Your remaining weekends in 2013 are filling up fast, and there’s one unchecked resolution for the year:
“Eat heritage pork with cheddar grits on the hallowed grounds of an old yoga studio.”
Close call. Really came down to the wire there.
ZAGAT
There is new life in the former Ubuntu restaurant and yoga studio in Napa, which has been closed for two years. Chef Sean O'Toole will open a contemporary American restaurant called TORC at 1140 Main Street on November 25. Opening dishes include Hudson Ranch heritage pork with cheddar grits, collard greens and mustard sauce, housemade strozzapreti with pecorino Romano, tellicherry pepper and dino kale and a roasted chicken for two with black spice, coconut rice and spicy bok choy. It will be the first eatery for O'Toole, whose resume includes stints at Quince andBardessono.
TableHopper
Dinner at the recently opened Torc was merely a couple of minutes away, and it was such a pleasure to be back in the beautiful Ubuntu space. The place was hopping. Chef-owner Sean O’Toole is totally rocking some great flavors on this menu—he borrows from an international pantry, with the can’t-miss sweet potato pakoras keeping company with his unique pasta dishes (like housemade bucatini in a wild boar ragù with cocoa and hit of lime), and a stellar roasted chicken for two that took a trip all over Asia. Desserts by Elizabeth Gentry will rock your world (don’t hold back here). I’ll be writing about this one more soon, but I will say I had a twinge of jealousy we don’t have this restaurant in SF
7x7
A former chef at Quince, Sean O’Toole, has moved into the space on Downtown Napa's Main Street that once housed the ill-fated Michelin-starred vegan eatery and yoga studio, Ubuntu.
Inside Scoop SF
The headliner in this week’s Inside Scoop column is Torc, the quickly nearing restaurant set in downtown Napa’s former Ubuntu.
SF Eater
The former Ubuntu space in Napa has returned to the culinary scene in the form ofTorc, a contemporary American restaurant from chef/proprietor Sean O'Toole. It's a labor of love for the chef, who sharpened his skills in the kitchens of Quince, Cotogna, Bardessono, and the Mina Group restaurants before opening this, his first solo project. The restaurant is named after the Gaelic word for "boar," which appears on O'Toole's family coat of arms, and while the food won't be Gaelic-inspired, O'Toole sees the motif as a symbol of a lively and hospitable dining experience.