ST. HELENA—In little ol' St. Helena, new restaurants get a lot of attention. Such is the case with AKA after its first week of service: "Though AKA is still ironing out the kinks, it has already piqued the interest and curiosity of locals. [Owner Robert] Simon hopes to continue to do that by maintaining a 'neighborhood' aura. To provide interest and stay seasonal, the menu will be changed every three months, but will keep favorites like the Reuben sandwich, which seems to be an integral part of AKA’s nascent identity." [SHS]
NEW YORK CITY—All kinds of famous chefs were at Per Se last night to celebrate Ferran Adria's new book, A Day at El Bulli. Among the fooderati in attendance: Alice Waters, Martha Stewart, Alain Ducasse, Wylie Dufresne, Jose Andres and of course, the host with the most, Thomas Keller. Culinary Media has the paparazzi photos. [CMN]
PENINSULA—Tomorrow, Red Mango Bay Area location the third will apparently open, and this one's the closest to the city yet: Laurel Avenue in San Carlos. Bonus: we're also hearing that like most froyo debut days, they'll be giving away free stuff. [EaterWire]
FOOD NETWORK—Poor Sandra Lee can't even save the world with her non-cooking: "A cooking demonstration in Charleston, WV featuring Sandra Lee scheduled for today has been canceled due to poor ticket sales. Even worse, it was a benefit for the West Virginia University Children's Hospital!" Ouch. [FNA]
SAN FRANCISCO—Ed Jew, onetime supervisor and fast food extorter, pleaded guilty to those now-infamous federal charges this morning: "Jew admitted to mail fraud, extortion and soliciting a bribe in connection with a scheme to shake down Chinese immigrant owners of tapioca drink shops in the Sunset District for $84,000 in bribes." [Chron]For more stories from Eater SF, go to sf.eater.com.
