A new bistro is headed to the Lower Haight called Passages, former Magnolia guy Dave McLean is opening a new brewpub for his new beer brand in San Rafael, and Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan returns from maternity leave to review Esme, all in This Week in Food.

I got a chance to taste one of the new beers from former Magnolia Brewing guy Dave McLean, who has launched a new beer brand called Hidden Splendor. The delicious, English-style extra pale ale harkened back to the easy-drinking, mildly hopped English ales that were once the bread and butter of Magnolia — which is now under new local ownership after passing through a buyout by New Belgium Brewing Company. Such beers will be the focus of a new brewpub called Excelsior in San Rafael, which McLean hopes to open sometime this fall. The space at 1132 4th Street is the former State Room Brewery, which closed in January, and renovations have been ongoing. We'll update you as soon as we have more info.

A new wine bar and bistro is coming to the Lower Haight called Passages, though details are scant for now. Tablehopper reports on the project from chef Alex Lauritzen, who retired his vegan pop-up The Mushroom last year, and it sounds like this project could be plant-based as well, though that is unclear. Lauritzen hasn't confirmed an address, only that he's found a space he likes, and his Passages pop-ups offer some clues as well.

Additionally, Tablehopper brings an update on Frede, the new, still-in-the-works concept from former State Bird Provisions chef de cuisine Gaby Maeda (part of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs class of 2021) and Blake Cole, who were the co-owners of Friends & Family in Oakland. Maeda and Cole are on the hunt for a space in San Francisco, likely downtown or in the Mission, that is BART-accessible, and they're doing pop-ups as the continue R&D for the restaurant, like one that is coming up at Ordinaire in Oakland on August 30. Follow Frede on Instagram for further updates, and read about a dessert Maeda has been working on here.

We had news this week that chef Pim Techamuanvivit, who has not one but two Michelin-starred Thai restaurants in town, Kin Khao and Nari, is planning a new restaurant on Upper Fillmore that is likely to be focused on the Thai curry noodle soup known as khao soi, with the working title Khao Soi Ya. That is subject to change, and we likely won't know more about the menu or opening timeframe for many months. But the new venture is part of the larger Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, being spearheaded by billionaire Neil Mehta, which will be anchored by a revamped Clay Theater when it is all complete in the coming years.

Also on Fillmore, Jevikal, a San Jose-based Korean food truck, is reportedly taking over the former Pride of the Mediterranean space at the corner of Fillmore and Sutter. The New Fillmore had the news of the coming opening, though no opening date, and the restaurant will reportedly feature Korean comfort food including fried chicken and kimbap.

The big opening this weekend is The Mess Hall in the Presidio, which I just wrote about here. The 6,000-square-foot food hall, with its own bar and all-day market, is the final piece to be completed of the Presidio Tunnel Tops Park, and it will be open daily, starting Saturday, from 7 am to 8 pm during the week, and until 10 pm Friday to Sunday, with three restaurant menus to choose from starting at 11 am including a Korean street-food concept, a seafood menu, and a casual menu featuring burgers, salads, and sandwiches.

The Chronicle had word that Oakland's Home of Chicken & Waffles is closing after over 20 years in business, and after serving as a celebrity and political candidate go-to spot, including presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, in previous years. The restuarant moved from its longtime waterfront location in 2024 to 247 Fourth Street, near Jack London Square.

And, finally, Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan is back from maternity leave and has filed a review of Esme, the already very popular new French-ish bistro on Divisadero from Pearl 6101 partner Susan Dunn. Fegan notes that some of the mad demand for tables at the place is likely due to the fact that prices are suprisingly low, with starters mostly under $15, and a steak frites that's just $36, which seems unheard of in 2026 San Francisco. She raves about the roast chicken (which I can attest is a winner), the grilled halloumi with stone fruit, and the reasonably priced wine list with delightful selections that are priced at well below market rate, these days for an SF glass of wine. Hooray for value, and for a quaint neighborhood spot that punches above its weight for its inventiveness and quality.

Top image: Photo of a dessert in development from Gaby Maeda of Frede, via Substack

The long-awaited final piece of the Presidio Tunnel Tops Park, the food hall concession called The Mess Hall, opens this weekend with six separate food and beverage concepts inside including three restaurants.

The Mess Hall, which we first caught wind of two years ago, makes its debut on Saturday, August 15, in the historic 6,000-square-foot space in the Presidio known as Building 201 (201 Hallek Street). The large space, once part of the military base at the Presidio, was the last component of the 14-acre Tunnel Tops Park to be filled, and The Mess Hall's opening comes four years after the park itself opened.

The project has been spearheaded by former chef Nate Leonard, Mill Valley entrepreneur Rob Gaon, and chef Peter Serpico, a Korean American chef who's best known for being chef de cuisine at David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ko before becoming Chang's director of culinary operations. He later moved to Philadelphia to partner with restaurateur Stephen Starr on his eponymous restaurant Serpico, which opened in 2013 and became a local hot spot.

At the Mess Hall, you'll find Boda, a Korean-inspired concept offering housemade banchan, Korean fried chicken, kimchi fried rice, mandu dumplings, and more. A second concept, Dayboat Seafood, will serve crudos, chowder, shrimp cocktail, and sushi handrolls. And a third, Breadwinner, will offer a menu including breakfast sandwiches, smashburgers, customizable salads, hearty lunch sandwiches, and more.

All three concepts share a kitchen, and the same ordering systems. Orders can be placed via QR code at tables, or from an employee at a counter, and picked up from a shared pick-up window.

