Up in the borderlands of the Richmond near USF will soon be a restaurant called The Corner Store (5 Masonic Avenue at Geary, formerly Hukilau). Grub Street broke the news about the place last month, noting that it was a new project from 330 Ritch owners Ezra Berman and Miles Palliser. Today we talked to Palliser about what's to come, and here's what he had to say.
Pastry chef Matt Tinder has recently been doing supplemental desserts to the standard eleven-course tasting menu at Coi, and during the week he's offering a stand-alone, six-course dessert tasting that can be ordered on its own for $45, or added on to Daniel Patterson's regular menu as a supplement. And if that sounds like a lot, you should first know that Patterson's food is as light and delicate as it gets, and a meal at Coi, while filling, doesn't leave you feeling too stuffed for dessert. Likewise, Tinder's dishes are all really airy creations, ephemeral in their scents and tastes, and they disappear in a few bites each. After these extra courses, you won't feel like a glutton, but you will understand that dessert no longer means just cake and quenelles of sorbet.
The other day we shared the menu at the new Uptown Oakland eatery Hopscotch, from chef-owner Kyle Itani. Today, on the eve of their Friday opening, we bring you a few pictures from inside the restaurant, as well as a photo of their house burger, which looks quite delicious.
Sons & DaughtersPhoto: Brian Smeets/Grub Street
We mentioned the other day that Sons & Daughters was upping their prices slightly and jettisoning the Healthy S.F. surcharge. Well, today we bring you their summer tasting menu, launching June 26, which will run you $98 per person — still a steal in our opinion given the level of the food, which rivals more expensive menus at Masa's and Saison. See it all below.
"A 63-yr-old Korean woman experienced severe pain in her oral cavity immediately after eating a portion of parboiled squid along with its internal organs … Twelve small, white spindle-shaped, bug-like organisms stuck in the mucous membrane of the tongue, cheek, and gingiva were completely removed, along with the affected mucosa. On the basis of their morphology and the presence of the sperm bag, the foreign bodies were identified as squid spermatophores." — From here on out, if we're eating calamari, we're wearing protection. [NCBI via io9]
Traditionally, winners of the NHL's 100-plus-year-old Stanley Cup celebrate their victory by quaffing Champagne from hockey's Holy Grail. For the first time in their 45-year history, The L.A. Kings enjoyed the custom on Monday night and it looked like a predictably great time. The next day, the team's captain, Dustin Brown, was the first to take the cup home to his house in Manhattan Beach, where he set Lord Stanley's Mug up in his backyard and filled it with chocolate milk before letting his two tiny sons go at it (they were dressed preciously in matching Spider Man outfits, obviously). So, here's an adorable video of the giggling little imps drinking out of and blowing bubbles into the consecrated vessel. What a cool dad!
The logo.
"You don't have to be a jock to like being in a sports bar," says Jesse Woodward, one of the co-owners of Hi Tops, which is the aforementioned gay sports bar that will be taking over the space recently vacated by Lime (2247 Market Street, between Noe and Sanchez). "It's going to be for everyone. You don't have to be someone who wants to watch sports on TV to want to hang out there." The concept is pretty simple: A neighborhood bar where you can watch the Giants game, eat some all-American bar food (with S.F. twists), and enjoy one of the best on-tap beer selections in the Castro. And they're hoping to be open in time for the World Series this fall. Something you won't find at Hi Tops: bottomless mimosa brunch. "Our Sundays will have a distinctly different vibe than what the neighbors have been used to for the past few years," says Woodward.
We'll use any excuse to run this shot again.Photo: Andrei Kallaur, Jen Cotton
In the form of packaged food, that is. The food personality and Victoza spokesperson has joined forces with Nanco Group, an upstate New York–based supplier, in order to produce a line of Deen-branded foodstuffs that will be available early next year. According to the Savannah Morning News, the products will be available at "'all major retail channels nationwide,' including supermarkets, club stores and drug stores." Also, there will be "a specialty line of products to be sold in Deen’s restaurants." So, what exactly will the new line sell? Unclear, but a partner in the new project tells the Buffalo News, "It’s got to be delicious, and it’s got to be authentic, or she won’t put her name on it and won’t allow us to put her name on it." (Remember: Paula Deen mattresses exist.) That same partner tells the Morning News, “These new products will provide the consumers a unique and convenient solution to experience authentic Paula cooking without the hassle and expense of purchasing and making all the ingredients.” Well, okay. It is a hassle to go buy a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts every time you want to make some bread pudding. [Savannah Morning News, Buffalo News]
Ain't no party like a Dogfish Head and Deltron 3030 party!Photo: Collin Keefe
Still anxiously awaiting that big follow-up to Deltron 3030, the brain-melting futuristic hip-hop concept album released way back in 2000? It’s coming. No really, after twelve years in the making, it really is. Maybe. But in the meantime, Sam Calagione and the folks at Dogfish Head teamed up with the chief architect behind the fantabulous rap extravaganza, Dan the Automator, to produce a “house party in a box” concept. To ensure that the party is a rager, they also enlisted a supergroup of chefs that includes Mario Batali, David Chang, and the dudes from Montreal’s Joe Beef.
