All stories about "Pat Kuleto"

BauerBetting: Waterbar

Last week, Michael Bauer let on that he's reviewing Waterbar Sunday, so we've taken a page out of the mothership's book, and put together an edition of BauerBetting. The Eater oddsmakers have set the action thusly:

Less Than 2: 100-1
2 Stars: 12-1
2.5 Stars: 5-1 √√
3 Stars: 2-1
3.5 Stars: 10-1
4 Stars: 3,000-1

The biggest piece of evidence to go off of here is the Epic review, and even though it nabbed its expected trio, the piece didn't exactly read as such. In addition to price issues, Bauer knocked the decor as veering too much to "the Disney side of things," criticisms that should carry over to the giant fish bonanza next door. Now, the odds are that Bauer continues to play it safe and Waterbar gets the same three stars. However, by most comparative accounts we've read and heard, Waterbar has been a step behind Epic. Also, remember that Bauer sang Epic's praises several times on his blog before the review dropped. The guy likes the place; meanwhile, Waterbar mentions have been practically nil. We can't see Waterbar getting 3.5 already, and a pure deuce would be a slap in the face to guy pal Kuleto, so we're rolling the dice, going against the easy tres money and taking the 2.5.
· Epic portions, epic prices at Kuleto's Roasthouse [Chron]

√√ denotes the Eater bet.

HiatusWatch: Caffe Kuleto's Shutters, Albeit Temporarily

"We're still open!!! ... But we're technically closed."

1) Odds are that the renovations that have forced Caffe Kuleto's to close won't be of the, ahem, "Kuleto proportions" we've grown to know and love, but according to sources at the Union Square eatery, the cafe adjacent to the main restaurant (which is still open) will be closed for about a month or so. Among the changes: many more tables will be added and the layout will be shuffled, as the space will be expanded into a bigger wine bar/cafe to complement the restaurant. All else being equal, we still wouldn't mind a giant water column or two. Reopening: early to mid-April. [ShutterWire]

2) Just on down the hill, from a tipster comes word that the Cold Stone Creamery on Ellis is also closed temporarily for renovations. We always wonder what exactly causes mega-chains to shutter, particularly when it comes to ice cream shops. Whatever the reason, our tipster says Cold Stone is redirecting the tourist traffic to the Wharf location, which couldn't stop a kid from crying about it. Reopening: March 22. [ShutterWire]

Banned on Chowhound: Be Nice to Pat Kuleto, Please

Welcome back to Banned on Chowhound, in which we right the wrongs suffered by you at the hand of those eraser-happy Chowhound moderators. Wrote a post only to have it banned? We can most certainly help.

It's been a while since we've dipped back into the Banned on Chowhound feature—mostly because there hasn't been much controversy over yonder; we've been watching—but late last night, the following email found its way through the giant fish tanks and transplanted olive trees to the Eater Inbox:

Hi Eater, you might like to know that Chowhound is deleting posts, or at least one post, about the new Pat Kuleto restaurants on the water. The other day, someone filed in a very fair, albeit underwhelming report about Waterbar and mentioned in passing that they couldn't recognize the dishes they ordered [Ed note: the post in question]. Someone then replied that this was not OK at a restaurant of that caliber, or something similar and then POOF! it's gone...

Upon reading this, a trip to the old rss reader was in order, and lo, look what we found:

"That is a major flaw that I'm not going to throw over $100 bucks at" >>

Board Wrap: Bargain Bites at Kuletoville?

· Waitaminute: $1.75 Oysters Available at Epic Roasthouse? [CH]
· Using the Wonder of the Googles to Map Portuguese Restaurants [CH]
· Jai Yun: "the French Laundry of Chinese food" [Yelp]
· Serious Eaters Torn on the Cheesecake Factory [Serious Eats]

Hangover Observations: Opening Night at Orson

This is Hangover Observations, where we share our thoughts on last night, the night that was.

1) Upon witnessing Elizabeth Falkner climb up on the bar for an impromptu swordfight to ring in her new restaurant, we couldn't help but wonder how much better the Epic/Waterbar opening could have been had Pat Kuleto done the same thing.

2) Just a few more of the countless theatrics at the Orson soft opening last night: an employee fashion show on the second-floor catwalk, a live rock band playing Def Leppard, topless female servers covered in chocolate, foie gras chocolate truffles and quite possibly the best thing ever: cured meat on clothespins.

