I’m always happy to hear about new venues offering live music, and this recently opened Tenderloin supper club, Black Cat (400 Eddy Street, 415-358-1999), has a dinner menu, cocktail lineup, and wine list that will get your attention as well. New York restaurateur Fritz Quattlebaum and local operations partner Khalid Mushasha (Lolinda) have assembled quite a team for this project, including chef Ryan Cantwell (Zuni, Chez Panisse), bar manager Gabriel Lowe (Locanda, Beretta, and The Battery), and wine director Eugenio Jardim (Jardinière).
The modern supper club menu includes pan con tomate; two kinds of meatballs, latkes, and potpies; and a Black Cat double brisket patty melt with Munster, Swiss, and pickled and caramelized onions on Jewish rye. The Black Cat is also the only restaurant in San Francisco to carry oysters from The Marshall Store on Tomales Bay. There are cocktails, large-format low-ABV punches, and house sodas, and Jardim’s well-selected wine list includes 90 bottes, with many grower-producer Champagnes. Dinner nightly until 1 a.m.; limited bar menu until 1:30 a.m.
NORTH BEACH
Now open is Bodega (700 Columbus Avenue, 415-634-7002), serving Fort Point Beer (on draft and in cans), South American wines, an apple cider, and coffee from Linea, plus an array of small plates featuring a seasonal menu driven by the farmers’ market, plus dishes like toast with ricotta and saffron honey, avocado toast with the option of a poached egg, ceviche (currently with rockfish), and a Bodega bowl with brown rice or quinoa and vegetables, plus the option of adding an egg, avocado, and salmon. Owner Paria Sedigh, who has experience with catering and other food businesses, took over the long-standing (over 15 years) Melt! space and gave it quite the airy and clean makeover. Tuesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
The neighborhood now has a Yucatecan joint called Panuchos (620 Broadway Street), serving poc chuc, panuchos, and cochinita pibil, plus some taqueria standards like quesadillas and burritos. Monday–Saturday noon–3 a.m.
NOB HILL
Beer lovers continue to find plenty of places to indulge in this city, starting with the newly opened Buffalo Theory (1735 Polk Street, 415-829-8226). Chef Tim Luym (Poleng Lounge, Attic) partnered with Ted Kim (Steins Beer Garden & Restaurant in Mountain View) on this neighborhood restaurant with quality craft beers (30 on tap) — the staff is highly trained on the beers, so geek out to your heart’s content. Luym put together a menu of affordable and bold bar bites that take inspiration from drinking food from around the world, like Filipino adobo chicken wings and a Japanese chicken katsu sandwich. There are 116 seats, with a bar, communal tables, and a private room. Sunday–Wednesday 4 p.m.–11 p.m. and Thursday–Saturday 4 p.m.–midnight.
If you’re looking to get your peanut butter chocolate cookie fix from Batter Bakery (1517 Pine Street, 415-674-1069), the eight-and-a-half-year-old bakery has moved and opened in a new space. The bakery-cafe has large windows; a custom bakery case full of cookies, scones, shortbread, ice cream sandwiches, cakes, take-home doughs and batters; and a rotating menu of seasonal desserts. There’s also a cafe menu with breakfast and lunch options, including quiche, overnight oats, breakfast quinoa, and a biscuit breakfast sandwich. You’ll also find espresso drinks (made with beans from Equator Coffee) and affogatos.
Look for evening baking and cookie decorating classes come fall. All production for Batter Bakery’s San Francisco locations (555 California Street, One Market Plaza, Ferry Plaza Farmers Sunday Market, and Stonestown Sunday Market) will take place in this new space. Daily 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
Longtime star Tablehopper intern Rebecca Kinney let us know the approachable and easygoing Nob Hill Grille (969 Hyde Street, 415-474-5985) has closed. A sign in the window read: “Thank you for your 10 years of support, it has been an amazing ride.” No word yet on who is going into the space.
There are some changes at the old-school Fly Bar locations: Both have been sold to separate parties. Fly Bar on Sutter (1085 Sutter Street, 415-441-4232) was sold last month, and the new operators, Mark and Terry Miller, should be taking it over probably at the beginning of November. They will close the space for a couple of months for construction (I hear they will be removing the horseshoe bar) and will reopen as Miller’s, keeping it a neighborhood bar and restaurant. I’ll keep you posted. For now, you can still swing by and hang out with the Fly staff for some final-finals!
