Beautifull in Laurel, Falstaff Shuttered, Spruce in Utah, and Paradise in San Jose

Where else but Laurel Village, a decidedly carriage-trade shopping center in San Francisco, would you open a store like Beautifull, Inc.? It’s a new company with a twist on (the ever-popular) prepared fresh food. But don’t call it a store; it’s a “fresh foodspace” according to their press release — like my home is not a house, but a “living space.” The company’s motto is tasty, healthful and conveniently prepared food that is fresh, natural and whole. The word organic, however, seems to be missing from their manifesto.

Customers can dine in at the “foodspace,” take out, stock up for the week, or have the food delivered to their homes or offices. The company has been selling its prepared fresh food entrees and side dishes online and in several high-end Bay Area grocery stores for many months.

And this from their publicity: “Serial entrepreneur Eric Greenberg founded Beautifull in 2007 because he believes that the food supply in this country is filled with a lot of fake and bad food. He believes this is at the root of a chronic disease crisis of epic proportions and that the cure is real food that is fresh. With Beautifull, it is his intent to build the world’s first brand that stands for fresh, healthy food that doesn’t sacrifice taste.” 

Am I crazy, or does the phrase “serial entrepreneur” give you the willies?

Another slogan is: “Eating Beautifull food is like having your own extraordinary private chef who is a nutrition expert.”

Chefs (unnamed) collaborate with nutritionists (unnamed) to create the product. Beautifull is located in Emeryville with kitchens in South San Francisco. Their advisory board includes health experts Drs. Dean Ornish and Christopher Gardner as well as caterer Paula LeDuc, and investors Mohr Davidow Ventures and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The plan is to open additional fresh foodspaces around the Bay Area in the coming year.

The company’s food is available at retail, home or office delivery and online.

I went to their site to see what was offered on the menu. I discovered deliveries are available Mondays and Thursdays.

The menu presented was for May 4–6, and mentioned three days, nine meals. It instructed to place an order by noon April 30, for delivery by noon on May 4. A customer could presumably order three days worth of meals, twice a week. So, I chose three meals for one person to see how much it would cost for one day. I chose items I would eat:

A breakfast enchilada with scrambled free-range eggs, feta cheese, quinoa, pinto beans, and a Mexican salsa verde, 340 calories ($6.99).

For lunch, an all-natural turkey burger made with fresh spinach and herbs, served with smoky chipotle ketchup on a multigrain bun, 340 calories ($8.99).

Dinner was lightly grilled salmon with a zesty ginger chutney, aromatic Asian-spiced shiitake whole-grain brown rice, and fresh bok choy, 590 calories ($11.99).

I got one side dish, a salad of citrus, agave and mint, 150 calories ($4.99).

No desserts were offered, so I threw in the only snack — a house-made energy bar with crunchy almonds, sweet medjool dates, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds, 530 calories ($2.99).

My one-day total was 1,950 calories, not counting beverages, and the cost was $35.95. For 24 days a month, this could average over $850 per diner.

I have not tasted Beautifull’s food, but I was surprised to learn that they will deliver to Novato, where I live.

I don’t think I am ready to make a three-day commitment to Beautifull Food yet, but one of these days, I will leave my “living space” and travel in my “car space” to their “food space” in San Francisco and buy something.

The five-year-old Jack Falstaff restaurant will close as of May 9, the decision made by CEO Hilary Newsom and a lawyer for Gordon Getty. (Our source didn’t recall his name.) Gee, you know when times are tough when a billionaire shutters one of his restaurants. Insiders tell us that Getty is more focused on the wine side of his businesses these days, especially with the opening of Cade Winery in northern Napa.

We won’t miss the Stanlee Gatti-designed brown suede walls — like sitting inside someone’s purse, but chef Jonnatan Levia’s food was thrilling. No word on where the three-star chef will land. Will they keep him on for the many months during the reconcepting that PlumpJack will take?

He says that is not in the cards. He’ll either do some consulting or …

Another sign of the times is David Gingrass going back into the kitchen of Two, the former Hawthorne Lane.

I remember when the old Washington Square Bar & Grill was failing, and chef-owner Guy Ferri pulled the long hours, cooking both lunch and dinner. Look at it this way — wouldn’t you, if you could save $50,000 to $60,000 a year?

