"The Black Cat is one very cool kitty," wrote The San Francisco Examiner's Bill Citara. "It slunk into town, cool and quiet as the fog. It's a big-city cat, sleek and confident, struttin' its stuff with big-city eyes and 'tude to spare...Smooth, easy. No jive with this cat; it walks the walk and talks the talk. The Cat is a real sweet deal."

Smooth jazz (there's a jazz club downstairs) and cool food (the menu reflects the diversity of San Francisco) make the Black Cat one hot scene. Add to that, Reed Hearon, a name practically synonymous with great food. In 1993 he opened Restaurant Lulu, serving the sophisticated cuisine of the Riviera. Next, he wowed the city with Cafe Marimba, where Hearon's regional Mexican riffs left taste buds tingling. Rose Pistola raised the volume for North Beach Italian cuisine and received national attention when it won the James Beard Foundation's top honors in 1997 for Best New Restaurant.

The Black Cat is arguably Hearon's most ambitious project so far. The menu draws inspiration from the city's diverse food-filled neighborhoods. "You can order oysters or sea urchins by the piece, half a Dungeness crab, a pot of Chinese short ribs in a clay pot, a bacon and egg salad, a 'deluxe grilled cheese sandwich' made with Fontina cheese and white truffles, or scrambled eggs with caviar and sourdough pancakes," John Mariani wrote in Wine Spectator. "And then there are broiled sand dabs with fingerling potatoes, or a T-bone steak carved on a Cabernet barrel plank. It all sounds pretty damn good, doesn't it." Ooh, baby, does it ever.

On stage, even the top cat needs his backup band. Hearon is bringing along Scott Warner and Russell Jackson. Warner has been with Hearon since his Lulu days, and was executive chef of Rose Pistola before Black Cat opened. Warner's competing love interest is classical jazz guitar. Hearon has said of Warner: "He is one of those rare people in this business who is not only a brilliant chef but also a capable artist and musician, and aware of the themes that connect all of those things." Jackson's talents give the trio an added edge. S. Irene Virbila called his cooking "adventurous and daring." Before joining Hearon at Black Cat, Jackson had his own place, Russell's, in Los Angeles, where he cooked for some of L.A.'s hottest celebs, including Nicholas Cage and Mike Meyers.

When San Francisco's coolest Cat does his thing on our Greenwich Village stage, it's going to be one crazy show. Reserve front row seats now for what could very well be this month's hottest ticket.