Additionally, there's a full-service bar, and a cafe that will open at 7 am each morning serving Wrecking Ball coffee, Breadbelly pastries and croissants, and a "bodega-style" egg and cheese sandwich that can have sausage, bacon, or tots added to it.

And an all-day market that also opens at 7 am will offer picnic items like grab-and-go sandwiches and tinned fish, as well toiletries and convenience-store items geared to residents of the Presidio.

The space has 88 seats indoors and 120 more seats on a Golden Gate Bridge-facing outdoor patio. As Leonard says, the team was aiming for a "communal beer hall" vibe, and to "build a compelling food hall" that is able to local residents and park visitors alike.

The design, with due deference to the historic site which previously housed an animal feed store and a post office on the military base, was done by Studio KDA, who also designed the recently opened Bar Panisse in Berkeley.

The Mess Hall will be open, starting Saturday, from 7 am to 8 pm Monday to Thursday, and from 7 am to 10 pm Friday to Sunday, with the three restaurant menus being offered from 11 am onward.

Previously: Huge New Food Hall From Momofuku Alum Coming to Presidio Tunnel Tops

Top image: Photo by Nate Leonard

A new wine bar has come to the Castro, with an array of international wines by the glass or bottle, in addition to small plates and cocktails, and it's on the top floor of the nine-year-old private social club The Academy.

The LGBTQ-focused Academy at 2166 Market Street has had a wine lounge for members on its third floor for several years now. But now it has been relaunched and rebranded as Altrove, a wine bar that is accessible to the public with the purchase of a day pass or an annual "wine passport," which is a physical passport book that can be filled up with stamps based on the regions your tastings come from.

"We wanted to bring more people into the space to experience our growing wine program," says Academy co-founder Nate Bourg. "It deserves to be experienced by more than just our regular members."

"Altrove" means "elsewhere" in Italian, and the intimate third-floor space has a transporting quality, with a couple of small banquettes, and a gold-gilded Champagne Room to the back, which has a sliding door for more private experiences.

The bar area itself is connected, via a hallway, to a plush lounge setup in the front room facing Market Street, with couches and several seating areas.

While wine selections will rotate, the current by-the-glass menu features a crisp Pinot Gris ($14) from Tinpot Hut winery in Marlborough, New Zealand; a rosé of Grenache, Cinsault, Merlot, and Syrah ($14) from Provence's Chateau du Berne; and a red blend ($16) from Argentina's Siete Fincas winery. Glasses of house white and house red wine are $8 — and free for Academy members.

This month's featured wines are from Africa, with a Sauvignon Blanc ($16) from South Africa's Elgin Valley; a rosé of Temperanillo ($15) from Stellenbosch, South Africa; and an old-vine Syrah ($14) from Morocco's Domaine des Ouled Thaleb vineyard.

Highball cocktails are available at the Altrove bar as well (gin and tonic, vodka soda, whiskey soda, etc.), and there is a selection of small bites including some top notch deviled eggs topped with Dungeness crab, a salmon tartine, and fig and goat cheese flatbread, and a "deluxe" grilled cheese with onion jam.

Non-members can pay a $10 day-pass fee to check out Altrove, which comes with a complimentary aperitif, or $25 gets you both the passport booklet that can be stored on-site for future visits, and a year's worth of entry to the wine bar.

Altrove is now open Wednesday to Saturday 6 pm to 10 pm, and reservations are encouraged but not required.

Related: Two Castro Bars Decide to 'Pause' Use of Facial Scanning Tech at the Door

Disclosure: I have been a member of The Academy since its founding.

Two of three Castro neighborhood bars that have been using Patronscan technology at the door to improve security say that they are pausing their use of it due to privacy concerns raised by the LGBTQ community.

Back in June we noted a report about three bars in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood that had started employing facial and ID scanning technology at the door, which both allowed them to verify that patrons were of age to enter the bars, and allowed them to track or flag patrons who had caused problems. Patronscan, the company behind the technology, insisted that it did not employ facial recognition cameras, but that its cameras allowed door personnel to compare faces to those on scanned IDs, as well as to record and flag patrons listed on a local "flag network" of individuals who had been 86'd for various reasons from other bars.

The bars using Patronscan, Badlands, Toad Hall, and The Mix, were not explicitly telling patrons that they were being photographed, but small placards on the entry kiosks did provide warnings.

At the time, the bars did not comment on their use of the technology, which had been in use for about a year, if not more.

Following some pushback from the community and from digital privacy activists, managers at Badlands and Toad Hall, which share an owner, say they are "pausing" the use of the Patronscan machines. As KTVU reports, this follows a petition drive that was launched by the group Fight for the Future, a nonprofit which advocates against various types of artificial intelligence and surveillance technology.

"Effective immediately, we are pausing the use of Patronscan while we review our ID verification and security practices,” said Brian Aranda, director of operations at both bars, in a statement to the Chronicle. “Our security teams will continue to thoroughly check IDs manually during this time. We appreciate everyone who has shared their concerns and remain committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all."

The outcry about the use of the facial scanning/recognition cameras raised not only privacy concerns for patrons of these clubs, but also serious concerns about how the data could be misused — even though Patronscan insists that no biometric data is recorded or retained in their systems.

Patronscan also says that it deletes all ID scanner data after 21 days.

