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TASTY ASIAN EATS
Anyone who digs the Vietnamese vittles from the Rice Paper Scissors ladies will be happy to know they have expanded their weekday lunch hours to the weekend, and have launched brunch at Brick & Mortar Music Hall (1710 Mission, SF. www.brickandmortarmusic.com). Come by 11am–2pm Saturdays and Sundays and you’ll find a menu with a bit of Chinese influence too, with dishes like daikon rice cakes with Chinese sausage and dry-fried chicken wings. And why try to resist a fried egg banh mi or banh xeo? Just do it. Like it hot? There’s a mapo scramble, which sounds promising, plus a Sriracha Bloody Mary. Don’t forget your cash! No cards accepted, yo.
Fans of the Lime Tree in the Inner Sunset (and its roti, corn fritters, beef rendang, and martabak) will be pleased to know a second location has opened across the park in the Inner Richmond (836 Clement, SF. 415-831-8811). This popular Southeast Asian restaurant is fired up and ready to serve you Tue–Fri 11am–3pm and 5pm–9:30pm, Sat 12pm–9:30pm, and Sun 12pm–9pm.
Izakaya Roku (1819 Market, SF. www.rokusf.com) has two new chefs in the kitchen — and they’re brothers! Ends up Masaru and Yasu come from owner Jay Hamada’s same hometown in Japan (Miyazaki), and they’re collaborating and putting some country-style dishes from home on the menu. Also available: You’ll now find the Japanese curry that’s served from the JapaCurry food truck at the restaurant. Good stuff.
MOOD INDIGO
It’s not easy to be open for 15 years in the restaurant biz, but one place that just seems to keep getting even better is Bernal neighborhood restaurant Blue Plate (3218 Mission, SF. www.blueplatesf.com). It’s been feeding us fried chicken, famed meatloaf, and sell-your-soul-to-the-devil mac and cheese for 15 years, so now it’s time to celebrate!
For three nights, the Plate’s lined up three special winemaker dinners: Thursday May 1, Steve and Chrystal Clifton of Palmina Wines will be in attendance, 5:30pm–10pm, followed by Sean Thackrey Wines Friday May 2, 5:30pm–10:30pm, and John Lancaster of Skylark, Saturday May 3, 5:30pm–10:30pm. The winemakers will mingle with guests, talking about their wines — and here’s the best part: You’ll get a wine flight of five tastes for just $15. Chef Sean Thomas will be cooking up an à la carte menu (here’s hoping the grilled squid will be on there, so good). Make your reservation soon (415-282-6777), tables are filling up. All hail the neighborhood restaurant!
HERE, PIG
The full-tilt pig-fest that is Cochon 555 returns to San Francisco on Sunday, April 27, when five chefs compete to be crowned the Prince or Princess of Porc, plus there are five pigs (all heritage breeds from small-scale farmers) used for the whole hog menu, and five winemakers to keep you feeling good. This year, Kim Alter (Plum), Mark Liberman (TBD), Michael Rotondo (Parallel 37), Richie Nakano (Hapa Ramen), and David Bazirgan (Dirty Habit) will be competing by creating up to six dishes each, and judges and attendees will determine the winner.
Additional bonuses: a station featuring Goose Island Beer and Hudson Valley Foie Gras; a bourbon bar featuring Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace, Breckenridge Bourbon, Hirsch, Templeton Rye, and Luxardo (pig and bourbon, you do the math); a cheese bar from Mission Cheese; a prosciutto di Parma station; an ice cream social; plus a hog butchering demo. Are you ready for all this? Yeah, it’s pretty debauched. Show up hungry. At the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, 600 Stockton, SF. 5pm–8pm (4pm entry for VIP). $125 general admission, $200 VIP, www.cochon555.com
Marcia Gagliardi is the founder of the weekly tablehopper e-column; subscribe for more at www.tablehopper.com. Get her app: Tablehopper’s Top Late-Night Eats. On Twitter: @tablehopper.