Foodie Updates: Porcellino Quickly Opens, Woodbury Debuts, and More

Foodie Updates: Porcellino Quickly Opens, Woodbury Debuts, and More

By

This week in the city's food and drink scene we have a speedy switch-up at the the former Incanto location in Noe Valley – it's already been revived as the more casual and family-oriented Porcellino. The former Spire and Baan space on Third Street has found new life as a bar called Woodbury, celebrity chef Rick Bayless has yanked his taqueria concept out of Macy's basement, and you should brace yourselves for a bunch of new restaurants opening in the next two months.


First off, in Noe Valley, the recently deceased Incanto has been replaced by the new casual, and take-out friendly restaurant and market from the same partners (Mark Pastore and Chris Cosentino). At Porcellino, which opened on Wednesday, there's counter service and a salumeria component up front with Boccalone sausages for sale and salumi sliced to order, as well as wine by the bottle (it's 40 percent off if you take it to go). The menu is basic, with salads, sandwiches, pastas (including Incanto's pork ragu), and daily specials. [Inside Scoop]

Over in SoMa we have the new pub and cocktail lounge Woodbury replacing what was briefly known as Spire and then Baan at 685 Third Street. It's from the same owner as The Alchemist upstairs, and in deference to the baseball crowd, there's an entire separate bar devoted to shot-and-a-beer combinations. Also, there's a food menu, which includes a nice, easy-to-digest burger consisting of brisket, pork belly, fried shallots and brown butter wrapped in caul fat. Yowza. [Tablehopper]

Important barbecue news: The extremely tasty but remotely located Smokin' Warehouse BBQ in the Bayview is planning a second location in Pacific Heights. They're moving into a space at 3336 Sacramento Street, opening date TBA. [Tablehopper]

Then, down in the basement of Macy's, Rick Bayless has closed his only Bay Area restaurant, the outpost of his Frontera Fresco taqueria. Apparently it never caught on the way he'd hoped -- not that anyone goes to that basement food court for anything but the most utilitarian of reasons. As Inside Scoop reports, it will be quickly replaced by a Tex-Mex place called Tortilla Kitchen. [Inside Scoop]

And Eater rounds up the twelve restaurants that are set to open by early summer, some just in the next few weeks. These include the aforementioned Aveline and its companion cocktail bar The European (490 Geary St.) from Top Chef alum Casey Thompson; the new Caribbean-themed Palm House from Foreign Cinema chef-partner Gayle Pirie in the former Nettie's Crab Shack (2032 Union St.); Magnolia's Dogpatch brewery and companion restaurant Smokestack (from Namu Gaji chef Dennis Lee) which is set to open the last week of April; and 4505 Meats' Divisadero BBQ spot which will start slinging takeout by the first week of May. [Eater]

Related Articles
Now Playing at SF Symphony
View this profile on Instagram

7x7 (@7x7bayarea) • Instagram photos and videos

Neighborhoods
From Our Partners