This week in SFist's food section, we brought you the saga of DaDa Bar, the longtime bar and art gallery trying to relocate from Second Street to Post Street and being met with opposition by Ritz-Carlton residents. We also noted that Hayes Valley's Momi Toby's Revolution Cafe and Art Bar would be closing after 23 years. It will be replaced with a champagne bar called the Riddler. There was also news about a new offering at Outside Lands, a crazy-bougie, off-site, sit-down forest feast in the park from the restaurant Trestle in North Beach. As Central Kitchen prepares a new incarnation on 20th Street, we took a peek at the menu there, and also a look at the new Orbit Room drinks and snacks menu. Finally, we caught wind that Bon Marché, a big, multifarious restaurant in the Twitter building, is up for sale. Elsewhere, there was more:
The gluten intolerant will be happy to hear that Glütless, which gained fans and followers at the 50 Fremont Plaza Farmers' Market, has found a permanent home. Hoodline writes that Golan Yona, Glütless gluten-free baker of affordable items like muffins and pizzas, has found a spot in the Tenderloin to call home, at 325 Mason Street. That is now open.
Barzotto, the pasta spot in the old St. Vincent space from former Adriano Paganini operations director Marko Sotto, will open in August according to Eater. Michelle Minori, who was once executive chef of the Ne Timeas restaurant group behind such hits as Flour + Water, has also revealed her menu, and tells Eater that she wants her prices to be fair. "Pasta is historically a peasant food. It was made to feed a lot of people," Minor is quoted. "Right now [in San Francisco] the people who cook the pasta can't afford to eat the pasta."
Scopo Divino is open in the Pac Heights space once occupied by Food Inc., and KQED reports that 36 wines by the glass and bites like cheese fried olives (as well as larger dishes) are on offer. Tim Hayman, Scopo Divino's owner, grew up in Marin and was previously an advertising exec at local publications like the Weekly and the Chronicle. Eater draws attention to the wine bar's club membership option, discounts in exchange for dues that could attract regulars. They've also got a look at the full menu.
It does feel like a lot of restaurants are up for sale these days, and Capp Street Crap has details on one local Mission District eatery, Radish, that's on the market as well. The landlord is selling the building and the owner, Emily Summers, is bowing out.
The Crap investigate reporting team has also learned that Valencia Street's Osha Thai is for sale. That, however, leaves five locations of the San Francisco chain unscathed. The location is being listed at $300,000 and will come with its beer and wine license.
91-year-old Tenderloin spot Lafayette Coffee Shop, a greasy spoon that closed at its location on Hyde Street this March, will be born again according to Hoodline, as owners Stanley and Stefanie Yang had indicated. Now it's on Larkin with what appears to be approximately zero atmosphere to distract you from your all-day breakfast.
Tucked into a new micro-unit building on Fulton in Hayes Valley, The Starling will open for California influenced sushi this winter per Eater. Adam Tortosa is the chef: He grew up in the US and studied under master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi in Los Angeles, moving on as opening chef at 1760 here in San Francisco. However, Bauer skewered the restaurant, and Tortosa, who left shortly thereafter, tells Eater that "After that happened... I didn't want to be involved in restaurants. I stopped reading Eater; I stopped going out to eat. I was very over restaurants." The problem? "At 1760, I felt like I needed to show off, to show that I had some technique or skill and that I belonged here. In the last few years, I've had some time to reflect and grow up. With The Starling, I don't feel like I need to 'fit in' now. It's more what I believe in."
At a former location of La Boulange on Polk Street, Split Bread, a chain of two existing locations, will be stepping in. As at those other spots, Split Bread on Polk will offer brunch,a popular chicken sandwich, and for some reason, app-based ordering from tables according to Hoodline.
Nute’s Noodle Night, which has been popping up in Bernal Heights on Cortland for some time, will make a permanent run of things. Inside Scoop says had the news: Nute Chulasuwan's will continue to offerThai and Japanese noodle dishes and soups, now with a liquor license, when that transfers in a few months.
A new chef and menu are in store at the The Corner Store. Inside Scoop has a look at that, reporting that former sous chef Matt Rosson will take the reins while maintaining the popular burger at the Masonic Ave. favorite.
Sushi Hon from owner Min Yong Choe has quietly opened its doors loud enough for Hoodline to hear. There's a $65 prix fixe option and 49 seats total in the place, which is at 22nd and Harrison.
Namu Gaji, a Mission favorite for some of San Francisco's finest Korean fare, is doing Yakitori Tuesdays with Pink Zebra chef Jesse Koide, Eater has learned. The partnering with Namu Gaji's Dennis Lee will showcase skewered, grilled meats like chicken hearts and hen starting August 2nd.
It happened! BuzzWorks (365 11th Street), a bar that's been in the works for quite some time, is open according to Hoodline's coverage. The owner is Vlad Cood of Butter, located across the street in SoMa, and there are tons of TVs and pinball machines in the warehouse-style space.
This Week In Reviews
The Weekly's Pete Kane dined at In Situ, which "is pretentious as hell, knows it, and doesn't give a damn one way or the other." The Corey Lee restaurant that provides dishes recreated from world chefs inside the new SFMOMA is "almost as significant as Snøhetta's expansion to the building itself, he writes," and "almost without exception, everything [Kane] ate was excellent, and one or two things were genuinely mind-expanding." That resonates with NYT critic Pete Wells' thinking on the place, which he called "the most original new restaurant in the country."
The Chronicle's cheap eats guide Anna Roth and its drinks writer Esther Mobley took apart SPiN, the ping pong palace in SoMa. It was a bad time for them and it's a fun read for you!
Also at the Chronicle, Michael Bauer took in some pintxos and tapas at Bellota, the Absinthe Group's "biggest and best restaurant" to date. "Paella is the specialty, and chef Ryan McIlwraith prepares four varieties, including a takeoff on Rice-A-Roni ($40), the 'San Francisco treat,' made with both noodles and rice. Similarities end there." And, "Aside from paella, Bellota seriously stars in charcuterie, visible not only in the haunches that flank the front counter but also at the end of the impressive bar, where a glass locker holds dozens more in reserve." While the service from a roaming cart of finger food is a bit lagging, it's still a three-star affair.
Bauer also checked up on Solbar in Napa, now nine years into its run. With "one of the most impressive outdoor terraces in the valley" and improvements since his last review to dishes like a lemon prepared halibut, Solbar and chef Brandon Sharp provide, "a bright spot in the Napa Valley culinary scene" that's worth three stars.