Noe Valley: Speaking of the Joseph Manzare empire of past and present, the abandonedPescheria space is, at long last, seeing some signs of life. Proper licenses in hand, Henry's Hunan has begun construction on the renovation. The main event will be a kitchen remodel, but they'll also be making some smaller style changes to the dining room decor and bar, what with the leftover aquatic theme and all. The current estimate is two months, meaning early October for you calendar-challenged folks.
· EaterWire: Henry's Hunan Update [~ESF~]
· The Shutter: Pescheria Closes, Sails Off to North Beach [~ESF~]
This week's edition of our ongoing contest is a special one, comprised wholly of reader submissions. More importantly, since the final votes are looming, we're making one last call for submissions. All neighborhoods are fair game, so do keep an eye out for sucker tables over the weekend, and send in your nominations. And don't forget to rock the vote.
This week's poll: Readers' choices from across town.
Join us for another edition of Adventures in Shilling, wherein we celebrate the grossest shills from around the world wide web. As always, you too can help fight shills.
It's been far too long since we've revisited the best shills from around the city, and leading off the party today we have a review/mini-press release that would like to tell you all about the daily specials and hours of operations at Basso's in Noe Valley:
I eat here regularly (I live right next door) and I can highly recommend everything on the menu. The steaks are outstanding. The thin crust pizzas are authentic. Daily Specials, too! Weekends feature brunch with such delights as a Salmon Scrambler and Crabcakes Benedict. And they stay open late!
Shill Probability: a modest 51%
Truth be told, the biggest tell might be the use of the "regular" term, because as our Noe Valley correspondent says, "for a new place, that place is always empty." Still, not a sure thing; fortunately, there's much bigger shilling to be had. Things are just getting started. We've got some blatant, multiple offenders >>
YERBA BUENA—New signage is up at Press Club, but even though the subterranean tasting room/wine bar has been ready to open for about three months now, the delays continue. The good news is that the liquor-related red tape is finally cleared up, and they are just waiting for the ABC to process the complicated licensing, which hopefully should come through in the next week or so. Following that, they'd be ready to roll in seven to ten days, so mid-August is the latest guess. [EaterWire]
NOE VALLEY—Workers and activists are up in arms against one Victor Juarez, who is being accused of all kinds of bad things (stealing tips, no OT, etc) by his so-called "Taquerias of Terror" empire. Juarez's carnitas conglomerate includes Azteca Taqueria, Casa Mexicana, La Fonda, La Tortilla, and Mexico Au Parc. SFist has the entire press release/manifesto should you be inclined to stop/avoid tonight's 24th St. protest. [SFist]
Noe Valley: Alrighty restaurant people, you know what this is. Sent in by a tipster, the above letter and its accompanying "limited edition" sticker is the Trojan Horse used to lure business owners online and eventually, pay for Yelp For Business Owners, the Yelpian euphemism for "sponsor." Admittedly, it's not a bad scheme at all (if a bit shameless), although we're not sure we'd classify those widespread stickers as exclusive, given every restaurant tops three stars (Eater Estimate) and your average months-old froyo shop has double that amount of reviews. In fact, we'd love to know the sticker qualifications. Anyway, what we really want to hear from you restaurant people are the other ways that Yelp has tried to lure restaurants in ... unbecoming ways. There have been rumors here and there of review manipulation, but if you have a tale of an eyebrow-raising quid-pro-quo offer from the Real Review Site, drop us a line. Anonymity always protected, natch.
· Yelp Wanted: Appeal to the Lowest Common Denominator, Satisfy Yelpers [~ESF~]
· Yelp Wanted Archives [~ESF~]
Last week, we broke the news that Noe Valley's Kookez Cafe would be shuttering at the end of August (or thereabouts), and a restaurant by the name of Tangerine is moving into 4123 24th Street space. Now we have confirmation that the upcoming restaurant is not related to the Castro's Tangerine. Interesting enough though, the Castro Tangerine folks have been flirting with the idea of a second location. [EaterWire, previously]
NOE VALLEY—We've known that Kookez Cafe has been on the market for quite some time, but someone has finally bought the restaurant. According to the good folks there, Kookez is planning on closing at the end of August, and the owners will be moving to Sunnyvale, where they're still flirting with the idea of another restaurant. As for the 4123 24th Street space, the name on the liquor license application identifies the new owners as the Tangerine Restaurant Group, but there's no word (yet) on whether or not they are related to the Castro's Tangerine. Stay tuned for updates... [EaterWire]
Welcome back to the Plywood Report, your regular, all-encompassing chronicle of the next generation of restaurants and bars to grace our fair city. Spot something new on your block? The tip line awaits. Bonus points and a fabulous sticker if you include photos.
1) Nopa: Seems that a few people got excited about the new signage up at Minibar, and the person who sent in the above snap of the interior revealed gets major points. Leather sofas and stools are in, and once a few more details get polished off, it might be just about time to promote Minibar to post-plywood status. Divisadero at McAllister [PLYWOOD]
All openings, big and small, get served up on a regular basis by The Dish. Spot a newcomer in your neighborhood? Send it along, would you?
1) Noe Valley: Opening right on schedule today is the second Noe Valley location of Toast Eatery. We took a long look at the space earlier in the week, so we won't rehash too many details, but know that it's just about an exact replica of the original (look and menu), about 45 seats, is replacing the classic Herb's and is open until 10pm tonight. 3991 24th Street, at Noe; (415) 642-6328; website [EaterWire]
Noe Valley: Compared to other high-profile neighborhoods, new restaurants on 24th Street have been rare in recent months, so we suppose it makes sense that Noe Valley is all abuzz with the first offshoot of the uber-popular Toast Eatery. The former Herb's Fine Food space and plywood vet was finally revealed to passers-by at the end of last week (3991 24th, near Noe), and it's a looker, to be sure. The new design is what one tipster described as "an amazing simulation" of the Church Street location. If all goes to plan, it should be open by week's end, meaning the weekend could very well see a new, non-Savor brunch option in the 'hood. But in the meantime, let's all pour out a little coffee for Herb's and Nepo, yes?
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It's been far too long since we've revisited the best shills from around the city, and leading off the party today we have a 
YERBA BUENA—New signage is up at Press Club, but even though the subterranean tasting room/wine bar has been ready to open for about three months now, the 
