WorldEats
San Francisco
by Jim Gladstone
It's said that there are enough restaurants in San Francisco to eat in a different one every night for ten years. There may well be enough restaurant blogs to read a different one every day for ten years, too. The city is absolutely gluttonous. For every stereotypical granola and sprouts fan, there's another San Franciscan always ready to chow down on a butter-spiked multi-course feast. Strangers trade dim sum tips while waiting at the movies, and everyone waits in line at ethnic food trucks. If you're coming to town on vacation, the choices can be daunting. So, here's a selection of five recently opened eateries that will satisfy a wide range of visitors' appetites: A high-end marvel, a sleek urban crowd-pleaser, a fellow out of towner, and two modestly priced spots to stop, sip, and snack in one of America's great walking neighborhoods.
Atelier Crenn
Like it or not, Dominique Crenn is going to play with your food. At Atelier Crenn, the most provocative restaurant to open in San Francisco over the past year, the Versailles-born queen of poetic cuisine presents carrot cake in the form of a carrot, accompanied by peas in the form of sorbet. She serves fish filets atop river rocks and pâté in the guise of bamboo. She pays exquisite attention to every visual and textural detail of the four or more scrupulously composed courses that make up the prix-fixe meal. You'll pay close attention too, because you'll be trying to maintain your balance as you walk a fine line between appreciating Crenn's art and eating dinner. Sometimes you'll wobble a bit: "What are these again?" my partner John asked me, pointing a tine of his fork at a pebble of this and a fleck of that in a dish called Walk In The Forest that included, among other morsels, pumpernickel crumbs, powdered chick peas, tiny edible wildflowers, and several varieties of mushroom. All were gorgeously arranged on an earthenware plate painted with a single broad brushstroke of pine-flavored meringue. Our elegantly suited server had provided an orientation to the elements at hand, yet when he'd stepped away, we were quickly lost, left to make our way through this mysterious forest guided only by the tips of our tongues. Bit by bit, it was delicious. As with many of Crenn's creations, though, the profusion of ingredients vying for attention and the lack of a single dominant flavor made it a sort of gustatory kaleidoscope, a one-dish tasting menu within our larger tasting menu. Some diners may find Crenn's style overstimulating, but, to us, it was a mind-bending pleasure; a meal to
tickle the intellect as well as our tastebuds. 3127 Fillmore Street. Tel: 415-440-0460. www.ateliercrenn.com
Bluestem Brasserie
Since its debut this past June, Bluestem Brasserie has pulled off a remarkable feat: simultaneously satisfying the out-of-town tourist crowd and the Bay Area's discerning local diners. Enviably located within a five-minute walk from the Powell Street cable car terminus, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the theater district, and the shopping hub of Union Square, Bluestem is in itself a sight worth seeing. The restaurant's handsome design features huge picture windows framing the bustle of Market Street, mosaic wooden flooring, an oblong table hewn from a single enormous tree trunk, and a dramatic floating staircase between the two levels of a 220-seat dining area—including an al fresco area on the second floor. Chef Sean Canavan's cuisine is approachable, unfussy, and impeccably well prepared. Downtown highrise residents and business clientele from the nearby Financial District have been converted into regulars by the homey plats du jour (coq au vin on Tuesdays, smoked brisket on Wednesdays) and cocktail-friendly after work shareables, highlighted by modular charcuterie platters: The first housemade sausage, terrine, or other meaty treat you select from a daily list of six costs $8.75—then you can add more choices for $2.50 apiece, all accompanied by delicious pickles, chutneys, mustards, and toasted rounds of baguette. The full half-dozen would make a bargain priced light meal for two in itself, but better not to miss out on Canavan's main dishes. An exemplary duck confit is fork-shredded tableside and plated atop fresh bitter greens with a soft-cooked duck egg and cubed bacon; the steaks, (as well as a steak tartare starter) are straightforwardly delicious; and the cavatelli with rich rabbit ragu, goat cheese, and peas will hit the spot on a chilly, fog-shrouded night. The big winners among the amply portioned desserts are a warm tarte tatin made with ripe peaches instead of the customary apples, and a wide-mouthed glass jar brimming with fingertip-sized miniature cookies. 1 Yerba Buena Lane. Tel: 415-547-1111. www.bluestembrasserie.com
Boxing Room
