Michael Mina

Michael Bauer Defends His (And Michael Mina's) Honor

How To Talk To Socialists About Four Star Dining

Sugar Rush for the Kids!

Hurry Up and Slow Down

The decor and presentation try hard at Level III, but the timing is off.

The Secret Garden

One of the city's nicest outdoor spaces is tucked away in Hayes Valley.

Stand-Up Double

We prefer the Italian to the steak at this glamorous Italian chophouse

Best New Restaurant (Very Expensive)

We prefer the Italian to the steak at this glamorous Italian chophouse

Steamy Sauté

Cooks turn up the heat

Winners and Losers

How an S.F. food critic sent a chill through the room at a national awards ceremony

Seedling

Redwood Park

Early Bird Special: Nopalito

Jen SiskaFebruary's launch of Nopalito, the regional Mexican spin-off of Laurence Jossel's swarming Nopa, was the city's most fervently-awaited restaurant event so far this year (just sayin', Michael Mina). SF Weekly food critic Meredith Brody braved the crowds to sample fungus antojitos, sturgeon t ... More >>

New hotel brasserie Midi offers updated versions of French classics

Jen SiskaFebruary's launch of Nopalito, the regional Mexican spin-off of Laurence Jossel's swarming Nopa, was the city's most fervently-awaited restaurant event so far this year (just sayin', Michael Mina). SF Weekly food critic Meredith Brody braved the crowds to sample fungus antojitos, sturgeon t ... More >>

Forget the Pricing Kerfuffle, RN74's Wines are Worth Singing--Or Even Tweeting--About

Foodnut.com via FlickerThe Last Bottle Board: Any high rollers in the house?RN74 is a restaurant that makes you feel like starting from the wine list and working backwards to the menu. The food -- though not remotely Burgundian as the name (a highway that runs through the region) would imply -- is l ... More >>

Early Bird Special: RN74

Paul TrapaniYou gotta love Michael Mina: Nobody in this town does high concept with such downright drama. How about a mashup of old French trains, New American cooking, and global wines? SF Weekly food critic Meredith Brody rides the vin express at RN74 (301 Mission at Beale) this week, holding on t ... More >>

Michael Mina's RN74 is a work in progress

Paul TrapaniYou gotta love Michael Mina: Nobody in this town does high concept with such downright drama. How about a mashup of old French trains, New American cooking, and global wines? SF Weekly food critic Meredith Brody rides the vin express at RN74 (301 Mission at Beale) this week, holding on t ... More >>

Google's Favorite Places Awards: Strange-Looking and Subject to Graffiti

The Google award at Humphry Slocombe.On Wednesday, SFoodie's Meredith Brody reported on Google mapping out Alice Waters' favorite places in the Bay Area. That same day, the tech company dropped off exclamation point-looking statues in front of the chosen places of Waters as well as the selections fr ... More >>

Hot Meal: Joshua Skenes' Saison at Stable Cafe

Intensely summery: Roasted goat with corn foam over cracked hominy. Last night marked the official opening of Saison, a Sundays-only fine-dining prix fixe at Stable Café (2128 Folsom at 17th St.) in the Mission. It's a joint venture by sommelier and wine consultant Mark Bright (Restaurant Mic ... More >>

Our Picks for the Four Hottest Tickets at This Weekend's SF Chefs.Food.Wine. Fest

​This weekend's first-ever SF Chefs.Food.Wine culinary festival is a chance to get up close and personal with local food and wine talent through tastings, classes, and even a cocktail contest. The cost might make you balk (ticketed events are $40 and up, day passes $150), but keep in mind that ... More >>

For Chefs in S.F., Making a Root Beer Float Involves More Than Popping a Can

eyjensen/FlickrSpecial enough for a birthday: The root beer float (with cookies) at Michael Mina.​Even if you knew that today is National Root Beer Float Day -- a fact we learned from Three Olives Vodka, which just released a root beer-flavored vodka to a nation happily unaware of what it's be ... More >>

Should S.F. Be Taking to the Barricades to Demand RN74's Super-Posh Burger?

Paul TrapaniRN74: Sworn enemy of democracy?​Tom Robbins once wrote: "Columbus discovered America, Jefferson invented it, Lincoln unified it, Goldwyn mythologized it, and Kroc Big Mac'd it. It could have been an omniscient computer that provided this land with its prevailing ambiance, it might ... More >>

S.F.'s Laurine Wickett Got Canned from Top Chef Last Night. Now She's Cooking Up an Homage to Balls

Bravo TVWickett: Not totally bummed about getting axed.​Laurine Wickett of San Francisco's Left Coast Catering made it all the way to Episode Nine on Top Chef, last night's infamous Restaurant Wars competition, by pretty much flying below the radar. Things looked tense in Episode Three, when t ... More >>

Sharpen Your (Benevolent) Sweet Tooth at Spark's Sugar Rush Benefit

T. PalmerSpark partners with companies such as Recchiuti to mentor youth.​Spark is an exciting nonprofit that arranges apprenticeships between local businesses and youth. It includes a fair amount of food-oriented mentoring, setting up what might be considered dream jobs, such as learning the conf ... More >>

