This week's San Francisco Chronicle wine section goes bubbly for the holidays. This is a good theme. If there's one thing that's more popular around the MP San Francisco offices than Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on the Fourth of July, it's Champagne during the whole month of December.

The cover story, appropriately, consists of a functional guide to sparkling wines of the world. Did you know that they make this whimsical stuff in Germany and Austria? [A field guide to sparkling wines from around the world]

Did you also know that you can drink sparkling wine throughout a whole, four-course meal? Neither did we, but here you go. [Pairing]

And you can add a cheese course if you use any of the huge number of cheeses laid out here. [Cheese course]

For a cocktail, Gary Regan suggests a Prince of Wales, made with champagne, whiskey and maraschino, among other things. [The cocktailiain]

And of course, the Chronicle wine section writers didn't seem to get tired of exploring wines to suggest for their dear readers. Would you? [The Chronicle Wine Selections]

I get no kick from champagne
Mere alcohol doesnt thrill me at all
So tell me why should it be true
That I get a kick out of you
-Cole Porter

This is not really breaking news or anything, but we thought we'd give it a mention, as nothing has surfaced in Burritoeater or Burritophile, the go-to burrito sites around these parts: A Chicago (yes, Chicago) burrito blogger (and baseball stats geek) has developed what he calls the Burrito Bracket, a system for rating about 20 Chicago taquerias.

Now, you've surely seen Burritoeater's Slab Scrum, which pits eight of San Francisco's finest in a tournament-type competition for mustache ratings. The Burrito Bracket is sort of like that, but way more about the tourney stats and less about the individual subtleties of each restaurant.

But it's hard to say how accurate the Burrito Bracket could possibly be, as we've never been to Chicago and have never tasted what Chicagoans call a "burrito." If it's anything like a New York burrito, one might as well forget the whole thing and order a pizza.

Regardless of how accurate the criticism or how tasty the fare, however, the Burrito Bracket delivers a level of structure to taqueria rankings that far surpasses the wide-ranging Burritophile or hyper-specific Burritoeater. Not that these guys need to change, but it's interesting to compare notes. Surely, a competition like this would come in second only to a Bay Bridge Series in terms of local buzz, but it would be a hell of a lot more work.

The Burrito Bracket

Above: The deliciously near future

This is it, folks, the official green light for crab season. The Guv lifted the crabbing and fishing ban for the San Francisco Bay and coastline yesterday, and today crabbers are heading out to sea with their pots, just in time for the holidays and a nice stocking full of Dungeness.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lifted the ban after tests of crabs and other seafood showed "no ill effects from the fuel oil spill three weeks ago," the Chronicle reported, but state fish and game officials are still warning residents to avoid mussels and oysters harvested in contaminated areas.

Schwarzenegger imposed the ban six days after the Cosco Busan freighter hit a Bay Bridge piling Nov. 7, spilling 58,000 gallons of fuel oil in the bay. Crabbing grounds more than three miles offshore remained open, but Bay Area crabbers opted not to fish, fearing that even the smallest contamination scare could ruin the season.

Here's what the Fish and Game department had to say, from the Chroncile:

"We have been advised and have concluded that the fishery is safe and that all existing seasons can resume according to existing laws," said John McCamman, acting director of the California Department of Fish and Game, announcing the end of the ban that began Nov. 13.

"There is a possibility of residual oil remaining in the water, and it could remain over the next couple of months. We urge fishermen to use common sense. If it looks like oil and smells like oil and tastes like oil, you don't want to eat it," McCamman said.

So there you go, fish all you want, but please don't eat the oil. Sounds good to us. It's still a hard time for the Drake's Bay Oyster Co., however, as the Marin County company is the only fishery that remains under a ban.

State lifts ban on fishing, crabbing after S.F. Bay oil spill [San Francisco Chronicle]
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assesment

t's been a while since we checked in on our sibling publications here at Menupages, and that's a shame because they're all so good. Let's have a look now, shall we?

it's getting festive at MP Boston, as Leila waxes delicious on the merits of Stollen, which is basically German fruitcake, which she loves. [Stollen: The Reason For The Season]

Over at MP Chicago, Adam P has been following the equally fascinating and depressing saga of the Hyde Park Co-Op, a grocery cooperative that can't make the rent to its landlord, the University of Chicago, and will probably have to close. [Hyde Park Co-Op Hijinks, Continued]

In his tireless search for weird photographs of weird food, Neal, of MP Philadelphia, presents a deep-fried hamburger. Yes, that does appear to be cheese melting out from the inside of the patty (shiver). [The Deep Fried Hamburger]

And, at MP South Florida, Carolina pays tribute to native son Dr. Robert Cade, the inventor of Gatorade, who died yesterday at the age of 80. [Gatorade Inventor Never Thought His Drink Would Be So Popular]

Go visit the blogs. They're a lot of fun. But come back to us someday, dear reader, for more San Francisco food news and views.