As Evan Greer from Fight for the Future told NBC Bay Area last month, "It's really not a safe time to start making databases of queer people that could be accessed by the Trump administration, by a private company, [or] by a bad actor."

According to the website Club 1984, which tracks surveillance at nightlife venues, two local bars/clubs continue using Patronscan: The Mix and 1015 Folsom. Oracle Park has also been employing the technology.

A manager at The Mix told KTVU that they began using Patronscan after their doorperson was assaulted by a patron — and we learned of a different assault that occurred across the street at Midnight Sun earlier this year, when a doorperson tried to refuse entry to a man she recognized on sight as someone who was violent.

A Mix manager named Nick also told NBC Bay Area, regarding Patronscan, "It keeps my customers safe. We've had no bar fights, vandalism and theft is down."

Even though Badlands and Toad Hall are responding to the call to pause their use of the technology, Aranda defended its use to KTVU.

"There have been situations where an incident was captured by our security system, but we did not know the identity of the person involved," Aranda says. "Entrance records could help us identify that individual and provide useful information to law enforcement."

In a statement, Patronscan VP of People & Operations Rhiannon Mosoronchon says, "We understand why people have concerns about technology and privacy; those are important conversations worth having and we are always glad to be part of them and share accurate information about how our service works. We take our responsibility very seriously in making sure that our product is used ethically and in accordance with all privacy and data protection legislation."

Of course, not everyone minds the seeming invasion of privacy. As one bar patron, Brian McConnell, tells KTVU, "I fly all the time and every time you set foot in an airport you're being totally surveilled from a hundred different directions, so it really didn't bother me."

McConnell adds, "I know that there people concerned about surveillance and everything, but the reality is if you have a smartphone, you're kind of telegraphing what you're doing at all times."

We now know another of the projects that will be coming to the Upper Fillmore as part of billionaire Neil Mehta's so-called revitalization plans for the already pretty nice Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Chef and restaurateur Pim Techamuanvivit (Kin Khao, Nari) is taking over the former Starbucks location at 2222 Fillmore Street, between Clay and Sacramento streets, which is on the two-block stretch where Mehta has bought up multiple properties — including this one and the historic Clay Theater — in the hope of remaking his corner of the city to his own liking.

The SF Business Times caught the news of the new spot, which has a working title of Khao Soi Ya, and that name suggests this will be a brick-and-mortar version of Techamuanvivit's 2024 pop-up on the mezzanine at Nari called Khao Soi Shop, centering on the beloved Thai curry noodle soup khao soi. Techamuanvivit reportedly hinted at the time of the pop-up that she was working on a project just focused on the soup.

Techamuanvivit's associate, Sam Zelver, the general manager of her other restaurant Kin Khao, confirmed the project to the Business Times but said that the name may change depending on what the menu looks like — which will be dictated by what is possible in their kitchen buildout.

Techamuanvivit, whose two SF Thai restaurants both have Michelin stars, is also the chef behind the Michelin-starred Bangkok restaurant Nahm. She first made a name for herself in the food world with her blog Chez Pim, and she has a cookbook coming out this month from Ten Speed Press called Cooking Thai.

This is the second new restaurant project that we now know of coming to the vicinity, with the first being Monami, an upscale Korean barbecue spot that is headed to the former Noosh space at 2001 Fillmore Street — a property that was linked to Mehta's real estate buying spree two years ago. Monami is a second project from the team behind Michelin-starred SSAL on upper Polk, Junsoo and Hyunyoung Bae, and they last said they were aiming for a fall 2026 opening.

Mehta also hinted that he wanted to bring an all-day diner to the area — with most of his property purchases being on the 2200 block of Fillmore, where the Clay Theater sits. And in December, we learned of the new floor plan for the renovation of the Clay, with the concept modeled after New York's Metrograph, whose programming primarily features second-run foreign, vintage, and art-house cinema. The revamped theater will include a fancified concession area in front, with beer, wine, and "small plates," as well as a new, small balcony.

Regarding the new restaurant from Techamuanvivit, Cody Allen, executive director of the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, said, "This restaurant and its chef are exactly what the Upper Fillmore project desired. The chef and restaurant fit wonderfully into our plans for continuing to create a renaissance on Fillmore Street, the neighborhood and San Francisco."

There's no opening timeframe for the yet unnamed restaurant, but we'll expect an update sometime in the new year.

The Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project is also working on moving new businesses into other retail spaces along the corridor, including the former Ten-Ichi sushi restaurant at 2235 Fillmore, which closed two years ago after facing eviction by Mehta. The restaurant recently posted an angry note to its former customers on Instagram, saying that they had asked Mehta two years ago if they could continue operating until he found a new operator for the space, and Mehta allegedly refused. "It’s been empty for 2 YEARS & COUNTING," they write, and the space remains empty.

Related: Billionaire Who Bought Up Part of Fillmore Street Promises New Theater and All-Day Diner

Top image: Photo via Instagram

The Bayview is getting a new seafood spot as well as several new restaurants, Tacos El Patron is coming to the Fillmore, and Horn Barbecue is now fully done, all in This Week in Food.

The Chronicle brings word this week of multiple new restaurants coming to the Bayview neighborhood thanks to startup grants from the city. These include Bayview Oyster Bar, opening next month from chef-owner April Spears, who previously operated the well loved Auntie April's, which closed during the pandemic. The menu will feature oysters, both raw and chargrilled New Orleans-style, as well as shrimp cocktails, Louie salads, and Dungeness crab dishes like a crab melt and whole crab with garlic noodles when it's in season. There will also be smoked clam chowder, cocktails, and desserts from neighborhood favorites Yvonne’s Southern Sweets and Divine Desserts.

