It’s wine o’clock! As intended, INOVINO is opening in Cole Valley on Friday September 6th, starting at 5pm! You can come by for the soft opening the night before, also at 5pm—hat tip to Cole Valley blog for the heads-up. For a recap of Claudio Villani’s pet project, you can read all about it on tablehopper here. 108 Carl St. at Cole.
Rice ball emporium ONIGILLY is opening their second brick-and-mortar location downtown today, September 3rd. As previously reported on tablehopper, the new location is an “Express,” serving to-go items only. The menu is the same as their previous location, with rice balls, rice bowls, and a variety of fillings to satisfy carnivores and vegetarians alike. Hours are Mon-Sat 10am-6pm and Sun 11:30am-3pm. Embarcadero Center Four at Sacramento, 415-671-4706.
Berkeley’s CHOCOLATIER BLUE is moving west, with their first San Francisco shop due to open in the Phelan Building on Market Street on Thursday September 5th. Chocolate flavors will change seasonally; right now look for options like mango mint and cherry tarragon (chocolatier Chris Blue uses Domori chocolate from Italy). There will also be fruit jellies, marshmallows, turtles and candy bars, and hot chocolate kits. They’ll be open daily from 10am-7pm. 760 Market St. at O’Farrell.
On Sunday September 8th, head to ALL GOOD PIZZA in Bayview for the Bayview Mercantile pop-up event. The market includes lots of Bayview-made products, including pizza, of course, plus goods from Batter Bakery, Bueno Eats, and Gratta Wines. You’ll also find wares from local craftspeople and artists, and live music by Erin Brazil and the Brazillionaires. The events runs from 11am-4pm, and is free. 1605 Jerrold Ave at Newhall, 415-846-6960.
Looks like we missed this one when it opened on an odd stretch of Bayshore three weeks ago, but here it is! JAKE’S PLACE serves breakfast and lunch Mon-Fri 7am-2:30pm. Look for breakfast sandwiches and housemade muffins at breakfast, and sandwiches, salads, and meal plates with roasted chicken and sides at lunch; take a peek at the menu here. They are hoping to add dinner in the fall, with whole chickens and sides available to go in the evenings. They’re currently “softly” open, and the hours are a little flexible, so it’s good to call ahead. 293 Bayshore Blvd. at Oakdale, 415-550-2492.
The popular Underground Market has a new outdoor iteration: BATCH MADE MARKET is happening Sunday September 8th from 10am-8pm. The new market is not only outdoors but also includes fun activities and a bunch of workshops, including a pizza sauce workshop with Pizza Hacker and a bread class with Josey Baker (even if spaces aren’t available, you can still watch). Tickets are $5 at the door, and food and beer will be available for purchase. 55 Duboce St. at Woodward.
Those ever-vigilant Chowhounders have caught a rebranding on Geary: the former Shandong Noodle House is now XI’AN GOURMET. According to Geezericious, the chef is from Xi’an, and he does a mean lamb rou jia mo, or cumin lamb sandwich. The menu still includes Shandong dishes and the usual Chinese takeout suspects; Xi’an specials are listed under “House Special” and “Hand Pulled Noodles” on the menu. 3741 Geary Blvd. at 2nd Ave., 451-668-5888.
Another hat tip to Chowhound: Andy’s Chinese on Polk is now CHOPSTICK HOUSE. No word yet on the food; hopefully it’s better than the name. 2401 Polk St. at Union, 415-922-5526.
And in the unfortunate news department, it looks like BURMA SUPERSTAR has been linked to an outbreak of E. coli. Nine people with the infection dined there on August 16th or 17th, it appears. The Department of Public Health believes the incident is isolated, but the restaurant has voluntarily closed for a few days. This is the first such issue in 17 years of business, according to the owner, Desmond Tan. For more information, here’s a statement on the Facebook page from Tan and a public health official. 309 Clement St. at 4th Ave., 415-387-2147.
The interior of inoVino. Photo: Dana Massey-Todd. © tablehopper.com.