Wow, Chowhound is going crazy about the French Laundry up in Y-town. Check it out.

The only restaurant in the Bay Area to get three Michelin stars isn't faring as well among the super-tough critics on the CH boards. People seem to be falling over themselves to leave ambivalent feedback about Thomas Keller's flagship feedbag.

The common sentiment: The quality doesn't feel as superior to other high-end restaurants as the price difference would suggest.

"Either this place really knows how to cook for the critics or it has slipped tremedouly and is now going on reputation alone," writes one poster. Ouch!

Are Chowhounds just being cheap, uncultivated babies, or is Keller really taking everyone for a ride with his fancy-pants fare? Why don't you jump in the fray?

What am I missing at the French Laundry? [Chowhound]

The Chronicle has published more details about the fire at Star of India that left two dead:

The bodies of two men, who have not yet been identified, were found above the kitchen in a loft area that partially collapsed during the blaze, [Fire Lt. Mindy] Talmadge said. The loft was unstable, Fire Lt. Ken Smith said, and fire crews were still working on propping it up with steel beams around 11:00 a.m.

Still no information on how the fire started or when, only that it was first reported shortly before 6 a.m. The Examiner reported that the first call came into the San Francisco Fire Department at 5:38 a.m.

A neighboring Moroccan restaurant, Pasha, was damaged in the fire and will close for several days while it is cleaned. There is no news on the future of Star of India.

Russian Hill fire kills two [SF Chronicle]

As a framing carpenter-turned-journalist-turned-foodie, a news item on the gingerbread Whitehouse caught our imagination in a big way. This year might just be the year we break out the graham crackers, the tiny little compound miter saw and the food-grade construction adhesive and get to work on an edible domicile of our own.

If you're interested in doing the same, Zagat ran a list of local gingerbread house workshops and competitions the other day. Most are geared toward children, it seems, but they don't specifically prohibit adults. They also appear to use actual gingerbread, instead of the pre-fab grahams we learned on.

For inspiration, check out the ongoing work on a "ginger-barn" over at 7x7, as documented in their Bits and Bites blog.

And remember, measure twice, eat once.

Build a House, Then Eat It [Zagat]
The Ginger-Barn (Day 2) [Bits and Bites]

A fire at the Star of India restaurant in Russian Hill early this morning turned tragic when firefighters discovered two bodies among the rubble.

The two victims--thought to be employees or possibly the owners of the restaurant--were apparently asleep when the blaze erupted at a5:38 a.m., a fire captain interviewed on KTVU said this morning. They were sleeping in a loft above the kitchen that was not designated as a legal dwelling.

Firefighters brought the one-alarm blaze under control by 5:57 a.m., according to the Examiner. Investigators have not ruled the fire as suspicious.

We'll post updates to this story as they become available.

Restaurant fire kills two in S.F. [Examiner]
Two People Dead After San Francisco Restaurant Fire [KTVU]

This is it, folks. In just a few short hours, Yoshi's opens its San Francisco location on Fillmore Street. At 8 p.m., Roy Haynes is due to take the stage, backed by a super-group calling itself Yoshi's Birds of a Feather. Guests who purchased the $100 tickets long ago will pack the sold-out house, and bloggers will salivate on themselves debating the merits of the new place.

As for us, we'll just have to remember to actually order food when we finally make it in there. The last time we visited the Oakland location we purposefully filled up in advance, hoping to save money. We realized, as Taj Mahal entered the second hour of his set, that the whole point of Yoshi's is to munch sushi while enjoying jazz and blues, and that we were cheating ourselves by simply digesting our Nation's burger while nursing a Budweiser.

Unfortunately, Yoshi's hasn't released any information regarding dinner at the new location. If you're one of the lucky few ticket holders, this may come in handy.

For your afternoon coffee break, we peruse the San Francisco Bay Guardian and San Francisco Weekly food sections. Here's this week's roundup:

From the San Francisco Bay Guardian:

Paul Reidinger double-dips with reviews of both Osteria and Bacco Ristorante. [The importance of inches]

And Chris DeMento stops in for a rather smugly enjoyed meal at Happy Garden. [The glory of ee mein]

At the San Francisco Weekly:

Meredith Brody takes the fam to Palmetto, where they appear to have enjoyed themselves. Perhaps the Weekly's copy editors were jealous when they wrote this abominable headline. [Meredith Brody in the Palm of Palmetto on Union]

Here's a great piece of amateur video, set in San Francisco, that covers all the highlights of this time of year: Togetherness, tropical drinks, adultery...
It's really quite good. Woever these people are, they've obviously been waiting to be discovered. And now they have been:

Another regular Wednesday feature, we republish the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Blender for your enjoyment.

(1) Dal makhni and onion kulcha, Mehak, Berk.

