Also, a new Korean grocery store will open in the East Bay this fall, and there’s more food news from the Bay Area.
At a fancy event in London on Monday night, The World’s 50 Best named the world’s 50 best restaurants. Only one Bay Area restaurant made the list. The single Thread of Healdsburg came in at number 50, down from number 37 last year. Fair enough, Single Thread is one of only three places in the United States to make the top 50. The other two are Le Bernardin (#44) and Atomix (#33), both of which are in New York.
Monday, Single Thread posted the news on Instagram, saying, “After a year marked by a pandemic that challenged the entire restaurant community and a fire in our own kitchen, this is an amazing time to celebrate.” Thank you to all of our guests, supporters, artists and artisans, farmers, and, most of all, the hardworking and passionate team that puts their heart, soul, and love into our home every day.
Last week, the 50 Best organization released its list of runners-up, which included two Bay Area restaurants. Corey Lee’s restaurant Benu dropped from #28 to #97, and Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn moved from #48 to #72.
About the 50 best things in the world…
After its last event with chef Sota Atsumi of Maison, San Francisco’s Saison will host another collaborative dinner. This time, Saison is working with Prateek Sadhu, the former chef of #21 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list Masque, to put on a new dinner series from August 2 to 6. Starting at $448 per person, the nine-course meal can be paired with wine if you want. You can make reservations through Tock.
Fremont is going to get a new Korean grocery store.
The first H Mart store in San Francisco opened last year and did very well. Now, Mercury News is reporting that the former Sprouts store at 3900 Mowry Avenue in Fremont will be taken over by Mega Mart, which is based in Seoul. It is the brand’s second store in the Bay Area, after the K Market in Sunnyvale. It is also the brand’s third store in the U.S. The Merc says that the store will have a gluten-free bakery, a deli, a fish counter, and a section with ready-made foods. On September 23, the store should open.
Oakland’s Taiwan Bento says it will be closing soon.
Taiwan Bento’s owners, Stacy Tang, and Willy Wang shocked their customers on Monday when they told them that the restaurant will close on July 29 after eight years. In a post on social media, the couple said it was a hard choice. The couple writes, “It all started with a small dream and a strong desire to share Stacy’s home country food.” “It’s a sad and happy time for us. In the end, we’ve been lucky in so many ways over the past eight years. We’ll write more about our trip later, but for now, we’re still open for the next two weeks, and we’d love to see you before this chapter ends.”
