Ubuntu Will Go On A Winter "Sabbatical," Tamales Hit Justin Herman Plaza, Burrit Room's New Menus, More

NAPA DISPATCH - Ubuntu restaurant will be closing from November 21 until spring of 2012 for a "winter sabbatical," allowing chef Aaron London and owner Sandy Lawrence some breathing room for travel and development of new dishes. Throughout the fall, they'll be offering special tasting menus in the private dining room paired with "customized playlists," and wine pairings. The first dinner will take place on October 23rd. The other twist is that they'll be doing a sporadic Ubuntu pop-up during the closure, but they're not sure exactly what that will entail as of yet. Stay tuned. [EaterWire]

STREET FOOD - Inside Scoop is reporting that a new tamale cart called Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas rolled into Justin Herman Plaza for the first time today. This woman's tag line is, "The Best Tamales are Stuffed With Love, and The Best People Are Stuffed with Her Tamales" and here is her website. [ISSF]

MENU REVEALS - In case you're wondering about the new food and drink program at the Burrit Room, we got our hands on the new list of drinks and the lounge menu, which has a relatively substantial list of options from The Cheshire Cat catering company. [EaterWire]

THE SHUTTER - According to LiveSoma, the Rancho Parnassus Cafe at 132 Sixth St. closed a few weeks ago. [LiveSoma]

DELAYS - SF Citizen has passed on the news that the Stow Lake Boathouse reopening has been delayed due to a few unanticipated issues. [SF Citizen]