The Mission: Ladies and gents, our long national nightmare is over. The bureaucratic issues at Mission Beach Cafe that led the ABC to suspend the place's liquor licenses have been sorted out after about a fortnight, and the booze is back. Now that the rosé is a-flowing again, it's on to the next task at hand for MBC: wowing Bauer enough to warrant a review, because if today's blog entry was any indication, the man seems like he's undecided and ready to be impressed.
· Suspended: The Ryan Scott MBC Era Off to a Bumpy Start [~ESF~]
· IMterview: Ryan Scott Fever Sweeps Mission Beach Cafe [~ESF~]
The first of the month marked the official arrival of Ryan Scott and his menu at Mission Beach Cafe (though he's been there a while). Unfortunately, as seen by the Notice of Suspension above, yesterday was also the first day of the temporary alcohol hiatus at the restaurant. The culprit, were told, is an unpaid taxes issue, not an ABC violation. There's no exact timetable for a comeback—the length of the suspension is "indefinite"—meaning the license will be returned as soon as the tax issue is sorted out, which could be "within days or never." Godspeed, booze.
· IMterview: Ryan Scott Fever Sweeps Mission Beach Cafe [~ESF~]
· EaterWire AM Edition: Ryan Headed to Mission Beach Cafe [~ESF~]
All the day's news and notes go in EaterWire. Kindly pass along your sightings.
WESTFIELD—To no one's surprise, the often-desolate TeazMe has ceased to exist in the Westfield Centre, which we think might mark the first (permanent) shuttering in the "gourmet" food court. Aside from more proof that this is a coffee town, this also means that there is now a vacancy in the food court. Odds that Colicchio tries to move 'Wichcraft into the actual mall: 20 to 1. Odds that the space is claimed by a major coffee chain: 6 to 1. Odds that the space is claimed by a purveyor of frozen yogurt: EVEN. [EaterWire]
FERRY BUILDING—FiDi workers who frequent the Ferry Building on a regular basis during lunch hours might want to make sure to stop by tomorrow, because plywood vetBoccalone is scheduled to debut. The salumeria by the Incanto Boys is about 300 square feet, and will have a selection of hot and cold gourmet sandwiches along with the usual salumi we've all come to know and love. [EaterWire]
Technically speaking, Myth Cafe vet and Top Chef alum Ryan Scott won't be taking over the kitchen at Mission Beach Cafe until June 23, but an Eater correspondent brings word that he's in the kitchen already, and the Scott Era is well underway on 14th and Guerrero:
MissionDweller: My friend and I popped into MBC on Friday night for drinks and apps— early evening sitting.
eaterSFhq: Nice. How was it?
MissionDweller: Wine was good-- modest list. Friend's pasta was rather bland. My salad was lovely. Brunch, I fully endorse. Great coffee, pastries to kill for.
eaterSFhq: Naturally.
MissionDweller: But the best part--
MissionDweller: M'd came to our table within 5 minutes after sitting down and started totally bubbling over about Ryan.
MissionDweller: He asked us, unprompted mind you, if we saw that "Ryan is here," assuming we knew who he was.
THE MISSION—The BauerBlog brings the news that at the end of June, Top Chef castaway and (as MB puts it) "budding celebrity chef" Ryan Scott—who has been doing his own thing since Myth Cafe folded in March—will be taking on a new position as a chef/partner at Mission Beach Cafe:
It turns out Scott is chums with the cafe's owner-pastry chef Alan Carter, who opened the 40-seat restaurant in January 2007. Until now, the restaurant's savory selection was a collaborative effort by the staff. But Scott says he plans to completely overhaul the menu and "put my stamp on it."
"I want the food to be simple and clean," says Scott, who wants to keep entree prices under $21.
Not getting your fill of Ryan Scott these days? With Myth Cafe shuttered, Top Chef complete and his new projects still developing, you might be wondering where you can catch a glimpse of Mr. Scott. Well, he's appearing this weekend at ... the San Mateo County Fairgrounds! He'll be on stage at 3pm for a half-hour of cooking tips, right after the "Innovation in Beekeeping" hour-long show. No, really. [Maker Faire]
The polls get more ridiculous; now, they're just messing with us.
