Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1061591
"Our menu will be masa [a cornmeal dough]-driven and will feature masa menu items made from organic, locally sourced corn," she told Specialty Food Magazine. The corn will be nixtamalized—a process in which the kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution—in-house, she added. The signature offerings will be tacos and tostadas inspired by Cala, along with classic dishes from Contramar, Cámara's acclaimed restaurant in Mexico City, such as the Pescado a la Talla. In addition, her restaurant in the food hall—which will also be called Tacos Cala—will include breakfast, a new daypart for a Cámara eatery. The concept will be centered around offering good food in a fast-paced environment. "The key to success in a food hall venture is emphasizing quick service and convenience, while maintaining consistently great quality ingredients and food," Cámara said. Bangkok-born Techamuanvivit told the Chronicle that the food hall will give her an opportunity to test a fast-casual version of the Thai menu from Kin Khao, which she opened in 2014 after a var- ied career that included food writing and jam-making. The airport menu will include rice bowls, noodles, and grilled meats, and the space will also offer retail food and culinary items, she said. Robertson said the partners have all known each other and are eager to create versions of their menus that work in an airport space. "Gabriella has business in Mexico City, and Pim has business in Bangkok, so we all travel, and we all agreed that if we could make some better food available in the airport, it would be a good thing," he said. In addition to the three restaurants, the food hall also will include a cocktail bar that will showcase the varied cocktail pro- grams of all three restaurant operators. "We are excited about the bar," said Robertson. "It will have some interesting diversity in the cocktails." In addition to their two Tartine bakery-cafes and one exist- ing Tartine Manufactory in San Francisco, Robertson and Prueitt are also collaborating with Phoenix chef Chris Bianco on another outpost in Los Angeles called The Manufactory that will include an all-day cafe, a dinner-only restaurant, and an ice cream and coffee counter.—M.H. store tour RESPONSIBLE FOOD, READY-TO-EAT: BI-RITE CAFE W ith soft serve ice cream and hearty and healthy bowls avail- able at the new Bi-Rite Cafe at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, it's unlikely anyone will leave feeling disappointed. This new breakfast-lunch-afternoon snack kiosk opened in October and is run, says Patrick Mills, director of operations and service, with the same principles "as you'll find in our curated gro- cery stores." And indeed, Bi-Rite is no stranger to serving up a variety of wholesome fare. A San Francisco grocery store since 1940, the company now has two locations that attract a clientele looking for small producers, seasonal and local food, and a creamery, serving ice cream and baked goods. The cafe is simply the company's latest venture, and it came about by request. It's located in the Civic Center Plaza, which houses everything from a museum to government buildings to an auditorium. Last February the Helen Diller Playgrounds opened, drawing a whole new set of people to the area. Wanting to provide refreshments, the Helen Diller Family Foundation approached 80 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com