Marina Restaurant Opens With Venezuelan and Colombian Flair

South American flavors find a home in the Marina

A blend of Californian, Colombian, and Venezuelan cuisines is what’s promised at Mamo, now open at 3659 Buchanan Street. Taking over the former Fresh Bay Cafe space, Mamo serves some traditional snacks like tequeños (Venezuelan fried cheese sticks) and patacones (Colombian fried plantains) alongside entrees like pork shoulder with Colombian uchua berries and arepas, and steak with chimichurri and yuca fries.

When you can’t decide between hot pot and barbecue

Superhot Hotpot & Korean BBQ is open and bringing all-you-can-eat dining to Silicon Valley. Located at 210 Hope Street in Mountain View, the restaurant combines Korean barbecue — with a shared grill in the center of the table — with personal hot pots for $29.95 for each person. There’s a huge menu of add-in options, including dumplings, noodles, vegetables, tofu, fish balls, eggs, meat, and seafood.

Major beer acquisition

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has bought its first brewery: San Francisco’s Sufferfest Beer Company. The move represents an opportunity for Sierra Nevada to reach a new audience, with Sufferfest being known for its gluten-free and low calorie beer.

Another new hot pot option

A new Taiwanese restaurant has opened at 801 Kearny Street, the former Hanlin Tea Restaurant space in Chinatown. Capputea offers Taiwanese classics like beef noodle soup, minced pork over rice, oyster omelette, and popcorn chicken, plus hot pot and bubble tea.

New brunch options for SoMa dwellers

There’s a new brunch pop-up inside SoMa’s Capt Eddie Rickenbackers (133 2nd Street). From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends, folks will find Daniel’s Test Kitchen taking over the bar with the likes of Nashville hot chicken and waffles, avocado toast, and egg dishes.

Nite Yun receives a major honor

The owner of Oakland’s Nyum Bai has been lauded again and again for her soul-warming Cambodian restaurant. Now, she’s won the Vilcek Foundation Prize for the Culinary Arts, which specifically recognizes immigrant contributions to the field. She’s taking home a cool $50,000.

The new San Francisco Chronicle food critic’s first review drops soon...

Building buzz for Soleil Ho’s debut, Grub Street published a little Q&A with Ho, emphasizing how she’s going to be a very, very different critic than Michael Bauer. Readers are ready: “I’ve already gotten so many missives from readers begging for more empathy for people who don’t match what has traditionally been considered the archetype of who reads this kind of stuff, asking me to thoroughly consider vegans, disabled people, and workers in my upcoming reviews,” she says.