There's a certain kick we all get from discovering the next big thing before someone else does. In Silicon Valley, if you're launching a company, you offer potential users the opportunity to sneak a peak at a product or service in exchange for volunteer beta testing and general patronage. It's a potent psychology that's permeated through Twitter all the way to restaurants. Which is why, if you want to hear about a restaurant before it opens, you'll likely stumble on it via your Twitter and perhaps even Facebook feeds.

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen/Facebook

​
Take, for instance, The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. While the restaurant isn't slated to open in South Park until sometime this winter, we chanced upon it via word of mouth on Twitter, which is how we found its Facebook page, where it's been generating buzz for months. How? By teasing followers and fans with photos of test dishes  and progress reports about  construction, allowing potential customers to get a glimpse of the process, and maybe even weigh in on the menu.
In the same vein, thanks to Twitter engineer Ryan King, we found out about a grilled sausage restaurant that opened earlier today in the Mission, Rosamunde's. Ryan has already gathered up some troops to join him in a feast tonight ― via tweets, naturally.

Of course, restaurant accounts on Twitter aren't new. Establishments from Blue Bottle to Michael Mina have used the service to connect with customers. Naturally, Twitter has played an instrumental part in the rise of food carts (Twitter's platform director, Ryan Sarver, has a good Twitter list going). But for brick-and-mortar establishments, good chatter on Twitter can generate good foot traffic on opening day, maybe even more so if diners feel they've somehow contributed to the creation of the menu. Budding S.F. restaurants, take note.