State Bird Provisions chefs Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski just took what was probably a welcome break while the restaurant was closed for renovations since August. This weekend they return, and elsewhere in town we see that popular sushi spot Sebo is getting ready to shut its doors in Hayes Valley, and Michelin is getting ready to unleash their 2014 guide.
First off, State Bird reopens tonight, Friday, October 18, for a no-reservations free-for-all. They'll do the same on Saturday, and then close Sunday, but starting on Monday they'll be open seven nights a week for the first time, now reserving 30 to 40 percent of the dining room for walk-ins. The main change, post-renovation, is a new entrance and two new 8-top tables, as well as a second bathroom. Needless to say, given the ridiculous popularity of this place, the reservations for the first 60 days starting Monday disappeared within an hour when they became available on Wednesday. You can try for each consecutive day (starting around December 18), every morning as a new day becomes available around 4 a.m. Or you can just try to walk in, someday, when the city is empty. Christmas Eve, say. [Inside Scoop]
Over in Hayes Valley, 7-year-old Sebo is calling it quits this month. Chef-owner Michael Black says he's taking a break from the sushi biz, perhaps because fish prices have gotten so insane, and the last day will be October 26. The restaurant pre-dates a lot of the rapid gentrification in the neighborhood, and at one point a few years ago it was even featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. [Tablehopper]
Attention beer geeks: The new Berkeley brewery of all things sour, The Rare Barrel, is doing some preview tastings of their brews this weekend, including one today in the city at City Beer Store. They plan to have their tasting room open by late November. [SFoodie]
And the big news this week was the release of the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for 2014, which is the list of restaurants that don't quite qualify for a star, but which the venerable restaurant guide deems worthy of special attention for those who only want to pay $40 or less for their meal. What this means is that new spots like Rich Table and The Glen Ellen Star, which might have been hoping for a star, won't be getting one this year. But nevertheless it's an honor to be included among such city gems as Delfina, Contigo, and Marlowe. The list of star recipients in the new guide will go live this Tuesday, along with the publication of the 2014 guidebook. Any predictions? Here's last year's list for reference. [Eater]
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