CA Tourism Board Is Funding Inspectors for New Statewide Michelin Guide

How much for a Michelin guide?

To attract a statewide California Michelin Guide, a move the restaurant ratings and recommendations company announced it will debut this summer, state tourism bureau Visit California will pay $600,000 in funding for Michelin inspectors. That’s what Visit California president and CEO Caroline Beteta tells industry newsletter Family Meal, explaining the process for the new guide, which will now fold its San Francisco stars into the entire guidebook. The funds are specifically “to underwrite the hard costs of expanding the presence of Michelin inspectors throughout the state,” Beteta reportedly tells Family Meal. Visit Sacramento reportedly hatched the idea, bringing Visit California onboard and then luring Michelin to the table. Smart move, Sac — let’s see if this pays off with stars.

Castro’s Lark is taking over neighbor Beso

The folks behind Lark, an 18th Street Mediterranean-influenced restaurant and wine bar led by owner Coskun Abik, are taking over their neighboring garage-level business, Beso, which closed earlier this month. Abik is applying for the liquor license at 4058 18th Street, going by the business name (at least for now) Butcher and Farm, according to public records from the CA Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Eater SF has reached out to Lark, which opened in 2015, but has yet to hear back — Hoodline caught the change ownership notice in the door, too.

Historic Comstock Saloon adds fixed menu

A little more than a year after taking the reigns with splashy, hearty food at classic cocktail destination Comstock Saloon, chef Jason Raffin is offering a tasting menu. Courses include a har gow tortellini, bridging North Beach and Chinatown, and dessert from Absinthe Group pastry chef Michael Aguilar: Pecan cremeux rocher with miso caramel. Raffin’s calling it “Stylin The Saloon” and it’s eight courses for $55, reservations only.

The Beef Filet District

A reportedly poor translation on a survey distributed at a Chinatown event organized by the Mayor’s Office of Housing did little to connect SF’s Chinese community with the rest of the city. According to the Examiner, forms at the meeting translated city neighborhoods literally, calling the Sunset District “Inside the Setting Sun,” the Mission as “quest” or “purpose,” and the Tenderloin as a “a beef filet.”