Today in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.
Loosen your tie: Inspired by food trucks, reports Inside Scoop, Zaré at Fly Trap's Hoss Zaré is planning to go casual at lunch via Zaré's Grill and Grain. The pitch: ash (Persian soups), wraps with fillings like pickled anchovies and broccoli rabe, and grain-based salads in Zaré's restaurant at 606 Folsom (at Second St.). Rollout date: April 13.
Phoenix rising: Inside Scoop catches the name of the place planned for the old Bambuddha Lounge space in the Phoenix Hotel at 601 Eddy (at Larkin): Chambers Eat + Drink. The pitch: Gitane-y design and self-described innovative California cuisine from ex-Mission Beach Café guy Trevor Ogden. Due date is mid-May.
No break for new restaurant: The Richmond District Blog notes sffood.net blogger Grace's distinct lack of love for Shabu Pub, the place that recently set up in the old Mazu space at 3809 Geary (at Second Ave.): "At Shabu Pub, they stood around doing whatever they were doing ... and nobody but a single waitress asked, "How many?" Come on, Grace: Is that fair? For a place just finding its legs?
Wonder no more: And finally, sadly, Inside Scoop says Culinaire, the antique shop in the Ferry Building you always wondered about, is packing up its copper coal scuttles and departing.
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