Asking for the check is so 20th century. OpenTable's latest iOs app update lets diners settle their check on their iPhones. That's right: If you've made your restaurant reservation through the app, you no longer have to wait to flag down your server at the end of your meal, give them a credit card, have them run it, and go through that whole tiresome human interaction. The new payment system is currently found at 12 pilot restaurants around S.F., including Radius, the Boxing Room, DOSA on Fillmore, and Jardinere (see the full list on the OpenTable website). Currently there's no functionality for splitting the check, but the company says that's on its way soon, along with an Android update.
Once upon a time, I used to make ice cream at Humphry Slocombe, whose much-anticipated second location is up and running in the Ferry Building, replacing an unremarkable gelato place and opening itself up to a whole slew of stupefied customers who just wanted regular chocolate without all that weirdness.
It was a very challenging job, especially as the summer of 2010 was a period of enormous growth, during which time the New York Times magazine profiled chef-owner Jake Godby and the queue routinely ran for 45 minutes on warm weekend afternoons. We were always operating at 110 percent of capacity, and the constant anxiety over watching twelve flavors dwindle down to ten and then eight while tomorrow's ice cream was still setting in the blast freezer gave me nightmares and a gross, persistent rash on my wrist. It was my only serious foray into a commercial kitchen, and I think I made Secret Breakfast 200 times in six months.
See Also: Harsh Dessert Conditions: Finding the Weirdest Ice Creams in S.F.
This week brings an exciting development in one of Berkeley's favorite coffee hideouts, Local 123. As of last week, the café is now roasting its own. The café began as a multiroaster coffee house in 2009, serving Flying Goat, Sightglass, Coava, and Barefoot, later going exclusive with Four Barrel. Now, Keith Gerhke (Able Brewing, Coava) will be roasting the café's coffee out of his space in Pacheco.
See also: A Look at Oakland's Newest
Coffee News: The Mill Turns One, Blue Bottle Gets a Cash Influx, and More
