A new wine bar with Vietnamese small plates is opening on Divisadero, a new Central Asian and Uzbek restaurant has opened in Lower Nob Hill, and Cafe Bastille is shuttering after 35 years, all in This Week in Food.
We got the big news Friday that a Michelin-starred restaurant is closing, and that's Aphotic on Folsom. Chef-owner Peter Helmsley said that the business has become untenable, and he's planning to close after December 21. "The fact that we all did this at the ugly butt end of a desolate convention center suck hole in the post-panny apocalypse, is nothing short of a small miracle," Helmsley writes in an announcement.
Coming soon on Divisadero (299 Divis, the former Wholesome Bakery) is a new Vietnamese-inspired wine bar with food called GiGi's, from chef Tu David Phu. As Eater first reported, dishes will include a salmon ceviche with pineapple niyog, lemongrass, makrut lime leaf, and coconut vinegar; and a Saigon wagyu-loaded hot dog with an egg, bacon, scallions, and pork floss furikake. The wine list is being handled by sommelier Justin Chin, and they're aiming to open sometime this month.
Tablehopper reports on the sad, end-of-an-era closure of Cafe Bastille, a mainstay for 35 years on Belden Place. Both Cafe Bastille and its sister Catalan restaurant B44 are closing on October 26 — though B44 had already been merged into Cafe Bastille in recent months. "To our dearest guests- come see us, let’s hug and laugh, let’s eat and drink, let’s reminisce, let’s create some more cherished memories together, let’s look ahead with optimism and hope. We will miss you immensely and we will miss our home," the staff writes in an Instagram post.
If you're looking to explore the foods of central Asia, like plov, the beef, sausage, and pilaf dish that is the national dish of Uzbekistan, check out Sofiya, now open in the former Halal Dastarkhan space at 1098 Sutter Street (at Larkin). Tablehopper reports on the opening, and notes they're open all day, 11 am to 10 pm, seven days a week.
Over in the East Bay, while In-N-Out closed its Oakland location earlier this year, they just opened a new one in Hayward this week. As KTVU reports, the new location at 709 Harder Road is the chain's 38th in the Bay Area, and yes, there is a drive-thru.
Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan has a sweet piece today about her family's restaurant legacy, the Henry's Hunan empire built by her grandparents starting 50 years ago. (The restaurant's namesake, Henry Chung, died in 2017 at age 99.) Before going off to college and becoming a food writer, Chung Fegan "moonlighted," she jokes, as "an eight-year-old cashier and host" at one of the restaurants. And the family just celebrated the restaurant's 50th anniversary on Tuesday, "to honor their memory the way we know how — through incredibly spicy food." She says Cousin Frank "was cooking off-menu deep cuts (although they can usually be had if you ask) — bullfrog with zi su, or perilla; scarlet kou rou, meltingly tender steamed pork belly loaded with peppers; hot and sour chicken gizzards with celery and pickled chiles; xiao chao rou, everyone’s favorite fiery pork stir-fry; Triple Beef Delight, those delights being stomach, tongue and shank," so there you go — some off-menu things to seek out, at least at the Natoma location.
Top image: Photo courtesy of GiGi's