North Beach Restaurant makes a big comeback, there's some legal drama between partners at Farmshop in Marin, and the Chronicle's MacKenzie Chung Fegan has named her favorite new restaurant of the year.

Popular Mission District crispy burrito spot Chuy’s Fiesta has opened a new location in Bernal Heights, at 3839 Mission Street. The Chronicle, which has listed Chuy's Fiesta among its favorite burritos in town, first reported on the opening, marking a third location for the chain which also operates at 2341 Folsom and 710 Post Street in the TenderNob. The restaurant specializes in Mexican cenaduria-style fare, and also offers molcajetes and seafood dishes.

Earlier this week we learned the sad news that Yellow Moto Pizzeria is closing at Valencia and 18th. Someone seems likely to snap up the location quickly — and could it be former owners Flour + Water Hospitality Group?

There's some legal drama up at popular Farmshop in Marin, where owner Jeffrey Cerciello is suing former CFO Adam Block, and accusing block of embezzlement. As the Chronicle reports, Cerciello first fired Block and removed him from the business, and Block then filed a lawsuit, with Cerciello's lawsuit coming days later. Block argues he's entitled to half the restaurant's profits, while Cerciello is suing Block for $5 million in damages. An attorney for Block calls Cerciello's lawsuit "spurious." The restaurant is also facing a labor-violation suit from a former employee.

Tablehopper brings word of two reopenings in North Beach, both at classic, old-school spots. First, there's North Beach Restaurant (1512 Stockton), which reopened under new ownership earlier this week. Owners Francesco and Monica Covucci brought in Cassava chef Kristoffer Toliao to consult, and some of the staff from the recently shuttered Cassava moved over here as well. Per Tablehopper, the old-school touches, including white tablecloths and servers in ties, continue, and the place has plenty of room for private events, with three rentable rooms: the Prosciutto Room, the Willie Brown Room, and the downstairs Wine Cellar Room.

Also in the neighborhood, Tommaso's (1042 Kearny) was recently sold, and Tablehopper reports that the new owner is longtime manager of North Beach Restaurant Maureen “Mo” Donegan. Tommaso's is closing on December 15 to get a light remodel and paint job, and will reopen on January 7, with much of the staff staying on and just a few tweaks to the menu.

And the Chronicle unveiled its list of the best new restaurants in the Bay Area this week, which includes just five spots in San Francisco. Those are: Four Kings, the overall darling of the SF food scene this year which has also landed on national lists; Go Duck Yourself, the reimagined, takeout-focused revamp of Chinatown roast duck purveyor Hing Lung; Lunette, the new Cambodian noodle spot in the Ferry Building from chef Nite Yun of Oakland's former Nyum Bai; Minnie Bell's Soul Movement in the Fillmore; and Prelude, the new Southern-inspired restaurant from chef Celtin Hendrickson-Jones and the Omakase Restaurant Group in the Hotel Jay.

But critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan's top new restaurant of the year is the intimate, four-table Sun Moon Studio in West Oakland. Her review includes some regret that her rave will only make it that much more impossible to get into, after a positive preview writeup by Elena Kadvany in October had already made it pretty impossible. But the 12-seat, prix-fixe restaurant is reportedly fantastic and creative, and the work of well-pedigreed chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu, who have worked at Michelin three-star spots like Per Se and Benu. Chung Fegan raves about extraordinary dishes made with great care, including a "mini hot dog" that consists of a lap cheong sausage made with pasture-raised pork from Riverdog Farm, served on a steamed brioche bun. "Hsu and Cooper have created something incredibly special on this industrial block in West Oakland," the critic writes.

Photo: Tommaso's/Facebook