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 →
THE PALACE, Outer Mission (3047 Mission St. between 26th and Capp, 415-666-5218) Think spruced-up dive, a corner restaurant long housing Palace Family Steak House, where Mission and 26th Streets meet Cesar Chavez. It’s now called simply The Palace. Here Chef Manny Torres Gimenez and wife/General Manager Katarina showcase Gimenez’ five-course tasting menu for a reasonable $50, or a small a… Read more →
Typically eating at two more or places a day, I dine at far more places than I can write about. Often, there are high points but not enough to warrant a full review or in the case of a casual hole-in-the-wall, there might be a noteworthy dish but not a list of reasons to visit. From time to time, it… Read more →
In my endless treks ’round the city for the best partnerships of drink and food, here are a few notable current menu offerings: COMSTOCK SALOON, North Beach (155 Columbus Ave. at Pacific, 415-617-0071) www.comstocksaloon.com Easily one of our city’s great bars, Comstock Saloon maintains historical reverence to SF’s Barbary Coast days without being stuffy. Old World decor, live jazz and… Read more →
A celebratory or comforting drink is just what we crave at this time of year. With an excellent bite? Even better. Here’s a few of the most noteworthy drinks, winter cocktail menus and dishes in SF as 2012 passes into 2013. AME, SoMa (689 Mission St. at 3rd St. in the St. Regis Hotel, 415-284-4040) It’s not a cocktail, and… Read more →
Two unrelated seafood restaurants have quietly undergone chef and menu changes in the last year. Less than impressed with both when they debuted, they’ve taken a turn for the better. There’s a low-key Mission seafood outpost with a vegan emphasis, Weird Fish, now Dante’s Weird Fish, and a Financial District restaurant catering to the FiDi set, Georges, with upscale-casual seafood.… Read more →
Fish makes me happy. Raw, grilled, seared, any which way. One new restaurant and one established favorite are glorifying the fish, and seafood in general, in many formats. LOCAL’S CORNER, Mission (2500 Bryant St. at 23rd, 415-800-7945) Local’s Corner just opened in March on a mellow corner of the Mission’s East side. The sunny space is mostly white, evoking a… Read more →
Despite countless lauded sushi restaurants I’ve eaten at in NY and LA, I find San Francisco more than keeps up, whether with the staggering range of fish (and lovably surly attitude) Roger delivers at Zushi Puzzle (pencilfish or flying fish, anyone?), the sustainable efforts of Tataki and Sebo, or the pristine precision of Sausalito stalwart Sushi Ran, which tops overrated… Read more →
The lunch hour advances around town with a slew of notable openings or new lunch menus. Here are some of the best lunches from new chefs or recently opened spots (most opened in the last one to six months). NOMBE, Mission (2491 Mission St. at 21st, 415-681-7150) Nombe faced a bit of a struggle recovering from uber-talented chef Nick Balla’s… Read more →
Top Tastes is not a list of all-time favorites, rather the best tastes of the last two weeks (since my last newsletter), often from new openings. Bar Agricole Matures Bar Agricole, SoMa (355 11th Street between Folsom and Harrison, 415-355-9400) Bar Agricole has won numerous awards for its unique, forward-thinking design, and a long list of accolades for food and… Read more →