The Eater Wrap: Majestic Closure, Taco Tiffs, Gitane Behind the Scenes

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Welcome back to our partnership with Eater. For this weekly Friday column, Eater editor Paolo Lucchesi gives his report on all the restaurant news that's fit to print, including hot openings, sudden shutters, industry interviews, and all the taco truck minutiae your Friday can handle.


1) Despite housing a pair of rising star chefs in the last two years, Cafe Majestic never quite caught on with the local dining scene, and as a result, the restaurant suddenly shuttered its doors this week, claiming it didn't have enough money for dinner service. You do hate to see that.

2) The debut of Blue Bottleinside the Ferry Building was mentioned around these here parts yesterday, and that's only the tip of the fancy schmancy coffee iceberg: also en route is a rooftop garden cafe at SFMoMA and an entire roasting operation/cafe in Oakland.

3) But that wasn't the week's only opening: also ringing in the new month was Bushi-Tei Bistro in Japantown and Madera down in Menlo Park.

4) One of the hottest reservations in town right now is Gitane, so it seems only logical to meet the man who runs the front of house, Giovanni Pugliese. Hint: don't ask him if it's ok to have your drinks in the spacious restroom. Just sayin'.

5) The Bay Area already boasts—errr, "boasts"—a Beach Chalet, Park Chalet and soon Lake Chalet, but might a fourth be in the works along the Embarcadero? A new development proposal for the property across the street from the Ferry Building includes a cafe and restaurant operated by Chalet overlords Gar and Lara Truppelli. Whether the development gets the green-light, however, remains to be seen (insert suspenseful music here).

6) Meanwhile, in the Bauerverse, both Nopalito and Taco Bell got high marks in the Sunday Chronicle review.

7) The Mission loves itself some controversy, and this week's drama was the faceoff between the El Tonayense taco truck and superparents who think taco trucks are the bane of fat society. The big city meeting actually ended without resolution, but there were plenty of fireworks in the comments field, where both sides continue to sound off.

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