mushroom cappuccino (not soup, you guys!) on more than one occasion, and still think about it to this day -- the allegedly hit-or-miss menu and bristling location (nestled near the Penthouse and Hustler lounges, to name a few) will help bring the restaurant's 18-month run to an end.

As Inside Scoop points out, "[I]t was a restaurant with good food and good service, but something didn’t work" even though they made a menu change earlier in 2012. As for the antiseptic slap-and-tickle peep shows nearby? Inside Scoop wonderfully notes that "[t]he strip clubs are chameleons and parasites — they serve whoever is in the area." True.

While you can find regulars pouring into other area establishments (ranging from Comstock to Mr. Bing's), that perplexing strip on Broadway, riddled with questionable bars (Impala, Fuse, and please God make it stop) and unimaginative strip clubs, is caught in nightlife limbo. A place like Txoko couldn't grab and hold onto a large and loyal crowd. No restaurant along that stretch can, it seems. (Save for Coi, of course. But is anyone really a Coi regular? And if you are, can you give us some of your bags of money?)

No word yet as to what will replace Txoko.

[SFGate]