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The Ferry Building Farmers' Market opened for lunch today with street food vendors jockeying for attention with actual farmers. 4505 Meats was there with smoked hot dogs, Cap'n Mike came down from Marin to sell smoked fish sandwiches, and Roli Roti hauled in the rotisserie grill, in addition to stalls selling pizza, tacos (Korean and Mexican), sorbet, and coffee. Oh, there were also fruits and vegetables. It is a farmers' market after all. Now setting up Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the weekly market promises to become the new hot spot for downtown lunchers. Let's hope the weather holds.

Continue reading "Ferry Building Farmers' Market Now Vendors' Market" »

After What the Pho's initial splash the mobile soup vendor has been quiet, and now its very existence is being called into question. Chowhound noodle expert Melanie Wong (she of the ramen list) floated the suggestion on the message board last night that the truck might be a prank: "Good chance this truck is as fake as Britney Spears death on twitter. A lot of things don't add up." Indeed, we found a few discrepancies.

Continue reading "Pho Truck a Street-Food Fakeout?" »

• Michael Bauer took a return visit to Fog City Diner, where he says the food has not survived the test of time. "It's become a tourist trap, with all the stereotypes that implies," he wrote. His conclusion: Buy a hat but leave the half-star food in the kitchen. [SF Chronicle]

• Matthew Stafford gives us one of the first formal reviews of Little Skillet, the chicken-and-waffles window adjacent to Brit-pop palace 330 Ritch. The relatively small menu means he got to taste pretty much everything, which seems to have gone down just fine. While the place gets a lot of buzz for its chicken and waffles, Po' boys seem to edge them out in Stafford's esteem. Call ahead, though, or get ready to wait in line. [SF Weekly]

• Paul Reidinger checked in with Farallon, where restraint is not on the menu when it comes to butter and decor, but shows up just in time for crab. Overall, it seems the Kuleto-designed fish house has aged well, and will continue to do so, though with its imported, not-necessarily-sustainable seafood it may not be the place for environmentalists. [SFBG]

Photo via orphanjones/flickr

• The Pez company has sued the Burlingame Pez museum for copyright infringement because of its exhibit of a huge dispenser that was not made by the company. [Serious Eats]

• Canteen, Slow Club, and Bix have tiny kitchens where chefs have adjusted to the cramped quarters of the big city in different, but equally effective ways. [SF Chronicle]

• Despite its more than 200 menu items, Berkeley's hole-in-the-wall Mayflower has remained virtually invisible until now. [East Bay Express]

• Mario Batali's genetic profile will be revealed in new PBS series Faces of America. [The Food Section]

• A federal court ruled that the Stella D'Oro cookie plant must reinstate its striking workers and pay them back wages. [City Room/NYT]

July is National Hot Dog Month so we're glad to see a wave of high-end frankfurters crashing over this city right now. Jamie Lauren's hot dog made with Kobe beef and bacon for $12 on Absinthe's bar menu has been a thing for a while, but we're starting to see a plethora of other fancy options here in town. There's the Crispy Dog at 15 Romolo, which SF Weekly included in its national gourmet hot dog roundup today. It's served wrapped in bacon and a tortilla and deep fried. We've also got the pigs in a blanket at Bix, which the Tablehopper describes as "Schwarz frankfurters wrapped in homemade brioche dough and Dijon mustard." Ryan Farr is producing franks at his 4505 Meats, which you'll soon be able to get at Showdogs, the new Market Street storefront from the Foreign Cinema team of Gayle Pirie and John Clark. Some of the best classic street dogs come from the carts run by Annie's Hot Dogs & Pretzels. But to us, the best late-night bite in the city is a bacon-wrapped dog served at 2 a.m. from a cart on Mission Street, yes please to grilled peppers and onions, and throw on a little extra salsa verde if you don't mind. Nathan's, eat your heart out.

Photo via brandi666/flickr

The New Montgomery outpost of Caffe Trieste seems to be splitting from the chain, calling itself the Roastery but still selling Trieste brew. An employee today said despite the new signage that went up yesterday, they're still under license from Trieste, at least for the time being. At the main Trieste office, Sonia Giotta said she was "not at liberty to speak" about the name change, but said she hoped the store would still sell Trieste coffee in the future. Finally, we stopped by for an iced decaf Americano and chatted up the Barista. "Yes, we changed our name because they were charging us too much to use [Caffe Trieste] and we weren't making enough money for it to be worth it," she said. Then she said they would still be selling Trieste coffee. Sounds like you can still get your Trieste fix at New Montgomery and Howard streets, regardless of what the sign above the door says.

In late-night dining news, Michael Bauer reports on his blog today that both Heaven's Dog and RN74 are extending their hours to 1 a.m. Meanwhile Eater reports that, starting today, Spencer on the Go will now be open on Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to midnight. Eater also has the scoop on Hayes and Kebab, which has shuttered its current location and is moving down the street to 580 Hayes.

Photo via gary j wood/flickr

A couple of openings and other updates to relay this morning: Tablehopper reports that Trademark, the new American grill in the former Voda space on Belden Alley, is due to open either Friday or Monday. However, they're playing it safe by their OpenTable account, which gives July 6 as the official opening. Our advice: Call before you come. Also via the 'hopper, look for The Pub to replace O'Neill's Irish bar with a Southern barbecue theme at Ghirardelli Square tomorrow. Both new restaurants will have heated outdoor seating, and both will offer great views — of the bay at The Pub, and of the downtown fabulous at Trademark. [Via Tablehopper]

Photo via Trademark