nonstaurant - SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports

Michael Bauer Previews Pop-Up Restaurant Before Eating There

Jay Barmann — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:55:25 GMT

In his new column, Chron foodie Michael Bauer sounds more than titillated by the concept of Saison, a new restaurant from partners Joshua Skenes and Mark Bright that is set to begin service one night a week only with a set menu. From the sound of it, after a few sold out weeks they'll likely be serving three nights a week, but this does serve as another example of ingenuity in the face of economically uncertain times in the restaurant biz.

The place is opening this coming Sunday (already sold out) in an old stable adjacent to the Stable Café at 2124 Folsom, and diners will enter the kitchen, be greeted by Chef Skenes (pictured), and get a close-up look at the evening's ingredients. We look forward to saving our nickels and getting a table there sometime in early 2010.

Food Truck Bike Bringing "Secret Sandwiches" Downtown Tomorrow

Brock Keeling — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:25:54 GMT

Truck Bike Bringing "Secret Sandwiches" Downtown Tomorrow">

While some of us can't find it in our mercifully elitist hearts to enjoy a taco out of a Toyota, many of you do. Many of you love the food truck, nonstaurant trend. But before this year's mobile artisan trend took off, there was the Boccalone Salumi Cycle. And Eater has word that a "Boccalone Salumi Cycle is about to dawn upon the Financial District" to deliver hot sandwiches to hungry worker bees. Trouble is they want to know where they should set up their beef-injecting services first. According to @boccalone: "Secret Sandwiches coming this Friday lunch via our Salumi cycle. $8 Prosciutto Panino. Which downtown corner should we visit first?" So, let them know.

San Francisco's Nonstaurant Trend, Where to Find One Near You

Brock Keeling — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:29:32 GMT

Lessley Anderson (senior editor at CHOW and our former colleague back in the day) sent us this map denoting the sports where you can find the current "nonstaurant" trend in the Bay Area. It's pretty damn handy for those of you who prefer to get your gastronomic fix from a taco truck.

What's a nonstaurant? Well, according to CHOW, they are "food ventures operating out of trucks, carts, other people's restaurants, shops, etc." These include but are not limited to pop-up restaurants, nouveau street food, and takeout windows in places you wouldn't expect."

SFist asked Anederson how, exactly, did this nonstaurant trend come about? She explains, "I think Nonstaurants are so big now because people want to feel they're getting a unique and adventurous experience for their money, and not just dining at the same Zuni-Chez-Blahblah restaurant everybody else is. The carts, in particular, give people good value, which is important because everybody's poor now. And they also give people a sense of community, as they are able to talk to each other while waiting in line, and eat outside near their bicycles."

Anderson's current favorite? Pal's Takeaway at 2751 24th Street . "I love that it is in such an anonymous liquor corner grocery store, the food is incredible, prices are decent, and the guys have good taste in music. They get to program the iPOD that plays in the store, too, apparently, and there was some obscure Louvin Brothers stuff on there," she tells us.

Be sure to check out the nonstaurant nearest you. (And feel free to go batshit about the term "nonstaurant" in the comments, because we know you're just dying to.)