Super Duper arrives in East Bay
San Francisco’s growing Super Duper Burgers chain has finally made its way to the East Bay.
After opening 10 locations since its 2010 founding, the company has now expanded to Concord’s new Veranda center.
Its “fast food burgers, slow food values” slogan translates into burgers made of vegetarian-fed beef from family-owned ranches, which is ground daily, and free-range chicken sandwiches.
Shakes and cones are made using organic Straus Creamery soft-serve ice cream. (You can get that milkshake spiked with soju for $1.50 more.) Freshly squeezed lemonade is sweetened with brown sugar.
The popular pickles are house-made, free and located right where diners can help themselves.
And this Super Duper is one of the locations that serves breakfast. Look for organic egg sandwiches with bacon or sausage, doughnuts, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee from the Bay Area’s Mr. Espresso.
Details: Super Duper Burgers is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2003 Diamond Blvd. www.superduperburgers.com.
Lafayette’s Rustic Tavern closed over lease dispute
Rustic Tavern, which had been going on five years on Lafayette’s Mt. Diablo Boulevard, closed at the end of business March 24 because of a lease disagreement.
But there’s good news for fans of this farm-totable American comfort food. The Lark Creek alums who launched this restaurant are promising a second act.
In a Facebook note to customers, Gary and Tressa Rust said:
“It is with heavy hearts that we must announce Saturday, March 24 will be Rustic Tavern’s last day at this location. We have enjoyed many years of success in Lafayette and appreciate the support and loyalty of this amazing community. You love our food and we love you!
“Regrettably, we have not been able to agree upon terms of a lease extension.
“This is not the end of Rustic Tavern. … We look forward to announcing our new venture as soon as possible!”
The Rusts had opened the tavern in 2013 — and with it came a considerable amount of Lark Creek Restaurant Group cred. Gary, the executive chef, had formerly cooked at Yankee Pier in San Jose
and at One Market in San Francisco.
Belcampo Meat reopens in Palo Alto
The Philly cheesesteak and other meaty ready-to-eat specials are back.
Palo Alto’s Belcampo Meat Co., an outpost of Anya Fernald’s Marin County butcher shop known for its organic, sustainable and humane practices, has reopened its small onsite hot-food counter.
Looking for high-quality meat and poultry but not so much interested in cooking yourself? Available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily is a new menu that includes a beef barbacoa burrito, lamb burger with black garlic aioli, Nashville fried hot chicken sandwich, banh mi bowl of pulled chicken, and a turkey burger, plus salads and
sides.
Belcampo, located in the back of Town & Country center, is at its heart a fullservice butcher shop. All of the meat and poultry — from cattle to quail — is raised on the company’s farm near Mount Shasta and butchered in Belcampo facilities. Heritage breeds are a specialty.
Butcher shop hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, until 5 p.m. Sunday.
Details: 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. 650-5613492; wwwbelcampo.com.
The Palms opens in Los Gatos mansion
The doors of the historic Coggeshall Mansion are open again to diners.
The stately building on Santa Cruz Avenue is now home to The Palms, a new restaurant with a Pacific Rim focus.
At The Palms, starters on chef Andres Chevez’s inaugural menu includes fresh oysters, spicy calamari, ahi or salmon poke bowls and chicken yakitori, plus salads and a lobster bisque as the house soup.
For entrees, fresh fish and locally sourced vegetables are given the Pacific Rim treatment. Chilean pan-seared sea bass, for example, is served in a miso-ginger broth with stir-fried vegetables and udon noodles.
Meat eaters will find a wagyu bavette cut (or New York, filet or ribeye steak) with glazed rainbow baby carrots, as well as a Kobe beef burger.
In keeping with the theme, signature cocktails include On the Rum, an Island Mule and a number called “Forget Mary Ann; where’s Ginger?” On the beer list are Kona Longboard lager, Ballast Point Sculpin and Lost Coast Great White ale.
Details: Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and until 8 p.m. Sunday at 115 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Details, reservations: www.thepalms95030.com
Paella pop-up set for Friday in Berkeley
Berkeley’s La Marcha is always included on lists of the best Spanish restaurants in the Bay Area. So what happens when chef-owners Sergio Emilio Monleón and Emily Sarlatte plan a community feast offering five different paellas for $30? You buy a ticket and go.
The duo has hosted popups before, and this paellafocused dinner on Friday at Neyborly Poet’s Corner on San Pablo Avenue will be just as epic. Fresh off a trip to Valencia, Spain, the motherland of paella, Monleón and Sarlatte are hosting a Valencian-inspired community dinner featuring five different types of paella to taste. Bread and salad also will be served.
The paellas are subject to change, but plan on something close to this list of deliciousness:
• Paella Valencia: chicken, rabbit, artichoke hearts, emergo (white runner) beans, snap peas.
• Arroz Negro: Black squid ink, clams, fennel sausage, peas.
• Arroz a Banda (Senoret): Monkfish, prawns, calamari.
• Arroz de Vegetales: Fresh market vegetables.
• Arroz “Al Horno”: Short ribs, morcilla (blood sausage), potato, tomato, garbanzos, roasted garlic.
No Spanish feast would be complete without libations, so there will be wine, sangria and sherry available for purchase. The dinner is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com. Neyborly Poet’s Corner is located at 2043 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley.