Anthony Strong's second location of Pasta Supply Co. debuts Saturday on 22nd Street, Biscuits & Blues returns to Union Square, and Don Pisto's has been reborn as a burrito bar.
Pasta Supply Co. is opening its second location this weekend in the Mission District, in the former Dumpling Club space at 3233 22nd Street. We learned about chef-owner Anthony Strong's expansion plans a couple months back, and while the Richmond District location is still humming along, Strong already sees expansion potential for his step-up-from-fast-casual concept, with both a to-go case and retail component, and seats for 30 diners. As the Chronicle reports, the new location comes with a larger kitchen and some new menu items, like "hot mess" spaghetti and meatballs, which is spaghetti that's tossed with "hot mess" garlic butter — preserved whole garlic cloves, chile oil and lemon pureed into butter — before getting topped with meatballs and tomato sauce. Look for Pasta Supply Co. to open for retail sales only starting Saturday at 10 am, and then dine-in begins for dinner only the following weekend, at 5 pm. Here is a preview video of the new shop, with its massive case full of fresh pastas.
In case you missed the news, Little Original Joe's opened last night in the Marina, at the corner of Chestnut and Scott streets, offering a pasta- and pizza-focused menu like the one at the first Little Original Joe's in West Portal, but with a full bar and full dine-in service. You'll find chicken parm and meatballs and all that too, and brunch items may in the works as well — for now there is Saturday and Sunday lunch available starting at 10:30 am.
Also, ICYMI, the new noodle bar from Nyum Bai chef Nite Yun opens on Sunday at the Ferry Building, and it's called Lunette. Read all about that here.
Tablehopper informs us that Don Pisto’s in North Beach has returned as Don Pisto's Burrito Bar (570 Green Street), serving up Don Pisto's well loved Baja-style burritos every night from 5 to 10 pm, along with burgers and fish tacos; and on weekends, there are breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, and birria from 10 am to 2 pm.
In some positive news for beleaguered Union Square, Biscuits & Blues had a grand reopening Thursday, after sitting dark for five years. The blues nightclub-restaurant closed pre-pandemic due to a burst water pipe at Jack in the Box next door, and as NBC Bay Area reports, that led to a four-year court battle over the damages, and finally a settlement.
Wise Sons is opening an outpost at San Francisco's Jewish Community Center (3200 California Street) this September, offering up a condensed menu of favorites including pastrami sandwiches, bagels, bagel sandwiches, and matzo ball soup. This will be Wise Sons seventh location in the Bay Area, including their outpost at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
Over in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood, Forma Bakery just opened Wednesday at 4920 Telegraph Avenue. As the Chronicle tells us, the chef behind it is Jackson Schnetz, who's the son of Thomas Schnetz of Doña Tomas — which lived on the same block as the bakery and closed in 2019 after 20 years in business — as well as La Esquinita and Xolo in Oakland. Forma Bakery melds Schnetz's Mexican heritage with his background in French pastry, serving Mexican conchas alongside buttery croissants, and more.
This week, there's no new review from Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan, but she did open up about the ethical dilemma she had in relaying a quote from a server at Tadich Grill in her pretty terrible review of the place last week. Also, the Chronicle has updated their continuously strange list of the Top San Francisco Restaurants, a list that is 28 entries long and ranges from taquerias to three-Michelin star spots, with Chung Fegan's newest picks. These appear to be 7 Adams, Four Kings, and Quince, among others. But this list remains a pretty arbitrary selection of excellence in a city brimming with great restaurants, and omits notable Michelin-starred spots like Benu, Saison, and State Bird Provisions for no apparent reason.
For margarita lovers, you should know that the Chronicle just discovered there's a secret menu at Tommy's in the Richmond, which features a flight of four mini-margaritas so you can try out some of the restaurant's many options.