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At least one local chef was directly affected by the superstorm on the East Coast last week, and that's Matt Accarrino of SPQR. He flew back this past weekend to survey the damage at his family's flooded home in Belmar, New Jersey, which he tells us feels like "an absolute war zone." He reports that he lost a few hundred bottles of wine as well as about 300 cookbooks that he had been storing in his parents' basement, including a signed first edition of White Heat by Marco Pierre White, whom Accarrino staged for in London fifteen years ago; and a signed copy of Emeril Lagasse's New Orleans Cooking, which Emeril inscribed when Accarrino worked for him years ago. "Heartbreak kinda stuff," he tells us. His family is safe and was evacuated to just outside Philadelphia, and he'll be flying back here to be back in the kitchen at the restaurant tomorrow night. If you're able to offer any help to victims of the storm, you may want to check out Occupy Sandy, which is a coordinated online relief effort that sprang out of Occupy Wall Street. [MattAccarrino/Twitter]

Commis chef James Syhabout, who expanded his empire to two restaurants last year with Hawker Fare near downtown Oakland, is opening a third restaurant next year, as earlier reported, in Rockridge. It's the space that formerly was home to Somerset (5912 College Avenue), and as the Scoop now discovers, the name will be Box and Bells. The menu will be inspired by the sophisticated but casual fare that Syhabout and chef Benjamin Coe prepare for staff meals at Commis, like a potato boxty with salt cod and herbs; fried chicken with raw oyster mayonnaise; crock-baked beans; and an aged cote du boeuf for two with a fricasse of snails and watercress salad. They plan to be open late, and they'll be doing some Box and Bells preview pop-ups at Hawker Fare starting in January. [Scoop, Earlier]

Miss Pearl's Restaurant and Lounge, formerly known as Miss Pearl's Jam House in Oakland's Jack London Square, is going to be closing after the new year and will become a new concept from Chop Bar chef-partner Chris Pastena called Lungomare. As Eater reports, the details haven't been released, but it's sounding like an Italian restaurant, and Pastena and his team will be taking possession of the space on January 7, with hopes for a February opening. You'll recall that Miss Pearl's was closed about this time last year due to a flood, and reopened with a slightly revamped concept in February. Pastena, meanwhile, is also working on another project opening next spring in Oakland, Tribune Tavern, in the Oakland Tribune building. [Eater]

Om Shan Tea owner Oshan Cook, 35, was found guilty Thursday in a federal court on several charges stemming from a 2010 sting operation by the DEA. Cook was found in possession of large quantities of LSD and MDMA (ecstasy) with the intent to distribute it, and he faces a possible sentence of anywhere from ten years to life in prison. Some friends launched a fundraising campaign to try to offset Cook's legal costs, however it failed to reach its funding goal in time, and the financial strain forced Om Shan Tea to close last week. A big believer in the healing power of tea, Cook says he opened Om Shan to "[provide] people with an alternative to drug and alcohol abuse," but it does appear that he had a sideline selling psychedelics, too. [Appeal, HuffPo]