Over the weekend I got a note from Lauren Kiino of ~IL CANE ROSSO~ in the Ferry Building Marketplace about not just one but two new SoMa projects she is working on: RED DOG and FEARLESS (you may have seen the story in the Scoop here). The bigger project is Red Dog, which will be opening in half of the former Maya space on 2nd Street (who is moving into the other half is TBD). The 75-seat restaurant will be a casual spot to swing by for lunch or after work, serving rustic cuisine that’s a bit American or British or Italian or French (not unlike what you’d find at Il Cane Rosso, which means “red dog”). Dishes may include a vegetarian pasta carbonara made with kale, mushrooms, and salt-cured egg yolk; chicken-fried pork chop; wild nettle and mushroom-potato hash. And I’m also happy to hear that Il Cane Rosso’s awesome Scotch egg will be on the menu. Kiino says they’ll be serving “real entrées, like grandma-meets-farmhouse cooking”; she will be working closely with Emily Martin, her sous chef at Il Cane Rosso. There is also a bar (with 25 seats) and there will be a full liquor license. Timing is late spring or early summer 2013. 303 2nd St. at Harrison.
The second project, FEARLESS, is going to be a café opening in a nearby space that previously was a Tully’s, serving quality coffee from a local roaster, breakfast sandwiches, and other breakfasty items, and grab-and-go sandwiches and salads for lunch, plus some hot items. Fearless has the same timing as Red Dog.
Lauren Kiino (left) at Il Cane Rosso; photo from Facebook.