Room for Dessert

T. PalmerSpark partners with companies such as Recchiuti to mentor youth.​Spark is an exciting nonprofit that arranges apprenticeships between local businesses and youth. It includes a fair amount of food-oriented mentoring, setting up what might be considered dream jobs, such as learning the conf ... More >>

Here's the Deal: Play Along at Clock Bar Saturday and Get 10 Percent Off

bittermelon/FlickrFeel free to bust out an impromptu Charleston.​Nowadays, the whole speakeasy thing feels as gimmicky as a say-the-secret-word-and-win promo on AM radio. And that's pretty much the idea at Saturday's repeal-of-Prohibition event at Michael Mina's Clock Bar in the Westin St. Fra ... More >>

RN74 Spinning Off a Seattle Branch

​It has been a good month for RN74, Michael Mina and Rajat Parr's wine bar and oenophilia-oriented restaurant, where even the chef is a winemaker. A few weeks ago, RN74 made it to the finals of the James Beard Awards in the Best New Restaurant category. And now it's having a baby. Er, cloning its ... More >>

Mina Group Denies It's Planning to Close Union Square Flagship

superchefblog.comMichael Mina.​Rumors bubbled to the surface on Eater this week, suggesting that restaurant mogul Michael Mina had plans to close down his flagship fine-dining eatery in the Westin St. Francis ― a Beard semifinalist this year ― only to drop anchor in the Aqua space at 252 C ... More >>

Starchefs.com Names Its 2010 Rising Stars

SPQR's Matthew Accarrino is on the rise.​Starchefs.com just named the 14 winners of its 2010 "Rising Stars" Awards for the San Francisco Bay Area. The touring awards, which recognize chefs, bartenders (unfortunately titled "mixologists"), and restaurateurs under the age of 40, is always an interes ... More >>

S.F. Rising: Wood-Oven Walnut Loaf from Firebrand

J. KauffmanReal bread, real walnuts, real good.​A weekly survey of bread in San Francisco ― the baked and the steamed, the artisan and the novelty.Walnut BreadProducer: Firebrand Artisan Breads, (510) 594-9213, www.firebrandartisanbreads.comSource: Rainbow Grocery Co-op, 1745 Folsom (at Divisi ... More >>

Unwind Prepares to Sun-Bake Its Customers, Brasserie Lille's Balthazar Ambitions

​The last 24 hours in rumor, innuendo, and straight-out facts about restaurant openings and closings in San Francisco.Yesterday, SFoodie forgot to mention the opening of Unwind on Union (1875 Union, 999-7283, unwindonunion.com), whose opening day UrbanDaddy trumpeted on Tuesday. The owners, Eate ... More >>

Tony's Pizza Napoletana Mushrooms, Hot Spud Emerges Fully Baked

​​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.In case you forgot, Cafe des Amis (2000 Buchanan, 563-7700, www.cafedesamissf.com) opened last night. Paolo L. at Inside Scoop shares numerous ― like, ridiculously numerous ― details about ... More >>

Prospect updates Boulevard's aesthetic, but edgy it isn't

​​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.In case you forgot, Cafe des Amis (2000 Buchanan, 563-7700, www.cafedesamissf.com) opened last night. Paolo L. at Inside Scoop shares numerous ― like, ridiculously numerous ― details about ... More >>

Jonathan Kauffman Speaks! (on KQED's Forum)

Our favorite morsel from the Web. If you missed it yesterday ― SF Weekly food critic Jonathan Kauffman's vocal turn on KQED's Forum with Michael Krasny ― we embed for your pleasure: Kauffman shared air with San Francisco food editor Jan Newberry, Stett Holbrook (ditto for Metro Silicon Valley) ... More >>

Michael Mina Ends, Prospect Returns, ICHI Finds a New Home

​ ​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.A few notices from Jay B. at Grub Street: Ladies and Gentlemen, MICHAEL MINA has left the St. Francis, marking the end of the four-star TV dinner. And Prospect, which had closed for two w ... More >>

New Jeremy Fox Gig, Quick Opening Date for Bourbon Steak, and Lots of Other Food Gossip

​ ​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.It always happens: Yesterday, SFoodie was faced with a dearth of restaurant gossip, while today we have a surfeit:Paolo L. of Inside Scoop comes through with the big celebrity-chef news of the ... More >>

Joey & Eddie's Soon-to-Be-Former Owner Launches BeeBo, Michael Mina Picks a Date

​ ​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.According to Paolo L. at Inside Scoop, Joseph Manzare, owner of the just-closed Joey & Eddie's, is launching a temporary restaurant in the same space until the sale of the restaurant goes ... More >>

Michael Mina and Schweet Box Open This Week. Make of That What You Will

​ ​The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene.If you hadn't heard, the new MICHAEL MINA opened last night. In more entertaining news, UrbanDaddy finds that Schweet Boks (2142 Irving, 992-2119, Facebook page) is FINALLY about to open ... More >>

