Wayfare Tavern confirms they are relocating a few blocks away, Boichik Bagels opens their first SF location Saturday in Laurel Heights/Presidio Heights, and Bar Jabroni makes a splash in the Lower Haight.
Downtown power lunch (and power dinner) spot Wayfare Tavern is, in fact, moving a few block away. The restaurant confirmed the news — which seemed clear from some real estate activity last year, but was never announced — this week just as a lease listing for its existing building at 558 Sacramento Street went live. The new Wayfare Tavern, opening early next year, will be at 201 Pine Street, and the existing restaurant will stay open through this year and until the new one is ready to roll, the team says. This was celebrity chef Tyler Florence's first SF restaurant when it opened in 2010, and he's since gone on to open Miller & Lux, a steakhouse, at the Chase Center, and two Miller & Lux Provisions cafes in Union Square. He has also taken over the kitchen at Town Hall, which should be reopening soon.
Bagel lovers, rejoice! The first SF location of Boichik Bagels opens tomorrow, Saturday, March 23, in Laurel Heights/Presidio Heights. The location is a stone's throw from Spruce at 3665 Sacramento Street, and doors will open at 7 am — with, as Eater reports, a festive Champagne sabering at 7:30. This location will be followed by two more, as we earlier reported: one at 22 Battery Street in the FiDi, and one at 1946 Fillmore Street, in the former Glaze Teriyaki Grill.
Bar Jabroni, which we just told you about a few weeks ago, just opened Thursday night in the Lower Haight — in the former Axum space at the corner of Haight and Pierce. It's a new wine bar concept from the team behind Palm City Wines, Dennis Cantwell and Monica Wong, and they've brought in chef Robert Hernandez, who was formerly chef de cuisine at Octavia, to create an eclectic food menu. As Hernandez told the Chronicle this week, "I want a menu that is as funky as their wine. I want things that are very flavorful, that will stand out, that are not one dimensional. I don’t want to put olives on a plate." That menu includes things like cornmeal-battered artichokes with a pepperoncini remoulade; and scallion pancakes stuffed with green garlic and date puree, and served with whipped feta for dipping. Hours are 5 pm to 11 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
Noe Valley Russian spot Birch & Rye, which earned James Beard recognition last year as a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, is closing after just two years in business. The last night for the restaurant is March 30, and reservations may still be available on OpenTable. The restaurant put out a statement saying, "We will miss seeing the dining room come alive every evening, but we will always cherish the memories we made here."
The new season of Top Chef just premiered, the franchise's 21st, and [SPOILER ALERT] the first chef to go home is San Francisco's own David Murphy, of Shuggie's Trash Pie +Natural Wine. Two more SF chefs are part of the cast, and they are former Mourad chef de cuisine Rasika Venkatesa, and Dalida co-chef Laura Ozyilmaz.
In case you missed the news earlier this week, Baia, the high-end vegan Italian restaurant in Hayes Valley, is closing after three and a half years in business. The swanky former Jardiniere space, therefore, is back in play and likely will not remain closed for long.
And in case you missed it, the Chronicle finally has a new full-time senior food critic on the job, with MacKenzie Chung Fegan filing her first review of Zuni earlier this week. Her review of the chicken: "It's good," but "no earthly chicken can live up to the reputation" of that legendary chicken.
Also, In-N-Out Burger is preparing to shut down its restaurant in Oakland this weekend, which the company says is a "first" ever closure, though that's not entirely true. As the East Bay Times explains, three of the original locations in the chain — which, in an ownership split decades ago had rebranded under another name — are now closed, and the original Store No.1 flagship in Baldwin Park had to relocate when the I-10 freeway was built. In-N-Out announced that it was closing its only Oakland location in January, at 8300 Oakport Street, citing excessive crime and the need to protect its employees.
Photo courtesy of Boichik Bagels