MARINA/COW HOLLOW
Now open is Spaghetti Bros. (3213 Scott Street, 415-400-8500), the new project we mentioned last month from former Bix and Fog City chefs Erik Lowe and Aaron Toensing.
Their menu is playful and innovative, adding seasonal NorCal ingredients, technique, and refinement to many classic American dishes. You can start with Aaron’s garlic bread, or toasted ravioli and marinara, then move on to a chopped salad, clam linguine with Jimmy Nardello peppers, and spaghetti with uni butter. (But then there’s the orecchiette mac and cheese, with New York cheddar Mornay and green chile salsa.) You can ramp up with a half chicken, duck breast scallopini, and Swedish meatballs, plus there are a few large-format table options, like a 16-ounce Flannery dry-aged prime New York steak with creamed spinach-delicata squash gratin, l’entrecôte sauce, and rosemary frites.
The pasta is made in-house, and their Josper (a charcoal-fueled oven and grill that can sustain temperatures above 650) will be getting a workout. Toensing will be rocking the desserts with house-made gelato, spumoni, and a Hatch green chile-apple pie with a cheddar cheese-flecked crust.
The bar features some cocktail classics (Boulevardier, La Floridita daiquiri), with Negroni variations as a highlight (courtesy of general manager and bar director William Sanders, also a Bix alum). The wine list strikes a good balance between quality and value with both Old- and New-World selections, but if you want to bust out with some Bollinger, you can do that, too.
The former Republic bar has been given quite the overhaul by designer Michael Guthrie and architect Mark Topetcher. There are four areas: a bar, lounge, main dining room, and private dining room, with seats for 120 in all. There’s a 20-seat, copper-topped bar, red leather banquettes with plaid upholstered backs, an elevated lounge with mocha leather banquettes, and the 50-seat dining room has classic white tablecloths and Thonet bentwood chairs with beige leather seats and tartan upholstered backs. Hours are 4:30–11 p.m. (bar), and 5:30–11p.m. (restaurant). Look for some additions, like a daytime sandwich shop.
Looking for some late-night street food? Lasan (3145 Fillmore Street, 415-346-4900) has you covered with their Late Night at Lasan menu. It’s available on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m.–2 a.m. and is cooked and served right on the sidewalk. The special menu includes snack items and finger foods, as well as naan wraps stuffed with chicken tikka, lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro, and cucumber, with mint and tamarind chutney and a choice of hot sauce for $8. Or go the fully fried route with a samosa, fries, and pakora combination for $6. Plus, beers are only $4 with food purchase.
NORTH BEACH
Chubby Noodle North Beach (1310 Grant Avenue, 415-296-9600) is now serving lunch daily 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (they are also open for dinner 5–10 p.m.).
Piccolo Forno (725 Columbus Avenue, 415-757-0087), the new, casual addition from the Ideale crew, is now open. Hoodline reports that the new spot opened softly Oct. 28 and is serving pizza, salads, espresso, pastries, and antipasti all day. After they get their pizza oven, hours will be daily 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
CHINATOWN
Sam Wo Restaurant and Bakery (715 Clay Street, 415-989-8898) reopened Oct. 21 in the former Anna Bakery space. The new location has multiple floors (like the previous location), and they even installed a dumbwaiter (ahhh, nostalgia). You’ll notice other original artifacts in the space, and many of the original menu items, too, from the barbecue pork rice noodle roll to jook to wonton soup. Look for beer and wine to come soon, and the bakery part of the business to ramp up, too.
Hours for now Monday–Wednesday 11 a.m.–3 p.m., Wednesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 6–11p.m., closed Sunday.
PACIFIC HEIGHTS
As reported earlier this year, there are changes afoot at the former Pizza Inferno on Fillmore. The New Fillmore was first to report that it’s now softly open as Academy (1800 Fillmore Street, 415-775-1800), from chef Nick Pallone and Peter Fogel. They’ve revamped the space, giving it a more open feel, with reclaimed wood tables and an open bar, plus they’ve added a wood-fired oven for Neapolitan-style pizzas. The menu is fun and seasonal, with a section of snacks, cured meats, vegetables, pizzas, and heartier main dishes. There are also 24 beers on tap and a selection of wines. It’s the perfect before-movie spot, just a block from the Sundance Kabuki.
