IN THE NEWS: The Chronicle’s Miriam Morgan reports, “The 2009 Zagat guide to Bay Area restaurants hits stores [Sept 24], and as always offers an interesting snapshot of the local dining scene along with consumer ratings for 1,212 individual restaurants. First, the winners, according to Zagat. The French Laundry in Yountville and Cyrus in Healdsburg tied for the top food rating in the entire region (Bay Area, Monterey and Lake Tahoe), with 29 out of 30 possible points. Following close behind are Gary Danko in San Francisco, Erna’s Elderberry House near Yosemite, and Kaygetsu in Menlo Park. Gary Danko continues its several-year reign as the region’s most popular restaurant.” … Nicholas Boer reviews Amaranta (710 Camino Ramon, near Sycamore Valley Road, in the Rose Garden Center, Danville; amarantarestaurant.com), while Mandy Erickson considers The Sherman (410 Airport Blvd. near Bay View Place, Burlingame; theshermanrestaurant.com), and Amanda Gold reviews Le Club (1250 Jones St. at Clay, San Francisco). … Inside Scoop reports, “Rosie’s Cowboy Cookhouse in Point Reyes Station is about to go Italian. As of Oct. 1, Christian Caiazzo, who runs the coffee bar in Toby’s Feed Barn across the street, will take over the Rosie’s space (11285 Hwy. 1, at Third Street) and turn it into Osterina Stellina.” … Detailed openings include La Toque (1314 McKinstry St., adjacent to the Westin Verasa, Napa), and Tony Gulisano’s fourth Chow (445 Railroad Ave. at Hartz Ave., Danville; chowfoodbar.com). www.sfgate.com …

SF Weekly’s Matthew Stafford visits One Ferry Building (Embarcadero and Market). www.sfweekly.com … www.InsideBayArea.com’s Tim Simmers reviews Angelica’s Bistro (863 Main St., Redwood City). … East Bay Express’s Matthew Stafford reviews Caffe Venezia (1799 University Ave. at Grant St., Berkeley, caffevenezia.com). www.eastbayexpress.com … The Bay Guardian’s Paul Reidinger reviews Uva Enoteca (568 Haight, SF, www.uvaenoteca.com), while L.E. Leone considers Happy Garden (4112 MacArthur, Oakland). www.sfbg.com … Eater San Francisco reports the closing of Hayes Valley’s Octavia Lounge. sf.eater.com … The Oakland Tribune’s Kamika Dunlap reports, “The historic Neldam’s Danish Bakery recently got a new lease on life. The bakery, which opened almost eight decades ago and is one of the city’s oldest institutions, will remain open. The company’s land and buildings were sold to new owners who now lease building space back to the Neldam family to operate their business. They signed a contract for one year and Neldam’s is set to celebrate its 80th anniversary in February.” www.InsideBayArea.com

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com

Filed under: Oakland Restaurants, San Francisco Restaurants | Tags: Amaranta, Angelica's Bistro, Caffe Venezia, Chow, Happy Garden, La Toque, LOe Club, Neldam's Danish Bakery, Octavia Lounge, One Ferry Building, Osterina Stellina, Rosie's Cowboy Cookhouse closing, The Sherman, Uva Enoteca, Zagat 2009 ratings |