Home Food & Wine The Tablehopper Where to indulge in some of life’s finer pleasures—like fries, wine, and yes, cupcakes

Where to indulge in some of life’s finer pleasures—like fries, wine, and yes, cupcakes

Friday, 30 November 2007

What is shaping up to be some of the most exciting news of the year is all about Gary Danko's new restaurant opening in Ghirardelli Square. The ink on the deal just dried, so look for more details in coming months, like the name, which I can't reveal at the moment. For now it will be a casual brasserie, with 200 seats, and is slated to open in June.     Meanwhile, other new things are buzzing along in Ghirardelli Square: You can fire up a wine buzz at Cellar 360 (Woolen Mill Building, 415-440-0772). At this new wine tasting room and retail store that's an offshoot of the Healdsburg location, you can nosh on some wine-friendly tapas as well, inside or outside. Or, you can kick in a sugar buzz at the second location of Kara's Cupcakes (Fountain Plaza, 415-351-CAKE) - they're (mostly) organic, so hey, have two. Kara's Cupcakes is baking up holiday flavors such as Peppermint Twist and Pumpkin Spice, so there are two perfect flavor suggestions for you to start with. And opening any day now (as of press time) will be O'Neill's Irish Pub (Beach St., 415-771-8560) where you can work on a Guinness buzz for sure.     Since we're packing on buzzes (‘tis the season, hic!), over in North Beach, a well-known and local fave GM, Kurt Niver, has taken over the Magnet Lounge (1402 Grant Ave.)-some of you will know him from Cortez, Postrio, and the years he worked at Perry's. Look for changes in '08-for now, just come by and say hi.     There will also be a new spot to nosh and shop in North Beach, Piazza Market (627 Vallejo St.), moving into the old Rossi Market. Food for take-out, catering and in-house dining will be offered, along with a selection of specialty foods and a wine shop. Sal Chiavino, of Pier 39's Swiss Louis and Wines of California, is partnering with Tiffany Pisoni on the project. Look for a January opening.     Opening any day now will be La Trappe (800 Greenwich St., 415-440-TRAP), the Belgian tavern moving into the former Buca Giovanni space. Ten beers will be on tap (to start), and you know the fries should be good. Steak frites, with steak from Marin Sun Farms, is one dish I heard mentioned.     Talking meat and fries, Horizon (498 Broadway St., 415-576-1118) is finally open, so now's your chance to get your late-night burger. You want truffle fries with that? Of course you do.     Over in the Marina, if you haven't had a chance to visit Laiola (2031 Chestnut St., 415-346-5641) in the old Pizza My Heart space, and the no-reservations policy was keeping you away, you can now make reservations on OpenTable. So, you have no more excuses. Don't let anything stand between you and the clams. Ditto on the grilled octopus.     A few paces away on Chestnut (and in a former pizzeria as well, huh), executive chef Sam Josi of Mamacita has opened Blue Barn Gourmet (2105 Chestnut St., 415-441-3232) in the old Cybelle's Pizza space. I took a peek at the menu, and there are a variety of tasty-sounding "choose your own fixings" or chef-designed salads, plus "sandos" and grilled cheese panini-here's one in particular that sounds really delish: Niman Ranch pastrami, Jarlsberg, Gruyere, caramelized onions and horseradish Dijon on New York rye, yum. Oh, and there's a muffalata, too! All kinds of good stuff.        For dessert, you can diminish your guilt about what you're about to do and walk over to That Takes the Cake (2271 Union St., 415-567-8050), the new cupcake shop on Union St. There are varieties like the Sleepless in San Francisco, chocolate devil's food cake topped with coffee butter cream frosting, and Funky Monkey, banana cake with chocolate and pecan pieces, topped with cream cheese frosting. This new cupcakery is open Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.     A few Asian-inspired tidbits for you: First, the latest izakaya to join the ever-burgeoning izakaya scene, O Izakaya Lounge (1625 Post St., 415-614-5431) in the Hotel Kabuki, is open and serving lunch on the weekends, along with dinner nightly. Enjoy some hamachi belly and chicken thigh yakimono from chef Nick Balla while analyzing the cool Japanese baseball card wallpaper.     Downtown's Ponzu (401 Taylor St., 415-775-7979) has a new chef, Bob Petzold, who was formerly the chef de cuisine of Gerald Hirigoyen's Bocadillos for the past four years-his background also includes Piperade and La Folie. A new menu will be launching at the beginning of the year.     Here's wishing you a cozy holiday season, full of treats to eat and sip, and wonderful friends and family to share it all with. Good health and happiness to you. Cheers!   Marcia Gagliardi also writes a popular weekly e-column about the San Francisco dining scene; subscribe for free at www.tablehopper.com. She additionally writes for San Francisco magazine, Fodor's, and gayot.com. Got a hot tip? E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Last Updated ( Sunday, 09 December 2007 )