This Week In Food: Olive Harvest

Lucania prepares to debut at the Ferry Building, Everett & Jones debuts at Fisherman's Wharf, and Salt & Straw has opened its first Oakland scoop shop, all in This Week in Food.

The Details

A brief update on

Lucania, the big new sister Italian restaurant to A16 that is headed for the south end of the Ferry Building, facing Ferry Plaza: The team is on track, they say, for a mid-November opening, and Tablehopper is saying it will be Thursday, November 19.

Reservations don't appear to be live yet, though it seems some tables will be released as of midnight tonight.

Over in the Castro,

Nova, the much anticipated new restaurant from Bar 49's Colm O'Brien in the former Eureka space on 18th now won't be opening until after the new year, but stay tuned for more on that.

We noted earlier this week that

Super Duper has opened at Union Square Plaza, in the kiosk space on the Stockton Street side that was previously a series of nondescript cafes. So, now you can get a Super Duper burger or breakfast sandwich before or after your holiday shopping.

Everett & Jones, the Oakland barbecue mainstay, has opened its new location at Fisherman's Wharf, as the Chronicle reported last week. It's in the two-story former Lou's Restaurant and Blues/Lou's Fish Shack space at 300 Jefferson Street, and it is open for lunch and dinner starting at 11 am, seven days a week. There are reportedly plans to bring live music to the location as well, which is a frequent feature of the Oakland flagship.

Portland-born ice cream outfit

Salt & Straw has just opened its first Oakland location. The location at 6310 College Avenue in Rockridge opened Friday morning, as Berkeleyside reports, and it is the company's tenth location in Northern California — the two Salt & Straw locations in SF's Hayes Valley and Pacific Heights opened almost a decade ago. As they do at all their locations, the new shop will feature a special array of Thanksgiving flavors to celebrate the season, and there will be two exclusive items that are a collaboration with local charcuterie purveyor Fra'Mani — a Calabrese-spiced ice cream with honey (meat-free), and a mortadella and pistachio ice cream sandwich.

Acclaimed Malaysian restaurant

Azalina's has closed its four-year-old location at 499 Ellis Street (it actually closed in late September), but there are plans to relocate, with a new location TBA. Chef-owner Azalina Eusope thanked the Tenderloin neighborhood and neighbors who became regulars in a statement. And while the restaurant is now "between homes," fans are encouraged to sign up for notices about Eusope's monthly Supper Club dinners, and to support them by buying Europe's jarred sauces.

Tablehopper has the news that

Sasa, the affordable sushi counter in the Japantown mall, is closing on December 20 and relocating to a larger space almost next door — the former Pa'ina Lounge space next door to the AMC Kabuki.

Up in Rutherford, in Napa County, Michelin-starred

Auberge du Soleil is celebrating one of the lesser known seasonal traditions in the valley, the olive harvest. From November 16 to 22, the restaurant is having its third annual Gathering in the Grove: Olive Harvest, featuring an "Olives Six Ways" tasting menu that includes an albacore tuna crudo with Taggiasca olive tapenade and a roasted lamb ribeye with Roman artichokes and Castelvetrano olives.

• And in the Alexander Valley, in Sonoma County,
• Jordan Vineyard & Winery is doing a
• Home Alone

Find tables on Tock. — -inspired Christmas party on December 5, in which the winery's chateau will transform into the iconic McCallister Mansion for a day, and there will be "elevated holiday bites" inspired by the film, including Little Nero’s-inspired cheese pizza, truffled mac & cheese, and Jordan Chef’s Reserve Caviar with house-made potato chips. The event is 21 and over and goes from 1pm to 4pm, and you can find tickets here.

Chronicle critic

MacKenzie Chung Fegan has a positive one-star review of Fat Cat Wine Bar and its Vietnamese food pop-up Claws of Mantis, together now known as Fat Cat and the Mantis, saying that the wines are delightful and chef Kevin Tang's cooking is always interesting and tasty — particularly the steak au poivre with flavors of the beef stew known as bò kho — though with a constantly changing menu and Rolodex of 60o dishes, consistency can be a challenge.

And the Chronicle has just hired a new South Bay food reporter in Aviva Bechky, who will be covering San Jose and lower Peninsula openings and such. As former critic and food section editor Michael Bauer said at a recent event, the Chronicle's pendulum swings about once every seven years as to whether management wants to pay more or less attention to San Jose, so it seems like the pendulum has swung back to more.