Fall is typically a time for openings, and we have a couple to tell you about this week, as well some closures. Earlier we heard about the debut of chef Robin Song's new spot Gibson in the 'Loin, and chef Anthony Strong's new pop-up Cibi Cotti, in preparation for his first solo brick-and-mortar spot, name and location TBA. And we got an update on Cyrus 2.0, which will be making its second debut in a new Healdsburg location in 2019.
The owners of the still relatively new Finn Town Tavern in the Castro are doubling down and opening Papi Rico, a Jalisco-inspired Mexican spot in the space formerly occupied by Dante's Table, and before that Nirvana, at 544 Castro Street. Hoodline has some of the details, with co-owner Rick Hamer promising "plants, murals of the beach and jungle, and more than 100 piñatas" as part of the decor. It sounds like it's going to be bar-focused with Mexican street food, including tacos, quesadillas, and ceviche. Look for that to debut in November.
A sort of Korean izakaya type spot called Barnzu has just opened in the Tenderloin. As Eater tells us, barnzu means "food to eat while drinking," so that is the focus, with (of course) Korean fried chicken, as well as pork belly, a ribeye steak, and plenty of drinking snacks like savory pancakes and fries. Barnzu is open until 11 most nights, and midnight on Friday and Saturday at 711 Geary Street (at Leavenworth).
There's been a bit of a switch-up at The Progress where chef Stuart Brioza has decided to extend the a la carte menu, previously just available at the bar, to the whole dining room. So, you don't have to do a prix fixe anymore, as Eater explains, but there will still be family-style platter dishes for the meats.
Fifth-generation baker Sylvain Chaillou has opened his Les Gourmands Bakery at 280 Fifth Street. Hoodline reports that he'll be using "longstanding family recipes" for his confections: think croissants, brioches, and chouquettes.
In other sweet news, Marin cult fave Johnny Doughnuts has opened their SF outpost at 392 Fulton Street, Eater reports. The last time I had one of their trademark crodoughs (flaky pastry stuffed with custard) I had to lie down for a month, and I can't wait to stuff another one on my maw.
Now some closures: Fisherman's Wharf's Rainforest Cafe (my favorite report on which is SFist pal Beth Spotswood's visit from 2011) has shuttered, and KRON 4 mourns. Workers only got a day's notice that the party was over, reportedly over an unsuccessful effort to get cheaper rent.
That's not the only Wharf shuttering, however. Joe's Crab Shack, which in 2013 had its dumpsters filled with weed, is also gone. Eater has the news, saying "the gate on Jefferson street is locked up and the light bulbs have been removed from the neon sign out front." So much for that no tipping thing!
Not at the Wharf, but also closed is that Thoughts Style Cuisine Showroom, a blindingly white venue opened by a recent Academy of Art graduate who once planned a line of bespoke sunglasses for the place, the Chron reports. The place lasted nearly two years, remarkably, on Eighth Street before they headed to that big Sunglass Hut in the sky.
Also going dark (this one was announced a while back) is The Hall, the temporarily-intended Mid-Market food court inside the old Hollywood Billiards space. The spot will be empty for now as a 193-unit housing development is constructed, but the new building will have 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail once complete, Eater reports, so don't count food out on that block quite yet.
Mau, the beloved Vietnamese joint at 665 Valencia Street, was snatched from the jaws of closure following an eleventh-hour deal struck with their landlord. Capp Street Crap says they'll reopen late this month following a break to "regroup."
And also in the Mission, just to put the nail in Farina's coffin, the long shuttered Italian spot has been officially evicted from its space on 18th Street, as Mission Local has it. Stay tuned to see who might snap up that sleek, glass-walled space with its rooftop patio.
This Week In Reviews
SF Weekly's Pete Kane appears delighted with Alma Cocina, which he describes as "the ideal neighborhood restaurant." The Peruvian place borrows generously from Asian culture, he says, praising the chicken, the chicharron de cerdo, and their ceviches. The service is great too, he says.
The SF Chronicle's Michael Bauer continues to keep it bloggy with a name-dropping visit to Maybeck’s (well, if you count Ronn Owens as a name drop). Food truck El Sur also got a Bauer nod.
Bauer also dropped in a piece singing the praises of the beef Wellington at Maybeck's, which is becoming a popular Wednesday night special. The old-timey tenderloin-wrapped-in-pastry is hard to get right, and Bauer has nothing but compliments for chef Blake Askew.
Bauer's Sunday review is Perle, a self-described wine bar in Oakland’s Montclair Village owned by the former sommelier and GM of SF's now-shuttered Fleur de Lys. The wine list is "good enough for me to brave bridge traffic to come for a glass and a bite," Bauer writes, and boasts "an exceptional charcuterie plate" and have revived a Fleur de Lys fave, "Hubert Keller’s signature mushroom cappuccino soup." He finds a lot to praise, and ends up rewarding the still-evolving place with 2.5 stars.