Also coming to the Bayview in the coming months are an Ethiopian fast-casual spot called Moya Bayview, a Panamanian fusion restaurant called Properly Seasoned Kitchen, a new sandwich spot called Phatwood Smokehouse Deli, and a new bookstore/wine bar called Chapter 3.  These openings are all thanks to a wave of city grants under Mayor Daniel Lurie's Storefront Opportunity Grants program, which offer grants of up to $100,000 to cover startup costs for small businesses.

Quesabirria specialist Tacos El Patron is moving into the semi-cursed space at 1325 Fillmore Street that was most recently home to Nia Soul Cafe, and before that, also briefly, Scott's Chowder House. As the SF Business Times reports, this will be the largest location yet for Tacos El Patron, which has two other locations, including the original opened in 2019 at 1500 South Van Ness Avenue. The new location will feature an expanded menu of tacos de guisado and gorditas featuring heirloom corn from Mexico, according to co-owner Alberto Pineda, and the opening is coming within weeks.

It's now official: Horn Barbecue is dunzo. Pitmaster Matt Horn's briefly booming, much acclaimed barbecue operation was already down to one, infrequently open restaurant in downtown Oakland as of a month ago, following the closure of his barely six-month-old Fresno location, and now the Chronicle reports that the Oakland spot on 8th Street is officially closed for good, largely because Horn wasn't able to smoke meats on site there — which leads to the question of where the meats were coming from when the place was, occasionally, open. This was the former Matty's Old Fashioned, a short-lived sit-down restaurant concept, which along with chicken sandwich spot Kowbird, was one of a half-dozen ventures Horn took on in the span of just a couple of years. The barbecue business, which suffered a fire at its original West Oakland location, has since been dogged by allegations of wage theft and reports of unpaid vendors and rent, and Horn says that, for now, he'll continue to do catering, private events, popups and "live-fire experiences."

Fried chicken sandwich outfit The Bird, a sibling operation to Super Duper from Adriano Paganini's Back of the House restaurant group, is adding a new location in the Marina at 2031 Chestnut Street. There is no opening date yet, but the SF Business Times reports that the current tenant in the space, Asian Box, is nearing the end of its 10-year lease.

And one of the more popular breakfast burrito makers in town, Al Carajo, is expanding with Al Carajo Breakfast Burrito, which is moving into the space formerly occupied by breakfast sandwich purveyor Bandit at 683 Geary Street. The Chronicle, whose critics previously raved about the Al Carajo breakfast burrito made with chorizo and tater tots, reports that the new location will open this fall.

Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez has a review this week of Sheba, a humble-looking Yemeni restaurant in Oakland's East Peralta neighborhood, where, he writes, compared to other local Yememi spots, "its lamb is juicier, its condiments kick harder, its bread is flakier." He raves about the "heavily" spiced butterflied pompano, and the best-seller on the menu, the generously portioned lamb haneeth, as well as the flaky bread called rashoush, that goes well with the foul and shakshuka.

And if you're headed to Outside Lands, check out our guide to this year's "secret" snack items, and limited-edition dishes.

Burdell chef Geoff Davis is expanding to Rockridge and taking over the soon-to-close Wood Tavern, Jollibee draws a line near Powell BART, and Tartine's Chad Robertson is doing big things in Brooklyn, all in This Week In Food.

Critically lauded Burdell chef Geoff Davis is opening a second restaurant in Oakland, a "neighborhood bar and grill" called Uncle's that will be taking over the Wood Tavern space in Rockridge after that beloved restaurant closes at the end of the year. Perhaps the early closure announcement last week for Wood Tavern came because they knew Food & Wine would be publishing a story about Uncle's, in which Davis promises only that Uncle's will serve Martinis and steak, but it won't be a steakhouse. "We’re trying to create a restaurant that feels like it’s always been there," Davis says, and he references a 1970s vibe which is very much the vibe at Burdell, so there will likely be some family resemblance. Davis adds that he wants the place to feel home-y, and he jokes, "It’s like if Applebee’s didn’t go corporate." A pop-up Davis did at Burdell in February, dubbed "The Tavern," appears to have provided a preview of his menu in development.

The long-awaited, Powell Street-adjacent Jollibee opened Friday morning at long last, and there was reportedly a line outside of ardent fans that began Thursday night, per Mission Local. So, Jollibee's fried chicken and spaghetti is good and all, but SF had a small Jollibee location at Howard and Fourth streets in the last decade, and I don't recall any major excitement about it or certainly any lines outside. So, perhaps all the news stories about all the permitting delays just drummed up enough excitement for this one?

Mission Local had the news this week that Reem's California at Mission and 25th Street will be closing for two months starting August 2 due to necessary repairs that have to take place to the building following a June 10 hit-and-run in which a car slammed into the front of the restaurant. Repairs are currently estimated at around $200,000.

In some big news for the FiDi food scene, Tartine Bakery has inked a lease for a space formerly occupied by a CVS at California and Sansome streets, with plans to open an all-day bakery-restaurant there next year. This will be Tartine's fourth location in the city and fifth location in the Bay Area — with now seven locations in Los Angeles as well.

