Assuming you weren't sickened by a massive vegetable recall, you had plenty of food news to chew over this week: The (delayed) SF Michelin guide revealed that we now have more three-star joints than NY does, quinoa automat Eatsea suffered some massive shrinkage, and the team behind Two Sisters opened Les Arceaux in Berkeley. But you know what won't be opening? That Castro Hamburger Mary's, so stop fooling yourself.
Fans of Jamaican food rejoice: Scotch Bonnet, from husband and wife team Loris Mattox-Matterson and OB Matterson, has softly opened in Rincon Center (101 Spear Street), KQED reports. You're likely familiar with their food truck, but this is the first brick and mortar for the pair.
The opening date for Ayesha Curry's International Smoke (301 Mission Street) approaches, the Chron reports. The doors to what once housed Michael Mina's RN74 restaurant will reopen on November 13 to serve "American regional and international forms of barbecue and cooking that employs smoke," Eater reports.
Popular SoMa sandwich joint Deli Board is propagating into a 1077 Mission Street space, to be called The Board. Eater says the second spot will open in January, and will be "a physical manifestation of Deli Board’s daily online specials listing."
Hoodline reports that Natives Bar has opened in the 5320 Geary Boulevard space last occupied by longstanding dive McKenzie's Bar. This is a little later than the June opening we expected, but having drank at McKenzie's more than once I suspect a significant remodel was a non-negotiable.
Up at Fillmore and Clay, The Snug is preparing for a November opening, Eater reports. The folks behind the business have experience from places like Benu, Monk’s Kettle, and The Alembic, and promise bar bites like Korean wings and tandoori-cooked flatbreads, as well as cocktails that feature house-made ingredients. They hope to open the doors to the 2301 Fillmore Street location in November.
It's almost over for ABV's bar within a bar Over Proof (3174 16th Street), which last week announced a tequila-themed run called Lágrimas. It's on from November 9 to February 4, and will run $75 for a five or so item pairing menu.
But if you're looking for something to do right now, consider Black Restaurant Week, which runs through November 5, Blativity reports. "With fine dining menus hovering around $35 to $45 per person, and casual dining options ranging from $15 - $25, now is the time to check out those black-owned eateries you've been dying to try in Oakland and San Francisco," they write, and a portion of every dollar spent goes to support area nonprofits like the like the Oakland Food Pantry and Farmers Market. It's a chance to literally put your money where your mouth is.
This Week In Reviews
SF Weekly's Pete Kane is at Ippudo Ramen, which he hastens to note is owned by the folks behind Panda Express. The rapidly-expanding chain gets as close to a pan as I've ever seen the kindhearted Kane offer, offering items from the place a reluctant "solid" as his highest praise.
I spend way too much time speculating on why the SF Chronicle's Michael Bauer's duties appear to have changed so dramatically, but we all need a hobby I guess. Anyway, he's got brief and bloggy briefs on Coi, Rooh, and why 4-star restaurants have four-bill prices (it's justified, he says). His single full review is Californios, which was just awarded a second Michelin star. Timely!
Bauer says that Val M. Cantu's two-year-old upscale Mexican restaurant, which he gave three stars just two years ago, has since "continued to evolve" and "is like no other in the Bay Area." Things just get more effusive from there, with every item on the fixed-price ($75-$125) menu getting raves. In the end, Bauer allows Californios to step into his self-described "elite circle" of four stars.