The space, the scene and the early conclusion >>

Kuletoville and Yoshi's: A Tale of Two Mega-Projects

In a town that loves its quaint little Delfinas and SPQRs, the past several months have seen the debuts of a pair of super splashy, over-the-top productions in Yoshi's and Pat Kuleto's Epic-Waterbar combo on the Embarcadero, and now that both mega-projects are in full swing, the fashion police are out for blood. Over the weekend, the Chronicle (coincidentally?) ran a pair of pieces, slamming Kuletoville's aesthetics rather harshly while praising Yoshi's. To wit, consider the early verdict at Pat Kuleto's baby:

It's all grand atmospheric fun, especially if you can afford a $45 strip steak or a $75 dish of Maine lobster. But drop these stage sets into Rincon Park on San Francisco's downtown waterfront, and they become something else: incongruous impositions on a landscape that doesn't need to be gussied up...

But despite the expense, the result is jarring. Everything's choreographed, from the olive trees clustered on a hillock next to Epic Roasthouse on the north to the nautical curve of Waterbar's private dining room to the south.

This showmanship would be fine in a setting such as Napa Valley, where whimsical indulgence goes with the terrain. Here, it pales next to the muscular march of the Bay Bridge or the green allure of Yerba Buena Island.

As for Yoshi's, the Chron focuses more on the interior architecture brilliance as opposed to the big picture, but seeing as how the first sentence includes the phrase "perfectly capturing a paradox," suffice to say, the piece praises Yoshi's design as something special. But we want to know what you're thinking. San Francisco loves its neighborhood flavor and its holes-in-the-wall, and pricey theatrics of the likes of Kuletoville and Yoshi's have been frowned upon in the past. The Chronicle has made clear its thoughts on the duo; do share yours in the comments.
· Kuleto's newest: posh, out of place [Chron]
· Morimoto's design of Yoshi's evokes stillness [Chron]

Spotted: The Kuletoville Taxi Promotion, In Action!

"Um, if I give you this, will you and your friends remember where our restaurant is?"

Thanks to a nearby office worker, we have photographic evidence of the Kuletoville taxi outreach program in action. Apparently, there's a steady stream of possibly confused cabdrivers being waved down on the Embarcadero and then given a box lunch by a Waterbar employee (we can only imagine how that conversation goes). But is a free sandwich enough to stop the plague of "irate diners" dropped off at the wrong location? Only time will tell.
· Adventures in Promotions: Waterbar Offers Taxi Driver Drive-By Free Lunch [~ESF~]

Adventures in Promotions: Waterbar Offers Taxi Driver Drive-By Free Lunch

With the openings of Waterbar and Epic come and gone, and just when you thought you wouldn't get any further updates from the Rincon front for a while, along comes this ridiculously delectable promotion and crisis management from the desk of Pat Kuleto*:

As you may know, or not, Google maps and mapquest incorrectly show the location of Waterbar and EPIC Roasthouse causing many irate customers to get dropped off by cabs blocks from where the restaurants are.

To help taxi drivers become familiar with the correct location, Waterbar is offering a 'Taxi Driver Drive-By Free Lunch' today, February 5th, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Taxis that pull up to the curb at Waterbar between 11 - 12 will get a box lunch with a sandwich and some of pastry chef Emily Luchetti's amazing cookies.

Where prospective Kuletoville-goers are being dropped off and MORE >>

Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar Menus Revealed

At long last, the restaurants at Kuletoville have released their menus online. A week into the openings of Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar, much of the inevitable early criticism has—rightly or wrongly—centered around the rather steep prices. Truth be told, for the scope of their respective genres (steakhouse and upscale seafood eatery), the prices are fairly standard (value is another debate entirely), though one Eater commenter pointed out yesterday that a burger and fries at the bar costs $35; yikes. Also getting some flack/attention around town is the four percent service charge, though we suspect that has more to do with the grandiose wording—"In order to provide the very best ..."—than the actual charge, which is obviously permeating town. In any event, the menus:
· Epic Roasthouse Lunch [.pdf]
· Epic Roasthouse Dinner [.pdf]
· Waterbar Lunch Menu [.pdf]
· Waterbar Dinner Menu [.pdf]

EaterWire Midday Edition: Treasure Island Resto Delayed

TREASURE ISLAND—In today's completely odd and random news, the ongoing efforts to revive Treasure Island's old Fogwatch Restaurant have hit a significant delay. Proving once again that truth can be stranger than fiction, it seems that Treasure Island has been recently plagued by ... pirates:

