As we wind up 2008, I will be happily ringing in the new year and looking forward to the new restaurants that 2009 will bring to San Francisco. Here are three restaurants specifically that I cannot wait for:
Contigo. Contigo is being opened by a friend -- Brett Emerson from In Praise of Sardines. Emerson will be going to be serving food inspired by Barcelona with locally grown products. The restaurant will be located at 24th and Castro in Noe Valley. I saw a sneak peek of the beautiful space a few days ago, and cannot wait to see the restaurant in action in early 2009.
Urbino. Urbino will be the third restaurant to be opened in San Francisco by the group that brought us A16 and SPQR. It will be a 130-seat restaurant located in Dogpatch and focusing on Italian food from the Le Marche region. You can get an idea of the type of food by checking out this Food and Wine recipe for piadine (flatbread sandwiches) from chef and co-owner Nate Appleman.
Heaven's Dog. In January, we can look forward to a new restaurant from Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame. Heaven's Dog will be located in the SOMA Grand tower. The restaurant will feature Chinese food and noodles, along with a star bartending team including Jackie Patterson, Thad Vogler, and others. You can see the full bartending line up at Alcademics.