Exciting news: ~FLORIO~ on Fillmore has a new chef, the talented Colin Dewey. He most recently worked at Zero Zero with Bruce Hill, and returned this winter from a cooking sabbatical in Italy. Prior to Zero Zero, he worked with Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali. His new, Italian-focused menu at Florio will launch on February 16th, with housemade pastas and his own take on bollito misto. Florio classics like steak frites and roast chicken will remain, though the general focus of the menu will turn toward Italy, not France. Dewey plans to use local and seasonal ingredients, and everything will be made in-house, including sausages, preserves, and gelato.
And in case you were wondering where Nicholas Pallone, the previous chef at Florio, was headed, Eater just reported that he is opening his own spot on Fillmore, just a few blocks down from Florio in the Pizza Inferno space. His new place will be called ACADEMY BAR & KITCHEN and will focus on Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in the wood-fired oven. He’ll be doing everything in-house (anyone sensing a theme here?), including curing his own charcuterie, brewing vinegar, and milling flour. Inferno is currently slated to close March 1st, and Academy plans to open in mid-April. In the meantime, Pallone has a Kickstarter campaign going to raise $50,000 to help with construction. 1800 Fillmore St. at Sutter, 415-775-1800.
GAME, the restaurant from Sachin Chopra and Shoshana Wolff (All Spice San Mateo) that opened in November, has a new chef. Opening executive chef Zack Freitas has left, and Chopra himself will be running the kitchen from now on. A press release says the split is amicable, and Chopra will be launching a new menu in the next couple of weeks. Chopra says, “I’m happy to be able to execute my original vision for Game.” As for Freitas, there’s no word as to where he might land next. 648 Bush St. at Powell, 415-874-9481.
North Beach’s ROSE PISTOLA has a new executive chef: Steve Walker. Walker, who previously worked as chef de cuisine at Corso in Berkeley, plans to honor the restaurant’s history while also bringing some fresh perspective to the daily changing menu. The restaurant will continue to focus on housemade pastas and whole animal butchery, with new dishes like house-cured bresaola and braised artichokes alla romana. 532 Columbus Ave. at Union, 415-399-0499.
CITIZEN FOX, the upcoming brewery and beer incubator, has found an executive chef. Kevin Schuder, whose previous experience includes Millennium, Izakaya Yuzuki, AQ, and his very own vegetarian and vegan pop-up in Oakland, Veg 388. The project, which has lots of local names involved, including restaurateur Deborah Blum (partner in Beretta and Starbelly), master cicerone and brewmaster Rich Higgins, bar consultant Chris Lane (Ramen Shop), and general manager Danielle Seiple, is currently slated to open this summer. 2205 Mission St. at 18th St.
Colin Dewey, the new chef at Florio. Photo by Devin Moore.
