American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
The second location of this grilled cheese sandwich pusher has opened in the former Café Gratitude space in the Mission, serving breakfast and lunch for now (dinner is coming soon), like grilled cheese sandwiches with an egg, or biscuits and gravy. You’ll also find coffee and espresso from De La Paz, housemade sodas, some craft beers on tap, and wine by the glass or bottle. Open Wed–Fri 8 am–6 pm and Sat–Sun 10 am–6 pm, closed Mon–Tue.
Recently opened on Nob Hill is this welcoming, French rustic spot in the former Hyde Street Bistro space (the owners remain the same). The menu focuses on classic French dishes, with roast chicken as a particular highlight (including a rotisserie to-go menu). If you want to dine at the restaurant, you can be rewarded with front-row seats while watching the cable cars and people go by. Open Wed–Mon 5:30–10 pm.
You may already be familiar with the amazing fried chicken sandwich from Naked Lunch, the sandwich window on Broadway in North Beach. Since owners Ryan Maxey and chef Ian Begg have closed Txoko, their restaurant next door, they have moved Naked Lunch into the vacant space. It has more of a pub-like atmosphere now, with a full bar, pool tables, and some TVs (and later hours!). There are also some new dishes on the menu, like a burger and fries. The new hours are Tue–Sun 11:30 am–late, with the kitchen closed 2–5 pm.
The former Broken Record chefs have come to the Lower Haight, opening their own restaurant that’s focused on American comfort food, from a chicken parm sandwich to their famed crawshrimp grits with spicy shrimp broth, cheesy grits, and their house pork belly. Uh huh. Prices are approachable, ditto the casual vibe. They just got their beer and wine license, FYI. Open Sun 6–10 pm, Tue–Thu 6–11 pm, Fri–Sat 6 pm–12 am.
This brand-new, casual addition to the Divisadero corridor already has folks in the neighborhood coming by for a glass of wine. But like their name says, there’s also a kitchen, serving dishes like maitake tempura with spiced chickpea puree and Meyer lemon, and pulled pork belly sliders. Co-owners and chefs Gregory Faucette and Jason Limburg have worked at Bar Tartine, Commonwealth, and Spruce, so the food should be worth looking out for. The bar is open Mon–Sat 4:30–11 pm, and the kitchen is open Mon–Sat 5:30–10 pm.
Marcia Gagliardi is the editor of the weekly tablehopper e-column; subscribe and read more at tablehopper.com. Follow her on Twitter: @tablehopper.