(2) Skate fin, Maverick's, SF

(3) Pork albondigas, Nua

(4) Turkey, green bean casserole, marshmallow sweet potatoes, and Tums

(5) OMG and Screwed Up Driver, B Star Bar, SF

The Blender [San Francisco Bay Guardian]

Welcome to another edition of The Chronicle Over Coffee, in which we peruse the food section of our city's biggest daily.

Well, the Chronicle wasted no time in transitioning from Thanksgiving fever to General Holiday fever. Here's a big feature on holiday party desserts, part of the Holiday Food Page. [Festive Finales]

The Inside Scoop brings news that Gary Danko's new restaurant in Ghiradelli Square is a definite go. Apparently he's signed papers on the property and is really stoked on selling food to locals and tourists alike. Heads up: he's also looking for architects and investors. [Inside Scoop]

Carol Ness is working on making it even harder for you to choose your groceries, with an article examining the pros and cons of buying organic. [Food Conscious]

And the Taster's Choice panel looks at ginger ale, that favorite mixer cum hangover aid. [Taster's Choice]

What is your favorite shellfish? If you said shrimp, you're in the majority.

A national survey out from McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. found that 38 percent of respondents preferred shrimp than any other kind of shellfish. Salmon won the fin-fish title with 21 percent, according to the Portland Business Journal.

Other notable survey findings include:

* Forty-nine percent of respondents said they are more likely to eat seafood while dining out, while 14 percent said they would be more likely to eat it at home. Thirty-six percent said it makes no difference whether they are dining out or eating it at home.
* Survey results showed that 27 percent of those polled cook seafood at home at least once a week.
* Baking won out as the most common method respondents use to cook seafood at home (29 percent), with grilling following closely behind (26 percent).
* Of the respondents that have children, 66 percent said they began feeding them seafood before they turned 5.

We have to wonder what Bay Area respondents would have chosen as a sub-group. Salmon seems likely to retain the fin-fish title, but would Dungeness crab or Tomales Bay oysters beat out shrimp? To our relatively untrained mind, shrimp seems like a lock in many states that rely on trucked-in seafood. It's durable, simple and cheap, compared to other shellfish, therefore likely out-pacing the field in land-locked markets.

In the spirit of dining locally, we'd like to know what your favorite shellfish is. Do you prefer shrimp, America's favorite, or do you tend toward the local delicacies? Let us know!

Survey Says: Shrimp [Portland Business Journal]

This is an odd coincidence: Pizza and violence have been linked twice in the news today. First, there was the disturbing story of the pizza delivery man who was shot and killed in Richmond last night as he looked for an address.

Then, and this is where the rest of the world looks at San Francisco and then kind of mumbles as it plays in the dirt with its collective toe, a story broke in the Examiner about city officials toying with the idea of banning late-night pizza sales in North Beach in order to curb drunken violence. What, is it opposite day? From the Ex:

Closing the parlors at 2 a.m. or earlier could curb violence and public drunkenness and reduce litter from pizza boxes and plates, Central Station police Capt. James Dudley told commissioners at the meeting. Dudley said earlier club closing times could also help solve problems in the area.

“Cable Car Pizza allows people to congregate up to 3 or 4 o’clock,” Dudley told commissioners. “I’m tasked to manage the crowd, which is sometimes 30, 40 or more people.”

Jeez, a crowd of 30-40 people, how do you manage, SFPD? One thing that would surely make those 30-40 people less drunk and dangerous: deny them food and make them get right into their cars and drive back to Concord. With any luck, they'll cause that giant freeway pileup after they pass Treasure Island.

Officials toss around late-night pizza ban [Examiner]
Pizza deliveryman shot to death while looking for Richmond address [SF Chronicle]
Officials toss around late-night pizza ban

Okay, let's be honest, how many of us had heard of Dr. Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade, before he died today? Not many, I'm sure.

But his passing still feels momentous because Gatorade itself is a huge cultural institution. Athletes swear by it, drunks fight hangovers with it but, maybe even more importantly, the stuff revolutionized coach-dousing. Before the invention of the neon sports drink, game-winning coaches had to be drenched in clear, unexciting ice-water. Now, they can get soaked to the skin in bright colors, making photo-ops more memorable and cleanup a much bigger adventure.

But seriously, Gatorade is one of those American dream-type stories, where one guy uses his ingenuity and leadership skills to invent a product that turns around a middling football team, and in the process, the middling university for which it played.

According to the Gainesville Sun, Gatorade, which Cade led a team of university scientists to invent in order to better hydrate football players, "[generates] $150 million in royalties for the university and helping to establish UF as a premier research institution."

So what have you done for your alma mater lately?

Dr. Robert Cade, Gatorade inventor, dies at 80 [Gainesville Sun]

There's not much of greater importance, beverage-wise, in San Francisco, than Anchor Steam beer. The brewery that appeared in Frank Norris's 1899 classic, McTeague, helped launch the micro-brew renaissance in the 1980s and whose beer Jarvis Cocker handed into the audience at his Fillmore appearance in April, has produced a gin that is just now being slowly released into the San Francisco cocktail world.

