Tendernob: And now, with some signage switcheroos at 940 Sutter, we have our first update from Bar Florence, perhaps better known as the former Plush Room and future endeavor of food television celebrity Tyler Florence. The opening, originally scheduled for summer, has now been pushed back to fall, and in what can only be seen as a show of humility, Florence's name has been replaced by the restaurant's. Either that, or it's the first indication of just how often the man will be in the kitchen at his "destination restaurant."
· Spotted on Sutter Street: Look Who's Starting to Move In [~ESF~]
· Pre-Plywood Report: Tyler Florence, in the Plush Room [~ESF~]
His new restaurant is due this summer, he flaked on Taste on the Nation, but Tyler Florence still has time for the important things in the lost city of Reno: "The Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar at 4805 Kietzke Lane in Reno will host a meet-and-greet event for celebrity chef Tyler Florence of The Food Network on Saturday, June 14 from noon to 3 p.m ... During the event, guests can meet Florence and sample menu items he helped create. With the purchase of a $15 or more Applebee's gift card, guests can have their picture taken with him that he will autograph." Do we hear Father's Day gifts? Please plan your weekend accordingly. [MW]
UNION SQUARE—He might hate Top Chef and might have sworn to never, ever sell out (give it time, give it time), but new First Crush chef John Nguyen is not above a little dessert sell-out: "Chef John Nguyen has just taken over the kitchen of First Crush. Nguyen's culinary resume reads like a 'Who's Who' of the West Coast restaurant world, having worked at Fifth Floor, Betelnut, Gary Danko, French Laundry, and Masa's. And the kid's only 27 years-old...To celebrate the new menu, First Crush is offering a free dessert to City Dish peeps with purchase of an entrée." [SF City Dish]
SAN FRANCISCO—You won't find us waiting in line for an hour for some Cherry Garcia, but we're of the mindset that there are not many things better than free ice cream, and that's what's available all day tomorrow at Ben & Jerry'slocations across town. Check the list of participants, and finally take that two-hour ice cream lunch tomorrow. [EaterWire]
A tipster sends along word that work is ready to commence on the transformation of the Empire Plush Room to Bar Florence, and to prove it, a bit of new signage is now adorning 940 Sutter Street. We have a feeling that fact that Tyler Florence's name itself—i.e., not the restaurant's name—is front and center is just the beginning of the epic TyFlo adventure of summer '08; what are the odds the man's chiseled face makes an appearance on the facade of the restaurant? Also, we still aren't entirely clear on what neighborhood this stretch of Sutter Street is technically a part. The closest we can surmise is the Tendernob, since it's a bit removed from Nob Hill, Union Square, and (as amusing as it would be) the Tenderloin. Any geography majors care to chime in?
· Pre-Plywood Report: Tyler Florence, in the Plush Room [~ESF~]
· Tyler Florence Opening Restaurant in Nob Hill [~ESF~]
TENDERLOIN—Camper English has the goods on the long-rumored expansion of Bourbon & Branch, dubbed Russell's Room, plus some personnel changes at the speakeasy: "Taking co-management positions after Todd Smith's departure are Joel Baker and Yanni Kehagiaras ... Russell's Room, an additional private room built into the former barbershop next door, is scheduled to open in April." So will Russell's Room be "private" like Bourbon & Branch, private in an exclusive VIP way, or private in a reserved-for-groups way? [Alcademics]
CALIFORNIA—A day after buying Clover, Starbucks has been ordered to shell out over $100 million dollars after a judge ruled that the company unfairly required tips to be shared with bosses: "Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett ruled Feb. 28 that Starbucks' shift supervisors were managers in the company, and therefore ineligible to be paid out of the tip jar. Today she assessed the damages: $86.7 million, plus 7 percent annual interest, for all servers - known as baristas - who have worked at any of the chain's 1,400 California stores since Oct. 8, 2000. Plaintiffs' lawyers said the grand total was $105.8 million ... Cowett also said she would issue an injunction prohibiting Starbucks from allowing shift supervisors to share in the tip pool, the company's practice until now." [Chron]
