The Chatterbox

Chef Traci Des Jardins recently announced on Instagram: “I am saddened to share the news that the restaurants (in partnership with Bon Appétit Management Co. and the Presidio Trust) ARGUELLO, THE COMMISSARY, and Presidio Foods Catering, will not be reopening. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to every single…

There are some changes at THE ALICE COLLECTIVE in Oakland. Obviously, this event space has taken a hit during the pandemic, and is now converting into The Alice Market, featuring small businesses offering food and drink on Thursdays (6pm-8pm) and Saturdays (11am-1pm). Take a look at this post for links…

The Hopper Holiday Restaurant Gift Bag was such a hit (thanks to you!) that I’m doing it again, although this time we’re celebrating tablehopper’s fifteenth anniversary! Can you believe it? February will be tablehopper’s quinceañera—along with the Lunar New Year (Happy Year of the Ox!…

Some uplifting news over here (my favorite): I know many of you listened to Jay Foster’s episode of On the Fly (our second-most-listened-to episode!), and it was a particular kind of heartbreak to hear about the discrimination he was subjected to in the workplace as a Black man and…

Now open in the Outer Sunset is a wood-fired pizza place, DAMNFINE serving some classics like a Margherita, to a pesto and purple potato pizza (with pancetta and Parmesan, alllll the Ps), to a clam pizza with garlic butter, mozzarella, and herbed ricotta, eight pizzas in all. You can read…

In my previous column, I mentioned how supervisors Aaron Peskin and Sandra Lee Fewer—along with Chinatown neighborhood groups and SF New Deal—were trying to help keep FAR EAST CAFE supported through this challenging time after they announced they were closing (during their 100th birthday year, too tragic). One…

I got a chance to catch up with chef-owner Sarah Kirnon of MISS OLLIE’S in Old Oakland, and she tells me things are in process for the next iteration, Sanctuary, with co-founder Miles Dotson. A recent mission statement states: “Sanctuary was birthed from chef Sarah Kirnon’s passion to…

I was happy to see the long-closed IJJI sushi on Divisadero is going to have a new tenant: KEN, from Ken Ngai of Kusakabe, who has been working with chef-owner Mitsunori Kusakabe for the past 15 years. I reached out to Ken for details, stand by for more. It sounds…

A couple quick opening updates for you! At long last, the seafood market and café from Adrian Hoffman and Ismael Macias of Four Star Seafood, BILLINGSGATE, has opened in Noe Valley. I first saw the news via Traci Des Jardins on Instagram (love her cat eyeballing the bowl of clams!…

I was so incredibly sorry to hear FAR EAST CAFE in Chinatown was closing on New Year’s Eve, just before their 100th birthday. Seriously, big thud. The vintage interior is such a remarkable time capsule, with private booths and opulent chandeliers and lanterns that made you realize the tourists…