Quince Now Uses iPads as Plates, and More A.M. Intel [Updated]

Quince now uses iPads as plateware

As SFist gleefully pointed out yesterday, the recently three-Michelin-starred Quince is now serving food on iPads. As in the iPad is the plate. As in we now live in times where a $400 device constitutes as a plate. Specifically, it’s the “dog in search of gold” dish, which according to a Tweet from chef Richie Nakano, is “white truffle croquettes on iPads playing videos of water dogs on the truffle hunt.” You can see the dog above if you look closely. There’s probably some big metaphor for the current state of things in San Francisco in here somewhere.

Update, 12/28, 5:04 p.m.: Quince chef/owner Michael Tusk responded to the flurry of news stories on his iPad plating on Facebook, writing in part:

“We often get a lot of questions about white truffles; where and how they are harvested, the trees they grow under, is it a pig or a dog…. There is a lot of mythology that surround them and given their cost and rarity, it sparks many a conversation in the restaurant and piques the curiosity of our guests and staff alike. The current presentation has proved to be a humorous and playful albeit unconventional way of engaging in that conversation ... The food does not directly sit on top of the iPad. The removable plexi sheath is washed and sanitized after every use in keeping with all other plate ware.”

Online grocery delivery service Luke’s Local goes brick and mortar

Cole Valley’s Alpha Market is now Luke’s Local. It’s the first physical location for the online grocer, setting it apart from competitors like Good Eggs, Sprig, and Munchery, and it’s now open at 960 Cole St. with 3,000 square feet of produce, a butcher counter, seafood department, alcohol, a Sightglass coffee kiosk, pantry items, prepared meals, Jane pastries and juices, and more. Luke’s Local will keep delivering meals, but now you can peruse in person, too, should you so choose. Luke’s is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., the Chronicle reports.

Get your free Humphry Slocombe ice cream today

Humphry Slocombe/Facebook

Yes, you read the headline right: Humphry Slocombe’s Mission location (2790 Harrison St.) is handing out free scoops today, December 28, frigid temperatures be damned. It’s in honor of the brand’s eighth anniversary, and so in lieu of paying, the ice cream shop is encouraging people to donate to Project Open Hand, a nonprofit that feeds senior citizens and ill people and will be at the shop. It’s going down today from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., Hoodline reports.

SF’s latest development victim is Brainwash Cafe

Brainwash Cafe, the 30-year-old combo laundromat and cafe in SoMa is in danger of closing. A construction project nearby has put a near stop to business, the Chronicle reports, and owner Jeff Zalles is unsure it can stay open long enough to survive the completion of the construction. Business is down by about 20 percent, and Zalles has a year-end deficit of nearly $200,000. The city has tried to help, but it’s unclear if Brainwash will survive. Stay tuned for more.