Small Gwen avocados at the booth of Brokaw Ranch at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco. 2013 Small Gwen avocados at the booth of Brokaw Ranch at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco. 2013 Brokaw Ranch, one of the Bay Area’s best-loved avocado purveyors and a constant presence on the area’s restaurant menus, has sustained major damage in the Thomas Fire.

Mendocino Farms Campbell space is located at 1875 South Bascom Ave. This is the LA fast-casual chains first location in the Bay Area. There are more locations slated for San Jose and San Francisco's Financial ... more Mendocino Farms Campbell space is located at 1875 South Bascom Ave. This is the LA fast-casual chains first location in the Bay Area. There are more locations slated for San Jose and San Francisco's Financial District (465 California St.

The idea of going to a Christmas-themed bar to kick off the holiday season seems like a good idea. With a name like Deck the Halls, North Beach’s temporary bar has the promise of gingerbread cocktails, whiffs of pine and plenty of ugly sweaters.From now until the New Year, the pop-up bar will be housed in the former Square Bar & Grill (1707 Powell St.), which closed earlier this year.

Saison crew to open a new restaurant named Angler — in both S.F. and L.A. What do you do when your restaurant has a perfect three Michelin stars and is considered by some to be the best of the best in a city known for its fine-dining? Well, if you’re Saison chef Joshua Skenes and wine director Mark Bright, you take that experience and put it to use in a new project in San Francisco, right along the Embarcadero. And then you open another one in L.A.

Thirty years ago, restaurants in Hayes Valley were heavily dependent on feeding diners before or after the San Francisco Opera, Symphony and Ballet. But with each passing year, especially after the freeway was torn down after the 1989 earthquake, the area has become a coveted place to live.The result is a wider variety of restaurant options that cater to residents, giving Hayes Valley a real neighborhood feel. In the last two years more than 10 new restaurants have opened here.

The holidays always put us in the mood to spruce up our homes, and one way to do that is with houseplants. Few houseplants outside of orchids flower, but two that do so very colorfully are Christmas cactus and Christmas kalanchoe. Christmas cactus (Zygocactus) is a common sight in garden centers this time of year, usually sold in 4- or 6-inch containers. The color of the flowers covers an impressive range from pink to red to orange to coral to white.

After more than a year of planning, The Snug (2301 Fillmore St.), Pacific Heights’ shiny, new bar opens tonight with hopes of becoming the neighborhood’s go-to spot for beer, cocktails, and food from a chef with fine dining credentials.The industry vets behind the project include chef Brian Shin (whose resume includes Alinea and Benu), Jacob Racusin (Alembic), Zach Schwab and Shane Matthews.The crew is taking over the former Mehfil Indian restaurant at the corner of Fillmore and Clay.

Interior of the Snug in Pacific Heights. After more than a year of planning, The Snug (2301 Fillmore St.), Pacific Heights’ shiny, new bar opens tonight with hopes of becoming the neighborhood’s go-to spot for beer, cocktails, and food from a chef with fine dining credentials. The industry vets behind the project include chef Brian Shin (whose resume includes Alinea and Benu), Jacob Racusin (Alembic), Zach Schwab and Shane Matthews.

Check out the slideshow to see some of our favorite cheap eats in the Bay Area. Check out the slideshow to see some of our favorite cheap eats in the Bay Area. Pascal Rigo heads outside La Boulangerie de San Francisco for his next meeting in the city, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in San Francisco, Calif. Pascal Rigo heads outside La Boulangerie de San Francisco for his next meeting in the city, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in San Francisco, Calif.

In his Between Meals column, Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer writes about the restaurants he visits each week as he searches for the next Top 100 Restaurants. His main dining reviews, written after three or more visits, appear in the Sunday Food + Wine section.The restaurant scene on the Monterey Peninsula can be a little sleepy. There are lots of good choices, but few could compete in a one-on-one matchup of what you’d find in San Francisco.