Replacing K-Pop at the lively junction of 18th and Castro Streets is Gyro Xpress, an unfortunately named Middle Eastern joint with a wine list and some really nice lighting fixtures. The menu, while larger than the offerings at the New York-style halal cart on Market, leans heavily on a conservative formula. This is standard stuff: gyros and shawarma, mostly. Gyro Xpress is probably going to do a lot of takeout business.
Next month, I'm headed to New Orleans for a weeklong feast, which means second breakfasts and probably second lunches and dinners too. Luckily, Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday fall in the next few days which makes for the perfect pre-NOLA stomach-stretching exercise. Whether you're getting ready for a big eating trip or just feeling nostalgic for the Big Easy, here's where to send yourself into a food coma.
Brenda's French Soul Food and Libby Jane Cafe have your sweet tooth covered. Libby Jane will be featuring mini King Cakes through Tuesday ($7.50) while Brenda's is blowing our minds with King cake beignets. What's a King Cake beignet you ask? It's simply a beignet stuffed with berry compote, vanilla cream cheese, and pecans, colorful powdered sugar included ($4.50 each). Brenda's, 652 Polk, 345-8100 Libby Jane Cafe, 644 Polk, 926-2540
Fear not, food truck fanatics: Off the Grid at Fort Mason is coming back for its fifth season on Friday, March 14th. Save yourself the trouble of deliberating restaurant reservations or which Polk St. bars to hit and dedicate your Friday evenings to live music, games and of course food truck nirvana at Ft. Mason Center.
The weirdest story on the Internet yesterday goes to the new company Bite Labs, which is purportedly making salumi out of celebrities. That's right: They propose to harvest cells from famous people like James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kanye West, then mix those cells with animal meat to make salami. The website has a detailed breakdown of the process by which they plan to turn your favorite celebs into sausage, and the company CEO has responded earnestly to emails from Vice and Slate. Someone's taking this prank pretty far.
