1. Though the Red Vic is going dark, Mission movie theatre the Roxie is about to shine a bit brighter, the small movie house put in a bid for a liquor license. The movie theater has hosted events with booze, but with the approval of this license, beer could be served with every feature. Currently, the Sundance Kabuki theatre is the only theater in San Francisco serving beer with feature films, but Grubstreet predicts the Roxie could be in on that action in the early fall. Maybe this could be just the thing to fill the void left by Oakland’s now defunct Parkway.
2. Boz Scagg’s infamous local concert venue Slim’s will soon be part of the pop-up restaurant scene. Starting in August, every Monday the SOMA music space will be hosting guest chefs alongside its eclectic music acts. The first pop-up will be on Aug. 1 and will feature the Jetset Chef. According to SFoodie, the food offerings will be braised lamb cheeks, scallop crudo with artichokes, honey-glazed short ribs and fritto miso of baby vegetables, among other dishes. Cathead BBQ will roll in August 8, followed by Radio Africa Kitchen on August 15. Food will be served from 5:30 – 10 p.m., and the meal is open to anyone over the age of 6. Reservations are not required.
3. The San Francisco Bay Guardian just released its 37th annual Best of the Bay. The lists were compiled from reader polls and editor selections. Some of the food categories include best burrito, best cup of coffee, and best dive bar. Nopa won best overall restaurant, according to readers, and Wayfare Tavern was awarded best new restaurant. The editors’ categories included best port dessert, best way to get smarter by drinking, and best righteous vegan sass, to name a few. To see the full lists, either go to the Bay Guardian website or pick up an issue for yourself at any street news box.
4. North Beach’s Txoko may have only been open for a couple of months, but the little restaurant is starting to get quite a lot of buzz. Txoko is the basque style brainchild of chefs Ryan Maxey and Ian Begg, the people behind Naked Lunch. According to 7×7, the duo went off to study food in Spain after the higher ups at Café Majestic wouldn’t let the them create the menu they wanted. Though the restaurant has a lot of potential, SF Weekly’s Jonathan Kauffman wrote, “the difference between the over thought dishes and the marvelous, complex ones seem to be a matter of the cooks imposing their own ideas on the ingredients as opposed to listening to them.” Despite the over thought menu, Eater Sf reports the restaurant is getting rave reviews.
5. Jasper’s Corner and Tap Room officially opened its doors on Wednesday. The buzz worthy bar has 23 taps and specializes in Belgian brews, local beer and ales from the UK. The restaurant also offers 23 wines. The bar and kitchen are staffed by famed locals – Kevin Diedrich of the Burritt Room, Brian MacGregor of Jardiniere and Adam Carpenter of Ponzu, and the menu consists of upscale bar food. Jasper’s has received positive reviews thus far and seems to be a promising use of the space that once was Ponzu’s.
6. The brains behind Mission Street Food have done it again. Their book, part recipes, part autobiography, had its official release party on Tuesday at the Make Out Room, and now Anthony Mynt and Karen Leibowitz are dishing to 7×7 their favorite places to eat when the duo are able to escape their Mission district home. Leibowitz tells 7×7 that these are, “the places we used to frequent when we were young and carefree.” Some of their favorite places include the Moroccan Aziza and Daly City’s dim sum heaven, Koi Palace Restaurant.
7. There is something delicious happening behind the gated doors of what once was 24th street’s Dislocandia. Mission Mission talked to Miles Pickering this week, the owner of the soon to be open, Pig & Pie. Pickering explained that the new restaurant will feature handmade sausages, unique dressings and homemade pie. There will also be a vegan pie option. Pig & Pie is looking to, “create a place where you can get upscale food at a downscale price.” Grubstreet SF reported last week that the owners applied for a liquor license. If all goes to plan, Pig & Pie should be open by November.
8. Castro Street fusion food staple, Nirvana is set to close soon. The Asian noodle house has a full liquor license and prime restaurant real estate. As Grubstreet explained, the closing of Nirvana is notable because, “it’s in a neighborhood where there hasn’t been a ton of restaurant turnover until recently.” The restaurant looking to take over the soon to be vacant space is called The Dancing Pigs. No news yet on a menu, but until then Nirvana remains open, but who knows for how long?
9. The Palace Family Steak House, on the corner of Mission and Capp Street, might be ready to reopen after closing its doors in 2009. Bernalwood blog was able to get past the brown paper covered windows to discover that the restaurant, “has been thoroughly remolded to look retro shabby-chic.” The weather beaten sign outside has even been cleansed of local taggers. Though rumors are flying around, no one has been able to be in contact with the owners, so, no word yet on whether or not the menu and name will remain the same.
10. Single foodies, there is a new place for you to meet your match. A Mountain View-based startup launched a dating site, Spoondate, which will match users based on location and food cravings. The idea is that a lonely diner will be wandering the streets, hungry for noodles, sushi, steak, anything, and then be able to look at an app on their phone that will match them with users seeking similar food. The tagline of the site is “never eat alone,” and perhaps this could be the next OkCupid for singles seeking not only partners, but good food.
