The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene.
Marie Callender's evokes images of pies rotating in a display case, country cottage decor, and portions that don't skimp on calories. And now, without warning, many of those pie display cases have gone dark. Grub Street reports, via various Bay Area newspapers, the Marie Callender's and Perkins chains shuttered about a dozen restaurants in California (65 nationally) to reduce their deficit. Locations in Daly City, Hayward, Concord, Walnut Creek, and Santa Rosa were among the closures.
It's all about the dome for Cupola. Inside Scoop reports the latest restaurant from the Lark Creek Group, Cupola (Italian for dome) starts lunch service today on the top level of the Westfield Center, just below its signature dome from the bygone Emporium era. Located next to Lark Creek Steak, former Bar Bambino chef du cuisine Christian Hermsdorf joins Lark Creek culinary director Adrian Hoffman in the kitchen. And yes, the dome shape makes its way onto the menu as well in the form of the signature puff bread. Dinner service will start in about two weeks.
Tenderloin's Hot Cafe is definitely hot; hot pink, that is. From Eater SF, via the Tender, the interior, reminiscent of Bazooka bubblegum and the Pink Panther, will house a cafe as soon as June 19. No word yet on what it'll be serving, or whether more pink will be incorporated into the food or additional ambiance.
There's another new restaurant headed to Valencia. Grub Street shares, via Mission Local, Cyan, an Egyptian-Turkish-Greek restaurant will be moving into the former Valencia Interiors space (974 Valencia at 21st St.) during the Summer. So many new choices coming to Valencia.
We concluded our stint judging SF Food Wars' Pie Or Die Part Deux in a decidedly queasy state, but in much better shape than after last year's inaugural battle. Like 2010's contest, there were 20 different entrants, but this year brought an improvement in overall quality. It surely can't be easy to bake perfect pie for 300 people, and this time people were more successful in baking their crusts correctly. Still, there were underdone as well as burnt contestants, which made the leading contenders and eventually the winners clear by the end of our tasting marathon. We were impressed with the variety of pie delivery methods (stick, cone, personal mini pie), the elaborate-as-a-rule displays, and even the teams who came decked out in costume; standouts included puffy, smiley suns and Betty Crocker-styled competitors.
SF Food Wars will return to the Ferry Building to host its final event for the year in August; stay tuned for further details on theme, date, and when the tickets go on sale; the latter is very important because these contests sell out faster than the quickest selling concert you can imagine. Let's just say it's going to be hot. And for some luscious pie porn from the Pie or Die event, check out Joseph Schell's slideshow.
It's never too early to start with sweets. Can you identify this dessert and the San Francisco-based eatery where SFoodie snapped this picture? (Hint: It's named after a ridiculously catchy tune.) Offer your guess in the comments below.
Congratulations to Mary Cray, who correctly pinpointed the chicken and waffles pictured in last week's Mystery Spot as the dish served at Criolla Kitchen.
If you're having lunch at Off The Grid's Civic Center event today (11 a.m.-2 p.m.), save some room for dessert. It'll be your second chance to get a cannolo from new street vendor Roamin' Cannoli before she changes locations because of the regular rotation of vendors. Owner Olivia Pilz took advantage of OTG organizer Matt Cohen's rent-a-truck for aspiring street food entrepreneurs to launch her new business.
If you've heard that last name before, it's because she's the wife of William Pilz, the talented chef and proprietor of Filipino food truck Hapa SF. Olivia makes nontraditional versions of cannoli ($4 each), with unique fillings like her signature goat cheese and mascarpone; lemon meringue; white chocolate cream with raspberries; blueberry cheesecake; and dark chocolate espresso. The ends are topped with chopped Tcho dark chocolate, fresh fruit, or graham cracker crumbs. Each is filled to order so the shells remain fresh and crispy. Husband and wife rent space at La Victoria Bakery as their base of operations. We love small family-run businesses. Check Facebook for location updates.
Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media.
1. Antibiotics and Factory Farms. This weekend, the august Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wrote an op-ed spelling out the links between antibiotics given to animals raised in close confinement and antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as the killer strains of E. coli and MRSA. Nothing new to fans of journalists like Barry Estabrook and Tom Philpott, but when people outside the food world start demanding we reduce antibiotic use in livestock, something might get done.
2. No, you won't kill yourself. The pressure cooker is coming back into fashion in America, reports NPR. It's reportedly safe. And you can make caramelized carrot soup and soft-boiled eggs.
3. Two things you should not try at home. A waiter preparing Bananas Foster in a Florida restaurant set four diners on fire. In other disturbing news, the makers of Angry Birds are publishing an egg cookbook, which we presume will not be titled Cook Your Babies.
Special Olympics "Tip-A-Cop" Fundraiser
Where: Hard Rock Cafe, Pier 39
When: Monday, June 13, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Cost: We suggest at least a 20 percent tip on the bill -- it is for charity.
The Rundown: Usually when a police officer pulls out a tab there are sweaty palms, traffic infringements, and maybe the excuse that, "I swear that light was still yellow." But today, San Francisco police officers will be pulling out tabs for a different reason: meal orders. The annual Tip-a-Cop fundraiser benefits Special Olympics Northern California, which provides training, transportation, and competition for children and adults with disabilities. So go ahead and order the steak, tip the cop, and support a good cause. And yes, we agree, that light was definitely still yellow.
