I was so, so sorry to read chef-owner Heena Patel’s post on Instagram that they were temporarily closing BESHARAM in Dogpatch due to alllll the difficulties of running a restaurant right now (please click to read it). Her soulful Gujarati dishes are one of our city’s treasures. Which is why I was thrilled to see a follow-up post that announces: “For a very (very) limited time, we will be serving a pick up menu steeped in the traditions of Gujarati comfort food.” Stand by, follow @besharamsf, and prepare to show as much support as you can to her upcoming takeout offering!
Over in the Inner Sunset, Eater reports that local Thai favorite BUSSABA has closed after 10 years in business, according to a farewell note on their website. But like Besharam, it sounds like they are going to try a home-delivery service: “Sometime in the near future we will be kicking off a new home-delivery food service project which we hope will be a better fit for our sheltered-in-place way of life whilst COVID-19 persists (and perhaps beyond!). It will be called Bussabasf.Baan (Baan means “home” in Thai and feels like an appropriate homage to our original name). More details will come soon, so please check back here in the future.” You can sign up for their mailing list for updates.
The charming Turkish ~PERA~ in Potrero Hill has closed after ten years of business (and serving their beautiful stuffed apricots), but Hoodline reports that the kindly owner Irfan Yalcin is going to move his Papito taqueria (currently at 317 Connecticut Street) into the location. No word on timing. (There is also a Papito location in Hayes Valley, under different ownership.) 1457 18th St. at Connecticut.
Such a bummer: Anjan Mitra has made the hard decision to close the glam ~DOSA ON FILLMORE~, after 12 years on the corner of Fillmore and Post (Dosa on Valencia closed last year, after 14 years). The Chronicle article mentions the Fillmore lease was coming up for renewal, and this Eater piece goes deeper into the financial issues Dosa has been facing (and almost any restaurant in SF, for that matter).
I have many fond memories sitting at the bar, eating vada pav after a movie at the Kabuki, and Todd “Spor” Smith sharing his latest inspired wine pairings to go with the uttapam. So many star sightings! It was an important culinary anchor in the neighborhood. Thanks for all the fantastic meals, and I loved the Indian street food event I hosted there, ten years ago… Sigh. Fortunately, Dosa by Dosa remains open in Oakland for now, and some Dosa dishes are available for delivery throughout the Bay Area via virtual/ghost kitchens; you can also find some of their products in Whole Foods. 1700 Fillmore St. at Post.
It’s hard enough to close one business, but in this Chronicle interview with Thad Vogler, he talks frankly about the permanent closure of three of his businesses: ~TROU NORMAND~, NOMMO, and his most recent project, OBISPO in the Mission. It’s a tough read, and I know many folks await the reopening of Bar Agricole in its new location next year (at 1550 Mission St.), where he’s also “planning to add a liquor store there, too, where he’ll sell single-origin spirits imported under his own label.”
The show-stopping Andhra Fish Stew at Besharam—coconut, local seafood, basil, ginger. Photo: Alicia Fischer.