Local booze guru Camper English reports in his Alcademics blog that, while the company has a 700-bottle stockpile of Genevieve genever, it is releasing the beverage in small batches to only a few locations. Comments on Alcademics indicate the spirit is available at Plumpjack Wines and Bourbon and Branch.

We don't actually like gin very much, but from this venerable spirit-maker, it's worth at least a martini or two.

I've got good booze and bad news... [Alcademics]

Word from Mediabistro is that the Food Network is giving Emeril Live the boot. According to MB's Fishbowl NY, the final taping will take place on Dec. 11, after which some reruns will air for a while.

Emeril fans don't despair, however. The Food Network is not getting rid of Emeril altogether, just kicking him down a notch. Production will continue on Essence of Emeril.

Here's some snarkiness on the subject from Epi-Curious's Epi-Log:

...it's an undeniable comedown for the catchphrase-prone guy who once stood on the top of the celebrity-chef heap and was Food Network's so-called "cornerstone" only four years ago. Four long years of more photogenic, bubblier, edgier, nakeder, cleavage-ier younger celebrity chefs, that is.

We have to criticize the readers of Epi-Log, as that blog suggested a hilarious bit of reader participation, soliciting clever headlines breaking the news. None of the comment-leavers played. Why don't you try it?

Bam! Emeril Leaves Food Network [Mediabistro]

Bam! Emeril Gets the Axe [Epi-Log]

Looks like those two slowly developing, Pat Kuleto-owned restaurant sites on the Embarcadero will remain unfinished for a couple more months.

Covers writer and Business Times reporter Ryan Tate broke the news Friday that the two waterfront restaurants will be delayed two months and go $2 million over budget. Ouch. From the Business Times:

The restaurants, which sit side by side on the Embarcadero near Folsom Street, are believed to be the first new-build, standalone restaurants erected in the city in decades. The outer shells are complete, as are many of the interior structures, including walls, kitchens, bars and windows. Still missing are a staircase, tables and booths and interior finishes like flooring.

Originally slated for a November opening and construction cost of around $18 million, the restaurants are now expected to open by the end of January at a construction cost somewhere above $20 million, said Pete Sittnick, general manager for both restaurants. Sittnick said the overall complexity of the project had contributed to a wide variety of delays

The restaurants, a seafood joint called Waterbar and a steak and a red-meat palace called Epic Roasthouse, will add to Kuleto's swollen profile, which includes Boulevard and Jardiniere, among others. That is, if he can get them open. "Sittnick has a lot riding on the new opening date: He has already booked a party of 60 for Feb. 2," Tate reports.

Well, if they don't open, maybe the party can have a picnic in the shadow of that giant bow and arrow in Rincon Park. No? Better get cracking, Pat!

Kuleto running up a tab at two new restaurants [San Francisco Business Times]

There is an awesome thread on Chowhound right now on where to find exotic candy bars. This is exactly the kind of thing we want to see on these community boards.

After a million "I'm visiting from NY and want to find the best food that I'll inevitably just poo-pooh because I think NY food is better" threads, it's so nice to see real foodies comparing real notes on something that we can all enjoy.

Got a minute?

Candyfreak - where to find obscure candy bars? [Chowhound]

Some of you probably caught the news Friday that two brands, Lucid and Kubler, have begun selling absinthe in the United States following approval by the federal government in May.

While the LA Times sees the newly free-flowing nature of the spirit as a triumph of marketing and little else, many will be glad to hear that the mystical "green fairy," a favorite of such insane geniuses as Vincent Van Gough, Oscar Wiled, Ernest Hemingway and others, has made her way back to U.S. soil.

There's a special ritual to drinking Absinthe that makes the allure that much stronger. Check out a well-narrated example here:

Bottled Madness [Examiner]

After the jump: A bunch of idiots demonstrating what NOT to do!

Aaahhh, what a relaxing weekend. Let's see what the Chron's been up to for one last roundup, then we promise we'll get back to the real, pithy substance of this blog.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Looks like Michael Bauer is back from vacation. He visited the new inception of the Rex Cafe and seems impressed with what he calls a "gastropub." [Dining Update: Casual Rex Cafe one of city's best deals]

In case you're having trouble disposing of that heap of leftovers, here's a column left over from Wednesday that provides some ideas. [Two ways to savor the remains of the day]

And Bauer, that busy bee, takes a gander at an East Bay favorite for his pizza of the week. [Pizza Friday: Zachary's]

As we head out the door for this long weekend, here's another stack of food articles from the weeklies for those of you grabbing one more cup of coffee before turning off the computer:

In the San Francisco Bay Guardian:

A rather sordid review of Sens by Chris Demento, who includes the phrase "doing it" in his lede. Yikes! Apparently it was dark in there. [Uplifting food makes up for gloomy decor]

Paul Reidinger gets all financial in his Without Reservations column [Land of milk and money]

And in Cheap Eats, L.E. Leone discovers barbecued ribs on apple pie, goes on a date and still doesn't review a restaurant. [A certain way]

In the SF Weekly:

Robert Lauriston heads over to Z & Y Garden for a taste of Yunnan food, and discovers a cuisine that is extremely exotic, though apparently somewhat mediocre, from the sound of it. [Robert Lauriston Gets Yunnan Chinese Fix at Z & Y Garden]

We're leaving early today, so we'll wish you a happy Thanksgiving now and we'll see you next week.

