The big news on the local food scene this week was of course the takedown of Michael Bauer's longtime partner Michael Murphy in San Francisco Magazine, which industry folks will likely be murmuring about for weeks to come. We also had an update on the impending opening of Tartine Manufactory, the closing (again) of La Rondalla, and news of the arrival of a fresh baguette vending machine in the Castro. But here's everything else that's been going on.

Leading off this week's news, Black Cat (400 Eddy Street at Leavenworth), the swank new supper club in the Tenderloin we told you about a couple months back, is officially open. Trying to recapture the era of jazz clubs that used to dot the neighborhood, the place is moodily decorated and will offer late night dining in addition to a full bar. It's the project of restaurateur Fritz Quattlebaum, a partner in New York’s Rosemary’s, as the Chronicle reports, and marking a new high-water mark for drinks in the T-loin, they'll be serving bottle-service punches that start at $45. Check out the full food menu here.

A prime spot on 24th Street in the Mission is opening up as Pig & Pie announced it is closing on July 31 after four years in business. Mission Local tells us that co-owner Miles Pickering has decided to give up the restaurant biz after having two small children, and the business is now up for sale. Also, he says, doing business in SF sucks, and he wishes he'd opened in Oakland.

Some restaurant guidebook news: Zagat, now under the ownership of Google/Alphabet, is doing a major overhaul of its famed 30-point rating system. As Inside Scoop explains, they're jettisoning that often confusing system in favor of five stars instead, letting diners rate restaurants on food, service, and decor from one to five stars. And competitor restaurant ratings app, Renzell, which is giving Michelin a run for its money by employing anonymous, non-industry inspectors who are not professional critics to do its reviews — dining aficionados who pay out of pocket for their meals and are asked to objectively fill out a 60-question survey after each meal — is expanding to San Francisco, as well as Chicago, after an initial launch in New York. Town & Country has that news, as well as the full list of 54 SF restaurants that will be evaluated first by its members. Interestingly, high-end spots Benu, Coi, and Quince are on there, but Saison is not.

Tiki haven Smuggler’s Cove continues to rake in the accolades and this week it was named Best American Cocktail Bar at the annual Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. It beat out other SF nominees ABV and Trick Dog, as well as New York's NoMad and Chicago's The Aviary, as Inside Scoop reports. Last year at these awards, ABV took home the prize for Best New American Cocktail Bar.

Notable new Chinatown opener Mister Jiu's is tweaking its menu a bit, as Eater tells us this week, allowing for a new three-course option for $45 so that diners aren't always obligated for the big five-course banquet. Also, you can now order dumplings and other snacks from the bar menu.

Over in North Beach, 28-year-old pizza and pasta spot Viva Restaurant (318 Columbus) is shuttering, as Hoodline tells us, and in its place will be something called Betty Lou's Seafood & Grill. Apparently, the owner of Viva, Pete Kalogerias, also owns Greek spot Estia around the corner, and the Italian menu from Viva may be moving there, and/or Viva may just be relocating there.

Interesting expansion news: La Taqueria has just opened a location in Turlock, of all places, near Modesto. 7x7 has news, and notes it will also serve the "secret menu."

A small but high-end sounding market is headed to 927 Post Street in the Tenderloin. As Hoodline explains, it's called Meraki, and in addition to pantry basics and produce, it will have a full kitchen and make prepared meals fresh daily.

Over in the Marina, following on Tacolicious's recent relocation down the street, local mini-chain Asian Box will be taking over T-lish's former spot at 2031 Chestnut. As Inside Scoop reports, this will be the chain's first SF location outside of a food court setting — they currently have locations in the Macy's basement, and down in Mountain View and Palo Alto. And there are plans to open eight more in the Bay Area.

Noted young pastry chef Maya Erickson is leaving her post at Lazy Bear with plans to relocate to New York or Los Angeles. Before she does that, though, as Eater reports, she's planning to do a series of underground "pastry burlesque" parties, featuring "tea-based cocktail punches, towers of pastries, and ladies in burlesque finery." "Dessert is so opulent and extravagant and unnecessary to begin with, that pairing it with burlesque makes total sense," Erickson says.

And Chambers Eat + Drink, at the Phoenix Hotel, has just hired a fancy new chef, Yosuke Machida, formerly of Ame at the St. Regis. Machida, who's also worked at Epic Roasthouse and La Folie, will be revamping the menu in TBA ways.

In Oakland news, Grand Fare Market is officially reopening Saturday, eight months after its abortive first try. Inside Scoop reports, the format is simpler, with a single counter for ordering and paying for food, and a fast-casual set-up that allows for takeout or for dining in with food brought to your table, indoors or in the "Parisian" courtyard.

Over in Rockridge, Ramen Shop has added a takeout menu, as Eater tells us. But you can't get the ramen to go — only items like the donburi, miso-glazed corn, and chilled noodle salad.

And acclaimed Mexican spot Nido is expanding down the block on Oak Street with an ambitious outdoor project called Nido's Backyard. Per Inside Scoop, the centerpiece will be a wood-fired adobe grill, and the menu will feature "Mexican barbecue food: tacos, quesadillas, big shared meat dishes with sides that you can take to your table and make your own tacos out of."

And finally, up in Napa, a strange, sudden, temporary closure is happening next week at well acclaimed new spot Ninebark. Inside Scoop has that news, noting that the management team says the closure is "necessary, but temporary," and won't elaborate on the nature or length of the closure.

And the long-dormant, 80,000-square-foot Copia space in Napa is being taken over by the Culinary Institute of America, as Eater reports. They will be turning it into a satellite building for their Greystone campus in St. Helena.

This Week In Reviews

The Chron's cheap eats scribe Anna Roth is the first critic to hit up Sababa (329 Kearny Street at Bush), the new Israeli-inspired lunch spot in the FiDi. She clarifies that this is a solo project for former AQ chef Guy Eshel, age 25, and not affiliated with AQ's parent group Mercer Restaurant Group as was reported earlier, though the group's founder Matt Semmelhack has a small stake in Sababa. It's not a formal review, but she sounds like a fan, and recommends the "expertly fried falafel" and the "wild-card protein: sabik, deep-fried, caramel-y eggplant with a '300-minute egg' that’s been cooked until it’s falling apart and nearly indistinguishable from the hummus it’s resting on."

Pete Kane at the Weekly checks out new Union Square Italian spot Tratto, saying that the place, while polished, suffers a bit from a lack of ambition, and "most dishes span the narrow range between good and very good." In particular, he says, "It's almost impossible not to damn the $15-$16 pizzas... with faint praise," because they're merely acceptable, but the pastas are "more exciting."

The Chron's Michael Bauer, who's currently on vacation in Italy amidst that aforementioned scandal, circled back for an update review at Murray Circle, the Cavallo Point restaurant in Sausalito that's dropped a bit off the radar in recent years. Chef Justin Everett has remained at the helm the past three years since the departure of opening chef Joseph Humphreys, and Bauer says "the focus seems more assured" and the house charcuterie remains a highlight. Final execution was "a little lax" in some entrees, though, and in the end: two and a half stars.

It's unclear if there will be a review in this Sunday's paper, but I will update with it here when and if it appears.