In so many ways, the sixth episode of Top Chef was the most intense, most entertaining, and dare we say, the best one of the season. Mostly, this was due to the fact that the competition has been narrowed down enough to afford significant screen time to all cheftestants. We finally got an individual elimination challenge with all the usual follies and flops, and above all else, San Francisco's Jennifer and Ryan both stole the show, albeit in very different ways. So, let's get down to business, shall we?
1) The Quickfire: The contestants created a dish to pair perfectly with beer. Not only did this challenge offer a convenient and attractive outlet for more product placement, but Jennifer's island beer-inspired dish (shrimp and scallop beignets) won Padma (and special mute judge Koren "poker face" Grieveson of Avec), marking San Francisco's first victory of the season.
Episode 6 of Top Chef airs tomorrow night and we've got a sneak preview of the first minute of the show. Taking place the morning after Zoi's departure, the clip shows the cheftestants as a whole getting serious about the competition. Spike shows off three of his pretty hats in a 15-second span, a somber Jennifer misses Zoi, Dale and Lisa still have issues, and ladies, Ryan does morning stretches. Chicago chef Paul Kahan is the guest judge, and the challenge puts our heroes in another situation only tangentially related to being a chef: tailgating for a football game.
· Complete Top Chef Coverage [~ESF~]
This year, they're letting third-graders write the polls. Or Padma.
Roughly 24 hours ago, after seeing the juicy preview clip from Bravo, we had a quick discussion with Eater LA about the upcoming fifth episode, each California contingent fretting that local chefs—SF's Zoi and LA's Antonia—looked like they were on the chopping block (yet again). Plus, there were teasers of some serious drama in the stewing room. As it turned out, Zoi and Antonia were indeed among the losers, and the last two minutes of the episode somehow turned into a parody of the Real World. Up ahead: a quick episode summary, followed by our local recap.
This is Hangover Observations, where we share our thoughts on last night, the night that was.
Last night, superstar chefs from near and far rubbed elbows with fans and other charity-minded folk at Share Our Strength's 17th annual Taste of the Nation. With all proceeds going straight to SOS, the sold-out $250/ticket event was held at the Acme Chophouse, and the way the Giants' season is going, it was likely the biggest assembly of talent that will grace the building all year, and for a good cause at that. The entire shindig was graciously hosted by Traci Des Jardins, who pretty much led the way in bringing all types of big names on board. A cocktail/hors d'oeuvres reception kicked off the event with a silent auction, followed by a live auction and a five-course menu prepared by Des Jardins, Michael Symon, Chris Cosentino, Gavin Kaysen (Cafe Boulud), and Elizabeth Falkner. Here then, some observations:
1) Prior to the event, we received more than a few emails spotting best buds Symon and Cosentino cavorting all about town on Saturday, from the farmers' market to a romantic sunset stroll down in Kuletoville. For the evening affair, Cosentino roasted an entire goat.
2) Notable news of the night: anticipated Master of Ceremonies Tyler Florence backed out at the last second, leaving the event charity event sans a true replacement (dude, it's charity) and reinforcing our working theory that Florence is, well, really more of a call girl.
Last night's Top Chef may have been the most random albeit most entertaining one yet—Daniel Boulud, Richard Roeper, a basket of greens, and movie-inspired dishes were all on the menu during this bizarre fourth ep. As usual, the spazzy antics of the young chefs did not disappoint: bitching, flailing, and clawing their way through this "cinema-themed" episode. First a quick summary, then the local angle:
As previously mentioned, Top Chef regular Daniel Boulud, (looking oh-so-Euro in his shiny, dead sexy leather jacket), was front and center at the start of the quickfire. We learned/were reminded that Ryan and Richard had both worked in one of his restaurants. Apparently Boulud's style just wasn't "Ryan's thing." Shocker. The QF challenge was to create a veggie plate using 3 classical techniques to impress D-Biggs. After whining about the lack of technical skills of many cheftestants, Dale pulled off his first win. Then, in a total segue of theme, the elimination challenge was to create a six course meal for Richard Roeper, Aisha Tyler and a cast of randoms; each course was done by a different pair of chefs and inspired by a different film. In the end, Richard, Andrew, and Dale's Willy Wonka dish won, Daniel required subtitles 20% of the time, another non-personality too polite for reality television got the boot, and Padma's outfit was a feat in itself.