As always, here's our reprint of the Guardian's Blender. Hi Paul!!

(1) Carne asada torta, La Torta Gorda

(2) Sam Adams Utopias

(3) Hot wings, Woody Zip's

(4) Blue Bottle Coffee and prosciutto panini, Gustafino

(5) Savory sweetbreads, Perbacco

Check back in a bit for the Weeklies Over Coffee

Looks like the Dungeness debate will be heating up again, just in time for Thanksgiving. According to the Chronicle, two Oregon-based fishing boats caught a massive (100,000 lb) crab haul near the Farallones, unloaded it in Monterey (San Francisco is still closed to crab boats) sold it to wholesaler Royal Seafood, which is trucking it up to San Francisco right now.

The waters in the bay and just off the coast from Marin to about Half Moon Bay are closed to all kinds of fishing in the wake of the Cosco Busan oil spill, but further offshore, the crabbing grounds are open. Local crabbers, however, have been refusing to drop pots, saying they want to wait until the crab is tested by the state. From the Chron:

"The whole thing is totally disheartening," said Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association. "We're trying to do the right thing here. We need to know the crab are safe before they get to the buyers and consumers."

The local crabbers are worried that if consumers get sick from contaminated crab early in the season, nobody will want to buy the catch at all later or anytime. According to the article, one Half Moon Bay crabber brought back a small catch, and was met at the dock by other local crabbers, who bought the catch and set it free on the condition the guy refrain from fishing until the state gives the all clear.

We wonder if they'll try the carrot or the stick with the Oregon guys.

A huge catch of crab off the Farallones is offloaded in Monterey [San Francisco Chronicle]

Welcome to a special, Thanksgiving edition of the Chronicle Over Coffee, in which we summarize the Wednesday food section over a cup of joe. This week, we're including primarily holiday-related items because, well, that's what the Chron is including.

First up, a batch of Chronicle interns and culinary students shares last-minute ideas for would-be gourmets. They advocate Cornish game hens over turkey, super-fancy green bean "un-casserole" chicken-apple-fennel sausage stuffing and pumpkin creme caramel. [No-sweat Thanksgiving]

Over at Taster's Choice, the panel explores frozen apple pies with limited enthusiasm, for those non-bakers who didn't put in their order with Uhuru soon enough. [Taster's Choice]

And the Accidental Vegetarian bangs the drum for a meatless entree to compete with the turkey, suggesting a kale pie. [Accidental Vegetarian]

Happy Cornish game hen and kale pie day, everybody!

So Linecook has posted pictures like this in the past:

But it was sort of hard to figure out what all the trappings were. Now, we have a whole step-by-step rundown, including photos, of this amazing amuse. Seems it was created to impress somebody over at the CoCo Times. Ooh la la!

Plate Up: Orange Julius and Fennel [Linecook]

Item: name that family-style Italian restaurant South of Market that closed eight weeks ago for "renovations." If you said Buca Di Beppo, you're right, and guess what? The oh-so-charming chain restaurant really did close for an upgrade and, with little fanfare, re-opened today.

The renovation focused mostly on the kitchen, said marketing director Katy Springer, reconfiguring it to efficiently produce individual plates. You heard right. Buca's new inception includes a new menu called "Buca Mio," that lists many of the restaurant's signature family-style dishes as solo courses.

So there you go. Sometimes when restaurants close, it's because they're doing so well they want to enlarge themselves, not just because they're going under. Heartening. Let's hope we get to write a similar post about Original Joe's soon.

A post on SFist inspired us to do a little primary research. They reported that Whole Foods on Fourth and Harrison streets is open until 2 p.m. and Golden Produce at Church and Market streets is open until 3 p.m.
A few phone calls and we discovered:

All Safeway stores in the city are open until 6 p.m.
Cala on Hyde and Pine streets is open until 6 p.m.
Delano's on South Van Ness Avenue and 24th Street is open until 6 p.m.
Delano's on Geary Boulevard and 28th Avenue is open until 4 p.m.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bunrab has some positively edible pictures of sausages up today. Just lovely looking links. We're going to blatantly steal one and show it to you here, just before lunch time. The rest are up on the Daily Feed.

