It looks like the doubters, including me, were wrong–The Melt is back open for business! I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but the long closure is over and there is a "new menu". I'm surprised, but wish them luck. The Avenue is looking pretty good and pretty busy these days which doesn't surprise me.
I haven't tried I Prive yet, but I did dine at Rasa (replacing Roti after a year and a half) and it was good.
I had a chance to chat with one of the owners of the Vinyl Room bar a couple of months ago while they were remodeling. Juan Loredo came across as a really nice young guy who is having fun and building a business with his partner. You will recall I've had some fun in the bar before. The Daily Journal also caught up with him since the bar is now reopened for business. They note
With the Burlingame Avenue Streetscape project, Vinyl Room at 221 Park Road has decided to do renovations and took a spin off the name Vinyl Room for creative inspiration. In addition, soon-to-open businesses like the Indian restaurant and the coffee and wine bar H29 should draw more customers in, so the bar is extending its hours.
The DJ missed the coolest part of the remodel in my opinion. It notes that "An art wall features 200 wood panels that are the size of album covers." but Juan's plan is to attach iconic album covers to the wood panels which will be very cool. Here's the panels.
If I had a bit more time on my hands I would help him out with that part. I wish them good luck along with the new wine bar and the Roti replacement. As you are checking out the Vinyl Room be sure to notice the building's facade where Juan and Jose have resurrected the original "Cocktails" graphics. Nice preservationist touch. Let's hope it doesn't get overshadowed by some monsterous new building on the Post Office site!
Let's complement our dear governor for a change! The SacBee is reporting that
Gov. Jerry Brown announced Tuesday he has signed an urgency measure allowing winegrowers who bottle their own wine to conduct instructional tastings at California’s numerous farmers markets. Assembly Bill 2488, by Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, was approved by both houses of the Legislature without dissent.
The bill expands a provision of state law allowing the sale of estate-grown wine at farmers markets. Wine industry groups said the inability to offer samples hurt sales in an industry in which customers are accustomed to a taste.
I'm not sure what is so urgent about it, but it should liven things up at our markets. The tasting spot needs to be roped off from the rest of the market and patrons are limited to three ounces per day which is just a bit more than half a glass. We've got Fresh Market Thursday and Sunday to choose from.
The ship that has been anchored off the shore of Burlingame for several decades known to many as The Sherman, as well as by several other names, will be leaving either early in the morning on Sunday, perhaps about 1:30am and if not possible at that time then another attempt will be made at higher tide on Sunday at 4:30pm.
Here is how she looked today with tug boat awaiting. The entire history of The Sherman can be seen in an exhibit inside the Burlingame Hillsborough History Museum inside the Burlingame Train Station.
The Daily Post had a nice write-up by Jamie Morrow on the latest B'game restaurant to take a shot at the old Velvet Turtle location on Rollins. You may also recall it as Kuleto's or more recently Medallion Steak House. (Any other names, old timers?)
She notes the name means "Farm and Sea" and they will explore the seafood-centric cuisine of Venice and Milan. Go for it! The chef-owner, Pablo Estrada, was at Rose Pistola's in EssEff for 17 years and started at LuLu's.
As Jamie notes, the restaurant is huge–325 in inside and a very cool 60-person patio that Medallion used to spice up with outdoor movies on a big screen. I would love to see someone make a good run at that location. If the Summerhill project goes forward, that may disrupt things a bit in that block though. And we will have to see if they stick with mandatory valet parking as the last few establishments did. I never had a problem with it, but I know some people did.
I had to hop over to Tokyo and back in 72 hours this week– 72.5 to be exact– and I don't recommend it. But as usual, it does give one time to think about B'game similarities and differences like my visit to Singapore in 2011. This Tokyo trip was my first time using Haneda airport which is much closer to the city center than Narita–not as close as B'game is to SFO but close. We travelers from B'game are spoiled–12 minutes to curbside is a luxury that our friends from Orinda or Palo Alto can just dream about. I did read about upcoming SFO issues that may make for a long summer
The San Francisco International Airport announced plans to temporarily close two runways during the summer of 2014 to complete the final phase of multi-year, federally mandated Runway Safety Area (RSA) construction project.
The project, required by federal statute to be completed by the end of 2015, will reconfigure Runways 1L and 1R to provide additional thresholds to safely slow an aircraft should it overshoot a runway. Construction is scheduled to begin on May 17, 2014 and is planned to last through September 2014.