Other than San Francisco, the American city that best combines endless eccentricity, European élan, and unstoppable appetite is New Orleans. Boxing Room in Hayes Valley (SF's closest counterpart to NOLA's uptown Magazine Street) brings the bayou to the Bay with spot-on authenticity. Justin Simoneaux, the big bear of a chef, hails from Louisiana. After stints at a number of high-end restaurants here, he's back to his roots with a vengeance. While the fried alligator appetizer is little more than a thrill seeker's novelty item, the rest of Simoneaux's menu is the real deal. So are the several varieties of Abita beer on tap and the Neville Brothers, turned up loud. A duck and sausage jambalaya (available only on Thursday nights) is slow cooked to perfection, the smoky sausage flavor permeates the rice and crisp-skinned duck leg falls right off the bone. Fried chicken crackles under the teeth with black pepper bite, and zeppelin-sized po' boy sandwiches spill over with catfish, shrimp, and oysters (ask for a combo of two: it's not on the menu, but the staff is happy to oblige). Dessert breaks from strict New Orleans tradition here with beignets upgraded from breakfast with espresso and milk chocolate cream for dunking, and Bananas Foster transformed into an ultra-moist cake, served with bourbon ice cream. 399 Grove Street. Tel: 415-430-6590. www.boxingroomsf.com
North Beach has long been one of San Francisco's most popular neighborhoods for an early evening stroll. It's dense with terrific little tourist spots, from one-time Beatnik hangouts like the Vesuvio bar and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's still-going-strong City Lights book shop to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul with its creepy statue of Saint Lucia holding her eyeballs on a platter. While a perfectly pulled espresso has never been hard to find in this historically Italian American enclave (try the legendary Café Trieste, or the wedge-shaped Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store), dining options have tended to lean heavily toward the heavy: mega-portions of red sauced pasta and other Little Italy staples. This year has seen the opening of two excellent small-plate options though, great spots to drop by for nibbles and drinks without weighing yourself down.
Campanula Kitchen
On the sunny southwest corner of Washington Square, Campanula Kitchen has floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a terrific view of the comings and goings of the neighborhood's dramatis personae (hipster artistes, Sicilian grannies, Chinatown cool kids, and, yes, the dreaded gentrifiers). Look up a little higher and take in the best view of Coit Tower in town. Now, turn your attention to the menu of small plates. Hopefully you've come with a group of four or more, because there's a slew of great tastes to share here. Go for the wild boar sliders, the balsamic-napped burrata dusted with crunchy pistachio bits, the homely looking but intensely flavorful lamb meatballs, and the deep-fried green olives, which may be the perfect drinking snack. Good thing, too, because Campanula has one of San Francisco's best happy hour deals beyond the Castro, with fancy pedigree drinks like the Alameda Mule (Hangar 1 Chipotle, fresh lime, and ginger beer) for a mere $4. Better yet, on Friday and Saturday nights, the happy hour specials are also featured from 10 P.M.-midnight. 701 Union Street. Tel: 415-829-7766. www.campanulasf.com.
Txoko
The cavern-like space that formerly housed the white tablecloth San Francisco favorite, Enrico's is now Txoko (a Basque term for a men's dining club in which a group of friends regularly gather to eat, drink, and socialize). While that word's pronunciation (Choke-o) makes it somewhat inopportune for a restaurant name, beverage manager Jason Brown's cocktails and the little vittles on offer from chef/co-owner Ian Begg easily compensate for the irony. The handsome bar staff has an encyclopedic "spiritual" knowledge; they're happy to talk your ear off about the fine points of bitters and falernum, or to just let you sink into the complex depth of their cocktails (try the Caliente Sunrise, with the sweetness of fresh juice tempered by Serrano-pepper infused Herradura Silver). There's a selection of seductive two-bite treats for as little as $3 each, including a crispy sweetbread served on white bean purée with smidgens of apple and fennel lending sweetness and crunch, and a delicious goat cheese-stuffed squash blossom with chili aioli. Follow them up with modestly sized seasonal dishes for $10-$13. A recent visit offered seared scallops with a sweet corn sauce and a knockout stack of fried green tomatoes, served with ricotta on a pool of warm smoked red tomato vinaigrette and a confetti of black olives to add a perfect bite of salt. Begg's elegantly assembled plates would be perfectly at home in any dining establishment at much higher price points, so don't complain about the flimsy paper napkins in the diner-style dispensers, or the tabletop jars of silverware that fill in for place settings. "We want to
be thought of as a bar with great food,"
co-owner Ryan Maxey explained. Fair enough: I'll take grilled quail for the
same price as a pile of greasy chicken wings any day. 504 Broadway. Tel: 415-500-2744. www.txokosf.com
[Published:
December, 2011]
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