Dog and Pony Show [Bunrab]

The average Thanksgiving dinner will cost more dollars than ever this year, according to the American Farm Bureau, but, factoring for inflation, the cost has actually dropped over the last two decades.

Last week, the AFB published its annual analysis of the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10, and came to $42.26 for the total, including turkey, stuffing, vegetables and pie. That's $4.16 more than last year's average. In 1986, the earliest year covered in the report, the average dinner cost $28.74.

Turkey saw the biggest increase, at $1.93. Other items, such as creme, milk and pumpkin pie mix, jumped in price more than a quarter, but cube stuffing and a carrots-and-celery relish tray actually fell. Green peas held steady at $1.46 a pound.

The bureau used 151 volunteer shoppers from 31 states to conduct the survey, it reported. It has used the same methodology since 1986, when it first conducted the survey. Check out the complete comparison tables and press release on the bureau's site.

Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Inches Higher This Year

There are a couple of articles in today's Chronicle that ought to be rounded up:

The ban on plastic grocery bags goes into effect tomorrow. Thanks to a law passed in March, no city grocery stores will be allowed to offer "paper or plastic" as of midnight, tonight. It's all paper, now, baby. And the law will extend to drug stores in another six months. Wonder if this law will be enforced as strictly as the ban on styrofoam takeout containers? [Starting Tuesday, plastic bags illegal at big S.F. grocery stores]

Last week's article on underpaid line cooks made such a splash, the Chron got a second story out of it by just re-printing some of the letters they got. One waiter wrote:

With the structure of the house where I work, I will pay out of my pocket 7 percent of my sales, which is 30 percent of gross tips hosts, bussers, bartenders, runners, etc. Every time I get "stiffed," I literally pay to wait on people. Keep that in mind as you work to breed vitriol in the dining public against service staff.

Yoach! Wonder if this little conflict will find its way into City Hall? [Hard times working on the hot line]

Item: Guess who, in town for a big, fancy dinner event at E & O Trading Co., chowed down on some head meat and tripe at a Fruitvale taco truck?

If you said Frank Bruni, you're wrong. It was Anthony Bordain, which is way less surprising. Ryan Tate's Covers had the exclusive after an associate spotted the Travel Chanel hotshot at Mi Grullense.

Bourdain was in town to do a big ol' shindig of a dinner, promoting his book and raising money for the American Institute of Wine and Food scholarship fund.

The sold-out, $150-to-start event took place Saturday at E & O Trading Co. Luckily for all of us, Jalepano Girl was there, camera in hand, to document the evening and copy down the menu.

Tony Bourdain keeping it real in Fruitvale [Covers]
E&O Trading Company hosts Anthony Bourdain [Jalapeno Girl]

Maybe you remember that woman who was arrested for theft last May after police found hundreds of stolen credit cards and thousands of dollars worth of hot merchandise at her house? She was preying mostly on diners in high-end restaurants.

We remember the story well because we wrote it. But that's beside the point.

The latest on that case, as the District Attorney's office reported last month, is that Charity Owens, 27, pleaded guilty in September to one count of being in possession of the identifications of more than 10 people, and three counts of grand theft. From the DA's press release:

According to court documents, defendant Owens was charged with stealing customers’ purses or wallets by entering different businesses, mostly restaurants or bars in San Francisco such as the Elite Restaurant, the Bar Tartine, the Koh Samui and the MonkeyCafé Museo.

On Oct. 17, the DA reported, judge Harold Kahn sentenced Owens to four years in state prison and ordered her to pay restitution of more than $8,000 to victims.

Defendant who Stole IDs by Snatching Purses and Wallets Sentenced to Four Years State Prison [Text of DA press release]
Alleged S.F. purse thieves arrested

Well, this is the week where Friday comes on a Wednesday, and if you're not hustling through airports that night, we got a message about a somewhat interesting-sounding restaurant event that might be worth checking out.

Butterfly, an Asian fusion joint on Pier 33, gets mixed reviews here and on Yelp. However, their attraction Wednesday night comes not from the kitchen, but from the entertainment: Roots drummer ?uest Love will be acting as DJ after dinner, spinning records from 10:30 p.m. till 2 a.m.

This promises to be either a lively, fun evening, full of musical and culinary experimentation, or else a trip through bridge-and-tunnel hell. It's such a mixed bag around here during the holidays. We're also not sure about how we feel dancing and drinking in the same place we ate dinner. Can we get a little variety? But the DJ's a pretty big deal, and the restaurant seems like it's going the classy route, so it may be a really fun evening. We won't be around, so you tell us.

Oh, it seems they want you to sign up for the guest list, which you can do here.

Finally this week, we leave you with some eye candy, shoreside, where you can watch the boats go by. We had to add our own soundtrack, but we think it fits. You have to turn the sound off on the video, otherwise it's weird. Enjoy!

