Here's the latest in SF Food news. In this edition, a juice bar opens in West Portal, a restaurant/bar/arcade changes up its food menu, and a popular bakery re-opens after being shut down by the health department.
Openings
West Portal
Juice Portal (166 West Portal Ave.)
A few weeks ago, Juice Portal opened its doors at 166 West Portal Ave.
Its owner Eddie Naser is also the proprietor of Toast Eatery West Portal located right next door (the family business has several other Toast locations throughout San Francisco).
All cold-press juices are made in-house, containing organic fruits and vegetables. Some juice items include the “We Got the Beet” (beet, spinach, orange, pineapple, turmeric, and lemon) and the “Golden Gate Smoothie” (pineapple, mango, Medjool dates, lime, coconut water and beet juice).
Superfood smoothies, plant-based bowls and salads are also available.
The juice bar's decor features a mural created by Sirron Norris, local artist and cartoonist for Fox’s Bob’s Burgers, who has also done murals and a few art installations at Toast Eatery locations at Polk and Church Streets.
Spokeperson Krisha Chhaganlal said the business took about eight months to get up and running, and the response since it opened has been positive.
“It's a really great community and the support has been surreal,” she said.
Updates
Castro
The Detour (2200 Market St.)
Castro-based arcade, restaurant and bar The Detour at 2200 Market Street will launch a new menu from consulting chef Sean Thomas on December 6th.
Since it debuted in July of 2019 under its new name (formerly “Brewcade”) and expanded into the former Botellón space next door, it has served traditional bar/arcade fare, like burgers, fries and wings.
Owners Tiffany Chung and Shawn Vergara said they've decided to change things up and offer something that reflects their mix of Asian blended families as “a wink at street food traditions from across Asia and a nod to California’s influence.”
Some new menu items will include the mapo frito pie, which is served in a classic Fritos bag and topped with pepper jack cheese and sesame-chili oil. There’s also crispy sticky adobo wings with pickled radish, crispy rice and fresh herbs; a kalbi burger served with charred scallion speshy sauce, sharp yellow cheddar, and banchan relish; or the Detour loco moco, topped with a fried egg and brown gravy and served over steamed rice and mac salad.
For fans of The Detour’s pizzas, Chung and Vergara said the menu will still offer those items but with a new take, made with Midway Breads: a flatbread style fired in the oven and topped with smoked bacon, ssamjang sauce, savoy cabbage, green apple and white cheddar; or bulgogi-style mushrooms, buttered kimchi, toasted seaweed, sesame mayo and green onion.
All menu items will be available for dine-in only, Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m-1:30 a.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. It will also offer a kids’ menu Saturday and Sunday during The Detour's all-ages "Family Friendly Hours", from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Mission
Tartine Bakery & Cafe (600 Guerrero St.)
As reported by several outlets since the news broke on Friday, Tartine Bakery shut down on Friday due to a failed health inspection. SFGate first reported on the incident that forced the popular bakery to close for the weekend.
Veronica Vien, public information officer with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told SFGate that Tartine failed inspection due to a “severe mice infestation,” which included droppings found in the rear prep room and on top of bags of flour, leading to a suspension of the bakery’s permit to operate at its Guerrero Street location.
In an email to SFGate, Tartine said the infestation was just one of the setbacks of operating in an older building, and promised to resolve the issues over the weekend.
It's not the the only SF eatery to be shuttered for vermin issues over the past few months. Jane on Larkin was shut down in October for similar reasons. During that time, owner Amanda Michael told Hoodline that the rodent problem was a result of “street uncleanliness that surrounds the restaurant," which makes it difficult for her to keep its interior free of pests.
Since then, Michael and other Tenderloin merchants have formed the Tenderloin Merchants and Property Owners Association to help improve conditions around their storefronts for neighbors and customers.
As far as Tartine's business in the Mission, it was reopened as of Monday. Via email, Veronica Vien of SFDH confirmed the suspension of Tartine’s permit to operate had been lifted.
Tartine's owner Chad Robertson issued a public apology via Instagram over the weekend, where he promised to deep-clean and repair the restaurant during the shutdown, and also "reflect on our cherished and hard-earned place in the community."
