I'm pretty much an old pro at writing about the completed interiors of restaurants, so when one of the owners of San Francisco's Flour + Water approached me and suggested I check out the empty,  dilapidated old structure that he and his team are about to turn into the latest addition to their foodie family, Central Kitchen, I knew a different kind of story was in order.

While Flour + Water has been widely celebrated for its marriage of classic Italian and Bay Area culinary traditions, we were especially taken with its design—an atypical, somewhat rustic and slightly whimsical expression from Paxton Gate owner Sean Quigley. He and his design partner Todd McCrea are also directing the design of Central Kitchen, which is set to open by the end of 2011, and with this series I plan to document not only the physical construction of the restaurant, but the evolution of the design concept. Read more...