Things are picking up once again, news wise, as we move toward fall, and the big headline of the week is that chef and restaurateur Michael Mina has announced a big new restaurant project slated for next year that's a collaboration with Japanese chef Ken Tominaga, which will open at 101 California Street, right near Mina's flagship restaurant.
It's called Pabu, and it's going into a massive,10,000-square-foot space that's been vacant for years. Tominaga is chef-owner of Hana Japanese Restaurant in Rohnert Park, and Mina had for years been wanting to work with him on a restaurant. The two have already opened a first location of Pabu at the Four Seasons Baltimore, and this location will have an expanded menu, featuring sushi, shabu shabu, robata, and izakaya fare. Also, adjacent to Pabu, they're opening a smaller, separate, all-day restaurant called Ramen Market, focused, obviously, just on ramen. Look for both spots to open in mid-2014. [Chron, SFist]
Next up there are two notable openings to alert you to: La Urbana, the new mezcaleria and upscale Mex spot from the Colibri folks is already open at the corner of Divisadero and Grove. See some photos and a menu over at Eater.
And coming on Monday is the opening of 1760, the new spinoff of Acquerello, over at Polk and Washington. The opening menu from chef Adam Tortosa features an eclectic mix of Mediterranean and Asian-influenced dishes, including a beef tartare dish with chiles, cilantro, basil, and Marcona almond puree; and a very delicious fried duck sandwich with spiced aioli and an Asian slaw. Also, expect an interesting cocktail program, and an array of wines from Acquerello wine director Gianpaolo Paterlini. [7x7]
Also of note, there's an extension of the brand new Mikkeller Bar downtown, a basement room that they've dubbed the Tivoli Sour Room, devoted exclusively to Belgian Lambics and other sour beers. Expect the beer geeks to descend. [Eater]
And there's yet another beer spot opening over on Russian Hill, in the former Pasha space at 1516 Broadway. The guy behind it is legendary North Beach club owner Giovanni Toracca, and it's going to be called Taps. As Tablehopper reports, there's a wood-grill-centric menu by chef Michael Lamina (Cav, Leopold's), and obviously, a bunch of beer taps–28 to be exact. Also, there will be cocktails, and eventually, brunch. Look for Taps to make it open by October. [Tablehopper]
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