Saison Chef, Umami Burger Founder Starting Fat Noodle, A Casual Chinese Spot

Joshua Skenes likely had no end of choices for a sequel to his mega-acclaimed, Michelin-starred Saison, and he's made an interesting one: he's teaming up with Adam Fleischman, the L.A. restaurateur who founded Umami Burger, to open a fast-casual Chinese noodle bar. As Inside Scoop reports, the project will be called Fat Noodle, and it's already scored its first location, at 2nd and Mission. Its specialty will be hand-pulled noodles, and everything on the menu will be under $10.

Skenes envisions Fat Noodle as a build-your-own experience, where guests choose their preferred noodle style and then select meat, vegetables, garnishes and sauces down the line as the noodles cook. He'll offer three broths (chicken, ham hock, and preserved vegetable), and mala, XO and oyster sauce made in-house. Egg noodles, rice, and congee are also being considered for potential menu inclusion. Beer and wine will be available, including Chinese beer and rice wine, as well as milk tea and coffee.

The space (formerly Henry's Cafeteria) will boast 2,500 square feet, with plans to stay open straight through from 11 am-2 am to catch the late-night crowd. It's a scalable concept as well, and Fleischman and Skenes already have an eye on expanding it to Fleischman's home base of L.A. For now, though, Fat Noodle has its eye on SF, with plans to open early next year.

· Fat Noodle: Joshua Skenes and Adam Fleischman [Inside Scoop]
· Saison Introducing Private, $498 Test Kitchen Dinners [~ ESF ~]
· Saison Joins the Chron's Four-Star Pantheon [~ ESF ~]