The Chatterbox

In advance of the opening of BOUTIQUE CRENN from Michelin three-star-toting Dominique Crenn in the Salesforce Tower, you can try some of their baked goods and pastries in a pop-up: Boutique Crenn X Cubert in the Salesforce Transit Center. (Cubert is from Off the Grid, a mobile and modular pop-up…

After being closed for a seismic upgrade and renovations—while Van Ness Avenue continues to be torn up and a complete disaster—~HELMAND PALACE~ has reopened. The dining room got an update, as well as the exterior. Show them some support and head in for their famed kaddo! The restaurant…

It’s a new year, with a fresh round of closures that totally sucks. Over at the Ferry Building, Traci Des Jardins has shuttered MIJITA after serving her amazing chilaquiles there for 15 years. The Chronicle reports she was at the end of her lease, and may repeat the concept…

SORRY EVERYONE, THIS EVENT SOLD OUT IN 90 MINUTES! THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST! A couple weeks ago, I posted some pics from an ~M.Y. CHINA~ media dinner I attended, celebrating the restaurant’s seventh birthday with an over-the-top menu of seven different preparations of crab. It was one of…

Big news that came in (just before I was going to send this out!): chef Timothy Hollingsworth (known for his 13 years at The French Laundry, and now his restaurant Otium in LA) is returning to the Bay Area with his restaurant, ALL THESE YEARS, opening in San Francisco in…

There are a bunch of brand-new and affordable openings that caught my eye for us to check out (let me know any winners!). You gotta love a place called A BOWL OF CHICKEN SOUP AND RICE NOODLES. You can choose your own noodles and toppings (including beef and seafood options)…

This is going to have many people crying into their Hazy IPA: after ten years in business in the Fillmore, FAT ANGEL is calling it quits. I spoke with owner Jason Kirmse (who was also a player in the Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group), who says the decision to close wasn’…

Looking for a new, cozy spot for dinner? LE MARAIS CASTRO has just added dinner service, offering their everyday French classic dishes (French onion soup, Lyonnaise salad, croque monsieur, rotisserie chicken, boudin blanc, frites), plus a few weekend specials, like poulet pané (pan-fried chicken) and bœuf bourguignon. Plus they have…

Holidays in SF mean it’s time for fresh, local Dungeness crab (finally, it’s here!). Of course, you can try to squeeze in to the counter at SWAN OYSTER DEPOT (go early and midweek!), a booth at ~SAM’S GRILL AND SEAFOOD RESTAURANT~, and HAYES STREET GRILL offers a…

Have we hit peak beef yet? Nope. Now open in SoMa is ITTORYU GOZU from chef/owner Marc Zimmerman of MZ Dining Group (previously Alexander’s Steakhouse SF), who has opened his paean to the wagyu breed with co-founder Ben Jorgensen. Look for a whole-animal approach, featuring lesser-known parts and…