Grub Street also had the related news earlier this week that Tartine co-founder and mast bread baker Chad Robertson is opening his first outpost in New York, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's called Altbau — a German architectural term for turn-of-the-20th-century-era "old buildings," like the one on Brooklyn's North 8th Street where the bakery is opening — and it plans to serve an array of baked goods, pastries, sandwiches, and "the occasional pizza," and things they're talking about include grilled cheese on sprouted rye, and "a BEC [bacon, egg & cheese] made with Japanese tamago instead of the usual griddled egg."

Mission Local has a quick review of Grand Lake Kitchen's new outpost in Noe Valley, and critic Maria Ascarrunz seems to be a fan of everything except the vegan chickpea stew.

The Chronicle critics put out another ranked list that might rankle! This time it's a ranking of the best food to be found at the Ferry Building, and they launch some shots across the bow at the splashy new Arquet, calling it "uneven" and putting it at 15th on the list. Their two favorite spots? Lunette, from former Nyum Bai chef Nite Yun, and Arquet's sister bakery, Parachute, which they assert may be the best bakery in the city right now.

Top image: A salmon dish from The Tavern pop-up at Burdell, via Instagram.

In a sure sign of downtown San Francisco's upswing, much-beloved Tartine Bakery is planning to open a large outpost in the Financial District, in a former CVS.

Yes, downtown workers — those who go into the office regularly and those who are still on a 3-2 hybrid schedule — will soon be able to grab fresh loaves of Tartine bread on the way home, and get a morning bun and coffee on their way into work.

As the Chronicle reports, Tartine Bakery is taking over the former CVS space at 351 California Street (at Sansome), in the base of the J Harold Dollar Building. The 4,000-square-foot corner space will become a bakery-restaurant and will reportedly service breakfast, lunch, and dinner — though it's not clear if the latter will be like the pizza-focused menu now served at Tartine Manufactory, or something else.

The company plans to debut the new Tartine sometime next year.

Mayor Daniel Lurie issued a statement about the lease, saying, "When iconic San Francisco businesses like Tartine expand downtown, they bring energy and excitement to the heart of our city. This location on the cable car line is a perfect fit — great food for residents and visitors in the middle of downtown."

And, luckily for the Chronicle staff, this puts the new Tartine location just two blocks away from their new offices at 450 Sansome — where they relocated this year as part of the redevelopment that is ongoing at the historic Chronicle building at Fifth and Mission. While the historic building is not supposed to be touched, a 400-unit condo tower is being constructed behind it, and a bridge connecting the Chronicle building to the former Examiner headquarters, where the condo tower is going, needs to be demolished, which is going to imact the HVAC system in the Chronicle building.

Tartine CEO Dar Vasseghi characterized the move downtown as "put[ting] us right in the heart of the city’s next chapter."

The expansion by Tartine will mark the company's fourth location in the city, after the 18th & Guerrero flagship, the Manufactory, and the Inner Sunset location that opened in 2019. Tartine also announced a Mill Valley location last year which has not yet opened, and the company also has seven locations in Los Angeles and six locations Seoul, South Korea.

Separately, we learned this week, Tartine co-founder and master bread baker Chad Robertson is opening a new, 7,500-square-foot bakery in Brooklyn called Altbau. As Grub Street reports, the Williamsburg operation does not appear to be connected to Tartine, and it has an upstairs space that will "be able to host visiting bakers from around the world."

Previously: Tartine Expanding to a New Outpost in Mill Valley, Opening Later This Year

A California congressman who is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee is now investigating donations made by Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor and a possible attempt to influence the FDA's handling of the recent cyclospora outbreak tied to his company's lettuce.

Much of the country heard last week that Salinas-based Taylor Farms' CEO Bruce Taylor had been a big Trump donor, donating $1 million to a Trump super PAC in 2025. That donation that took place "less than one week after the Trump Administration agreed to delay implementation of a critical food safety rule that would make it easier to trace contaminated produce back to suppliers and remove it from the food supply," as Congressman Robert Garcia of California said in a letter to Taylor sent Monday.

There has also been reporting by Slate that Taylor Farms executives met privately with FDA officials and the White House on the evening of July 16, hoping to "to distance the company from the outbreak and cast doubt on the officials’ conclusion."

This was the same day that the FDA had publicly identified Taylor Farms de Mexico, the company's processing facility, as the main source of the contaminated iceberg lettuce that had been supplied to Taco Bell and other clients, leading to the cyclospora outbreak. Days later, following a voluntary, 27-state recall of the lettuce, Taylor Farms posted to social media that the FDA had "apologized" to them over one false-positive test — a result that experts say is common in parasite testing — trying to downplay their connection to the outbreak.

"This timeline of events raises concerns that your company may have attempted to leverage political donations and connections inside the Trump Administration to influence the scope, scale, and findings of FDA’s investigation," Representative Garcia writes. "Further, your company’s series of contradictory and confusing statements appear to be deliberately worded to make customers think recalled products are safe."

"As one of the country’s largest producers of leafy greens and fresh vegetables that supplies $7 billion worth of products to grocery stores and restaurants, Taylor Farms has an obligation to do all in its power to protect customers," Garcia continues. "Customers, in turn, should be able to trust that FDA’s critical work keeping us safe from foodborne illness is not unduly influenced by a company’s attempts to interfere with findings that affect our collective public health."

The letter then lays out a number of requests for documents from the company, including any and all internal communications related to cyclospora or cyclosporiasis, between May 1, 2026 and the present; and all communications between Taylor Farms, and/or its CEO Bruce Taylor, and the White House between January 1, 2025 and the present.