Top Cheffer and ex-Myth Cafe honcho Ryan Scott works the room at the after-party.
Yesterday, we shared the mainstream take on the first annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, and now as promised, we're happy to share the local highlights and sights from the event, as witnessed by Eater LA:
On Ryan Scott: "Ryan Scott, the San Francisco chef from the current season, was kept on a short leash by his publicist at one of the after parties. He couldn't say a peep about the show, but said he's been hanging out in LA and had dinner at fellow cheftestant Antonia Lofaso's Foxtail. And true: He's a hugger, because, you know, he's from California. "
Following a bit of a local snoozer last week, the entire quartet of San Francisco cheftestants were front and center in yesterday's episode of Top Chef Chicago. The third episode of the season centered around the theme of street food: the Quickfire Challenge requiring the 14 remaining chefs to make the humble taco suitable for upscale dining (Richard—whose faux hawk is growing by the week—won immunity with his jicama wraps), and then the Elimination Challenge pit a pair of teams against each other in a neighborhood Block Party cookoff. Since the chefs got to divide forces amongst themselves, all four San Francisco chefs—whose camaraderie really came through in this episode—were on the team that opted to eschew fancy food in favor of Americana comfort food, a decision that ultimately proved disastrous. Ted Allen made his first appearance of the season, Padma spilled marshmallows, and Tom was bald. Also, it's now been about twelve hours since the episode aired, and we still don't understand one thing: what the hell was Geraldo Rivera doing there?
And now, the highlights from our beloved San Francisco Foursome:
Tomorrow night marks the third episode of Top Chef: Chicago, and above we have a little sneak peek of the challenge at hand. The clip features the chefs driving through the streets of Chicago in teams—Zoi and Erik are on the same team, and Jen and Ryan join forces on another. What you won't see but we know: the challenge is to turn the everyday fast food taco into a fine dining meal; there's a neighborhood party; and fittingly, your celebrity guest judge is Rick Bayless, who knows something about taco fine dining (though this assertion may not be discernible from Union Square's Frontera Fresco).
· Complete Top Chef Coverage [~ESF~]
We'll get to the San Francisco Foursome and our thoughts on the second episode of Top Chef in just a moment, but before we do, we had to point out the continued polling feature brilliance by Bravo. Eater LA put it best: "It's almost as if the whole animal theme was conceived just so they could run this poll."
And now, to the local recap: the Quickfire Challenge saw the contestants going to the local farmers' market, with five ingredients to use, $25 to spend, and 30 minutes. It was the perfect challenge for the San Francisco bunch, all veterans of the seasonal ingredients game, and for the most part, they all represented well. The Elimination Challenge pitted the 15 chefs in five groups of three to cater a 200-person event at the zoo. As far as judges go, molecular gastronomist Wylie Dufresne presided as guest judge, Gail Simmons was as perky as ever, Padma was Padma and Tom's head was the shiniest it's ever been.
It's not on the Top Chef website on Bravo, but Eater LA has gotten its hands on the above video introduction to tonight's Quickfire Challenge. It's not too spoilerish by any means, but rather just a preview of the task at hand. And let's just say that if the Bay Area's claim to fame about seasonal ingredient love holds true, our Fab Foursome should have no problem with this challenge (a prediction sure to go wrong, we're sure). Related:Time Out Chicago staked out the contestant house during filming and is now sharing some substantial spoilers and plot twists involving the current season.
· Top Chef Chicago: Local Debriefing, First Episode [~ESF~]
· Top Chef Preppage: Sizing Up the Four Locals [~ESF~]
All closings around town are reported by The Shutter. Notice a restaurant or bar that has recently passed along into the next life? Your tips very much appreciated.
Today marks the beginning of the Myth Cafe hiatus and the end of the Ryan Scott era there. In his last day, the Top Chef contestant was spotted earlier working away per normal in the kitchen, as he always seems to be (a good thing). Other items dispatched from the corner of Pacific and Montgomery: the above teary shutter signage, a line out the door, signed goodbye notes from employees and the smell of truffles wafting in the air. For those wondering, the special of the day was a guacamole lavash wrap, not chicken piccata, which would have been nothing short of awesome. Up next: Myth, in two weeks.
