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]