The House Oversight Committee, as part of its investigation, is also seeking to learn how Taylor Farms determined which products should be part of the recall it initiated on July 17.

"Thousands of Americans became sick. Trust in our public health system is on the line," Garcia said in a statement to CBS News. "The American people deserve to know Taylor Farms' full role in this outbreak, and we're demanding answers."

White House spokesperson Kush Desai issued a statement to CBS saying, "Any notion that the White House or Trump administration would ever compromise on the health and safety of the American people is absolutely false."

Desai added, "The FDA is conducting a thorough and evidence-based outbreak investigation, and has never 'walked back' anything regarding the overwhelming epidemiological evidence pointing to a shipment of shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico."

Taylor Farms also issued a statement continuing to insist that the FDA has shown no positive tests for cyclospora in its products, and adding, "the safety of our food is paramount."

We'll see how Taylor Farms, and the White House, handle the congressional investigation.

Previously: Cyclospora Outbreak In Midwest Linked to Lettuce From Monterey County Supplier

Top image: Trucks rest at a Taylor Farms facility on July 17, 2026 in Salinas, California. Taylor Farms, a global fresh produce supplier, is allegedly connected to the recent cyclosporiasis outbreak. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)

Thailand's equivalent of Tom Colicchio is opening a new restaurant in SoMa tonight, a new Indian-inflected pop-up from a former Californios and Quince chef comes to the Mission, and Wood Tavern announces its closure in Rockridge, all in This Week in Food.

Internationally acclaimed Thai celebrity chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn opens his first-ever US restaurant Saam tonight in SF's SoMa neighborhood. As Eater reports, Tassanakajohn, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, has two Michelin-starred restaurants in Bangkok, Le Du and Nusara, and has 13 restaurants in total to his name — cementing his celebrity status as a judge on Top Chef: Thailand. Tassanakajohn  has partnered with local folks Tee Atthapon and Ty Choosuwan, with Choosuwan serving as chef de cuisine under Tassanakajohn. The chef tells the Chronicle that he hopes Saam will serve food at the level of his Michelin-starred spots, saying the menu will feature "regional Thai dishes using pristine Bay Area produce, such as a charred tomato relish and a curry made with foraged cauliflower mushrooms." It opens in the former Sun and Moon space at 415 Brannan Street tonight, June 24, and reservations can be found here.

There is already a taker for the former Shuggie's space in the Mission, where the burners are still probably warm from Shuggie's going away party barely two weeks ago. As Eater reports, it will be taken over by popular Mexican bakery Florecita Panaderia, who specialize in eggless conchas and other treats.

Eater brings word of a new pop-up serving refined dishes drawing influence from India and elsewhere, called Kedar. It's the work of chef Kedar Shenoy, who has worked in the Michelin three-star kitchens of Quince and Californios, and it's operating on select nights, including this Sunday (currently sold out), at Heirloom Cafe in the Mission. Look for future pop-up dates here.

The oldest continually operating restaurant in North Beach, Tommaso's, has faced uncertain times in recent years, most notably after the retirement of longtime owners, brother and sister Agostino and Carmen Crotti. The Crottis sold the business to longtime local restaurateur Maureen "Mo" Donegan in 2024, and after a short break it reopened in January 2025. But now, Donegan was apparently behind in rent to the Crottis, who also own the building, to the tune of $40,000. Donegan tells the Chronicle that she paid off that amount with the help of private donors, and she also launched a GoFundMe, which so far has raised $11,000. The future of the operation, with its nearly 100-year-old brick oven, may be shaky as Donegan complained of low turnout and rising food and labor costs.

We learned earlier this week that Leo's Oyster Bar had quietly shut its doors this month after a decade downtown on Sacramento Street. The stylish Champagne and seafood bar was one of two remaining businesses of restaurateur Anna Weinberg, who continues to operate Tosca in North Beach.

Some sad news from Rockridge: Longtime neighborhood go-to spot Wood Tavern, which had plenty of buzz its first few years especially, is shutting its doors after 20 years at the end of 2026 — with New Year's Eve being the final service. Owners Rebekah and Rich Wood will instead focus on their other restaurants, including next-door sandwich spot Southie, and Piedmont Avenue's The Wolf.

Up in Marin County, the small town of San Anselmo — which already boasts a couple good restaurants, including Madcap — is getting a new modern Vietnamese restuarant next week from Slanted Door alumna Justine Kelly. Kelly, who served as chef de cuisine under the late Charles Phan in the last decade, decided to open a new spot in her hometown, at 625 San Anselmo Avenue, and when it debuts July 29 it will be called Tụ Tập. And, she says, she reached out to Phan's family for their blessing — though she won't be repurposing any of Phan's signature recipes.

Top image: The asparagus "sundae" with burrata from Kedar, via Instagram

A Honda crashed Tuesday night into the parklet that sits outside the bars Anina and Brass Tacks on Hayes Street in Hayes Valley, destroying it, but thankfully no one was sitting in it at the time.

The crash happened just after midnight, technically Wednesday morning, with a Honda apparently speeding down Hayes Street, though it's not clear in what direction. As the Chronicle reports via the SF Fire Department, the Honda ended up "facing the wrong direction" after slamming into the parklet outside Anina and Brass Tacks.

A person was found in the car, with the air bags deployed, and the person was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries.

Matt Conway, who is co-owner of both Anina and Brass Tacks, tells the Chronicle that that the parklet, which is shared by both bars, had been closed for the night, and Anina was already closed when the crash happened. Brass Tacks was still open, but no one was outside.