Cotogna Opens, Gary Danko Spinoff Still on Track

​ ​The past 72 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco restaurant scene. In case you hadn't heard, Michael and Lindsay Tusk's Cotogna (490 Pacific, 775-8508) opens tonight.Even though the Bank of Scotland is foreclosing on Ghirardelli Square, leaving t ... More >>

Kauffman's Top 10 New Restaurants of 2010

Lara HataIppuku's yakitori: totally on the list.​Tuesday, SFoodie posted a list of the 2010 restaurant closures that hurt the most. Today brings the yang to the yin: a list of my 10 favorite new restaurants. (Hey, since everybody's doing it...) I've provided commentary enough about the state of th ... More >>

Once Exclusive, RN74's Burger Is Now a Door Buster

RN74RN74's burger promo starts Jan. 17.​How things change. In late 2009, Michael Mina and Rajat Parr's RN74 was still national-media feature material, after opening in the spring. News leaked of a fabulously recherché burger, available only in RN74's owners' lounge, reserved for the Eloi who ... More >>

Who's Got a Beard (Award)?

​Friday night was the first of the James Beard Foundation's two national awards galas this year. This one celebrated the media, with awards given out for television shows, print and online journalism, and cookbooks. There were upsets (Jonathan Gold only took home one one of the three awards he was ... More >>

Dynamic Chef Couple Hosts Pop-Up Dinner

Radius​Pop-Up Dinner by Sarah and Evan Rich Where: Radius, 1123 Folsom (at Langton), 525-3676 When: Monday, July 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $60 (additional wine pairings available); e-mail chefsnightoff@gmail.com with time and party size to reserve. The rundown:Former Michael Mina sous chef ... More >>

5 O'Clock Somewhere, a Sneaky Summer Special at Clock Bar

Tamara PalmerWho knows what this mug held before its current assignment?​A highlight of the new summer cocktails at Michael Mina's Clock Bar is a wonderfully deceptive flip called 5 O'Clock Somewhere. It's a flip due to the use of a whole raw egg, in this case shaken with a healthy pour of Bul ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Deciphering the Wine List at Bar Tartine

Tamara PalmerWho knows what this mug held before its current assignment?​A highlight of the new summer cocktails at Michael Mina's Clock Bar is a wonderfully deceptive flip called 5 O'Clock Somewhere. It's a flip due to the use of a whole raw egg, in this case shaken with a healthy pour of Bul ... More >>

Fifth Floor: Technique and Intelligence Prove Hotel Restaurants Can Still Shine

Tamara PalmerWho knows what this mug held before its current assignment?​A highlight of the new summer cocktails at Michael Mina's Clock Bar is a wonderfully deceptive flip called 5 O'Clock Somewhere. It's a flip due to the use of a whole raw egg, in this case shaken with a healthy pour of Bul ... More >>

Are "Emperor Chefs" Like Michael Mina and Thomas Keller a Good Thing?

Emperor Michael Mina.​ Wolfgang Puck. Michael Mina. Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Thomas Keller. Chefs, who used to be invisible and nameless kitchen generals, have become celebrities. And since the 1990s, more than that -- they're empire builders. Yesterday, Huffington Post ran a feature about the ... More >>

Kink Grounds Shutters and Lotus Garden is Back from the Brink

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. No more grilled cheeses with a side of erotica or coffee served in dog bowls. LiveSOMA reports Kink Grounds closed on Wednesday after they failed to raise the necessary funds to keep the doors open. For t ... More >>

The Downside of San Francisco's Restaurant Boom: Higher Rents?

Drew Altizer for Financial Times/FlickrMichael Mina: One of the barons of the new Golden Age of restaurants.​Twenty-five-year-olds are cramming into closets again as apartment rents have spiked, declares this month's San Francisco magazine, thanks to a tech boom in the city that defies the nationa ... More >>

Carlo Splendorini Mixes Up Gin Magic

Lou BustamanteCarlo Splendorini behind the bar at Michael Mina​It's hard to say Carlo Splendorini's last name and not conjure up images of a magician, dazzling an audience with feats of the impossible--especially when he's behind the bar summoning up enchantments in liquid form. Hyperbole asid ... More >>

Science of Cocktails Night Returns; Chemically Bonds Drinks and Education

© Exploratorium​Combining science and liquor together into a frothy and delicious drink requires the brainpower of the Exploratorium's scientists, and bartending know-how from the Bay Area's best bars. The resulting concoction is the Science of Cocktails night at the Exploratorium happening this ... More >>

A Foie Gras Fundraiser, and Two More Places to Eat Foie Gras This Week

Alexander's Steakhouse This week, Baker & Banker is offering a foie gras torchon with port-poached prunes and grilled housemade brioche ($18). (Incidentally, if you were wondering what "torchon" meant, Michael Ruhlman shows how to make foie gras au torchon.) Michael Mina's affection for foie ... More >>