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Josh Sens's latest review is online, for Saison, and it's rather more than a review. He goes in for the chef's counter tasting with his wife, at the much-chattered-about price of $498 per person, and feels it's necessary to compare the expense with various other experiences one might have for a similar price. (A weekend in Tahoe is mentioned, a night with dinner and opera.) He declares that the "starchy age" of Nob Hill restaurants like Fleur de Lys and Gary Danko is over, and that even in this "scruffy" part of the Mission one can be "exhilarated by the cooking" and have both a stellar meal and "front row seats to a culinary show."

It's been a big week of local food media shakeups, with the news of longtime critic Patricia Unterman's dismissal at the Examiner (she's being replaced by East Bay Express critic Jesse Hirsch), followed by news that Marcia Gagliardi of Tablehopper fame would be the new contributing food editor at 7x7. Now today comes the big news that Jonathan Kauffman is leaving his post of two years as critic for SF Weekly, moving on to edit daily food newsletter Tasting Table — a position most recently held by Jessica Battilana, who is being promoted to a new role at the company. Kauffman has been an anonymous critic for the last thirteen years, first for the East Bay Express and then at Seattle Weekly, where he garnered some national awards.

Sam Wo, which by some accounts opened in its current location at 813 Washington Street in 1907 but may have opened ten years prior, is closing after service on Friday. The owner, David Ho, tells the Scoop his reasons: "Too old. Everything’s too old. The building is too old. It’s very sad." Sam Wo was the legendary home of "the world's rudest waiter," Edsel Ford Fong, made famous in part because the restaurant was also a hangout of the Beats. Fong, who died in 1984, was immortalized as a recurring character in Armistead Maupin's series of Tales of the City novels, a character later featured in the BBC mini-series based on the novels.

The Rockit Room (406 Clement Street), which has been a music venue and bar since the early 70s, has become a bit of a nuisance for its Richmond District neighbors, not to mention the site of a string of violent incidents that caught the attention of the Entertainment Commission in the last six months. Between October and March police responded to dozens of fights and reports of violence, including one night when over 100 patrons spilled into the street during a fight. Now, under threat of a possible forced suspension of their entertainment permit, the club has voluntarily suspended operation of the music-venue portion of the business for one month in order to "rebrand and reprogram," as the Examiner reports. But will the fresh start change anything about the crowds this place attracts?

Earlier this year, Martha Stewart's show on the Hallmark channel got dumped, causing Grub Street to wonder if it was the beginning of the end for the iconic homemaker's brand. If anything, it gave her a chance to spend some free time with her prize-winning chow chow. Well, it looks like Stewart won't be off the air for very long: She has a new weekly series that will debut on PBS this fall.