The parklet, which was completely destroyed, will be rebuilt, Conway told the paper.

Brass Tacks moved into the space formerly occupied by the queer bar Marlena's a decade ago, and Anina, it's more tropical-themed sister, followed next door in 2017. Both are popular cocktail spots in the neighborhood, with Anina attracting more of a daytime crowd with its large, off-street patio.

A similar late-night crash into a parklet occurred last month in the Castro, with a driver, who appeared intoxicated, crashing into the front of Cafe Mystique on Castro Street. The incident was captured on surveillance video.

The always robust food program at Outside Lands will again feature some off-menu snack portions of dishes at some vendors, as they did two years ago, and some limited-edition indulgences including an uni smashburger.

Two Outside Lands ago, the food program known as Taste of the Bay Area introduced a special passport booklet thing with coupons that entitled those quick enough to grab one to off-menu, limited-edition dishes as well as snack-sized portions of some of the dishes available at various vendors, with a special map of where to find these.

At last year's festival, they continued the limited-edition idea with a collection of off-menu bites — emphasis on the caviar — but without the coupon book and without the snack-sized portions.

For 2026, they're doing both the smaller portions and the limited-quantity items, no coupon book, and here's what you need to know:

• More than 20 of the participating vendors and restaurants will be offering smaller-portion items in this year's Snack Series.
• The Snack Series dishes are all priced at $16 or less.
• Snack Series dishes will be released on the Outside Lands app ahead of the festival, but they won't appear on vendors' printed menu signage. The participating vendors will, however, have the Snack Series icon on their header signage, making them easier to spot on the festival grounds.
• Examples include a single chashao pork or tofu bao from Piglet & Co., which will otherwise be sold in larger quantities; a mini chicken karaage donburi bowl from Nobu; a half pizza bagel from Wise Sons x Outta Sight; and a half lamb quesabirria flatbread wrap from Reem's.
• Other vendors participating in the Snack Series are Abacá, Bini's Kitchen, Bodega SF, Bun Mee Vietnamese Sandwich Eatery, Charles Chocolates, Dolores Park Cafe, El Garage, Gumbo Social, Izzy's Cheesesteaks, Merkado, Om Sabor, Respectable Bird, Ruru Kitchen, Shawarmaji, TIYA, Total Meltdown, um.ma, and Wooly Pig.
• The Limited Edition menu items will only be available in very small quantities — just 10 portions each day of the festival.
• A couple of these dishes include uni, including Smish Smash's uni burger; and Piglet & Co.'s uni lou rou fan, with five-spice braised pork, uni, smoked trout roe, and shoyu tea egg over furikake rice. Piglet & Co. will also be offering a honey walnut pork and shrimp sandwich in limited quantities.
• Original Joe's, one of several legacy SF restaurants participating for the first time in Outside Lands, will be offering a garlic bread bowl stuffed with spicy rigatoni and spicy honey bomba tenders and topped with melted mozzarella.
• Bodega SF will be offering a limited-edition Shaking Wagyu Beef Burrito.
• Little Sweet will be doing a durian sticky rice waffle, topped with durian ice cream, sticky rice balls, toasted mung bean, coconut milk, and strawberry cotton candy.
• And Love Burn will be offering a Hot Ones-style hot chicken challenge, with four pieces of fried chicken with rising levels of spice, dubbed the Cluck Around & Find Out Challenge, which comes with a complimentary glass of milk at the end.

Regarding the Snack Series, the food curator for Outside Lands, Tanya Kollar, says, "The only thing harder than choosing what to eat at Outside Lands is finding room for it all. The Snack Series makes it easy to sample more of the festival's must-try bites without filling up after your first stop."

See some photos below of these Snack Series and limited-edition items.

Outside Lands goes from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9, and the full array of this year's food vendors can be found here.

After seven years of general disrespect and snubbing by the local paper of record, the SF Chronicle, Chez Panisse and its new next-door offshoot Bar Panisse get some sincere praise and quiet reverence from the New York Times.

Chez Panisse, despite its icon status and legion of loyal, local fans, has been something of a punching bag for the San Francisco Chronicle in the post-Michael Bauer era. Not long after Bauer's departure, as part of their opening act as next-generation critic, Soleil Ho wrote a fairly scathing review of Chez Panisse in February 2019, calling it "stale" and essentially telling people not to bother going there anymore if they're looking for interesting food.

And this was made all the more dramatic because Bauer had consistently lauded the Berkeley destination as one of his four-star restaurants, giving it the Chronicle's highest rating year after year alongside the likes of Benu, the French Laundry (which the Chronicle has also now relegated to has-been status), and Quince.

Now, with the New York Times spending more effort in surveying the national dining scene, California-based Co-Chief Critic Tejal Rao paid several visits to Chez Panisse, along with the upstairs cafe and the new Bar Panisse. And Rao says, without hesitation, "Chez Panisse is still devoted to pristine seasonal ingredients from small farms and to preparing them like a romantic home cook from another century."

And, she concludes, "Chez Panisse might have forever changed the way we think and talk about food, but it also seems less interested in its own mythology than the ordinary, unglamorous work of being a good restaurant. That’s not revolutionary, but it’s still rare."

In the comments sections she also adds, "The restaurant’s status is near mythological and Alice Waters is a celebrity, but it often felt like the restaurant didn’t care so much about all that and just wanted to get on with the business of being a neighborhood restaurant. It took me by surprise!" And, she writes, "I think it’s easy for people who think of it as a famous destination to forget that, in many ways, it’s more of a reliable, comfortable place for locals and regulars."

