New shop opened 3 different locations downtown. Between 3rd and 4th on Market is “Seller’s Market” a kind of quick, organic eating place with SCORE outside seating. I’m somewhat pimping, as a friend’s coworker left her ad agency job to be marketing manager here, and plied me with fresh drinks and yummy guacamole…

Besides the great people-watching, as this is the common corridor from Bart to all MUNI points beyond, I ran into an old friend here, walking to the gym, and I got to ply her with beer and conversation. Isn’t that a fantasy we all have- that on the way to the gym our friends will pull us into a cafe and make us drink beer and eat nachos?

New 2-star to Coi (kwa) in North Beach. *Why* is North Beach Restaurant in there? Kind of mysterious about some other restaurants that were left out. Chez TJ’s went down 1 star, but understandably as a chef moved on. The media event was nice, the tablehopper didn’t table-hop, which was kind of funny. I loved meeting Paolo of Eater SF, who’ve I’ve enjoyed reading for quite a while.

There was a waiter who was a dead ringer for John Edwards. For such a foodie town it was a lot sparser than Tokyo or New York parties of the same purpose. We have less media? We don’t care as much? I have no idea. Note: I’m guest blogging for their contest, which has some neat prizes and I’ll post all the info here. Posted more thoughts on the guide on my blog: banane.com.

Michelin folks were very nice and appeased my concerns about French reviewers- they’re all American in our cities- and ethnic cuisines, etc. They’re going digital with a mobile app called ubiubi.mobi. One question from the audience: “how are you responding or reacting to Yelp, will you add comments in your guide, or guest reactions?” Led to a rambly answer by Jean-Luc about the history of the guide, and how he predicts people will still be using paper to read from in 10 years time. I think a better answer (I know it’s weird to answer for him) would be that there are *so many problems with Yelp* that they don’t compete, but complement each other. For a well-chosen, selective guide with good iconography and a respected reputation, it’s a relief for the 400 reviews for 1 restaurant on Yelp that are actually dialogues of teenieboppers flirting with each other. Disagree? Comment!

“Michelin 2009 Released” on Eater SF

Stars Shine In Third Edition Of Michelin Guide San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country (press release)

I must admit that Zuni Café is an old stand-by for me. It is my go-to restaurant for late-ish dining, for entertaining out-of-town guests, for enjoying a meal with hard-to-impress friends, and it seems, for constructing sentences with lots of hyphenated phrases.

I’m hardly breaking new ground by reviewing Zuni, but more and more, I’ve run into people who’ve lived in San Francisco for at least a couple of years and have never eaten there. My advice: invite some out-of-town guests to visit and take them to Zuni.

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This is a series, see: Coit Tower, St.Francis Elevators, Chinatown
Note: make sure to have a hangover and/or huge appetite before heading out.

Breakfast/brunch at Cafe Divine (Union & Stockton)- get seated at the sidewalk tables, and, with mimosa in hand, watch people in the park. I’d recommend the fruit bowl w/ granola or the poached eggs. Divine doesn’t have a huge menu but the ingredients are top notch. OR hit La Boulange (Columbus, Green) for a pastry and a bowl of cafe au lait. Describe how the park used to be the common for the neighborhood- the patch of ground where you could garden or keep livestock. Mention the falsehood that DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe at the church- actually just photographed in front of it.
continue reading & map!

Went to dinner at (the new, remodeled) Magnolia at 7:30PM and narrowly missed the traffic jam following Critical Mass- this is the corner of Masonic & Haight. Personal vow here to bike in the Mass next month!

The second installment of Rapid Restaurant Reviews takes us to the North Country, all the way up in Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley.

Cyrus sits mere steps from Healdsburg Square which itself is mere minutes from dozens of wineries and tasting rooms. And what better way to end a long afternoon of tasting (and spitting, of course) wine than to sit down with an eight-course tasting menu with accompanying wine flight?

To the questions, then…

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Walked by Zeitgeist last night and it was a nightmare to get in- there was quite a long line. Friend mentioned that she wanted a blog post that listed all of the nice outside eating areas, so here you go:

* Medjool on Mission. Huge roof deck with capacity for crowds. Tiny little elevator, but that’s the only real drawback.

* El Rio, of course, huge deck

* The Ramp- huge back deck with open area

* Personal favorite: Fish! in Sausalito, lots of deck and locally fished seafood.

* Almost all of the Ferry Building restaurants have outdoor eating

* Epic Roasthouse & Waterbar on Embarcadero

* Palomino & Gordon Biersch have outside areas

* The Waterfront on Embarcadero has a wind-protected open area

* Pier 23 has a tarp enclosed back area (they may open it once in a while)

* Most North Beach places have outside sidewalk seating.

* Metro Hotel on Divisadero near Haight has a beautiful back garden.

Please comment with your favorites!

Also see: Eater SF’s El Fresco Options, CitySearch Round-up

I’ll be posting a reminder on the 13th, but since you can never have too much prior notice…

The second annual San Francisco Cocktail Week is coming. Running from May 13th – 19th, SFCW celebrates, as the name suggests, cocktails and “the dynamic beverage culture of our community.”

From the Opening Gala at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room to the Closing Party at Absinthe, attendees will be able to learn more about the history of cocktails, observe San Francisco’s bar illuminati in action and, more importantly, sample the essence of their labors. Select restaurants will offer tasting menus with specially paired cocktails. Neighborhood-favorite Elixir will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a tribute to the Sazerac. On the 14th, you’ll even be able to imbibe with the best — renowned guest bartenders from across the country will display their craft at bars around The City.

So put on your drinking shoes (closed-toe highly recommended) and come celebrate San Francisco’s hallowed place at the altar of fine drinkables. Just don’t forget to designate a driver or MUNI navigator.

Welcome to the first of (hopefully) many Rapid Restaurant Reviews.

You won’t find star ratings here. You won’t find a lot of flowery descriptions of food or snarky comments about service. And you especially won’t find any charming back story about how the chef’s first job was cleaning the deep fryers at McDonald’s before securing the financing to open a wildly successful San Francisco bistro.

Instead, you’ll find the answer to ten questions that, to me, encapsulate the San Francisco dining experience:

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The Stop AIDS project’s biggest annual fundraiser is Thursday night April 24th, and to participate all you have to do to help is something you were likely to do anyway… eat. Many local restaurants will donate 25% of your check to the Stop Aids Foundation just for dining between 6 & 10 pm…

It’s the 7th annual evening, and last year’s raised over $200,000 for Aids related charities, and they hope to exceed that this year.

Amongst the participating restaurants in Dining Out For Life this Thursday, April 24th are numerous joints ranging from high end to many mid priced indie run spots from the ballpark’s Acme Chophouse to Alamo Sq Grill, or Anchor Oyster Bar in the Castro.

In the chain dept. all the local Amici’s Pizza & Pasta Pomodoro locations…

Whether you like Askew or Zazil, there’s something on the list in almost anyone’s potential price range…

more info and link to the
complete list at

http://www.DiningOutForLife.com/SanFrancisco