All stories about "South"

LOS GATOS—David Kinch is teaming up with Vinography's Alder Yarrow for a $325 massive September feast at Manresa called The Sake Dinner: "The nuts and bolts of the dinner: a special 8-course feast that will likely feature some heavenly raw fish in ways that only Chef Kinch can do it, coupled with 8 or more phenomenally good and interesting sakes from among my favorites in the entire world." [Vinography]

THE INTERNETS—After two years on the market, it seems Daily Candy has finally been bought for the cool sum of $125 million by Comcast. No word on how this will affect your ability to find "crazy peach bevvies!" in San Francisco. [WSJ]

GHIRARDELLI SQUARE—The third annual Uncorked Wine Festival will be hosted by COPIA and held at Ghirardelli Square on May 17th. Over 40 wineries will be on hand for the festivities, soon-to-open Marche on the Square will serve "tasty samples from its gourmet, artisan market" and Top Chef vet and current Yoshi's pastry chef Marisa Churchill will be explaining cooking to groups of strangers. Tickets are $40 beforehand and $45 at the door; more info online. [EaterWire Inbox]

COCKTAIL CIRCUIT—Camper English of Alcademics reports that another absinthe, this one 136 proof and the top-selling brand in Europe, is en route to American shores: "La Fee Parisienne Absinthe just got their TTB approval ... Should be available by the end of April." [Alcademics]

SAN FRANCISCO—Food & Wine has released their third annual Go Lists, a directory of the hottest new restaurant cities and destinations around the world, and San Francisco was nowhere to be found on any of the lists. The closest we got: Luke Mangan of Aussie fame (but also SoMa's South) was named one of the ten next chef superstars, as was Gaston Acurio of the upcoming La Mar Cebicheria on Pier 1 1/2. [F&W]

The bird's eye view at Vesuvio [Photo: Flickr/WIlly Volk]

· Absinthe's Jamie Lauren Shills Cooking Spray, Has Tattoos [B+B]
· Brick Bar Bites With "Well-Coiffed Blondes" and "Sharply Dressed Men" [Chron]
· Bauer's Pizza Friday Train Rolls On Over to Firewood Cafe [BauerBlog]
· Industrial Chic, Small Plates Abound at Serpentine and South [Mapplr]
· Pairing Fish Tacos With Wine at Taylor's Refresher [Dr. Vino]
· Uh-Oh Alert: Starbucks Slashing 600 Jobs [Yahoo]
· More on the Supreme Court's GGRA-Health Care Ruling [Chron]

If there was ever a local reviewer that merits her own blog feature, it certainly has to be SF Weekly's Meredith Brody, and the always-excellent Le Blog de San Francisco pulls no punches in celebrating the, ahem, entertaining prose of Ms. Brody on a weekly basis. This week, Brody's review fires on all cylinders—e.g., "I crave lumbar support while I dine"—and LBdSF pulled up this line: "The brightly lit Caltrain station across the street looked like a piece of modern art, as sleek as a Calatrava, as I walked toward South on a damp, cold end-of-2007 night." Now, the Caltrain station has been called many a (four-letter) word, but to compare it to Calatrava, let alone art? Maybe she got mixed up because a lot of the letters are the same.
· Mercredi, c'est ravioli. [Le Blog de San Francisco]
· South Food & Wine Bar's Australian Food Overthought, Overwrought [SFW]

Christine Kesler, 10/16/07

Meredith Brody kicks off her new year in a big way, as she pretty much gives a thumbs down on South Food & Wine Bar. From the get-go, it's clear that she's working on a different wavelength than the ModOz newcomer:

I was slightly troubled by a glimpse of black upholstered benches — I crave lumbar support while I dine — so it was imperative that we snag one of the tables featuring inviting cream-colored modern cafe chairs.

Our main dishes seemed uniformly overthought and overwrought, surprisingly so because the presiding chef, Luke Mangan, features much simpler recipes on his Web site ... Friendly Aussie and Kiwi accents abound from the waitstaff as well as the co-owners, Australian Liz O'Connell and New Zealander Anna Weinberg, but our server was American, chilly, and unhelpful.

