April 23, 2008

the tablehopper | 11:41 am | April 23, 2008 | Foodie 411

A couple newcomers slated to open this week have local gourmands excited to add some spots to their roster of places to check out. First out of the gates is Anchor & Hope, the third restaurant from Steven and Mitchell Rosenthal, and Doug Washington, of local favorites Town Hall and Salt House. Chef Sarah Schafer (a Boston native) will be running the kitchen at this upscale East Coast seafood shack/fish house—she was most recently at Frisson. Look for a seafood-based menu full of classics like brandade, chowder, crab cocktail, smoked trout, fried Ipswich clams, and of course lots of raw seafood, plus what is sure to be a delicious lobster roll (Mitchell Rosenthal was in Maine for a month tasting around and researching the best rolls, so you know it will be spot-on). There are also some creative dishes, like crayfish ravioli, plus pork ribs, stuffed guinea breast, and a hanger steak for the fans of the non-finned. You can read more on the extensive menu here. The SoMa warehouse space is like a big barn but in a cool alley, with 75 seats, a 35-foot-long zinc counter, plus wood floors, and rustic tables from Jeffrey Ruiz, a talented artisan furniture maker and craftsman from Berkeley. Anchor & Hope opens on Tuesday, April 22nd. Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30am–2pm, dinner Sun–Thu 5:30pm–10pm, Fri–Sat 5:30pm–11pm. 

83 Minna St. at First, 415-501-9100.

 

And then in the Lower Haight, the long-awaited Uva Enoteca is finally opening on Thursday, April 24th. In case you’re wondering what an enoteca is, here’s more from the press release: “An enoteca is more than just a place to have a quick glass of wine and a light meal or snack. It’s a place to meet friends and relax in an inviting atmosphere.” It will be social for sure.

 

The project is from Boris Nemchenok, who worked three years under Mario Batali at Otto Enoteca and Pizzeria in NYC as a sommelier and manager, and Ben Hetzel, a Johnson and Wales graduate who has been at the Dining Room at the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton since 2000, working as a cook, captain, and cheese buyer. He is incidentally married to Camber Lay, barmixtress extraordinaire who is formerly of Range, Frisson, Laiola, and Tres Agaves, who is concocting some sparkling wine cocktails for the drinks menu. A variety of enoteca antipasti will be on offer, with many under $10 and served family style, over 15 cheeses, salumi and charcuterie (they hope to be making them in-house down the line but for now many will come from Salumi, the Batali family outpost in Seattle), panini, bruschettas, tramezzini, piadine, pizza of the day, and dessert too.

 

The wine list is all-Italian, with 85 to start, and they plan to expand to 200 available by the bottle. 20–25 wines will be served by the quartino, a third of a bottle that is presented in an 8 oz. decanter, or you can do 3 oz. tastings. Jim Kennedy from Sociale, an investor and wine consultant, will be consulting and sourcing some wines unique to California, if not the U.S. Kennedy was the Beverage Director of Esca in NYC under Mario Batali and assisted in crafting the wine list at Delfina.

 

The space is the old Horseshoe Coffeehouse—there was some fire damage, so the place has been totally gutted (hence the long timeline). There are two dining rooms, totaling 49 seats, including a 10-seat bar. The look will be rustic and clean, with lots of wood, a marble-topped bar, exposed brick walls, ebony wood-stained floors, and red cedar tabletops (hand-made by the owners). Mon–Fri, dinner 5pm–12am; Sat–Sun brunch starts at 10am and goes straight through dinner until 12 midnight.

568 Haight St. at Steiner, 415-829-2024.

 

Many are eagerly awaiting the expansion of the Pizzeria Delfina business. Craig and Anne Stoll are opening a second location, this time in the Fillmore District. The pizzeria is moving into the Zao Noodle Bar space on California at Fillmore, which just closed so now construction can begin—they are gunning for a July opening. It will have 44 seats, twice the size of the current space, but will pretty much have the same format of the original, i.e. it’s a pizzeria, not a restaurant serving pizza. They will be putting in a wood-burning oven and are discussing an antipasto case, and beer on tap. 

2406 California St. at Fillmore.

Here’s a little something for all our oh-so-important teachers out there: “In a gentle form of protest to the government of California making every effort to devalue the public education system through budget cuts and proposed mass layoffs of teachers, Lark Creek Restaurant Group has called for a Teacher Appreciation Month throughout May at all of their San Francisco Bay Area restaurants (One Market Restaurant and LarkCreekSteak in San Francisco; The Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur; Lark Creek Walnut Creek; and Yankee Pier in Larkspur, SFO, Lafayette and at Santana Row in San Jose). Every teacher who presents his or her teacher identification card will receive $10 off his or her bill. If multiple teachers dine together, the bill will be reduced by $10 for each teacher. There is no limit to the number of times a teacher can receive the discount, nor is there a minimum amount they have to spend.”

 

In case you were planning to dine out on Thursday, April 24th, you should consider choosing a restaurant that is taking part in Dine Out for Life, when 25% of your food bill (some are even donating from wine and liquor sales too) will benefit the HIV prevention programs of the STOP AIDS Project, a non-profit organization providing services to those living with HIV/AIDS. Whether you’re in the mood for fancy French dining or a homey Italian meal, there are options for everyone, with a little something for every taste and budget. Some participants include Delfina, Foreign Cinema, Maverick, and Rubicon. Wherever you go, be sure to check out the raffle envelopes at the restaurant. If you can’t attend, you can still participate through the raffle by buying tickets online here. 

Marcia Gagliardi writes a popular weekly e-column about the SF dining scene, “the tablehopper.” Subscribe for free at www.tablehopper.com and get it in your inbox every Tuesday.