This week saw the opening of the new, Proxy-esque beer garden and pre-game venue next to AT&T Park, The Yard, as well as the announcement of the closure of Cafe Claude in the Marina. But there's been plenty else happening

First off, the newest restaurant from the Daniel Patterson Group (Coi, Alta CA, Plum Bar, Haven), Aster, now has an opening date: March 31. As Tablehopper reports, the first solo effort from talented chef Brett Cooper (formerly of Outerlands). As we first heard last summer, the restaurant is moving into the former Beast & the Hare space at Guerrero and 22nd, and as Tablehopper now tells us, the design includes a "living garden," and the wine list will focus on natural and biodynamic bottles. You can get a sneak peek of the food via this video of a recent pop-up Cooper did at Coi, via Chefs Feed.

In the continuing Valencia-fication of Divisadero, news arrived this week via Hoodline that longtime Mediterranean spot Ziryab (528 Divisadero) will be morphing into a cocktail bar called Horsefeather from the Bourbon & Branch team. The idea is to keep it as "approachable" as possible, and there will be food involved too, details TBA. The opening timeline is up in the air, and in the meantime, Ziryab remains open.

Cute new fancy food store The Epicurean Trader (401 Cortland) just opened in Bernal Heights. As they tell Bernalwood, they specialize in "artisanal foods from across the country" and "a curated selection of wines, craft beers, and small batch distilled spirits."

And there's a new regional Mexican stall just open in The Hall (1028 Market), as Tablehopper tells us, from La Cocina alum Guadalupe Guerrero. It's called El Pípila , and Guerrero specializes in Guanajuatan cuisine, which means sopes with braised nopales, and an apparently "extraordinary" pozole verde.

The Chronicle had an update on China Live, the huge new food complex headed to 644 Broadway in Chinatown that we last talked about in August. There's no update on the opening date, but construction is underway, and it's being called "the most ambitious culinary development project the neighborhood has seen in 30 years." Also, owner George Chen is already planning China Live outposts in New York and L.A.

In legal news, Michelin three-star Saison is battling Napa-based food company La Saison over their trademark of the name — something that the Business Times reports the restaurant had declared no intention of doing two years ago.

Blue Bottle has opened their first Silicon Valley location, in Palo Alto, as Eater reports. It's inside a cafe and co-working space called HanaHaus, and there's food available too, like Firebrand pretzels and Belgian Waffles.

Also in South Bay news: Big-deal Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung Dumpling House is headed to the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in San Jose. As Eater reports, their xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are considered some of the best in L.A., and dumpling fanatics will be sure to flock there.

A former laundromat in Duboce Triangle (439 Duboce) is turning into a breakfast taco spot from relocated L.A. chef Raymond Gaston, as Hoodline reports. It's called SixFoot20, and it growing out of a pop-up Gaston has been doing regularly at The Doctor's Lounge in the Outer Mission. It'll be open for breakfast and lunch six days a week, serving things like crispy mushroom breakfast tacos, umami poblano fries, and lunchtime rice bowls like one with a cheeseburger topped with an egg and spicy ketchup (the dude really likes eggs). Look for it to open around August.

Over in Oakland, as Inside Scoop reports, B-Side Baking Co. (3303 San Pablo Ave.) has opened in the former B-Side BBQ space. It's a project by Brown Sugar Kitchen baker Celeste Scott, and will feature her cinnamon rolls, buttermilk biscuits, and other amazing breakfast treats, as well as savory stuff and sandwiches. It's open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The Week In Reviews

In lieu of a Thursday update review, Michael Bauer and the Food team unveiled their Rising Star Chefs for 2015, and this year, for the first time, they're all pastry chefs. They are: Perbacco’s Laura Cronin, Colin Kull from Range, Stephanie Prida from Manresa, Maya Erickson from Lazy Bear, and Ry Stephen from cruffin pioneer Mr. Holmes Bakehouse.

And for his Sunday review, coming in tomorrow's paper but online now, Mr. Bauer weighed in on Mourad, the new fancy downtown Moroccan spot from acclaimed chef Mourad Lahlou. Bauer says the review is "the most difficult I’ve written," because he says that while the design is beautiful, the food thus far is "only scratching the surface of what I know is in Lahlou’s soul." While he says "some preparations lose focus," he ends up giving the place three stars anyway, with four stars for atmosphere.