Since the early 1990s, non-Chinese-American San Franciscans have prided themselves on knowing a secret about dining in Chinatown: House of Nanking might get the tourist traffic, but Chef Jia's, next door, had better food. So inculcated was I with this piece of common wisdom that I avoided Peter Fang's perennially popular House of Nanking for close to a decade before I dared join the line.
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​ •Let's lead with the most important news: I'm totally at the Oscars! Actually, it's even better than the Oscars because that's just some wack-ass, rigged, masturbatory television program. I'm at the Oscar Swag Bag Lounge, where celebrities come to get hella free shit for being rich. I know, it's the best and totally fair. Don't hate, celebrate! Anyway, OCD Sweets was selected to be, like, the official delicious candy of the Oscar swag bag lounge, and people are going APESHIT for it. You know why? It's because it's the extra tastiest. Rumor has it that John Waters tasted it and then started bringing his celebrity personal assistants back to the booth and making them try the candy. Also, he's the greatest. Now let's talk about how awesome this all is and how special I am for being at the Oscars: GO!

•What was I saying about life being great? Ugh, I was wrong. 50,000 hens were discovered yesterday after being left to starve for weeks. So fucked and sad! Almost all of them starved to death, but a few held on, and rescue groups like Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, Animal Place, and Farm Sanctuary are stepping in to help save them. YAY RESCUE GROUPS! Boo to everyone who eats chickens or eggs! This happened because of you! Don't you know how rad chickens are? They are so wonderful. Smart, cool, loving animals who just want to do their chicken thing, not be killed for your 50-cent wing combo box SO GET IT TOGETHER.

•Here's the magical place the turkeys you eat come from! Be prepared for a wild ride on a unicorn of happiness as you explore this truly enchanted kingdom.

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Lou Bustamante

​In a brilliant effort to showcase the significant differences spirits can have on a cocktail, Locanda's new bar director Gabriel Lowe (formerly of Beretta and Delerosa) has been quietly adding cocktail flights to the menu. Taking a classic recipe, he presents a triptych of sorts, swapping out base spirit and presenting three iterations: one with the traditional choice, and two others that are closely related. In his Negroni Flight ($20), he presents three versions, each made with a different gin. While delicious and fascinating, it was the Old Fashioned Flight ($20) that impressed me the most.More >>

Ashlee Casserly

​An aspiring distiller and former San Francisco bartender named Ashlee Casserly is trying, via Kickstarter, to introduce an Irish version of moonshine, which is trending high in local bars. Casserly is developing 1661 Poitin, an unaged Irish whiskey made from potatoes or barley, with 40 to 50 percent alcohol by volume (it's pronounced puh-CHEEN).

Casserly briefly lived in San Francisco on a student visa and returned after graduating in Ireland. She tended bars at the Liberties and the Lone Palm in the Mission and always knew she wanted to develop her own liquor brand.

"Poitin has a stigma attached to it in Ireland because people have made it illegally for the last 300 years. Some bad batches have been dangerous, but it is a big part of Irish heritage and a dying craft," Casserly said.

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Traditional Sunday brunch in New Orleans is something special, from the white tablecloths and Eggs Sardou to classic cocktails and live jazz. But the Boxing Room, Hayes Valley's lively Cajun/Creole restaurant, isn't trying to imitate any of that with its recently added brunch menu.

Turns out, that's a good thing.

What they've created instead is something unique: delicious and authentic Louisiana bayou food in an open, relaxed setting that doesn't feel the least bit contrived.More >>

Facebook/Wise Sons Delicatessen

Evan Bloom knew at his Bar Mitzvah that he wanted to one day serve you jellied calves feet.

​ Last January, SFoodie talked with college friends turned business partners Leo Beckerman and Evan Bloom during the infancy of their Jewish deli pop-up, Wise Sons. During the interview, Beckerman mentioned that he hoped Wise Sons would someday be "a brick-and-mortar operation in the Mission with maybe 30 seats." One year later, Wise Sons has exactly that in their brand new digs on 24th Street. We sat down with Bloom at the end of business after Wise Sons' fourth day of operations to catch up on food, friendship, and high expectations.

SFoodie: Early on, what's been your most pleasant surprise?

Bloom: How receptive the neighborhood has been. Friday (opening day) especially was a neighborhood crowd. We don't want to be too swamped for the locals. Even though we've had long waits, most people have been really patient and happy. I'm mostly cooking, but I've still had the chance to ask as many customers as I can how their food was. We only have 30 seats now, but we just got our permit to add outside tables, so that will add another eight.

Have there been any initial struggles?