One yummy draw at Two is the nightly Five for $Five menu. There’s a chopped vegetable salad with blue cheese herb dressing, cream of asparagus soup, house-made pizzetta, meatballs with garlic bread, and butterscotch pot de crème with whipped cream.

I spoke with Ed Levine of Vine Solutions, which provides accounting services to over 90 restaurants primarily in the Bay Area. Levine is also the main shareholder in the Left Bank restaurant group.

“I think we will see a shakeout of high-end restaurants. Many will scale down, be recycled. We will see more casual places like A16, Chow and SPQR. By my estimates, the restaurant business in California is down approximately 18 percent in the first quarter of 2009,” he explains.

When I mentioned those numbers to chef Jonnatan Levia he said, “It’s more like 30 percent.” 

Chef Gordon Drysdale of the Bacchus group — think Pizza Antica and Spruce — said that things are moving along swimmingly with the next Spruce, which will open this summer in Park City Utah in the Dakota Mountain Lodge & Golden Door Spa, which is part of the Waldorf Astoria collection.

But unlike the first Spruce, which took about seven million years to open on Sacramento Street in the City, this one is perking along.

Executive chef-partner Mark Sullivan is taking his sous chef, Saundra Middleton, to oversee the food in Utah. Middleton came to Spruce shortly after it opened and was promoted to sous after a few months. Brava!

There is a new chef de cuisine at Bix in San Francisco. Executive chef-partner Bruce Hill says he has promoted Erik Lowe. Chef Lowe has a good pedigree, having cooked at Ame, Piperade and the now-closed Tartare.

Coming to the South Bay in late June: Paradise Scoop specializing in tropical and classic ice cream, frozen yogurt and gourmet toppings as well as “heavenly treats” (it’s a feng shui phrase) such as crepes, fruit smoothies and baked goods including daily-changing gourmet cupcakes.

Think exotic flavors like mango, purple yam ube, coconut pineapple, lychee, mixed tropical fruit, banana fudge, cinnamon chocolate, and Kahlua as well as American favorites such as vanilla and orange sherbet, fresh strawberry and creamy peanut butter. Changing specials will focus on international flavors like rosewater, saffron with pistachio, and sweet basil. Toppings will include white and dark chocolate syrup, coconut flakes, caramel, macadamia nuts, premium honey, bananas, and fresh berries, among others.  

The owners, Ben Accorda and his son Jayson, have been selling specialty Asian ice cream direct to area restaurants since 2001. The remodel design by Jim Maxwell of Architects II and Full Plate Restaurant Consulting will utilize bright island-inspired colors. In addition to individual orders, pints and quarts will be available for take home.

Paradise Scoop is coming to 5205 Prospect Road, San Jose at the corner of Saratoga Avenue (at Prospect) in the Westgate Shopping Mall.

If I hear about one more happy hour, I’ll plotz. But then there is one of my faves, 1300 on Fillmore and they are doing it right: Monday —Thursday from 4:30–7:30 p.m. in the bar and Heritage Lounge, there are $3 draft beers and sparkling wine, and $5 well drinks and house wines. Chef David Lawrence’s lounge menu features lamb sliders, fresh water shrimp hushpuppies, and my favorite, the barbecued shrimp with creamy grits.

Got a note from chef-owner Josiah Slone of Sent Sovi in Saratoga about the passing of his former waiter:

“Thanks for the mention of Javier's passing — he was truly a legend and a purely nice guy too. Sad news, but we have received over $2300 in donations so far, surely some from your mention to help with his final expenses.”

I just want to tell everyone that I am Facebooked and LinkedIn out. The final straw was when some Laplanders wanted to link to me, despite the fact I have no experience with reindeer. I have also begun to tweet, but I don’t think anyone cares about my Twittering anymore than I do.

In that vein, my friend Luther Jackson, who e-mails me from his cabin in the wilds of Mendocino, sent me this:

Dear Follower: I am about to eat an eggbeater, turkey sausage, & pepperjack on whole wheat w/ mayo. Brush teeth after.
G'morning
Luther

I think that says it all.

Contact GraceAnn to learn about her food-history tours of San Francisco E-mail: graceann@yummyletter.com

To read GraceAnn’s monthly column in Northside San Francisco, “Chef’s Chat,” visit www.northsidesf.com/chefschat.html.