News for Restaurants in San Francisco May 2014 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 Big 4 Restaurant in The Scarlet Huntington got a refresh under new owners the Puccini Group, and has a new chef in Kevin Scott (Jardinière, Hog Island Oyster Co., Paragon Restaurant). Longtime fans should find the spot updated but mostly unchanged --- the piano, deep booths and white tablecloths remain. Hog Island Oyster Co. reopened in expanded digs within the Ferry Building, taking over the adjacent, former Ferry Plaza Seafood space. The roomier interior features double the seating and a new, large oyster bar. On the brand-new list, Trou Normand has caused quite a stir since its March unveiling. Run by Bar Agricole's team, the 50ish-seat bar and restaurant sits within the 1925 Pacific Telephone building at 140 New Montgomery, also home to an upcoming project from Aziza's Mourad Lahlou. Chef is Salvatore Cracco (Adesso, Bar Agricole), cuisine leans country French, and charcuterie is a strong focus (as are cocktails and trou Normand spirits). On the fun side, the Mission District's new Urban Putt caters to a hip, mini-golf-loving crowd, with 14 indoor holes, cocktails and American food.   Long a Haight Street favorite, Dave McLean's Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery expanded this spring with a brand-new brewing facility and barbecue restaurant, Smokestack, in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood south of AT&T Park. Comprising an 80-seat corner of the new, 11,000-square-foot brewery, Smokestack features between 12-15 Magnolia brews on tap, including cask conditioned ales, as well as predominantly American whiskeys, boilermakers and cocktails, and barbecue under the vigilant care of Namu Gaji's executive chef Dennis Lee. The kitchen includes two wood-fired smokers and two grill pits, with a selection of seven different meats offered nightly. Additional sides include house-made pickles and Lee's famed family kimchi recipe. Food is served counter-style and by the pound. Look for lunch in the coming weeks. Dinner nightly. Smokestack, 2505 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94107, 415-864-7468.   Piattini has opened in the Mission District, featuring small plates of Italian cuisine from Venice-born chef Gino Assaf (Ristorante Ideale, Gondola and Specchio in San Francisco). The dining room seats 90 and features a modern design --- communal table in the lounge, wood-topped bar, cement floor, sculpture, art and chalk-written prose on the ceiling. Italian movies are screened nightly above the open kitchen. Beverages include 50 Italian wines with roughly 25 by the glass, and a bar menu that includes imported Italian beers. Small plates run from $4-$12, and include bites such as baccala mantecato, wild boar meatballs and ricotta gnocchi. Neapolitan-style pizzas as well as heartier mains are also available, including cioppino. Look for all-day happy hour specials Monday through Thursday. Dinner nightly. Piattini, 2331 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-956-5528.   Formerly the InterContinental Mark Hopkins’ club room but now open to the general public, the Nob Hill Club serves memorable meals in a redesigned space with mellow city views, a gourmet children's menu and wittily elegant attributes that make it a handy spot for business meetings, Nob Hill dates and quietly upscale family meals. Deft and creative executive chef Nenad Stefanovic should be included in any conversation about Bay Area chefs: his indulgent triple-truffle burgers, crispy french-fried smelt, daring black cod brioche, creamy-tangy Humboldt Fog agnolotti, and rhubarb-flanked rack of lamb are satisfying eye-openers. Nob Hill Club, InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco, 999 California St., San Francisco, CA 94108, 415-392-3434.   After gaining fame with her popular food truck --- which was also named Brass Knuckle --- and after a stint on TV, chef Shellie Kitchen opened this small Tenderloin shop. The same sandwiches for which San Franciscans habitually waited in long lines to be served through the truck's window are made fresh, along with several new ones. Fryin' Maiden is buttermilk-fried chicken with house-made apple-jalapeño slaw and sriracha aïoli; Notorious P.I.G. is ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, aïoli and powdered sugar between two of Brass Knuckle's huge, fluffy, house-made signature savory waffles. Brass Knuckle, 749 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA 94109, 415-374-7340.   The space that housed North Beach classic Washington Square Bar & Grill on and off under various owners from 1973-2010 saw some new life this spring. Chef-owners Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara (Sons & Daughters, Sweet Woodruff) opened The Square restaurant and bar in the historic building off Washington Square Park, and offer straightforward, approachable American cuisine and cocktails made with high-quality ingredients. The Square, 1707 Powell St., San Francisco, CA 94133, 415-525-3579.   News Bytes Acquerello Celebrates 25 Years, Welcomes Back Alumni Heralded alumni of Acquerello's kitchen will return this summer for a series of six tribute dinners celebrating the restaurant's 25th anniversary. The first dinner featured Liza Shaw in tandem with Acquerello's executive chef Suzette Gresham, as well as pastry chef Tim Nugent and baker Michael Shwe. Portions of the night's proceeds benefitted Shwe's nonprofit New Door Ventures, offering job training for disconnected youth. Future anniversary dinners will occur throughout June and July, featuring chefs such as Massimiliano Conti, Kim Alter and Nathan Lockwood. For reservations call 415-567-5432, and for a complete list of dinners visit the special events page at www.acquerello.com. Acquerello, 1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109, 415-567-5432.   Umami Burger’s “Artist Series” Continues with the José Andrés Burger The latest creation in Umami Burger’s “Artist Series” is the José Andrés Burger, a ground pork and cured ham patty topped with piquillo pepper confit, caramelized onions and Manchego cheese. It costs $15, with $1 from each burger donated to World Central Kitchen, a humanitarian organization launched by José Andrés and focused on solutions to hunger and poverty. Andrés has also designed a tapas and pintxos menu with options like patatas bravas (twice cooked crispy potatoes), dates wrapped with ham, and green olives with piquillo confit and anchovy. For more information, visit www.umami.com. Umami Burger, 2184 Union St., San Francisco, CA 94123, 415-440-8626.   Slanted Door Honored at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards Slanted Door in San Francisco was named Outstanding Restaurant at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards. Read GAYOT's coverage of the annual awards ceremony. Slanted Door, Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-861-8032.   Dine About Town Returns The biannual promotion Dine About Town San Francisco returns June 1-15, 2014, featuring discounted rates at dozens of notable restaurants. Diners can enjoy a two- or three-course, prix-fixe lunch experience for $18.95 or three-course dinner for $36.95, exclusive of tax and gratuity. Visit www.dineabouttown.com for more information.   Chef Shuffle Gather in Berkeley has a new executive chef. Charis Wahl has taken over from owner Sean Baker, who departed Gather's kitchen to focus on his new San Francisco project, Verbena. Wahl was opening sous chef at Gather and rose to chef de cuisine. She has also worked at Rivoli Restaurant and Ozumo. Gather, 2200 Oxford St., Berkeley, CA 94704, 510-809-0400.   Kevin Tanaka has been made restaurant chef of Navio at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, replacing Sean Eastwood. Tanaka, who started as a kitchen intern with the restaurant in 2005 and quickly moved up the ranks, is a native of Hawaii, and calls his cooking, "French meets Pacific Rim, with a California farmer's market influence." He plans to continue the restaurant's high standards for seasonal coastal cuisine met with farm-fresh ingredients. Navio, The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, One Miramontes Pt. Rd., Half Moon Bay, CA 94019, 650-712-7040.   The St. Regis San Francisco has appointed Olivier Belliard to the position of executive chef. He will oversee the hotel restaurant Vitrine as well as private dining, catering and special events. The St. Regis San Francisco, 125 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-284-4000.   Closings Check back soon for more news. 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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