Plans to reopen a World War II-era restaurant and bar that treated winers and diners to splendid panoramic views from Treasure Island of The City and Bay were delayed after much of its copper electrical wiring was stolen ... Rapscallions gutted the building of its electrical wiring six months ago, taking about $10,000 worth of wire but also severely damaging the building's interior

According to the article (which, by the way, gets major bonus points for use of the word "rapscallions"), the Fogwatch was built 64 years ago as place for low-ranking officers back when Treasure Island was a Navy base. Prior to the copper plundering, plans were underway to rejuvenate the restaurant, but now the cost of redevelopment has more than doubled, which means that it will take someone's pretty penny to get the project with "splendid panoramic views" restarted. Paging Pat Kuleto ... [SFE]

[Photo courtesy]

EaterWire: Ararat Sets a Date, Kuletoville Arrives

THE CASTRO—Right next to the new, mysterious Brandy Ho's on 18th Street is Ararat. The Mediterranean tapas spot, previously reported sold in December, has finally set a closing date: February 16th. Moving in will be Poesia, Francesco Dippolito's upcoming Italian restaurant that got its liquor license transferred this week (further reading on Poesia can be had at Tablehopper). As for Ararat, they are currently looking for a bigger space and well, hope to find it soon. [EaterWire]

KULETOVILLE—As you may have heard, tonight's the night for the public grand opening of Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar. We've taken looks inside, and the Chronicle's announcements for the openings of Epic and Waterbar are now online, so it's pretty much "go time" for the highly-anticipated, highly-ambitious project. If you head to Kuletoville tonight, reports from the scene are encouraged to sf@eater.com. [Chron, EaterWire]

Eater Inside Sneak Peek: Waterbar

Yesterday we took a gander at Epic Roasthouse, the meaty half of Kuletoville, and now for your Tuesday afternoon enjoyment, here's an exclusive look at Waterbar.

For the Fishneyland portion of his Rincon Park extravaganza, Pat Kuleto teamed up once again with Mark Franz to create Waterbar. The pair, which also combined forces to shape Farallon and Nick's Cove, have crafted quite the aquatic spectacle down on the Embarcadero. The main dining room, pictured above, centers around the pair of giant, floor-to-ceiling water columns/fish tanks and the adjacent (raw and wet) bar area lies below a flashy glass ball chandelier meant to evoke caviar.

On to the Kuletoville Photo Tour Sequel >>

Listage

Toronado: Many Beers and One Colorful Bar [Photo: Flickr/Samer Farha]

· Recapping Kuletoville's Fireworks-Laden Soft Opening [Cooking W/ Amy]
· Toronado, Magnolia and 21st Amendment Headline Big Beer Month [WOT]
· Where to Escape in the FiDi During Lunchtime [G'skip]
· Traci Des Jardins Has Rainy Day Advice For You [Epi-Log]
· Another Take on SF Mag's Yelp Article [Screenwerk]
· Campton Place Has Come a Long Way From Comfort Haute [B+B]

Eater Inside Sneak Peek: Epic Roasthouse

And now, by special order, a sneak peek at the non-aquatic half of Kuletoville: Epic Roasthouse. By now, the dish on Epic is fairly well-known: it's Pat Kuleto's modern interpretation of a steakhouse. Opening tomorrow, the kitchen is headed by the talented Jan Birnbaum and the Kuleto design is typically impressive, produced and dramatic. There are too many design elements to list (and even more stories behind them), but the signature is probably the giant "fly wheel" (word of the month?) in the middle of the room. Old-school leather banquettes, mahogany tabletops and smoking chairs line the white-tablecloth dining room. But enough talk; to the photo tour:

Hop on the Kuletoville Tour Bus >>

Kuleto Update: Epic and Waterbar Ready For a Big Week

Weekend soft openings at Kuletoville: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor ...

Ladies and gentlemen, Kuleto Week has officially arrived. Down at Rincon Park this past weekend, Epic Roasthouse and Waterbar braved the elements and opened their respective doors for a variety of private events in anticipation of a very big week. With the grand public opening looming tomorrow (Tuesday), the Kuletoville hype machine continues to sweep town, and with it, plenty of Kuleto-scale talk, from the man who never shies away from a candid quote:

"We're at the best location in San Francisco ..." >>