Turns out that the real reason Tyler Florence skipped the 2008 Golden Clogs ceremony—and his acceptance of the Rocco Award for Worst Career Move—wasn't a "squid-related emergency" (!), but rather, he just doesn't really like that salacious Bourdain guy and thinks no one else does either. And Gordon Ramsay, be advised that he's not too happy with you either: "I think that salacious, chef attack thing that Gordon Ramsay and Tony Bourdain do all the time is a shtick. I think people are tired of hearing it. With Tony, it's like... those who can't teach, criticize [those who can]. I don't know what he does honestly. When it's all about ripping up another chef, you should rise above it." Sidenote: at the Golden Clogs, Bourdain did teach us that Applebee's is a great place to get cheap alcohol. [FAN]
The Ralph Lauren of the food world, known until now as restaurateur-to-be Tyler Florence, dishes on his two new Bay Area projects: "The kitchen store is going to be called Tyler Florence Mill Valley. It's going to be not so much like what Williams Sonoma does for kitchen stores, but more like what Ralph Lauren does for fashion. So you're going to walk in to a very stylish place. We plan to open this May ... The restaurant is going to be called Bar Florence at the Hotel Vertigo. It's going to be as California as it comes. We want a destination place. I don't want to create a homogeneous, big city restaurant that could be in Philadelphia or Chicago and you'd not know where you are. I want people who come to San Francisco to taste San Francisco." Taste it. Know it. Live it. [Food Network Addict]
Given this morning's big piece in the LA Times about chefs blogging, this seems as good a time as any to point out that Tyler Florence also has a personal blog. While some chefs ponder cooking and others highlight issues, TyFlo sells himself: "But, never fear, I'm hard at work in creating some great new recipes to get to you this Fall in the form of two new cookbooks, Tyler's Ultimate: Kitchen Handbook and Tyler's Ultimate: Dinner at My Place. I'm really excited about them and I can't wait to share them with you ... But I'll be taking a break next week to cook up some Spanish recipes at the Macy's Union Square in San Francisco." [TyFloBlog]
When it comes to Tyler Florence's first restaurant of the non-Applebee's ilk, dozens of questions swirl. After all, when TyFlo's restaurant opens in the former Plush Room space, it can be argued that it will be San Francisco's first bona-fide celebrity restaurant (note: exuberantly thrilling as this may be, it need not start a trend). Though we have some big names—the Dankos, the Minas et al.—there's no one here quite like Florence, who at this point in his career is basically personality first, chef second, restaurateur N/A. So, we'll be very curious to see how this pans out: will Florence be in the kitchen on a regular basis, or will the entire restaurant project be more of a hooker routine that sees our hero selling his name for the bucks? As for the space, work hasn't started yet; summer is the current ETA.
· Tyler Florence Opening Restaurant in Nob Hill [~ESF~]
Sadly, our time down at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival has come to an end. It was a hectic but enjoyable weekend down in Miami, the land where it's always 1998. We recapped the Burger Bash and BubbleQ, along with live-blogging the controversial—and highly entertaining—Golden Clogs. Hell, Rachael "Dunkin Donuts" Ray and Alice Waters even had lunch together. While much of the rest of the weekend was and still is a blur (mission accomplished), plenty of notable tidbits came out of the festivities. Here, then, the rest of our observations from the weekend that was:
Coming to you live from the main stage of the Sobe Fest, we're here bringing you a live blog of the 2008 Golden Clog Awards, much to the chagrin of the festival honchos. You'll recall, this little award show is the brainchild of Tony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman's darkest, drunkest nights. The full list of nominees was announced earlier in the week. Bourdain and Ruhlman just took the stage about 30 minutes late, much to the female groupies' delights (the wine flows early down here). Bonus tease: rumor has it one Rocco DiSpirito will be on hand to give out his own award.
2:35: Up first: THE FERGUS, for greatest achievement in pork, and/or guts. It's between Martin Picard of Montreal's "Au Pied de Cochon"; David Chang of New York's "Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam and ..."; Chris Cosentino of San Francisco's "Incanto" And your winner is ... David Chang! Accepting the Golden Clog is ... Aaron Sanchez?