The other notable thing about the Tokyo-B'game musings is that we really do have pretty good sushi here. The Japanese eat a variety of styles beside sushi, but everytime I have it there I am reminded how comparable ours is at Sakae, Barracuda, Isobune, Tomokazu and the bargain spot Yamo Yamo (on the San Mateo side of Peninsula Ave.) We're very lucky.
Home delivery from established B'game restaurants will be much less controversial than Off the Grid. Here is the latest entry in the delivery game courtesy of the DJ article that notes
The Palo Alto-based Fluc, or Food Lovers United Company, takes hundreds of local restaurants and delivers food to people in under 45 minutes for a flat rate charge of $6. The startup, founded about a year ago, just launched its services in Redwood City and, with a 250-signature petition complete, Fluc will be coming to Burlingame soon. When Fluc launches in a city, its residents can order from any restaurant in the city.
The local angle is interesting too
Bryce Nelson, a 16-year-old living in Burlingame, put together the petition to bring Fluc to Burlingame after hearing rave reviews from friends living in Menlo Park and Palo Alto who used the service.
“I finally got to try it out for myself when I was at a friend’s house in Palo Alto, and it was absolutely amazing — a Fluc driver brought me a sandwich from CREAM, just like a delivery guy would do for pizza,” he wrote in an email.
So, six bucks is six bucks, but if the teens have the dough, then Fluc should deliver the goods. I just noticed a new prepared-dinner delivery business on California called Dinner-Licious. It's probably been there for months, but new to me.
The Off the Gridsters are going to be back on Tuesday, Jan 14th from 5-8pm. Same place, same time, different day of the week. The controversy will continue. The website indicates 10 trucks will be present for your dining plaisir!
Update: I stopped by to check out the crowd. For the half hour I was there, they probably had 150 people coming and going. Here's what it looks like on a January night.
The west end of the Avenew is perking up even more with the opening of Sixto's by the owners of Alana's Cafe. Early buzz has been good and it was crowded on a recent early weeknight. The council decision to add a few more restaurant permits allowed Pizzeria Delfina to accelerate its plans for B'game ahead of Palo Alto.
I had a little pre-opening preview of Delfina's yesterday with the general manager. Most of the fixtures are in and a Dec. 23rd opening is planned. The space looks sleek with ground floor seating, the back patio (which will open later) and the upstairs loft. The only downside was that the front balcony above the Avenew was not feasible to incorporate into the overall plan. You can see it in the photo, but it only serves as a big clerestory for light.
I'm finding it hard to believe the idea of moving Off the Grid from the Caltrain parking lot onto Broadway proper during a weekday rush hour is getting any real consideration, but since it might be, here is a post on the idea for comments. The Daily Journal piece yesterday captured some opinions:
John Kevranian, owner of Nuts for Candy on Broadway and member of the Broadway Business Improvement District, made a proposal last week to Off The Grid and to the city of Burlingame to have the food trucks on Broadway instead of the Caltrain Broadway station parking lot to better promote Broadway. He wants to close Broadway from Chula Vista to Capuchino avenues Tuesday nights from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. and have the food trucks and the Broadway merchants participate for a 90-day trial period. Tuesdays are traditionally quieter than Thursdays for Broadway businesses.
and another approach from our lumvinary
Meanwhile, other Broadway business owners were in support of the idea, but didn’t feel like food trucks were negatively impacting businesses on Broadway. Sending someone to Off the Grid with coupons for their businesses would have benefited them, said Weimax Wines & Spirits owner Gerald Weisl. Blaming Off the Grid is just an excuse, he said.
The thing I really don't get is where this next comment is coming from since I have never heard it before:
(Kevranian) also noted it’s hurtful to hear community members saying there’s nothing compelling about Broadway merchants. He believes the city turned the community against Broadway.
Wha? The "community" has considered B'way the locals' district for years (as opposed to the Avenew's sheen) and what exactly has the city done here to date? I don't get it. We'll see about the rezoning option Jerry Deal dangles at the end of the article. I do know you cannot clear B'way of parked cars, police the closure for four-plus hours and reopen it for $187.50 per week (i.e. the $750 a month Off the Grid is paying now). And talk about a loss of parking spaces…Oy!
Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community
The Burlingame Voice is dedicated to informing and empowering the Burlingame community. Our blog is a public forum for the discussion of issues that relate to Burlingame, California. Opinions posted on the Burlingame Voice are those of the poster and commenter and not necessarily the opinion of the Editorial Board. Comments are subject to the Terms of Use.
All content subject to Copyright 2003-2026