MARINA
Your weekends are about to get “dim-summier” and rowdier with the arrival of the bottomless dim sum weekend brunch at Chubby Noodle Marina (2205 Lombard Street, 415-655-3335). For $37 (plus tax and tip), you will have 90 minutes to enjoy bottomless dishes and four or five beverages, too, ranging from draft Sapporo to their cold tea to probably some mimosas.
The starting menu is divided into five sections: dim sum (pork buns, shrimp and cilantro dumplings, shu mai); noodles (expect Hong Kong-style chow mein, rice cakes in XO sauce, wonton noodle soup); soup (hot and sour, crab and corn chowder); rice (their amazing fried rice, and jook with smoked pork and a poached egg); and sides (bok choy, pea shoots, eggplant).
Knowing chef-partner Pete Mrabe, these initial dishes will change a bit. He plans to start with 12, and then ramp up with new dishes each week, eventually getting to 25 (five dishes in each menu section). You’ll check off on a piece of paper the dishes you want. Depending on the size of your group, you may need to order double — your server will advise you. Bonus: Because tables will be timed for 90 minutes, reservations will be available (via SeatMe or Yelp). You can hop over to their website right now and book your table. Brunch will be served 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and with these new hours, they will be open continuously on Saturday and Sunday through dinner.
Adding to the bakery madness in town is La Panotiq (2234 Chestnut Street, 415-525-3625) in the Marina. This is the second location of the small bakery chain, which started in Campbell. The menu offers soups, sandwiches, salads, and pastries, as well as coffee and tea.
COW HOLLOW
The beginning of the year is here, and, sadly, that means some closures to report. Café des Amis (2000 Union Street) closed it doors on Sunday, Jan. 4, after opening in 2010. A press release from Bacchus Management Group, which owned the cafe, cites problems securing a lease as the ultimate cause of the closure. The hope is to reopen in a new location later, but in the meantime, they are working to make sure all the staff can transition into new positions at the group’s other restaurants.
The Union Street location of Osha Thai (2033 Union Street) closed on Sunday, Jan. 11. Their other (many) locations are still in operation, though.
WESTERN ADDITION
The sad news continues, with the report from Eater that Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles (1521 Eddy Street) has closed. Yelpers are reporting that they closed due to ongoing flooding issues but will reopen in Oakland.
One more Fillmore closure: The Addition (1330 Fillmore Street) or the artist formerly known as Yoshi’s, closed once and for all on Jan. 14. The San Jose Mercury News reported that the Fillmore Live Entertainment Group had been trying to revive the location, which opened in 2007, but its financial commitments were too burdensome. They are hoping a new partner will step in yet again to breathe some life into the location.
UNION SQUARE
The next time you’re downtown, you have a couple new options to check out. There’s a follow-up to Klyde: 398 Restaurant & Bar (398 Geary Street, 415-654-5061) and, like Klyde, it’s in the Hotel G but is a separate project. Klyde’s Sam Fechheimer is the chef here as well, with a menu of European-inspired dishes. The charcuterie selection is extensive, with pâtés and terrines made in-house, and entrées include pastas, meats, and salads.
There’s also some news behind the bar: Brian Felley and Mo Hodges of the short-lived Big are running the show. These new digs are actually large, clocking in at 124 seats, and the pair will still be shaking up their creative and flavorful concoctions. The drinks and food are designed to play well together, so think cocktail-friendly food and vice versa.
The interior is a mix of industrial and raw with polished accents. The banquettes are upholstered with blood orange velvet to give a plush vibe, while raw beams and the original and distressed plaster ceiling keep everything from getting too fussy. The back bar has botanical wallpaper, which echoes the many ingredients in the cocktails, and Holophane-style lights, with polished dark wood stools and a pewter-toned bar. Hours are daily 5–11 p.m.
Beer lovers will want to check out Hogwash (582 Sutter Street, 415-361-5500), a new beer hall from owners Nick Rothman and Paula Thompson, which offers a major selection of beers on tap (Rich Higgins assembled the list). There are 30 in all, from far and wide, including Hitachino White Ale (Japan), Fuller’s London Porter (England), and Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale (Belgium). There are also many domestic taps, including locals like Almanac, Lagunitas, and Magnolia. The beer selection will change often, but the goal is to make sure that it is well rounded and that there is something for everyone, from the intense beer nerd to the casual sipper.
The space was designed by Lauren Geremia of Geremia Design and has a modern, sleek feel with warm touches. There is a lot of oak and steel, and the warm brick touches and mod white wall paneling keep it from falling into the ubiquitous reclaimed-everything trap we see so much of. The high ceilings have been stripped to reveal exposed timbers, with modern globe light fixtures and wall sconces, keeping the space geometric and clean. The taps behind the long wood bar are backed with marble, too, which is one of the touches that make the space feel more sophisticated than the average beer hall.
There’s food, too, mostly in the form of house-made sausages and snacks. Morgan Hamm of Le Beau Market crafted the menu, which includes a breakfast-style pork sausage served with a fried egg, a lamb sausage, and even a vegetarian option made with squash and barley. There are also salads and a few snacks like fries, pretzel bites, and fried pickles. For now, they are open daily 6 p.m.–1 a.m., but plan to add lunch service soon.
FINANCIAL DISTRICT
There’s a new project from Stones Throw’s Ryan Cole and Jason Kirmse (also of Fat Angel) going into the Great Hunan space in Jackson Square called Trestle (531 Jackson Street). The Hi Neighbor group, the newly established San Francisco-based restaurant group responsible for Fat Angel and Stones Throw, is behind the project, which includes the aforementioned Cole and Kirmse, plus Cyrick Hia, Tai Ricci, and executive chef Jason Halverson.
The daily-changing dinner menu will focus on elevated interpretations of comfort cuisine, and the format will be a three-course prix fixe for $35, with an option to add additional courses for $10 each. As for the name, the press release explains that a trestle is “defined as one of the earliest interpretations of a dining room table.” The targeted opening is late March 2015. We’ll have more details on the 49-seat space in the coming months.
