Foodie Updates: Trick Dog Helps Revamp Cafe Du Nord and a Mini-Golf Course Comes to the Mission
24 January 2014
Coming up this spring and summer are a new miniature golf course with a restaurant and bar, and a revamp and renovation of Cafe du Nord with a menu from the Flour + Water team and a bar program from the Trick Dog boys.
First off, Cafe du Nord, which has been closed since the new year, is becoming Du Nord at the hands of new owner Dylan MacNiven (Woodhouse Fish Co., West of Pecos). The team now includes the Ne Timeas Restaurant Group (Flour + Water, Central Kitchen, Salumeria), and chef Thomas McNaughton promises some bar-friendly food in the newly built kitchen, as well as a renovated interior that honors the undergound space's pre-Prohibition-era past. Though they won't be doing anything too crazy, cocktail-wise, the Trick Dog/Bon Vivants team will be consulting on the drinks, and they promise a good neighborhood bar with decent cocktails without any drinks that will take ten minutes to make. There's no word yet on a reopening date. [Inside Scoop]
And the Trick Dog team also has its hands in Urban Putt, the much anticipated, whimsical, SF-themed mini-golf course with attached bar and restaurant at 22nd and South Van Ness. They've just announced that they're aiming for an April opening, and in addition to an upstairs restaurant, there will be mini-golf-friendly food on the course level as well as drinks by the Trick Dog boys. The food end of things will be overseen by former Bottle Cap chef Dane Boryta, and his menu will feature "Americana favorites including burgers, pizza, fries, salads, and a collection of retro, even cheeky, desserts." And yes, drinks will be allowed on the mini-golf course in specially designed cups. [Eater, SFist]
Also, there are some changes happening at AQ, where starting with their transition from winter to spring on March 18, they will be scrapping their a la carte menu and offering only two prix fixe options: a four-course tasting menu priced around $50, and a grand tasting menu priced at $80. And chef Mark Liberman hints at some "new toys" in the kitchen that he's looking to show off. [Inside Scoop]