THE SQUARE, North Beach (1707 Powell St., 415-525-3579) [Note: Unfortunately, not too long after this review, Claire Sprouse was no longer at The Square and the menu format changed, too, so I can no longer vouch for its quality.] The Square surprised me. As the second incarnation in a historic North Beach space since the legendary Washbag (Washington Square Bar… Read more →
BRITISH-Influenced PHAN Photos and article by Virginia Miller THE COACHMAN, SoMa (1148 Mission St. between 7th & 8th, 415-831-1701) British-influenced food from Chef-de-Cuisine Ross Wunderlich (formerly at Bar Tartine, SPQR, A16)? Cocktails from one of the country’s great bar directors, Erik Adkins, and Bar Manager John Codd? Cocktail destination Heaven’s Dog closed and converted into a new restaurant and bar… Read more →
DIRTY HABIT, Union Square (12 Fourth St. between Market and Mission in Hotel Palomar, 415-348-1555) Though I will miss the upscale inventiveness of the menu at Fifth Floor, thankfully, the same team is in effect at its new, more casual incarnation, Dirty Habit, opening Thursday, 5/1. Chef David Bazirgan, Pastry Chef Francis Ang, Master Sommelier Emily Wines and Lead Bartender Brian… Read more →
KIN KHAO, Union Square (55 Cyril Magnin St. at the corner of Ellis and Mason in Parc 55 Hotel, 415-362-7456) Back in 1998-1999 I spent two months in Thailand – and another in Vietnam – working in orphanages and traveling around both countries. Needless to say, it was a life-altering three months, particularly during a far less touristy time in… Read more →
PRUBECHU, 2487 Mission St. between 24th & 25th, 415-952-3654 Merely open two and a half months, Prubechu – meaning “you’re welcome” – is easily the tasting menu steal in the city. For merely $40, it’s an imaginative five courses touched with fine dining flair in an uber-casual setting. As the city’s only Chamorro (Guamanian) restaurant, the island breezes of Guam… Read more →
LOLO, Mission (974 Valencia Street, between 20th & 21st, 415-643-5656) Loló, with its whimsical, colorful decor and unusual interpretations of Mexican food, has been one of my underrated dining favorites since it opened six years ago. In all honesty, I miss the two-roomed intimacy of its original 22nd Street location. But since they moved just a couple blocks to their… Read more →
As if the Neapolitan, artisanal, wood-fired pizza wave of the past decade weren’t enough, pizza openings continue to come on fast and furious. A recent interview I read with a New Yorker said they couldn’t live on the West Coast because they’d have to miss pizza. Having grown up in NJ (near NYC) and California both, and as a frequent… Read more →
VERBENA, Russian Hill (2323 Polk St. between Union & Green, 415-441-2323) Gather has been my favorite Berkeley restaurant (alongside, what else? Chez Panisse) since it opened in 2010. Though a staunch meat eater, their vegan “charcuterie” wowed me, like the affordable offspring of Scandinavia’s vegetable-heavy creativity or of SF chefs like Coi‘s Daniel Patterson, who have long been pushing the… Read more →
ALTA, Civic Center/Mid-Market (1420 Market St. between 10th St. & Fell St., 415-590-2585) Alta, the latest from Daniel Patterson Group (including two Michelin-starred Coi, Patterson’s flagship and best restaurant, and the more casual Plum, Plum Bar, Haven), just opened at the beginning of December. After multiple visits from opening day until now, there have been a number of high points, amid… Read more →
TBD, SoMa (1077 Mission Street between 6th & 7th, 415-431-1826) Yes, TBD is my top new San Francisco restaurant opening of 2013. AQ Chef Mark Liberman – here with Sous Chef Alex Phaneuf – has don it again with imaginative dishes that comfort without copying anyone. They forge flavor trails, inciting anticipation for what might arrive next. In a setting… Read more →