All stories about "Sfist"

SOMA—Fans of The Gallery Lounge and nearby DaDa will be happy to know that Michael Gouddou—the man behind the two aforementioned bars—has a third SoMa project in his sights, this time on the outer fringes of the hood, at 1655 Market (across from Zuni and CAV). The name of his next endeavor—Buck Tavern—doesn't quite lend the same ... artsy sophistication as those prior (it could be the name of a porn star, even), but we're told it's going to be a lower key, casual beer place with pub grub options. [EaterWire]

OAKLAND—On Sunday from noon to 1pm, Jack London Square will host a special crab festival, according to BellyFull. Crabbers will sell Dungeness from the back of their boats and there will be a talk on sustainable fishing. But that's not all: "For an even more delicious time, Chef Tamar Adler of Berkeley's Chez Panisse will do a crab cooking demonstration. And for a dose of zaniness, there will even be crab races on a custom-built racing track." All that in an hour? [BellyFull]

CITY-WIDE—It's well-known that San Francisco doesn't require public displays of health inspections like LA, but SFist sheds some light on the game of cat and mice: "The little card with a numerical score of the most recent inspection is not required to be on public display. However, the complementary Inspection Report must be posted in an obvious place as you walk in. Based on what we've seen, compliance with this public notice requirement might not be fully at 100% yet." [SFist]

[Photo courtesy]

In a somewhat odd turn of Castro events, SFist has uncovered a movement to save Cafe Flore. You didn't know that the often-packed, popular Market Street destination Cafe Flore was in trouble? Yeah, us neither.

Apparently, it's not so much that Cafe Flore is in danger of closing as the restaurant is threatening to go on strike. According to savecafeflore.com, the demands of Cafe Flore are threefold: the option to serve food 24 hours a day, the option to have a DJ and the right to serve alcohol until 2am. Cafe Flore's reasons for the requests mostly make sense, and are as follows:

· See the Exit Interview Video on the Official Site [Food Network]
· On Cosentino: "What a Great Spirit and Great Visceral Cook!" [Ruhlman]
· Knowlton Wonders Why No Offal From CC [BA Blog]
· Speaking of Which, Everyone Loved Knowlton's Rant on Donatella [CH]
· A Clue to the Finale? Besh: Biggest Competition Was Sanchez [WFN]
· Don't Watch This Show While Hungry [SFist]
· But What About the Racism? [Amateur Gourmet on FN]

All Quiet on the Bathroom Front [Photo: Curbed SF]

For better or worse, the city's cancellation of Halloween basically took away the busiest night of the year from the myriad restaurants and bars in the Castro. Last night also put the restaurants and bars in a bit of an awkward position in terms of staying open versus shutting down altogether. So how did the Castro businesses respond to the city mandates? A mixture of early closings, private parties and over-the-top disaster preparation:

1) From the SFist live-blog of the non-party: "Many of the bars and restaurants aren't closed, so much as they are closed to...you. Places like Lime and Twin Peaks are having private parties. Many of the gays, it seems, are simply encased in glass. Protected ... Metro, open. Lucky 13, closed. Newly remodeled Mecca, loud, clangy, and annoying. Pfft." [SFist]

2) The alternative to private parties was early closings: "The Badlands Bar on 18th Street, a regular Castro hangout, was jammed in the early evening, but managers warned customers they'd be shutting down at 10 p.m." [Chron]

THE MISSION—Less than two months after a very glowing 2.5-star review in the Chronicle, Popul Vuh has changed owners, names and chefs, among other things. The new name of the restaurant at 2886 16th Street is Chichen Itza. The focus will remain on Mayan cuisine, with a similar menu, but they are proud to say that their menu is even cheaper than before. No word on if it will be as good as before though. [EaterWire]

RUSSIAN HILL—Here we have some good news/bad news for the small army of Helmand lovers. Good news: Helmand Palace remains very open. Bad news: they did away with the $10 lunch buffet. From Chowhound: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I was just writing about the Helmand Buffet and called to fact check the buffet hours (I went on Friday). They've taken the buffet off. The man who answered the phone said that if they re-open the old location, they may do the buffet there." Insert your "landslide brought the buffet down" jokes here. [CH]

OAKLAND—If you love grilled cheese, you might want to get yourself to Eli's Mile High Club for tonight's Grilled Cheese Invitational, a competition that "will feature ingredients ranging from Kraft Singles (yum!) to truffle butter, brie, rice, and more." [SFist]

Pop quiz: your high-profile, critically-acclaimed Castro restaurant has been closed for five months and you're ready to reopen with a big splash. The city is cracking down hardcore on the now-infamous Halloween parade and partying in the Castro. What do you do?

What do you do?

Process ...

If you answered "Temple of Doom Halloween Party" too, then you are correct. From the newly-updated Mecca website:

· Not One, But Two Contestants Will Be Eliminated Next Week! [Ruhlman]
· Judge Knowlton's Top Three From Yesterday: Cosentino, Besh, Sanchez [The Recipe Spot]
· Did No One Notice Gavin Kaysen's Homage to Grant Achatz? [Serious Eats]
· Aaron Sanchez and Morou Are Winning Hearts [TV with MeeVee]
· Unbiased Pig Blog: Michael Symon Just Looked Great Out There [Hair of the Hog]
· "The Rules of This Show Didn't Seem to Make Much Sense" [SFist]

Hear that rumbling? Luisa Hanson cometh! [Photo: Yelp/Toro E]

COW HOLLOW—By the end of November, Skipjack Sushi (on Union, near Octavia) will have been exiled relocated to Potrero Hill. Taking its place will be yet another wine bar: Vino Teca. The juicy bonus? Vino Teca is the brainchild of Luisa Hanson, the owner of nearby Luisa's and perhaps more importantly, the woman who gained a certain amount of, ahem, notoriety for evicting the much-loved John Barleycorn Pub earlier this fall. Hanson even has a blog dedicated to her "real-estate moguldom." Seriously, don't stand on the tracks when the train's coming through. [EaterWire]

SOMA—The answering machine at Buca di Beppo says they are closed temporarily for renovations, but still want to host your holiday party. Incidentally, they also surrendered their liquor license. "Renovations"? Not likely. Head to the Olive Garden instead. [EaterWire]

Now with 50% more canines. [Photo: Flickr/agco]

MARINA—While SPQR gets the all the attention, A16 continues to do its thing down on Chestnut. On the menu tonight: roasted chanterelle mushroom pizza with fresh ricotta and house-made lardo. [Good Day SF]

COLE VALLEY—Starting next, Mondays will be "bring your doggie to dinner night" at Zazie. The lil' French bistro is also offering a discount on Mutt Lynch's "Portrait of a Mutt" Zinfandel to honor the dogs. Or the fact the Monday is over. Either way. [NTF]