Detour, the Castro neighborhood arcade bar in newly expanded space at Sanchez and Market formerly known as Brewcade, is launching a new menu next week (Dec. 6) that the owners say better reflects their blended Asian families.
Sibling owners Tiffny Vergara Chung and Shawn Vergara, who are part both Filipino and also own Blackbird down the street, launched Detour in July serving mostly standard bar fare. But they have now engaged consulting chef Sean Thomas to debut a more eclectic, street-food-inspired, pan-Asian menu that they see as more "personally meaningful, a little playful and great to enjoy with a cocktail and a game of Pac Man," according to a release.
"The Sisig-inspired tacos, that feels like something I could have had as a kid," Vergara says, adding that there will also be a Japanese curry dish to reflect his Japanese side, and Korean dishes to reflect his brother-in-law's family's food.
Food is also going to be served at Detour, as it already is, until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and until 11:30 p.m. every other night — later than most outfits in the Castro.
The new menu, launching on Friday, December 6, includes some Filipino-inspired "crispy sticky" adobo chicken wings, sisig tacos, as well as longanisa — the Filipino-Spanish sausage similar to chorizo — turned into a corn dog with soy-calamansi Dijonnaise. Taking cues from other street foods in other parts of Asia, the menu also includes "okonomiyaki" tots topped with shredded cabbage, kewpie mayonnaise, katsu sauce, bonito flakes, and seaweed; a "mapo" Frito pie; Thai chicken and rice with spicy cucumbers and ginger-soybean sauce; the Detour Loco Moco topped with a fried egg and brown gravy and served over steamed rice and macaroni salad; and a Korean-inspired kalbi burger with charred scallion sauce, sharp cheddar, and banchan relish.
Pizza is staying on the menu in the form of two "Midway Breads" — one topped with smoked bacon, ssamjang sauce, savoy cabbage, green apple, and white cheddar; and a vegetarian flatbread with bulgogi-style mushrooms, buttered kimchi, toasted seaweed, sesame mayo, and green onion.
After closing for a brief remodel, Brewcade morphed into Detour over the summer after four successful years in the smaller space at one end of the building. The combined Detour space includes the flatiron-shaped restaurant space that was formerly home to Hecho and Botellon, neither of which lasted more than two years.
Detour opened with a limited menu that included a couple of sandwiches and pizzas, with a promise that a burger was going to be added. But now, instead, the whole menu is getting a creative overhaul.
And, as before, there's a roving cocktail cart for everyone who doesn't want to abandon their game.
Previously: Brewcade Morphs Into The Detour, Softly Reopens In Expanded Digs With Food, Roving Bar Cart
