I keep a running list of soon-to-open restaurants I must check out in a composition book (yes, like the black-and-white ones from grade school). I've filled over 30 of them in ten years. Here's a peek at where I'll be eating in 2012.
Stephanie Izard's neo-diner will feature such indulgences as a pulled-pork sandwich on a pork-fat dough-nut and a beef-cheek French dip sandwich.
To open April 2012
The main draw at this breakfast and lunch spot, brought to you by the married duo behind nearby Hatfield's, has got to be the baked goods: salted-caramel pecan rolls, quinoa muffins, and brioche fritters.
To open March 2012
How serious is chef Chris Shepherd's new meat restaurant? In-house charcuterie, on-premises butcher shop, and fresh cuts of goat, lamb, veal, and--of course--pork from his own herds.
To open January 2012
The Flour + Water gang branches out with two new spots nearby in the Mission: the more formal Central Kitchen and the sandwich and cured-meat shop Salumeria.
To open February 2012
The Portland, OR, favorite brings its hard-core traditional Thai cooking to the somewhat-out-of-the-way Red Hook neighborhood. Expect long lines anyway.
To open January 2012