All stories about "Coco500"

NORTH BEACH—When it comes to the rumors regarding Jennifer Biesty of Coco500 and Top Chef fame getting involved in the 15 Romolo project, we're about ready to upgrade them to 99% confirmed. The most recent intel comes from a very, very well-placed source and says it's pretty much a done deal that Jen—whose time Coco500 is quickly winding down—will be consulting on the bar menu for 15 Romolo. [EaterWire]

COW HOLLOW—Don't look now, but according to Luisa Hanson (so obviously take it as you will), this weekend will see a debut of La Vinoteca, the wine bar adventure that has been hovering over the Union Street space for some time now. That's right: the plan is to open straight into the weekend rush, sans soft opening, on what could very well be the busiest dining out weekend of the year. This could be fun. UPDATE: Not open over the weekend. [EaterWire]

[Photo: Flickr/aynne]

THE MISSION—According to this listing, Valencia Street's popular Phoenix Irish Pub—technically its building—is on the market. The asking price? A cool $1.55 million for the 2,000 square-foot space, which works out to about $775 per square foot. It's a buyer's market and the 19th/Valencia area gets tons of foot traffic. As we understand it, the bar is a tenant, not the current owner, so its fate probably lies with the next owners. [MLS]

SOMA—We'll have a little Top Chef/Jennifer round-up tomorrow, but for those wondering about Jen's whereabouts, she's still at Coco500 and in an exit interview with Cutty, she drops some hints on her future: "I’m going to leave at the end of May. I'm working on a project with a friend: We're going to open up a little restaurant pretty soon as well ... We've got this cool location; it's definitely a nighttime spot. We want it to be a super-cool, dark, speakeasy kind of place with kick-ass cocktails that are using a lot of seasonal ingredients and just great seasonal foods." [Cutlets]

Oh yes, at long last, the new season of Top Chef finally arrives this week, as the Chicago edition kicks off this Wednesday night. Down in LA, our SoCal sis is all over the media frenzy, including a marathon of an interview with Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio; up here, a full quarter of the 16 cheftestants hail from San Francisco. Since the players were announced in January, each of our four locals have, for some reason, played prominent roles around the rumor mill. On that note, let's break down the buzz that has surrounded our fab four over the last two months or so:

· Erik Hopfinger, 38, Circa: Following a curious expression when asked about the show, Erik was the subject of the season's first rumor that had him doing well on the show; later, he perfectly fit the profile of Eater LA's conspiracy theory that Bravo always puts the successful contestants in the middle of the ads.

The Scandinavian Designs interior of Coco500 [Photo: Yelp/Aaron S]

Leading off the festivities, we have Paul Reidinger visiting Loretta Keller's Coco500, where he muses on its predecessor Bizou, the pre-ballpark days of SoMa and the interior design of the trendy Coco500:

I went in warily, full of skepticism, and was almost instantly won over, and that is about the loudest hallelujah I can sing for any restaurant, reinvented or otherwise.

Most of Coco500's magic has to do with the food and the service, it must be said. The redesign of the interior emphasizes blond wood and is reminiscent of a Scandinavian Designs store or a sauna, and while there's nothing wrong with the Danish modern look, it doesn't exactly send the most accurate subliminal signals about what sort of food to expect

· Not Using the Entire Gift Certificate at Coco500: Not Recommended [eG]
· Lots of Confusion Swirling Around Pizzaiolo [CH]
· The Rights and Wrongs of Various Tipping Policies [FohBoh]
· Troya Goes Beyond Turkish Cuisine ... All the Way to Anatolian [CH]
· The Slanted Door: Still a Big Favorite With Locals [CH]
· Fleur de Lys and Other Options For "French-ish Foods" [Yelp Convo]