We get people who come by and ask "how can you charge so much for a pastrami sandwich? It should be $6." We try to explain what goes into it. We're baking our own bread, which they can see in the window, and smoking our own meats. You can quote me when I tell you that we actually don't make any money on our meat sandwiches; only the other stuff.

In just one year of business operating only five hours each week, you've received an enormous amount of local and national press, including numerous mentions from the New York Times. Now that you're a full-fledged restaurant, do you worry about not being able to live up to the hype?

Definitely. I realize that we got cut a lot of slack because we were a start-up. My fear now is running out of food! There'a lot of pressure to make enough food! I don't want to be known as the place that always runs out of popular items. At the same time, I don't know yet what people will buy. With that hype, people are expecting the best now that it's the real deal. When I see people leaving after finishing their meal, I'm holding my breath because I want to hear "It was really great."

Also, we want to keep the familial feeling going. We built this on Leo and I being the known owners, because that's what deli is about. We love it when customers recognize us, and even more when their children recognize us, and we hope that continues in the new space.

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​Back in September, SFoodie reported on a study that found that merchants who offered a Groupon or Living Social deal saw a bump in the number of Yelp reviews but a decrease in the ratings those Yelpers gave them. What could be the cause? The study's authors speculated that daily deals could be reaching new customers who were less likely to enjoy what they found. More >>

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene.

It's true. Medjool has a new face at the helm, while Gus Murad remains the landlord. Inside Scoop reports that Adriano Paganini (Beretta, Delarosa, Starbelly, Super Duper) has plans for a Latin-themed menu after renovations are complete. Yes, this means the roof deck will be closing for a bit as well.

Dumpling & Buns is not long for this world. The 6-month-old restaurant will shutter this Sunday, according to Eater SF. Owner May Lee's husband received a job offer on the other side of the country, so they're packing up and heading to Pittsburgh.

Get your bowling shoes ready. LiveSOMA announces the official opening date for Lucky Strike Lanes is March 9. We're curious what the best bowling-friendly food item on the menu is.

A dive no more. The Uptown Almanac discovers Mission Hill Saloon will close Feb. 27 and later reopen under new ownership. The new team behind this bar? The Dear Mom crew.

Cerverceria de MateVeza continues to make progress toward its March opening in the old Lilah Bell space, and now Eater SF brings word of the brews they'll be serving there. The tiny space will squeeze in some test brews (for their larger Mendocino Brewing Co. facility) and offer a few selections from other Bay Area microbrews. Also, just a reminder, the food focus will be on Argentinian cuisine.

Patrick H./Flickr

A rabbit loin stuffed with foie gras from One Market.

​Counting down the meals before July 1, when California's foie gras ban takes effect.

In a rare treatment of foie gras that doesn't pair the rich liver with fruit or other sugary elements, One Market's chef, Eater-designated hottie Mark Dommen, is currently serving pan-seared foie gras with wakame, wood-ear mushrooms, and bonito consommé ($18.75) as an appetizer. If that's perhaps too light for your tastes, the entrees on the dinner menu include a roasted duck breast with duck-and-foie-gras sausage, farro, nettles, and Earl Grey jus ($29.50).

Over in the Marina, Isa is serving a springtime-sounding appetizer of Hudson Valley foie gras with strawberries, rhubarb, and brioche ($22).

And 5A5 Steak Lounge is offering foie gras several different ways: seared, with sous-vide apple, streusel, and sauternes-duck jus ($24); or foie gras au torchon with assorted fruits, red-wine reduction sauce, and parsley purée ($22). If neither of those is to your taste, you can always add a hunk of seared foie gras to any entree -- say, a 12-ounce boneless ribeye with brandy-peppercorn sauce and shiitake mushrooms ($31) -- for an extra $20.

Tamara Palmer

Wild mushroom ragout with bacon and Village Harvest's farro and red rice blend.

​We admit to a measure of skepticism of S.F.-based grain company Village Harvest's  new two-serving packs of frozen grains. Frozen, microwaveable rice is usually awful, and not just because it makes us feel really, really lazy.

Village Harvest, however, is marketing frozen whole grains beyond just brown rice, including quinoa and farro, and the company promises that its freezing process avoids the usual flavor-killing shortcuts. Village Harvest croyogenically suspends each individual grain at -300°F, instead of in a block at -40°F with the uses of gases such as ammonia. (Ew, ammonia!)

Turns out that Village Harvest is known for helping to mainstream grains such as basmati and jasmine rice, and is a subsidiary of Otis McAllister, a food import business that has introduced grains in general to a wider American audience since the late 19th century. So at least there was a good résumé there.

Still, when we held a sample box, we gave it a bit of a side-eye even though it came packed in awesomely foggy dry ice. Would this be something we'd actually buy with any regularity?

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