Rao praises the "calm, self-possessed, [and] attentive service," and describes an "excellent dish of pork, roasted on a spit then sliced very thinly, with cherries and fried herbs, with a splash of pan sauce." She also roundly praises the work of pastry chefs Carrie Lewis and Eriko Yahiro, calling it "consistently a joy." She mentions an "oversized profiterole" dessert with summer fruit and several sorbets, saying it was "a reminder of how the most banal classics can bring so much pleasure when they’re made with care and superlative ingredients."

Of Bar Panisse, Rao praises the more laid back but no less "Chez" work of chef Amelia Telč. (And, to be fair, Chronicle critic Cesar Hernandez did sing Telč's praises in a March review of Bar Panisse, while getting in a dig at the next-door motership saying his visits there "have never felt exhilarating.")

Rao notes that Bar Panisse's dishes are simpler and less technically ambitious, but this "bring the food closer to the kind of provincial French cooking that Chez Panisse once idealized." She praises unfussy dishes of creamy butter beans, and of Gulf shrimp with "carapaces so delicate that you can eat them shell and all." She also says the green salad and gougères are a must.

All told, Rao gives Chez Panisse and Bar Panisse two stars apiece — with the New York Times operating on a four-star scale, with two meaning "very good" — and naming them both "Critic's Pick."

This will go far with the tourist set booking their Bay Area plans, and I won't be shocked if Bar Panisse sneaks on to the Chronicle's spuriously curated Top 100 next year, even if they hold firm to snubbing Chez itself.

Previously: Bar Panisse, the New Cocktail Spot Next to Chez Panisse, Opens This Week

The nearly six-year wait for Filipino fried-chicken favorite Jollibee to return to San Francisco is almost over, as the new Market Street location is scheduled to open its doors July 31.

After years of shifting timelines and a great deal of speculation, Jollibee has finally locked in an opening date for its long-awaited Market Street restaurant. As the Chronicle reports, the Filipino fast-food chain announced Tuesday that its new location at 934 Market Street, adjacent to Halidie Plaza and Powell BART, will open July 31. They will be serving customers daily from 9 am to 10 pm with dine-in, takeout, and online ordering.

As SFist reported previously, the Market Street outpost has been making its way through city approvals since 2020. Originally expected to open in 2023, the timeline got pushed to 2024 then 2025 as the project navigated historic preservation review, utility work, and coordination with multiple agencies because of its location above BART and Muni infrastructure and next to a dense residential corridor.

The restaurant was on the verge of opening, but the project hit yet another snag when newly installed rooftop equipment failed the city's noise compliance requirements, delaying the opening yet again.

According to the Chronicle, building and health officials cleared Jollibee to open earlier this month after it passed a third compliance test in late June.

San Francisco was previously blessed with its own Jollibee on the corner of Mission and Fourth streets back in the early 2000s until it closed in 2010.

The Chronicle notes that the opening coincides with yet another push by city leaders to revive the beleaguered stretch of Market Street where the restaurant sits, near the struggling Saluhall inside the Market Street IKEA and a block from the shuttered San Francisco Centre mall.

SFGate reports that Jollibee, which operates more than 1,700 locations worldwide, is also planning a Bay Area expansion through a partnership with restaurateur George Almeida to open 15 new locations over the next eight years.

Previously: Jollibee’s Market Street Debut Remains Stalled Amid Ongoing Hurdles With City

Image: Google Maps

A new restaurant and cafe that opened on Haight Street in the former Citrus Club spot, which closed in April after three decades, received backlash over the “slop” food images featured on its AI-generated storefront menu.

As we first noted in Sunday links, Grind & Unwind owners AJ and Lyndsey Lozano, a Marin couple who opened the cafe in May, said they were blindsided after AI-generated photos of sandwiches, pastries, and coffee drinks displayed in their front window became the subjects of a widely shared Reddit thread mocking the images as unappetizing “AI slop,” as SFGate reports.

Commenters compared the uncanny-appearing food to everything from loofahs and lungs to the cordyceps mushrooms from The Last of Us, while others questioned why a new business on Haight Street didn't research the neighborhood a little more.

Lozano told NBC Bay Area the display was meant to be temporary while the owners focused on opening the business and caring for their three young children.

“It’s a touristy area, we thought let’s put some pictures up, let’s put signs up so they know what we have, it as just a temporary sign, to kind of let everyone know we are here,” she said. “... but it did not get the response we were expecting.”

The backlash escalated earlier this month when the Lozanos arrived to find their awning tagged with red graffiti that appeared to read "seriously," prompting them to remove the AI images a few days later and repaint the facade at an estimated cost of more than $700.

SFGate notes that Grind & Unwind replaced Citrus Club, a Haight Street fixture for roughly three decades, which closed abruptly this spring, with many locals still lamenting its closure.

"We kind of jumped on the opportunity when the space became available," Lyndsey Lozano told SFGate. "It was a very, very fast turnaround, so people were like, 'What happened to the Citrus Club?'"

The owners have since replaced the AI posters with pastry displays and window lighting, and they reportedly plan to host community events such as pasta-making classes and paint-and-sip nights.

Related: SF-Based Catering Website Swaps Restaurants’ Real Food Pictures With AI Pictures, Restaurants Get Pissed

Image: Grizzizzle/Reddit