Oakland's Temescal has a new oyster bar, Cow Hollow sports bar Final Final has new owners and will be getting a slight makeover, and a new ceviche and michelada shop is opening next week in the Bayview.
The huge new Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria location, upstairs at Pier 39, was apparently an immediate hit upon opening over the July 4th holiday weekend. As the Chronicle reports, it's part of an unlikely "renaissance" happening at the tourist-trappy pier, which is also going to see the openings of cult-hit Humble Sea Brewing Co. and Tahoe-based Fire + Ice Grill and Bar in the coming months.
A new oyster bar has opened in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood called Small Change Oyster Bar, which features a huge patio, low-intervention wines, fish and chips, and micheladas. As Eater reports, the operation did a brief stint at Market & Main food hall in Martinez, but it now calls 5000 Telegrah Avenue home. The indoor space is just a cozy counter operation, but there's an expansive patio, and they debuted on Wednesday serving an array of wines and seafood dishes, including raw oysters, po'boys, ceviche, a crab louie salad, oysters Rockefeller, and clam chowder.
Speaking of ceviche, Tablehopper reports this week on a new ceviche and michelada spot in the Bayview, called Sco's. It was open last week for walk-up window service at 1730 Yosemite Avenue, the former Bloomstock Coffee spot. But it's closed this weekend and is having its grand opening on Monday, July 15, according to Instagram.
In case you missed the news, an omakase pop-up called Stoneage Omakase that was announced last week and set to launch this weekend at the famed Flintstone House on I-280 was unceremoniously shut down by the Town of Hillsborough. The owner of the house, Florence Fang, has had run-ins with the town before over improvements she made at the house without permits, and it sounds like they want her to get a permit for this pop-up as well.
The Final Final, a 90-year-old sports bar on Baker Street in Cow Hollow, has recently changed hands. As the Chronicle reports, the new owners are Joseph Wallace and Robert Lemons, who are also partners in the revamped Bus Stop Saloon nearby, and its upscale upstairs cocktail lounge Left Door, which opened last fall. The new owners plan to keep all the sports memorabilia and maintain the old-school charm of the place, but they plan to renovate the bathrooms and bring in new food and drink menus, with help from cocktail consultant Scott Baird (15 Romolo, Trick Dog, Starlite).
Tablehopper also had word of a new breakfast sandwich deal in town. Brenda's Meat & Three on Divisadero, the second outpost from chef Brenda Buenviaje of Brenda's French Soul Food, is doing a $5 breakfast sandwich deal with five sandwich options to choose from. These include ham, bacon, sausage, fried chicken, and vegetarian options, and I will definitely be ordering the HBIC, which is a ham, bacon, and pimento cheese scramble with scallions and bread & butter jalapeños. If you don't see the breakfast sandwiches on their takeout or delivery menu, you may need call them directly at 415-926-8657 to place an order.
The new Michelin Guide for California won't be released until next month, but this week we learned that three new SF restaurants will appear in the guide (not necessarily with star ratings), and they are Azalina’s, Hed 11, and Tiya. Burdell in Oakland is also being added, and so is Molti Amici, which replaced Campo Fina in Healdsburg last year.
And it seems like the Chronicle critic team had the holiday week off, but they did post an intriguing new list of the best places around the Bay for al pastor — sometimes also called adobada — the pineapple-marinated, spit-roasted pork specialty of Mexico City and Puebla that took its influence from Middle Eastearn shawarma. Associate Critic Cesar Hernandez recommends Tacos El Charro (18th and Mission, SF), which just opened last year selling $4 Pueblan-style al pastor tacos; as well as some al pastor specialists who post up near the Oakland Flea Market on weekends, called Tacos Al Pastor Puebla.
Photo: Ceviche at Small Change Oyster Bar, via Yelp