All the news that's fit to eat.
Focaccia at Giovanni's
Giovanni Italian Specialties Opens in North Beach
Pizza god, Tony Gemignani, quietly opened his new Italian grocery spot last week on in North Beach, just steps away from his eponymous pizzeria. Named after his son, the retail/quick service spot offers fresh house-made pasta to go, daily changing foccacias topped with cured meats and fresh cheeses, and Italian flatbread sandwiches, called piadinas (like a pita-quesadilla hybrid) from the Emilia Romagna region. There'll also be plenty of curated pantry staples like canned San Marzano tomatoes, dried oregano on the stem, calabrian chili, as well as every kitchen tool imaginable for the avid pizza geek. // 629 Union St. (North Beach), giovannispecialty.com
Juhu Beach Club Book Party
Celebrate the release of Preeti Mistry's Juhu Beach Club Cookbook tonight at her restaurant in Oakland. The book showcases her personal style of cuisine based on her upbringing with recipes that blend "Indian Spice with Oakland Soul." (Think spiced fried chicken with dosa waffles). There will be plenty of food and drink to go around, as well as signed copies of the book available for purchase. Mistry will also be doing a talk at Omnivore Books this Thursday. // 6pm-8pm, 5179 Telegraph Ave (Oakland), More information at Facebook.com.
Fort Point Manzanita Can Release Party
Celebrate Fort Point's newest fall beer, the Manzanita. This is their take on the classic German rauchbier, combining traditional ingredients with NorCal's wilderness. It's nutty, herbal-y, sweet, savory, and smoky—a result of beechwood-smoked malts and charred manzanita branches. Taste it for yourself at Old Devil Moon this Saturday. // Saturday November 4th, 5pm-10pm, 3472 Mission St (Mission), More information at Facebook.com.
New Chef, New Menu at Dosa
Dosa has swooped up Executive Chef Arun Gupta. Joining the team from Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern in New York, Gupta will elevate the menu with his personal touch and focus on seasonal ingredients. New additions include smoked arctic char and peach curry with coconut rice and peach-pepper achaar, South Indian goat biryani with squash, kale, and pomegranate raita, pumpkin masala dosa, and more. The new menu will take affect at the Fillmore location first and then the Valencia location in the coming weeks. // 1700 Fillmore St. (Pacific Heights). dosasf.com
Over Proof's Last Concept: Mezcal/Tequila
Over Proof, the ambitious quarterly-changing bar-in-a-bar concept above ABV, is shifting to its final iteration called Lágrimas that will focus on mezcal and tequila. Translated, Lágrimas means "tears." It's a term used to describe the first few hundred drops from a mezcal still. There will be five or so agave cocktails paired with food from Chef Colin Hilton, including a mushroom huarache with grilled hen of the woods mushrooms, squash blossoms, and huitlacoche, chestnut tamal made from blue corn masa and charred sweet potato, and a bone marrow soup. Drinks include a twist on a Hemingway Daiquiri made with mezcal, lime, prickly pear, and maraschino as well as a Goat's Milk Punch made with mezcal, pineapple and cinnamon. Partial proceeds of the first month will go to charities helping to rebuild last month's earthquake in Mexico City. // 3174 16th St. (Mission), Reserve at overproofsf.com.