Katz Bagels owner Mike Katz is turning his Lower Haight location (663 Haight) into something called Nectar, as SFoodie reports. The concept is "rustic, organic foods at an affordable price point," and the big draw will be the redone back patio and garden, which Katz has fought hard to open to the public. Also, there will be artwork from local DJ/artist Romanowski, and yes, there will still be bagels in the morning. Nectar opens June 23. [SFoodie]
A new café is on its way to a retail space at the corner of Gough and Oak from Michelle Polzine, pastry chef at Range. It's called The 20th Century Café, and it looks like it will have a food menu, beer and wine, and presumably some stylish, seasonal desserts from Polzine. While we're still trying to scare up more details (including if or when Polzine might be departing Range), we'll point you back to this glowing profile of Polzine by fellow pastry chef Emily Luchetti from last fall. In it, Polzine says her favorite ingredients are fruits. "They’re one of the reasons I moved to San Francisco. The variety and availability is amazing. I love all berries, dates, pomegranates, and stone fruit. Grapes and persimmons are wonderful to eat but there aren’t that many different ways to incorporate them into desserts." Stay tuned. [Grub Street] Update: Polzine tells the Scoop that the inspiration for the menu will be "the Danube region, and its cities like Budapest, Vienna and Prague," and she's aiming for an early 2013 opening. Meanwhile, she'll remain at Range. [Scoop]
The country's most reviled food?
Depending on how you view things, broccoli either represents all that's wrong with Barack Obama's health-care law, or is just a tasty vegetable that's somehow become a political lightning rod. You see, as the Supreme Court hears arguments regarding the potential constitutionality of mandating health care for Americans, opponents of the plan wonder, if we allow the government to require something like health care, could it also be feasible that the government would one day require every man, woman, and child in this proud country to buy healthy food like broccoli? Ick! Yuck! Wait … what? Why are alarmists getting so worked up over such a pleasant vegetable?
The Future Bars/Destination Bars crew who are behind Bourbon & Branch, Wilson & Wilson, Rickhouse, Swig, and Local Edition, just added a new member of the family: Tradition. As discussed earlier, the new bar is actually in the space that they've been operating as a bar for a year now as Mr. Lew's Win-Win Bar and Grand Sazerac Emporium, formerly known as the 441 Club at 441 Jones. Owner Brian Sheehy and beverage director Ian Scalzo have been talking up the drinking details at Tradition, which are kind of involved!
The new Market Square.Photo: Shorenstein Properties LLC
Where Twitter goes, foodinistas will flock. That seems to be the logic behind a plan for a Ferry Building-like complex on the ground floor of the new Market Square, at Market Street between Ninth and Tenth. The renovated complex, which includes the old S.F. Mart building into which Twitter just moved this week, will be getting four to seven new restaurants at the street level, as the Chron reports, depending on how the space gets divided up. Developers are looking for "a mix of casual and white-tablecloth restaurants" and they're in talks with some "noteworthy" names apparently. File under: Developing. (Prospective tenants can find leasing information here.) [Chron]
He's always got something in the works.Photo: Getty Images
Here's another show to add to the heap of cooking competition shows that are out there: Chef Race: U.K. vs. U.S. According to Deadline, the show features eight British chefs and eight American chefs racing from L.A. to New York. But wait, there's a twist: "The contestants have no money and minimal resources, so they must use their resourcefulness, ingenuity, leadership and finesse along with their cooking skills to win." And we can expect at least one episode to take place in Wichita! Claire Robinson will host it and Jamie Oliver is the executive producer. According to a press release, the show will premiere on BBC America in August. [Deadline]
By the time they saw the truck approaching in the distance, it was too late for the others.Photo: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo
Last week our friends enjoyed the cuisine and culture of Florence, a.k.a. "Meatball City." This week they stay in Italy, driving themselves to Bologna (population: 382,460). The teams are unchanged, which means Jenna and Liz must continue to hash out their resentment and discombobulation vis-à-vis each other. Jenna berates Liz in the roomy backseat of the Infiniti X5-J302 Crossover Sport Utility Sedan, or whatever the name of their weird blobby car is.
Last night, Michelle Obama's healthy-eating media initiative continued, and the First Lady popped up on Food Network's Restaurant: Impossible (the show that is more or less a carbon copy of Kitchen Nightmares). FLOTUS and Robert Irivine visited a school garden grown by the the nonprofit Horton's Kids organization in Washington, D.C. Obama high-fives some kids, rides a bicycle-powered water hose, and generally does her part in talking up the importance of healthy eating. It's all very light and sweet, and the condensed version is right this way.
“Billy's Philly”
Billy is only there after 5 pm but if you are around go there and ask for his billy philly, the best philly you'll find this side of the Mississippi.
“Elegant Sauces & Fabulous Bread”
It is the place me and my love go for every intimate moment.
“Are you kidding?”
You have to be totally drunk to think that this is even acceptable as a public watering hole.
