Things in SoMa just keep on happening: opening this week, next door to Pinkie’s Bakery, is ~CITIZEN’S BAND~ (as in CB radio). The CB also stands for the partners’ initials (chef Chris Beerman, and pastry chef Cheryl Burr). A third channel on the radio is managing partner Boris Nemchenok, who is also co-owner of Uva Enoteca. It’s a tight space, with room for 40 in all: there are tables along the side wall, and a small counter with room for 12. I went to a pre-opening party on Sunday and got a peek at Lauren Geremia’s playful and vintage “fine diner” design, with vintage postcards and magazine ads on the wall. Also be sure to peek at the stacks of CB radios above the entrance.
Beerman’s menu is like a trucker’s gourmet diner of dreams, with items like frank and beans ($7) elevated with Fra’ Mani sausage and Iacopi Farms butter beans, or mac and cheese ($8) finished with shaved summer black truffle. There are four salads, including a Cobb; a trio of potato, macaroni, and slaw; a wedge; and mixed greens; but all have a little gourmet flair, like the potato salad contains pancetta, and the Cobb has shaved egg. Mains include fried chicken ($17) (of course), a grilled Berkshire pork chop ($18), pot roast ($20), which is actually braised short ribs, and a Snake River Farms American Kobe burger ($13) with house-cut fries. There’s also a vegetarian special, and some vegetable sides for $3.50. Save room for dessert, since Burr’s sour cream cheesecake or chocolate sea salt truffle cake (all $6.50) shouldn’t be passed like some weird-looking hitchhiker on the interstate (she’s also making the hamburger’s challah bun, and bread). Nemchenok has made some nice picks for the all-domestic wine list, with 14 by the glass, ranging from CA to WA. Bottles clock in from $20 to $60. It opens for dinner tonight, Tuesday July 13th. Hours are Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm. Stand by for lunch and brunch soon. (I wonder if the hours will be 10-4?)
Citizen’s Band, photo by Jennifer Yin.
