After seven years, Jeanty at Jack's foldedThe city's highest-profile closures last month were Jack Falstaff and Jeanty at Jack's. PlumpJack Group announced the closure of Falstaff, its SOMA fine-dining outpost, in April -- its Balboa Café (3119 Fillmore at Greenwich) remains open, and the company is focused on reconcepting and remodeling PlumpJack Café (3127 Fillmore at Filbert) by the end of the year or early next (see previous blog entry). The shuttering of Jeanty at Jack's on Friday, May 22
PlumpJack GroupFARM: Still talking to LeivaDid you catch it yesterday? Ex-mayor Willie Brown included this morsel in his "Willie's World" column in the Sunday Chron:
The restaurant empire that Gavin Newsom used to run is hitting hard times. PlumpJack Cafe is closed now. I don't know what they plan to do, but they've got a sign up that says, "Restaurant available" -- right down to the dishes. Jack Falstaff is closed as well.
Turns out Slick Willie got it wrong, or half wrong. Yup, Jack Falstaff
The third annual Battle of the Chefs begins tomorrow night (Wednesday, February 11) at the Cellar in Macy's Union Square (170 O'Farrell) with a culinary showdown between executive chefs Hoss Zaré (Zaré at Fly Trap) and Jonnatan Leiva (Jack Falstaff) and continues on Wednesday, March 4, when Jennifer Biesty (Scala's Bistro/Top Chef) faces off against Dominique Crenn (Luce). Both will be hosted and narrated by pastry chef extraordinaire Marisa Churchill, a former Top Chef contestant herself.
Executive Chef Jonnatan Leiva of Jack Falstaff (398 2nd St.) has planned a whole new set of "Growers Dinners" for 2009 in order to bring diners closer to where their food comes from and the people that are responsible for it, from the farmers to the chefs.
We spoke with the affable Leiva back in November as he was preparing a bison and beer dinner. His passion for food, cooking and bringing people together is infectious.
The first event of the year takes place tomorrow night, followed by on
The highest-profile closing announced this month was that of Jack Falstaff (598 2nd Street at Brannan), which shuts after service on May 9th. The restaurant is home to well-regarded chef Jonnatan Leiva, who may be moving over to currently-closed-for-renovations Plumpjack Café - or not. We had a wonderful dinner there once, seated next to Willie Brown, who was eating fried chicken (as we were) and talking about securing stem cell research funds with his companions. Gavin Newsom (whose family co-
Ready for last ritesFans of Jack Falstaff may be savoring their memories of the plush jewelbox (Saturday is slated as its final night). But any postmortem should ponder that fact that, according to original chef James Ormsby, the downtown eatery may have been doomed -- at least as a glittery upscale joint -- even before opening night.
Now a private chef, Ormsby worked as PlumpJack Group's exec chef for five years. He designed the Jack Falstaff menu. His inspiration? The dazzling pre-meal bites
Leiva: Up in the airPlumpJack Group president (and sis to the mayor) Hilary Newsom told SFoodie she was looking ahead, not dwelling on tomorrow night's last supper at Jack Falstaff. "We had a terrific five years in the SOMA neighborhood," Newsom said, adding that she's focusing on a reconcepting of PlumpJack Café on Fillmore that should launch later this year.
Newsom all but admitted that Jack Falstaff's Second Street location had been challenging. "The space had tremendous potential," she sai
Azie was one of 2009's early casualtiesMany assumed that 2009 would shape up as the year of the restaurant closure in San Francisco, and there have been notable failures: Azie, Bong Su, Jack Falstaff. But the large-scale collapse you might be expecting if you read the business pages hasn't occured, at least not yet. At the same time, with some half a dozen restaurant openings in the past week alone, the mood in restaurant circles is hardly bleak. What's going on here?
The director of the Golden
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