Food Network has new show called Rescue Chef due in March, but something seems recycled, like the premise: "Rescue Chef is actually British-born Danny Boome — veteran of both Canadian and English TV shows — and in the show he will be rescuing everyday cooks from their culinary catastrophes. It sounds a bit like Tyler Florence's old show Food 911 ..." Yes, the similarities are indeed striking to the old show of San Francisco's resident celebrity, errr celebrity chef! He's a chef too. [YumSugar]
This is Hangover Observations, wherein we share our thoughts on last night, the night that was.
Last night marked the second annual Eat + Drink Awards Gala put on by 7x7 magazine. The event—held at the opulent City Club of San Francisco and hosted by imminent restaurateur Tyler Florence—celebrated and honored the hard-working folks of the local restaurant industry (well, technically, just those that do their jobs better than the rest; Luisa Hanson was almost assuredly not in attendance). In any event, it was as close to the Oscars as the restaurant industry get on a local scale, except instead of Billy Crystal, there was Tyler Florence and instead of gold statuettes, there were cute little piggies. The full list of winners was mentioned earlier, but now, our thoughts on the evening's festivities:
1) The second best moment of the evening: the transition from cocktail hour to awards ceremony came in the form of a drumline. The high school drumline—go Cougars—stole the show and in many ways, gave the performance of the evening. The crowd got into it, and it was a great way to start the formal ceremonies. It also gave some folks the opportunity to tell inappropriate drummer jokes that had been left unused since the mid-80s.
Team Michael Chiarello has finally released a statement regarding his upcoming Yountville restaurant in the V Marketplace (pictured). There is no name yet, but as expected, the theme of the restaurant will center around Chiarello's "signature cuisine and entertaining style" with the requisite farm-to-table slant. As for Chiarello himself, here's what he had to say on the matter:
"Having lived and cooked in the Napa Valley for over 20 years—and made wine here for 10 years—my distinct love of this valley includes memories of a different era ... My sense of what constitutes a memorable culinary experience has shifted over the years, along with what the general public has come to expect. I'm thrilled to be stepping back into my chef jacket and clogs, and to greet food and wine lovers once again with my personal blend of Napa Valley's famous hospitality. To be joining Yountville's talented community of chefs and restaurateurs is a true honor."
Also in the complex will be Chiarello's fifth NapaStyle store, but of course, the real news is the restaurant (and the fact that the clogs phenomenon won't be easing up anytime soon). Looking at the big picture, it will be very interesting to see how Chiarello's restaurant fares up in Kellerville, especially compared to fellow television personality Tyler Florence's own new city project; anyone care to venture any predictions? Applebee's jokes are very much encouraged.
· BREAKING: Michael Chiarello Opening Yountville Resto [~ESF~]
The York Hotel, soon to be Hotel Vertigo/Tyler Florence Central. [Photo: Flickr]
NOB HILL—Not to be outdone by fellow television personality Michael Chiarello, Tyler Florence will also be joining the local restaurant landscape. The man dubbed as the "world's sexiest chef" by People will be opening his first restaurant in the remodeled Hotel Vertigo, currently the York Hotel (Film buffs will connect the dots and recognize that the York Hotel was featured prominently in Hitchcock's Vertigo). The $5 million hotel renovation—by Thomas Schoos of Koi, Tao et al.—is expected to be complete by summer '08, when Florence's restaurant is also anticipated to open in the former Empire Plush Room space. The PR color follows:
His new restaurant is due this summer, he 
UNION SQUARE—He might 
TENDERLOIN—
Turns out that the real reason Tyler Florence skipped the 
Last night marked the second annual Eat + Drink Awards Gala put on by 7x7 magazine. The event—held at the opulent City Club of San Francisco and hosted by imminent restaurateur Tyler Florence—celebrated and honored the hard-working folks of the local restaurant industry (well, technically, just those that do their jobs better than the rest; Luisa Hanson was almost assuredly not in attendance). In any event, it was as close to the Oscars as the restaurant industry get on a local scale, except instead of Billy Crystal, there was Tyler Florence and instead of gold statuettes, there were cute little piggies. The 
Team Michael Chiarello has finally released a statement regarding his 
NOB HILL—Not to be outdone by fellow television personality 