· Ryan Scott Leaving Myth Cafe; Myth and Myth Cafe Closures Imminent? [~ESF~]
· EaterWire: Myth Closing Temporarily April 1 [~ESF~]
Last night's premiere of the fourth season of Top Chef didn't stray too far from the proven formula of past seasons: plenty of product placement (anyone know where to find some GLAD items?), requisite lusty shots of Padma and a fair amount of kitchen sweat, but the first episode was packed with lots of new characters, memorable quotes and some very wildly-entertaining moments, many of which involved the (already!) front-and-center San Francisco foursome of Ryan (Myth Cafe), Jennifer (Coco500), Erik (Circa) and Zoi. Since we've got 75 minutes worth of chefgasms to recap, let's cut right to the chase:
Speaking of the Financial District, we should remind everyone that this is the final week for Top Chef contestant Ryan Scott at Myth Cafe, with the joint closing temporarily on Friday, and in case you were wondering what state of affairs is like on Pacific Avenue: "Chef Ryan ... still in the kitchen. On the chalkboard ... mention of Myth Café closing on Friday ... and more importantly, 'join us for a celebration and cocktail @ Cigar Bar, 5:30 on Friday.'" [Eater Inbox, previously]
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.
And now, some big pieces of news, still white-hot coming off the EaterWire:
Item #1) Future Top Chef contestant and noted sexy food connoisseurRyan Scott is leaving Myth Cafe. His last day will be next Friday, March 14th. No solid explanation is being offered by Scott or his spokespeople as to the reason for his departure, aside from the looming temporary closure of Myth Cafe and Myth, which brings us to...
Item #2) Possibly the bigger news: according to Scott and co., both Myth Cafe and Myth will temporarily close on March 14th and 15th, respectively. The wrinkle here is that this intel comes from Team Ryan Scott, not Team Myth. Sources at the restaurants are staying mum on the whole matter, insisting that nothing is certain yet, which means that a) Scott's exit has nothing to do with any Myth Cafe closure, or more likely, b) the long-rumored Myth overhaul is finally here. Story very much developing...
Yesterday we posted a fun little video of Myth Cafe chef and future Top Chef contestant Ryan Scott doing what he does best, but little did we know that Bravo posted two-minute clips so you can "get to know" each cheftestant. For the most part, the videos are snoozefest, though we find it somewhat telling that Circa's Erik has cut off the sleeves of his chef's jacket, baring his considerable tattoos while Ryan, meanwhile, is sporting a lovely pink collared shirt beneath his jacket. [Bravo via Foodie Obsessed]
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WESTFIELD—To no one's surprise, the often-desolate TeazMe has ceased to exist in the Westfield Centre, which we think might mark the first (permanent) shuttering in the "gourmet" food court. Aside from more proof that this is a coffee town, this also means that there is now a vacancy in the food court. Odds that Colicchio tries to move 'Wichcraft into the actual mall: 20 to 1. Odds that the space is claimed by a major coffee chain: 6 to 1. Odds that the space is claimed by a purveyor of frozen yogurt: EVEN. [EaterWire]
THE MISSION—The 
Last night's Top Chef may have been the most random albeit most entertaining one yet—Daniel Boulud, Richard Roeper, a basket of greens, and movie-inspired dishes were all on the menu during this bizarre fourth ep. As usual, the spazzy antics of the young chefs did not disappoint: bitching, flailing, and clawing their way through this "cinema-themed" episode. First a quick summary, then the local angle:
Following a bit of a local snoozer last week, the entire quartet of San Francisco cheftestants were front and center in yesterday's episode of Top Chef Chicago. The third episode of the season centered around the theme of street food: the Quickfire Challenge requiring the 14 remaining chefs to make the humble taco suitable for upscale dining (Richard—whose faux hawk is growing by the week—won immunity with his jicama wraps), and then the Elimination Challenge pit a pair of teams against each other in a neighborhood Block Party cookoff. Since the chefs got to divide forces amongst themselves, all four San Francisco chefs—whose camaraderie really came through in this episode—were on the team that opted to eschew fancy food in favor of Americana comfort food, a decision that ultimately proved disastrous. Ted Allen made his first appearance of the season, Padma spilled marshmallows, and Tom was bald. Also, it's now been about twelve hours since the episode aired, and we still don't understand one thing: what the hell was Geraldo Rivera doing there?
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, 
Item #1) Future Top Chef contestant and noted 
