Spruce

Mark Bright and Raj Parr sorting grapes

I've written before on the trend of sommeliers getting out of their suits and donning grubby clothes better suited for the messy business of picking, crushing and fermenting grapes.

Notable locals who are making their own wines: John Lancaster and Rob Perkins of Boulevard (who make Skylark), Emmanuel Kemiji, wine buyer for Piperade and La Mar (who makes a wine called Miura) and Andrew Green of Spruce and the Village Pub (who makes Oregon Pinot Noir for those  restaurants).

A older photo of the Spruce burger shows it with its original English muffin bun

Frankie Frankeny, courtesy of Spruce

Welcome to the 2009 Burger Bonanza wherein two girls eat 20 of the city's best burgers, on the path to burger enlightenment. The 10 best will then be chosen to be featured—in ranking order—in 7x7's September magazine issue. Burgers must fit our "fancy burger" parameter: made with beef and available as part of the regular dinner menu at upscale restaurants in SF. Beyond that, we're open to suggestions, which we hope you will leave in the comment box below!

Looking for Mark Sullivan? Head to Park City.

Stefanie Michejda

Looking for Spruce chef Mark Sullivan? You better check Utah. Sullivan and his family have decamped to Park City for the summer while he works on opening—wait for it—Spruce Park City! Yes, it’s officially a trend—San Francisco chefs are taking their restaurants to the slopes. First, news of Traci des Jardins Tahoe project, Manzanita, hit the wires.

Courtesy of Rivera PR.

Local Kitchen, on Sunday night before the pizza feed begins.

You want to have the best experience at a restaurant in San Francisco? Don’t go on a Friday or Saturday. Really. Because you know what? Those are the same nights that everyone wants to dine out, and the crush of humanity would really like to be seated at 7:30, thank you very much. Valentine’s Day is often referred to by the industry as “amateur night” and I’m betting Friday and Saturdays are considered “amateurish” too.