Sur La Table (pronounced sir lah taab-leh), which means “on the table” in French, opened last month in the Forum at Carlsbad shopping center, 1915 Calle Barcelona. This is the 43rd kitchenware/tabletop/cooking store for the privately held company that started in 1972 at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Sur La Table offers a wide variety of top-quality domestic and professional kitchen equipment including small appliances, bakeware, barware, books, specialty foods, gadgets, glassware, knives, linen and tabletop items. Hands-on cooking demonstrations for adults and children are taught by local and national chefs. For more information call (760) 635-1316.

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Look for an October/November opening of Yellow Coyote Tortilla Factory. Also located in the Forum at Carlsbad, this 6,000-square-foot restaurant by Brad Evarts (Cilantro’s, Chesapeake) will feature authentic handcrafted Mexican cuisine. In addition to handmade tortillas, the restaurant will offer soups, including tortilla, black bean and albondigas, salads, tacos, burritos, enchiladas and house specialties such as grilled red snapper with orange-lime salsa, filet mignon with chipotle sauce and homemade tamales.

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Mark your calendar now for the Emilio Nares Foundation’s annual Harvest of Hope dinner and concert Sept. 26 during National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. The foundation honors Emilio, the son of Diane and Richard Nares, who died at the age of 6 after a three-year battle with leukemia. Since its inception in 2002, the foundation has provided information and support for families who have a child with cancer. This year’s event will be held at a private home in the Muirlands area of La Jolla and will feature a silent auction conducted while attendees mingle and sample tapas prepared by some of San Diego’s top chefs. Participating chefs include Michael Stebner of Region, Jeffrey Strauss of Pamplemousse Grille, Antonio Friscia of Alfiere at Sheraton Harbor Island, Ingrid Croce of Croce’s, Fabrice Poigin of Chive, Amiko Gubbins of Parallel 33, Ramon Lopez of WineSellar & Brasserie, George Riffle of Laurel, Eduardo Baeza of Candelas, Amalia Di Luccia of Trattoria Positano with Espresso Mio providing the coffee. Guests will also enjoy a concert by Eve Selis and the Steven O’Connor Quartet. For tickets and information, visit www.emilionaresfoundation.org.

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Paul McCabe has resigned as executive chef at Anthony’s Seafood Group’s Star of the Sea. The position has yet to be filled. McCabe left to accept the executive chef position at L’Auberge Hotel in Del Mar, a position vacated when Tom Akins relocated with his family to Idaho. Akins accepted the position of executive chef for the Boise Convention Center.

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This month, the Marine Room’s executive chef, Bernard Guillas, will travel to the Republic of Georgia to cook a six-course state dinner for Zurab Zvania, the prime minister of Georgia. The dinner, to be held at the Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, will benefit the orphanage at St. Nicolas Mother’s Monastery. The boarding school supports children without parents by teaching them a trade and preparing them to enter the job market. Guillas will present dishes typical of Southern California, but will use Georgian products.

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The Dana Inn and Marina has completed its $20 million renovation and expansion and, to celebrate its makeover, has changed its name to The Dana on Mission Bay. The hotel, located on 10 acres of Mission Bay waterfront, now has an additional 62 deluxe rooms and 12 suites, all with large patios and views of the bay. The 3,900-square-foot conference center boasts 18-foot-high glass walls that offer beautiful views of Mission Bay. A new lounge, Firefly, is adjacent to both the conference center and the infinity pool, which gives the illusion that the pool flows into the bay. A new entrance, registration area, administrative offices and a ceremonial site for weddings complete the project.

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Speaking of makeovers, have you seen the complete redo of the Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza restaurants? Gone are the original tiled and flower-filled restaurants of the ’90s to make way for a more down-to-earth Sammy’s. Deep woods, stone treatments and new custom dining areas, combined with a newly updated menu, make Sammy’s a leader once again in Southern California restaurant concepts. Of course, Sammy’s still offers the woodfired pizzas and salads that have made them famous, but a new list of tapas, sandwiches and entrées has been added to the menu as well. Some of my favorites on the tapas list include the “Pan Fried Pork Dumplings,” “Slow Smoked BBQ Beef Quesadilla,” “Steak Skewers” and the decadent “Mac and Cheese.” (Watch out for the Mac and Cheese.) New entrées include a “Grilled London Broil,” “BBQ Pork Baby Back Ribs” and a fabulous “Oak Roasted Salmon Fillet with Ponzu Salad.” Sammy darling, I just love what you’ve done to yourself.

Terryl Gavre believes the world would be a better place if everyone worked once as a foodserver. She is owner of Café 222, Downtown, and can be reached at (619) 233-4060, Ext. 316, or terryl@sandiegometro.com.