The Chatterbox

There are a bunch of events coming up, and I need to keep this succinct, so click through for more details! You won’t want to miss this kickoff celebration for Diwali (the Festival of Lights) at BESHARAM on Saturday October 15th, a one-night-only feast from chef Heena Patel (Diwali…

I’m so happy to have some positive news to report: owners Ryo Sakai and Cory Jackson of neighborhood favorite KUMA SUSHI + SAKE in Lower Polk are opening a second location, Kuma Valencia, in spring-summer of 2023. After opening their first location in August 2017, they have steadily built up…

After being closed temporarily for an update to their dining room’s interior design, husband-and-wife chefs David Fisher and Serena Chow Fisher of MARLENA are back in their Bernal Heights home, and their popular $65, four-course tasting menu is back with them, too! During the summer, they cleverly ran Summer…

Some great news coming out of Bayview: my longtime chef pal Eddie Blyden is now Director of Culinary Education at OLD SKOOL CAFE, the youth-run, 1920s-style, jazz-themed supper club. He started in July, and has been getting situated and handling staffing (they have a new GM as well). He met…

Fans of the Detroit-style pies at JOYRIDE PIZZA will find them at two new locations: 685 Market Street (at 3rd St.) and inside craft beer bar Woods Lowside at 530 Haight Street in the Lower Haight. (Click the links for hours and menus.) You can get a whole pie or…

Just wanted to get a few upcoming openings on your radar. First, I’ve been looking at XICA, coming to Levi’s Plaza this fall. This “Mexican kitchen, Chicana style” is an offshoot from Maria Esquivel’s Chica in Oakland, which opened six years ago—Nosh just reported the Oakland…

Just in case you didn’t see these updates on social media (I post breaking news in my Instagram Stories all the time), after over 100 years in the Mission, ROOSEVELT TAMALE PARLOR has sadly closed. Owners Aaron Presbrey and Barry Moore (since 2012) cited pandemic-related challenges and uncertainty about…

Big announcement from Bacchus Management Group (The Village Pub, Spruce, Selby’s, Pizza Antica)—they’re launching a trio of restaurants in Potrero Hill in early 2023: a modern donut shop (Magic Donuts & Coffee), an old-fashioned burger and shake shop (Louie’s Original), and an Italian restaurant (La Connessa)…

Earlier this spring, a pending ABC license revealed Tom Silargorn and business partner Rattakorn Potharam behind the three locations of Lers Ros were opening a project called CAULIFLOWER in the former (and longtime) Katz Bagels location on 16th Street in the Mission (Hoodline noticed the license back in May). It…