Wow, a live one from the newsroom here Menupages SF! Check it out:

The owner of Home Menu, a SOMA Chinese restaurant, was arrested last week for allegedly defrauding his customers out of thousands of dollars in false credit card charges, but as of this morning, the restaurant’s website remained active, including an online credit card ordering device.

Lam allegedly charged former customers hundreds of dollars each in the months after the restaurant closed, more than a year ago, according to prosecutors. He was arrested by San Francisco Police Nov. 8, after a nine-month investigation that started when irate customers contacted a local news station, District Attorney spokeswoman Bilen Mesfin said.

So what’s with the website?

The confusion began when Eater SF indicated that the online menu was still up, credit-card ordering device and all, and sites such as Yelp and Menupages hadn’t listed the place as closed MP has since corrected that.

The phone number, we discovered, goes to a chipper message that gives the restaurant’s hours and mentions nothing about it being closed for a year and a half. What the hell?

Here’s how it all shakes out, sort of: Yes, the restaurant is still closed. It was padlocked today but looked, according to Menupages correspondent Dan Powell, “like it could be open in five minutes if [the owner] wanted to. There was a blinking religious figure mounted on the back wall that was still plugged in and going. There were stacks of plastic tumblers, it looked like all the napkin holders still have napkins. There were menus under the glass on the tables.”

According to an administrator at Studio Trans, the web hosting company that ran the site for the restaurant, the site was taken down a year and a half ago when the restaurant first went out of business.

“As far as why the website is running [now], we had been contacted a week and a half ago by another Chinese restaurant that was interested in working with us, and we turned on the Home Menu site as a demonstration,” Mike Barker said. He said the credit card information device was not active.

So why was the restaurant still listed as a client of Studio Trans? “That’s an oversight. I will get my webmaster on there and have that removed,” Barker said.

A few hours after we first started asking about this, the restaurant's site is no longer available.

Still no explanation as to why the phone number still works, voicemail and all, and why the ostensibly out-of-business restaurant retains its storefront with sign and furniture. Who’s paying all those bills? We don’t know.

Here’s what we do know: Phau Lam faces 32 felony counts, including identity theft, credit card fraud and forgery, for a maximum possible 10 years in prison if he’s found guilty, according to District Attorney spokeswoman Bilen Mesfin. The DA alleges more than 100 victims.

We're still waiting to hear back from Lam's public defender, who we called a couple hours ago. We'll update this post as necessary when that call comes in.

Restaurant Owner Charged in Credit Card Scam [ABC 7]

It's Friday, and time for another installment of the Chronicle over Cocktails, in which we peruse the Wine section, ostensibly while sipping a cold one right around noon. Aaahhhh, refreshing!

The lead story isn't really about wine at all. It's about architecture. Okay, architecture near grapes, often housing wine-making apparatus, so it's still topical. [Sonoma's laid-back look]

In cocktails, we meet the offspring of a Margarita and a Negroni: The Rosita [Tired of Margarita? It's time to meet Rosita]

And in pairings, a number of suggestions for, what else? Thanksgiving turkey [Plucky Partners for Turkey and Pinot Noir]

The Amateur Gourmet's been on a roll lately. There was that very satisfying roast chicken recipe two days ago and now he's writing about a dinner with New York Times food critic Frank Bruni, the big cheese among big-city restaurant reviewers. Turns out Bruni is human after all, with his "careful and considered" evaluations and his "humility and sense of fun."

From AG:

When most of us go out to eat, we don't hold a restaurant's fate in our hands. We can relax, soak things in, make observations about the food, the service, and the decor without feeling like these observations will impact lives and livelihoods; without worrying that the gum we chewed before dinner might throw off the taste of that lobster bisque, rendering an unfair review that might humiliate a chef, putting a knife in the heart of his or her signature dish.

Bruni handles all of this with grace and good humor. That's what struck me most about him: his humility and his sense of fun. He has perspective on what he does and when it comes to evaluating food, he is measured and thoughtful. He doesn't exclaim, he doesn't pout--he eats, he considers, and then he softly shares his opinion.

That's a shift from the whining grammarian of last week, or the target of wrath Bruni has been in the past. And it's good to hear. It's important to be reminded that, just like waiters, chefs and bussers, food critics are human after all.

Now, if we could just schedule a lunch with Paul Reidinger...

My Dinner with Frank Bruni [Amateur Gourmet]

Okay, tomorrow's the big day, everybody. That's when the Mint Plaza opens, with speakers (including the Gav-ster) and food and all sorts of reasons for city employees to take a few hours off.

The project is pretty notable in that it used money from a developer to turn a San Francisco street into a pedestrian walkway. The idea is that the city benefits by gaining a newly developed public space, and the developer benefits by owning much of the property on that street. Hmmm...

We've been waiting around to hear what's eventually going to happen with the restaurant space in the development, and at this point it seems like nothing. The Chron reported that the proprietors of Limon are vying for a spot in the new mall-ette, but that the previously planned Sushi Groove may still get the green light.

