News for Restaurants in San Francisco August 2011 Archive Search / Openings / Closings / Chef Shuffle / News Bytes / Sign up for our free, monthly newsletter / News Archive Want to know who's doing what in your city? Gayot has the restaurant news you want to read on openings, closings, special events, and more. Learn everything you need to know about the restaurants in San Francisco here. RESTAURANT NEWS Openings Outer Sunset has a new spot for caffeine and a quick bite. Beachside, serving breakfast and lunch daily, serves up dishes like fried chicken sandwiches and meatball subs plus soft-serve ice cream and homemade cotton candy in flavors like chocolate mint. Beachside, 4300 Judah St., San Francisco, CA 94122, 415-682-4961.   Soon to be serving up cocktails in the Marina is Reed & Grennough. This vintage-inspired bar is scheduled to open September 1, 2011. The interior will feature a bar topped with copper as well as dartboards, pool tables and a shuffleboard table. There will be nearly a dozen beers on tap as well as classic and original cocktails. Reed & Grennough, 3251 Scott St., San Francisco, CA 94123, 415-290-7377.   Southern Pacific Smokehouse has opened in the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center in Novato. The menu showcases contemporary American cuisine and barbecue dishes smoked over hickory wood. Dishes include smoked chicken wings with roasted garlic buttermilk dip; shrimp and cheddar grits; and dry rub baby back ribs. For dessert, there's house made brownie with bourbon-pecan ice cream or banana pudding. On weekends, the Brunch With Punch features unlimited refills for $10. Southern Pacific Smokehouse, 224 Vintage Wy., Novato, CA 94945, 415-899-9600.   Cupola Pizzeria has opened in the Westfield San Francisco Centre in Union Square, marking the Lark Creek Restaurant Group's second addition to the upscale shopping center along with LarkCreekSteak. The Italian sit-down restaurant and pizzeria features Christian Hermsdorf (Citron, Bar Bambino) as chef and boasts a focus on wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza topped with seasonal ingredients from local farms. Additional menu items include pulled-to-order mozzarella with asparagus, bread crumbs and Parmesan, ricotta ravioli with chopped watercress butter, and spaghetti with cauliflower, lemon and Dungeness crab. Lunch & Dinner daily. Cupola Pizzeria, Westfield San Francisco Centre, 845 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-896-5600.   Trace will open in the space formerly occupied by XYZ in the W San Francisco hotel. October has been named its opening month. Helmed by executive chef Paul Piscopo, the restaurant will focus on socially responsible, seasonal and local ingredients that can be "traced" to their nearby origins. The revamped restaurant will feature a new design by Stanley Saitowitz. Trace, 181 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-777-5300.   News Bytes Keep Cool with Masa's Degustation d'Été Menu For the summer, Masa's is offering a Degustation d'Été menu ($98 per person) composed of only chilled dishes. The five courses might include sparkling Santa Rosa plum soup served with thyme-scented ice; tomato tartare with gazpacho sorbet and smoked tomato water; filet mignon of beef "tataki" with cilantro, lime and melon; and cucumber yogurt parfait with sesame praline, Persian cucumber sorbet, yuzu curd and orange. Masa's, Executive Hotel Vintage Court, 648 Bush St., San Francisco, CA 94108, 415-989-7154.   Baker, Banker, Guest Chef Over the next few months, Pacific Heights boîte Baker & Banker owner-chefs Lori Baker and Jeff Banker will host notable guest chefs for special dinners. On Wednesday, September 14, local butcher Ryan Farr will help craft the menu. Dinners are open to the public and cost $75 for five courses. Baker & Banker, 1701 Octavia St., San Francisco, CA 94109, 415-351-2500.   Chez Panisse at 40 Alice Waters' iconic Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse turns 40 years old on August 28, 2011, and will be marked by a weekend-long tribute and celebration at the restaurant and multiple additional venues around the Bay Area. Intimate dinners featuring a star-studded list of Chez Panisse alumni and friends will be held at private homes for $500-$2,000 per person, with all proceeds benefitting the Chez Panisse Foundation's Edible Schoolyard project. On Saturday, August 27, the restaurant's anniversary dinner party hosted by Alice Waters is fully reserved, but there is a waiting list. Visit www.chezpanissefoundation.org/40th for the full schedule and ticket costs. Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, 510-548-5525.   New Options for Speedy, High-End Lunch Michael Mina restaurant now offers two high-end weekday dining options for Financial District power lunchers---guests who dine at the bar can opt for à la carte small plates crafted with efficiency in mind (crispy duck leg tacos; Mina's signature lobster corn dogs), while patrons who choose the dining room have more substantial three- or four-course prix-fixe menu options. Michael Mina restaurant lunch hours are Monday-Friday from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Meanwhile, Cotogna has started limited weekday brown-bag lunches to go, featuring rustic sandwiches and salads for $12 per bag, and La Mar Cebicheria Peruana's inner "Cafe La Mar" counter features new lonchera or "lunch boxes" including a Peruvian-style sandwich, house-made potato chips and alfajor cookies for $9 available Monday-Friday.   Michael Chiarello Designs New Menus for Delta Chef Michael Chiarello (Bottega) has designed new menus for Delta's BusinessElite class on flights connecting New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Starting in September, flyers will be able to enjoy dishes such as antipasti with prosciutto, roasted red peppers, grilled eggplant, and crostini with artichoke spread; braised beef short ribs with polenta and sautéed spinach; and chocolate hazelnut gelato. Bottega, V Marketplace, 6525 Washington St., Yountville, CA 94599, 707-945-1050.   Chef Shuffle Check back soon for more news. Closings Home, a casual comfort food spot in the Castro District, has shuttered. Home, 2100 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94114, no phone.   Long in the works, The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, is about to undergo a dramatic shift in concept, décor and menu, transforming from a special occasion, luxury restaurant to one that is less formal and more approachable. After dinner service on September 15, 2011, the restaurant closed, and subsequent renovations will include an increase in space (drawn from the hotel's opulent lobby and The Ritz Bar) into a melding of more casual bar, lounge and restaurant, including two new communal tables. Additional features will include a new chef's table for eight guests, private room for twenty guests and separate, outdoor entrance to the bar and restaurant. Chef Ron Siegel's new menu will evolve away from the complex tasting menus for which the Iron Chef is known to simple, straightforward dishes crafted with exceptional ingredients. The Dining Room, The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, 600 Stockton St., San Francisco, CA 94108, 415-773-6168.   Two former Bay Area media darlings have closed. San Francisco's nine-year-old Home restaurant on Market Street, which helped lead the Bay Area movement towards simple comfort food in the years after 9-11, declared bankruptcy and went dark mid-August. In Oakland, nightclub-restaurant hybrid Levende East, opened in 2007, joined former sister restaurant Levende in San Francisco in shuttering for good.   CULINARY EVENTS Want to learn to cook? Try new dishes? Meet a foodie friend for fun? Check out our compilation of culinary events in your area. View our calendar of Wine Dinners & Tastings in San Francisco Discover the top restaurants in the San Francisco/Bay Area for various cuisines and categories like sushi, steakhouses, happy hours, romantic dining and even gourmet food trucks. Find the best restaurants in SF here!

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