Legendary Mission Bar Amnesia Is Closing

Amnesia, a Mission District bar that’s been in business for almost 20 years, is reportedly closing

Mission Local reports that Amnesia, a Valencia Street bar that since 2000 has been home to a host of live music acts and an extensive craft beer list, will close “indefinitely starting in early March.” The news was echoed by an Amnesia employee who, when contacted by Eater SF, said of the closure “yes, sad to say.” Former owner Shawn Magee sold Amnesia to City Beer Store owners (and Bay Area “power couple”) Craig and Beth Wathen in 2015, saying at the time that “AMNESIA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE. It is being passed into capable hands, people who I believe will try their best to keep the integrity of this place.” It will reportedly “close its doors for a few months for a ‘revamp,’ but may not use the entertainment license in the future.”

The Chron’s food critic wasn’t impressed with Tsuta

For her main review this week, Chron food critic Soleil Ho visited Tsuta, the Metreon location of the Michelin-starred ramen chain. She wasn not wild about the restaurant (which is the first U.S. location of the company), writing that the items she sampled had seasoning issues, the toppings were “badly executed,” and there isn’t enough filling in its pot stickers (and what there is is too bland). On the plus side, she says that its once lengthy lines have evaporated, so there’s that?

Beit Rima’s Daly City location opens on February 1

Arabic comfort food mini-chain Beit Rima is expanding fast, opening on Church Street in February and in Cole Valley in November. Now its Daly City location has set an opening date, as via Instagram the restaurant says its spot at 507 Westlake Center will start serving owner Samir Mogannam’s family recipes as soon as February 1.

A new Oakland bar refuses to sell booze

Berkeleyside has the scoop on Bizzy’s Dry Bar, which is not — as this correspondent first assumed — a place to get one’s hair straightened and/or styled. Instead, it’s a spot at which drinkers can enjoy a range of no-ABV cocktails, juice-centered shots, dealcoholized wine and beer, and non-alcoholic spirits. Its spot at 2930 Telegraph Avenue is occupied by Black Spring Coffee during the day, and starting on January 18, Bizzy’s will take over the location at night, operating from 6 p.m. to midnight Thursdays-Mondays.

Artist Jeremy Fish has launched a burger review column for SF Gate

SF Gate, the Hearst-owned website that was once the online home of the SF Chronicle and has since pivoted to a place for original, aggregated, and syndicated content, has a new food writer: Jeremy Fish, a ubiquitous North Beach artist known for his installations, collaborations with brands like Adidas, and public art. In his bi-monthly Gate column, which is called “Burger Inspector,” Fish will “celebrate San Francisco’s rich burger culture by inspecting a different burger every other week,” the site says. For his first outing, Fish covers the Mission’s iconic Whiz Burgers Drive-In, which he says “is an INCREDIBLE place to sit outside and see some real crazy s— go down.”