The Bar at South,Christine Kesler, 10/16/07

· South's Luke Mangan and Al Roker, Together on Live TV [MSN]
· Pizza Friday Goes to Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too [Between Meals]
· The Alice Waters Influence Now Extends to Cocktails [Time]
· Darla's Breakfast Menu Goes Beyond Burgers [N Judah]
· Bar Bites: Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay [Chron]
· Locally-Based Jamba Juice Opens Store #700 [SF Business Times]

Alice Waters Holds Court in Bernal Heights [Photo: Flickr/Steve Rhodes]

· Local Bars Hopping on the Virgin Cocktail (Band)Wagon [Chron]
· Reminder: Resy Lines Open For Dine About Town [DBN]
· New Year's Eve Destinations Sans Douchebags [G'skip]
· South Campaigns For Prestigious Daily Candy Title [SouthBlog]
· All the Alice Book Signing Photos You'll Ever Need [Flickr]

In the New Wine Bar Category: South Food + Wine [Photo: Kesler Archives]

· Looking Back on the Year in New Drinking Destinations [SFBG]
· Local Star Chefs Share Their Home Holiday Menus [Chron]
· The Mercury's Aleta Watson Lists Her 10 Most Memorable Meals [SJMN]
· Who Robs Sizzler? The Same People Who Rob Asian Eateries [IBA]
· Grant Achatz of Chicago's Alinea Now Cancer-Free [Diner's Journal]
· San Francisco-Based Quarterly Meatpaper Gains Traction [NYT]

First look at Westfield's Catch Isle [Photo via Married With Dinner]

· South's Luke Mangan Enjoys a Good Chef Feud [Daily Telegraph]
· Serpentine Might Be Good [B&P]
· De Afghanan Kabob House Gets Bargain Bit [Chron]
· Debating the Merits of WiFi in Restaurants [Diner's Journal]
· San Francisco Supervisors Considering Calorie Counts [KCBS]
· Three Bay Area Cities Make America's Drunkest List [SFist]

When it comes to the Yelp empire, the San Francisco site is undoubtedly its crown jewel. There's no disputing that Yelp has plenty of positives; in fact, there's nothing else really like it. Regardless, a lot of people have some issues with Yelp. We're among the ranks that believe there's more than meets the eye with the Yelp world. Hence, Yelp Wanted. Enjoy the show as we pull back the curtain in this on-going Eater investigation. As always, feel free to share your thoughts.

When introducing Eater SF to restaurateurs and industry people, some of the most common reactions from the wary ones are a bitter "oh, you're not from Yelp, are you?" or "it's not like Yelp, is it?" In other words, the majority of restaurant folk have many a bone to pick with Yelp, but outside of banning Yelpers, there's not much they can do about it.

Fortunately for restaurateurs everywhere (or at least in Yelp-designated towns), the creative Southern Hemisphere kids down at SoMa's South Food + Wine Bar have found a way to circumvent the necessary evil that is Yelp: turn it into your own, personal editorial space. It's quite genius and worthy of applause:

When it comes to Luke Mangan and his Australian newcomer down on Townsend, South Food and Wine Bar, several notable things have come to our attention over the long weekend:

1) Even though it remains a relatively hot ticket on the weekends (read: resy required), South somehow continues to fly under the radar to the general public. Maybe it's because it has yet to hit the review circuit, maybe it's because it's in the post-debut hangover, maybe it's because other newcomers—the Spruces and SPQRs of the city—are more centrally-located, but we feel safe in saying that the average diner knows not of South.

2) Along those lines, Luke Mangan just might be the most internationally-renowned celebrity chef with a restaurant in San Francisco proper. Danko and Mina enthusiasts may disagree, but Mangan has restaurants in Sydney and Tokyo, with Los Angeles, Vegas and New York in his sights.

All news and gossip fit to print go in EaterWire. Your juice to sf@eater.com.

PACIFIC HEIGHTS—So apparently, rumors of a crab shortage have either been greatly exaggerated or Whole Foods is just livin' large on Franklin Street, because we have word that yesterday evening, Dungeness crab legs were going for free as samples (pictured). Oh, to live in Pac Heights and shop at Whole Foods. Or maybe Whole Foods just had to get rid of some crabs near the spoilage point because no one wanted to buy crabs. [EaterWire]

SOMA—The next generation of seasonal menus has arrived at Townsend Street newbie South Food + Wine Bar. Perhaps the biggest news is that the lunch menu's popular venison burger has been added to the dinner menu. In fact, all three menus have been expanded across the board, so more Aussie options for you. [EaterWire Inbox]

BERKELEY—Fourth Street is now home to a Wine.com retail store, according to the SF Business Times. The 2,000-square-foot space is connected to the internet wine merchant's massive 81,000-square-foot warehouse complex. The retail store is only the second of its kind, with the other being in Connecticut. [SF Business Times]

Scoma's in Sausalito: On the Historic List (and the Pretty One) [Photo: Flickr/foggydave]

· Zagat Tweaks Its Definition of "Historic Places" [Lost City]
· The Story Behind "That Table" at South [South Blog]
· If You Hate Boston Fans, Don't Go to the Connecticut Yankee in Potrero [NFT]
· A Brief Interview With Chef Elizabeth Falkner [CiC]
· Central Valley Salmon Would Rather Not Run This Year [Chron]
· Next Week at Rye: Free Booze, Entertainment [SF City Dish]