Cafe Flore's Kitchen Saved; Momi Toby's Oscar Ad

Cafe Flore in the Castro. [Photo: Brian McGowan]
CASTRO—After a battle with their neighbors, Cafe Flore won the right from the Planning Commission on Thursday to continue using an off-site kitchen to prepare their food. The space's actual kitchen is extremely small, and the across-the-street kitchen has been used since it opened more than two decades ago, but nearby merchants and residents considered the special zoning unfair. Cafe Flore now has a year to seek the required permits to continue using the off-site kitchen. [Bay Area Reporter]

HAYES VALLEY—If you happened to catch JCPenney's lingerie ads during last night's Oscar ceremony, you may have noticed something familiar: Momi Toby's Revolution Cafe made a brief appearance in one ad, with a barista checking out the star's leopard-print bra through the armhole of her shirt. Turns out Momi Toby's three-second appearance took 7 hours and 40 people to shoot. And to think we're ogled in coffee shops each day without so much as an iPhone camera to capture the moment. [Hayeswire]

THE MISSION—The folks behind Forage SF and Forage Kitchen are bringing back one of the most popular events from last year's Kickstarter campaign: a screening of Kurosawa's Juzo Itami's Tampopo (one of the true high-water marks of cinematic food porn), paired with a bowl of char siu ramen. Admission is $25, and includes the ramen and tents and sleeping bags from Alite Designs to curl up in. [EaterWire]

CASTRO—In a fit of civicmindedness, the Castro's SliderBar is going to be offering a SliderHero program, in which a local "hero" will raise money every month with a special slider for the charity of his or her choice. First up is former Supervisor and pescatarian Bevan Dufty, who'l be offering a shrimp slider to benefit the Dolores Street Community Services LGBT homeless shelter. $1 from every shrimp slider sold in March will benefit DSCS. [EaterWire]