Although favorites pepper the menu, offerings continue to expand with new dishes. Yet, some of them seem in a time warp. The special one night was New Zealand grouper ($25.95) served with asparagus, fingerling potatoes and shocking-pink strawberry Cabernet sauce. It had a 1980s feel and tasted nearly as strange as it sounded. On a subsequent visit we tried a more successful new dish from the printed menu: a rabbit roulade ($23.50) where the meat, wrapped in bacon, encased a cornbread stuffing and a cider mustard sauce.
Already holding the distinction of being the only Italian restaurant/poetry lounge in town, Poesia has its work cut out if it's going to succeed where so many others have failed: the upstairs space at 4072 18th Street. Not content with just going for a southern Italian angle, the 49-seat Poesia has tried to differentiate itself even more by taking the poetry schtick pretty far: there's that aforementioned poetry lounge, stocked bookshelves, poetry-inspired artwork, and our favorite of the lot, this little guy at the foot of the staircase, trying to entice the street-level crowd to the restaurant above. It's a small but notable operation on 18th Street, with Gregory Leon (Tapeo, Kelly's Mission Rock) in the kitchen; in the earlygoing, not a great deal of buzz has been generated outside the 'hood, so only time will tell if Poesia can turn the challenging space around.
As mentioned earlier, Poesia opened over the weekend, and now thanks to a tipster, curious folks will be glad to know that we've gotten our hands on the opening menu. In the kitchen is Gregory Leon, ere of Kelly's Mission Rock, and the menu will change on a weekly basis. For those who have already been to the osteria/poetry lounge/bar, do let us know how it went, and if you recited any particularly memorable verses. The menu follows:
Big and small, all openings around town are served up via The Dish. Notice a new debut in your neighborhood recently? The tip line awaits your sightings.
1) Upper Valencia: A block down from Market on the corner of Valencia and McCoppin, the finishing touches were put on Jackie's Vinoteca and Cafe, and as scheduled, they opened the doors over the weekend. While we're not quite sure what qualifies it as a vinoteca (it's such a pretty word though), Jackie's is open from 7am to 8pm daily and has the standard breakfast items, soups, sandwiches, salads and the like. No liquor license yet; perhaps when it comes through, the vinoteca side of things will come to fruition. 105 Valencia Street, at McCoppin Street; (415) 864-5225 [Eater Staff]
The long weekend marked the end of the road for Ararat, the Mediterranean tapas bar that made its home in the odd upstairs space at 4072 18th Street. Blame the unremarkable food or the dozen steps up from the sidewalk, but the real lesson here is that as soon as a restaurant resorts to posting its own Yelp shills in the window, it's only a matter of time before The Shutter arrives with a vengeance. As reported earlier, a semi-upscale Italian restaurant named Poesia is going to try its hand at the cursed Castro space next. [ShutterWire]
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 looksinside, 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]
CASTRO—Though it's yet to be confirmed by the folks down there, we have word of a restaurant shuffle down at 4072 18th Street. It seems the rumors surrounding a closure at Ararat Mediterranean—that same restaurant that once resorted to posting its Yelp shills in its window—are beginning to be substantiated. Ararat is no longer listed on OpenTable and a liquor license transferral is pending for a new restaurant in its space called Poesia. Given the name of the upcoming establishment and the licensee—Francesco Dippolito of Verrotta LLC—we think it might be of the Italian ilk. In any event, with Brandy Ho's second location looming, it seems as if 2008 will bring a pair of newbies to 18th Street. [EaterWire]
The Bauer has two stars for Cindy Pawlcyn's Mustards Grill, but the review reads a bit oddly, spending the majority of its time praising Pawlcyn's lifetime achievements while sneaking in a few little criticisms: 
CASTRO—Though it's yet to be confirmed by the folks down there, we have word of a restaurant shuffle down at 4072 18th Street. It seems the rumors surrounding a closure at Ararat Mediterranean—that same restaurant that once resorted to posting 
