PALO ALTO—Last seen in the Bay at Grand Cafe and then at Paris in Vegas, Fabrice Roux has resurfaced in Palo Alto. The husband of Absinthe's former pastry chef Murielle Roux, he'll be the executive chef at Joya, a new upscale restaurant/lounge opening on University Avenue. Opening date is set for July, and curiously for the French chef, the restaurant will be of the Spanish/Latin American ilk. More details and renderings (including the one pictured to the right) are available on the official site. [EaterWire]
GOLDEN GATE PARK—It's not entirely news per se, but we'll take every opportunity to gawk at the upcoming Academy of Sciences mega-project. The latest is that The Moss Room—also known as the Charles Phan/Loretta Keller restaurant and cafe going into the new museum—has applied for a liquor license. Did we mention there's a wall that is alive there? 110 days until go-time. [EaterWire]
For the first time in recent memory (probably since Red Lantern in November), the Peninsula gets a rather high-profile opening tonight with the arrival of Pampas, the 230-seat churrasco-style restaurant in Palo Alto. Seeing as how it's always fun to compare the before and after shots, check out the gallery of photos sent along by the Pampas folks. Other notable facts: the flat fee for the churrasco dinner will set you back $44, a la carte also available, the cachaças collection is supposedly very attractive, and for better or worse—we're still not sure how we feel about the whole "consulting" trend—big name consultants are aplenty (Marisa Churchill, Mark Bright, Dominic Venegas). In any event, a splash has been made on the Peninsula, which in itself is a feat for both Pampas and its PR blitz. 529 Alma Street, Palo Alto, (650) 327-1323
· Plywood Report Peninsula Edition: Pampas [~ESF~]
ยท Steakhouse opens at ex-nightclub [Palo Alto Daily News]
Allow us a quick trip down the Peninsula to Palo Alto, because a)Pampas has a decent shot at getting a Bauer review, b) it has already signed on some big names (i.e., Marisa Churchill of Yoshi's and Top Chef is consulting), c) there will be a video-conferencing available for corporate parties, and in an age where SF restaurants are complaining about health care costs, d) the restaurant is doing some very novel things when it comes to taking care of employees, like pension benefits, health care and opportunities to take enrichment classes, be it ESL or pastry-making. The space is an odd one—8300 square-feet over three split levels—and will seat 230 total. More descriptions on the space details can be had in the photo gallery captions.
· PeninsulaWire [~ESF~]
· Steakhouse opens at ex-nightclub [Palo Alto Daily News]
A week after leaving Sens, GM Saeed Amini has already found a new gig at Palo Alto's Pampas, a new Brazilian steakhouse due to open in a few months, but the real news might be Pampas' extreme friendliness toward its employees: "In addition to paying for employees to take English as a second language to help them ascend Pampas' career ladder, the restaurant will fund classes that let employees improve their art, such as a pastry-making class for a sous-chef ... 'That's huge,' said executive chef John Karbowski. 'It enables people to stick around - you can train them.' General manager Saeed Amini, who formerly worked at Kokkari in San Francisco and Evvia in Palo Alto, said the philosophy is groundbreaking in the restaurant industry." [Palo Alto Daily News]
Eater has just received confirmation that Pinkberry will be opening its first northern California franchise. The dates are still up in the air, but as long rumored, the SoCal frozen yogurt giant—which recently received a cool $27.5 million from Starbucks founder Howard Schultz—will indeed open a location in the Stanford Shopping Center. The news came to a head after an innocent employment ad sparked all sorts of rumors. The following is our phone conversation with the Los Angeles-based company that started those glorious fro-yo wars:
PALO ALTO—Last seen in the Bay at Grand Cafe and then at Paris in Vegas, Fabrice Roux has resurfaced in Palo Alto. The husband of Absinthe's former pastry chef Murielle Roux, he'll be the executive chef at Joya, a new upscale restaurant/lounge opening on University Avenue. Opening date is set for July, and curiously for the French chef, the restaurant will be of the Spanish/Latin American ilk. More details and renderings (including the one pictured to the right) are available on the official site. [EaterWire]
Eater has just received confirmation that Pinkberry will be opening its first northern California franchise. The dates are still up in the air, but as long rumored, the SoCal frozen yogurt giant—which recently received a cool 