But at opening time tomorrow (10 a.m.) the only food on the premises will be supplied by outside entities, including Blue Bottle coffee, 'Wichcraft pastries and Chez Papa (but not that Chez Papa) ors d'oevres. At least Blue Bottle and Chez Papa have eyes for retail space in the plaza. We don't know about 'Wichcraft, which has a store in the nearby Westfield Center, but we'll let you know.

Splashy opening set for S.F.'s Mint Plaza [San Francisco Chronicle]
Builder bets newly minted plaza in San Francisco will be an oasis [San Francisco Chronicle]
Mint Plaza informational handout

According to KCBS early this morning, a portion of the Dungeness fishery not affected by the Cosco Busan oil spill is open to commercial fishing. However, no local crabbers from Sonoma to San Mateo have reportedly gone out, the Chronicle reported this afternoon.

Commercial boats take in seawater from outside to keep their catch alive, so if they travel through contaminated water, the crabs become contaminated. Fears of contamination, even a perceived threat of contamination, kept boats in the harbor Thursday. From the Chron:

"All our guys are holding," San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association president Larry Collins said. "No one is fishing for crab and no one is buying crab."

The same held true at Half Moon Bay and Bodega Bay, where harbors masters confirmed that crab boats were at the docks, with pots still stacked...

As of this afternoon, the harbor masters at Half Moon Bay's Pillar Point and Spud Point at Bodega Bay had neither seen nor heard from the boats.

The state-mandated closure stretches from Pt. Reyes in the north to Pedro Point in the south, three miles offshore and all bay waters west of the Carquinez Bridge. Many local crabbers could fish, but have opted not to because of pollution concerns.

Crab Season Begins Despite Oil Spill Worries [KCBS]
No one fishing for crab [San Francisco Chronicle]

Like you need a good reason to drink too many beers on a Friday night...

Well, you have one anyway. That Mission District stalwart Doc's Clock is putting on a fund-raiser for the birds, with 100 percent of Radeberger, Chimay Blue, Anchor Liberty and some others to be announced, going to Baykeepers, one of the groups spearheading the Bay and beach cleanup.

And remember, Doc's Clock is one of those legendary hangouts that features shuffleboard instead of pool, and well-thought-out iPod playlists instead of a jukebox. Good for some, not good for others. But charitable beer is good for everyone, especially oily birds. Drink up!

Ha, just after posting that last, celebratory rant, we found this 2002 Slate article decrying the Beaujolais frenzy as a marketing scheme of the first rate, perpetrated by Georges Duboeuf, whose Beaujolais winery apparently makes out better than any of the rest on the annual Beaujolais bash. Pretty interesting stuff.

Red Scare [Slate]

This is it, obsessive wine fans! Today's the day the insanely popular and fleeting Beaujolais Nouveau hits town. While the annual celebration for the wine characterized by it's quick fermentation and liberal annual production has taken on a slightly more upscale course than the original bacchanalian bash, many restaurants celebrating its arrival are putting on a more lighthearted show than usual.

Zagat's has a pretty good roundup of Prix Fixe meals and other nods to the seasonal red throughout San Francisco's, um, "French Quarter" and beyond. The biggest soiree takes place Sunday at the Hyatt Regency, put on by, who else? The French Chamber of Commerce.

People go crazy for this young, not-too fancy wine, mostly, it seems, because of its well-choreographed annual release. Each year's vintage, which is only good for a few months, cannot be released until 12:01 a.m. on the third Thursday in November. At that time, the trucks fire up their engines and race from the Beaujolais region to Paris, where the wine is flown all over the world. According to Zagat's some estimate that half the entire production is distributed and drunk in one day.

The wine is light, for a red, and fruity, described by oenophile Brad Prescott, of IntoWine, as, "about as close to white wine as a red wine can get." Doesn't seem to square with the weather in most of the Northern Hemisphere at this time, but here in California, we get special treatment. With highs in the 60s predicted for today and tomorrow, you might just be able to enjoy an afternoon on the patio with this cult classic.

Beaujolais Nouveau Arrives Tomorrow! [Zagat's]

The San Francisco Bay Guardian:

Paul Reidinger gets deja-vu on a visit to the new Bistro 9, which apparently looks and feels a lot like its neighbor Park Chow. He clears up the confusion, however, with a sharp Star-Trek reference and a convoluted sub-head. Nice. [A wealth of possible combinations and sophisticated treatments]

L.E. Leone still hasn't gone back to eating at restaurants, but this column on bacon-fat applesauce is pretty funny. [Praise the lard]

And Amber Peckham did not live happily ever after lunch at Trattoria Pinocchio [A less-than-fairytale meal]

SF Weekly:

Meredith Brody visited Puccini and Pinetti and joined the ranks of local weekly food reviewers un-thrilled by Italian restaurants in touristy parts of town. [Puccini and Pinetti's Touristy Location Trumps Its Cuisine]