Bay Area Restaurants

[Photo: Facebook] Coming shortly to 24th and Treat is a new wine bar called La Movida in the former El Delfin space. As discussed earlier, the project is a partnership between Michael Meadows and Pal's Takeaway sandwichman Jeff Mason, who's been looking for a spot to move his operation since the Health Department told them they couldn't keep serving out of Tony's Market down the street. Ms. Tablehopper has some new details about the project, including the fact that all beers and wines on the list except one are from California (and that's from Owen Roe, who sources grapes from Washington and Oregon). The list includes small and local producers like Broc Cellars, Dashe Cellars, and on the beer front, Cervezeria de MateVeza. Food in the evenings will be from a small plates menu including flatbreads, sliders, and the standard cheese and charcuterie plates. There will also be a Tuesday night pop-up rotation, TBA. As for Pal's, they'll operate every weekday in the space from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and you can see the expanded new menu here. Hours for La Movida will be 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday to Thursday, and until midnight Friday and Saturday. · La Movida Opening Next Week in the Mission [Tablehopper] · Pal's Takeaway Turns Four, Full Space Still Planned [~ESF~]

Chipotle's bid to open up in the Castro, in the former Home space at Church and Market, may not be over after tomorrow, when the Planning Commission is likely to shoot down their conditional use application due to other formula retail concentration in the vicinity. The company can still appeal to the Board of Supervisors, a move they're likely to make after investing all this time money in the project. [EaterWire]

Want to experience the birthplace of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc firsthand? Now is your chance. Brancott Estate is giving two lucky wine lovers a chance to win a trip to New Zealand, including flights, accommodation for four nights, and a five-day car rental. Click here to enter and to learn more about the full portfolio of Brancott Estate wines, made from the finest winemaking regions across New Zealand.

SAN FRANCISCO—We've mapped the most expensive homes to recently come onto the market. The cheapest is a 1-bedroom asking $3.5M, and the most expensive is a planned single-family home on Billionaire's Row that's asking $28.95M. CASTRO—A new boutique residential building called ICON in the Castro revealed itself last week when its scaffolding and protective shroud were removed. We've got pricing, too. RUSSIAN HILL—Looking to build some very big abodes on a prime lot in Russian Hill? Let us introduce you to the (planned) Wysteria Residences, which are a collection of super high-end residences that haven't been built yet but can be yours for a small sum of unlisted money. Let the bidding war begin! MID-MARKET—More housing could soon come to Mid-Market! One of Under Armour's former execs, Scott Plank, has recently acquired the 15,000 square foot lot at 1028 Market Street. Plank retired last year to "pursue his passion for building sustainable urban environments." SAN FRANCISCO—The average rental rate for a two bedroom is $4,000, but we've found five perfectly fine (and dare we say even adorable in some cases) two bedrooms for less than that. CIVIC CENTER—The Fox Theater was once San Francisco's splashiest and most glamorous movie theaters, but was torn down in 1963 to make way for an office building and apartments. Many folks were unhappy about the loss, some even believing that a curse was placed on the new building to doom its future. SAN FRANCISCO—The most expensive property sold this week was a very fancy 2-unit building in Nob Hill. It was listed for $5.995M but received $5.7M. POTRERO HILL—Potrero Hill's newest development is speeding right along as scheduled. We have photos and details over here. NOB HILL—Did you know that $3.5M won't even get you the most expensive one bedroom for sale in San Francisco? It's true! But it will get you the second most expensive one bedroom, which is a well-appointed condo at 1001 California. PACIFIC HEIGHTS—The Traina clan's old abode on Billionaire's Row is up for grabs for $14.5M. The 4-bed, 5.5-bath, 6,000 square foot pad has picturesque views of the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond from nearly every room.

The Bold Italic just did a blind taste test of three of San Francisco's top artisanal roasters alongside three national grocery-store brands, and the results are—you guessed it—quite surprising! While Ritual does land in the number-one spot, second place goes to Dunkin' Donuts which beats out both Sightglass and Four Barrel according to the six-judge panel. Starbucks, meanwhile, comes in last, behind Folgers. The coffee cognoscenti will, we're sure, tell you take this with a grain of salt—especially given the fact that no Washed Out-loving baristas or professional coffee critics participated in this—but nevertheless it makes us chuckle that when tasting Dunkin's blend, one taster goes, "Sightglass?" [Bold Italic]

Attention, 90's kids who are also really into agriculture: Something amazing has happened on the Internet, and it is an agricultural parody of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song from a trio ...

--> Anchor Brewing Co., which is unarguably San Francisco's signature hometown brewery, just unveiled this video discussing the history of baseball in San Francisco, from sandlot games to the minor league San Francisco Seals, to the city's first Major League team, the Giants, who moved here in 1957. And all along, obviously, fans have been drinking beer, a lot of it from Anchor especially since they've got a huge presence at AT&T Park. As Anchor's in-house historian Dave Burkhart says, "Those kinds of things are what make San Francisco very special. Lots of beer and lots of baseball." [EaterWire]

If you've been around long enough, you start to catalog the past lives that certain spaces have had when you see them in a new incarnation. Walking through the dining room of ROKA AKOR to the st...

Today, Eater announces its newest class of rising stars, the Eater Young Guns Class of 2013. They are a group of 15 of the most distinguished young chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and hospitality industry professionals in the country, and among them is the Bay Area's own Jessica Largey, chef de cuisine at Manresa in Los Gatos. Writing for Eater, Andrew Zimmern notes how amazed he was by Largey's talents after spending a day with executive chef David Kinch in the Manresa kitchen. "Is it just me," he said to Kinch, "Or is that lady un-fucking-believable?" Largey, 27, hails from Southern California and had her first big kitchen gig at Providence in L.A. She staged at The Fat Duck in England before ultimately landing a job with Kinch, at what is now one of the Top 100 restaurants in the world, according to Restaurant magazine. After two years as chef de cuisine, Largey was recently named a Rising Star by StarChefs, but bizarrely did not garner a mention from Michael Bauer this year when he was struggling to think of a single female chef who deserved the Chron's Rising Star honor. We, of course, know better. All this year's Young Guns will be feted at an industry gala in Los Angeles on Monday, June 24, but the public is invited to meet them at a tasting party, the first ever Young Guns Eve, on Sunday. Tickets are still available here, should you be in L.A. · The Eater Young Guns Class of 2013 REVEALED [~EN~] · Meet the Bay Area Eater Young Guns Semifinalists [~ESF~]

Following on the closing of Big last week, we get word now on the new project from three members of the Big team: Odd Job. As Inside Scoop reports, the new cocktail bar will take over the former Shine space at Mission and Ninth, however there will be one key difference in the new venture aside from the square footage: Bar manager Brian Felley is not involved. The team consists of partners Jordan Langer, Peter Glikshtern, and Jeff Whitmore who are also involved in Jones and Public Works, and they're describing the aesthetic and vibe as "if Big and Public Works had a baby." Craft cocktails will allegedly be a focus, but they will be hiring a new bar manager who will likely provide the direction. They're aiming for an early August opening. Stay tuned for more. · Big successor will be a new bar in the former Shine space: Odd Job [Inside Scoop] · Big Says Goodbye (For Now) With All-Day Party Today [~ESF~]