Should this go into IMHO? Nahhhhh…fine dining is BOTH art and entertainment.
The Ukulele Family is heading to the Left Coast in a few days…visiting friends up in Davis, wandering along the John Muir Trail, and ending up with a few days in San Francisco to show little Banjo and Pianola their Poppa’s beatnik/hippie roots.
Now. Me and the Ukulele Lady used to travel to Frisco frequently on the expense accounts, and eat well there. We were at Stars in the 1980s and Postrio in the 1990s, among dozens of other places. But the Bush Depression has not been so good to us, and SF has been a mystery for the past several years. So, where to dine? And well?
Pianola is 15, and her little brother Banjo is 9. We’ll be going out with our old college pal and his 12 year old daughter. All the kids are (fairly) well-behaved at this point, so no “family restaurant” suggestions.
Grand Old Classic places like the Tadich Grill, Ukulele Lady hates. Top Haute/Nouvelle Cuisine places are more to her taste. Ethnic oddballs are good…the New York Daily News newspaper recently talked about a joint in the Mission that had carne seca burritos to die for.
If you’re looking for scenery, check out The Beach Chalet on Great Highway. The food isn’t transcedent, but the view is quite something if you get a window table at sunset.
Farallon is perhaps one of, if not the best restaurants in SF right now. Light, hip, non-stuffy. Make a reservation well in advance. Ain’t cheap.
One of my favorite less-known restaurants is a French place on Clement & 2nd called Clementine. Be sure and start off with the soup.
If you like sushi, Ebisu on 9th and Irving is exceptional. It can get crowded, reservations recommended.
I’ll recommend my cousin’s restaurant; One Market Restaurant. It’s excellent, and though a bit pricey, fits your wife’s preference for “Haute Cuisine.”
But to offset the price a bit, for the rest of the month, all their bottled wine is half-price!
Zuni for an early dinner is great although some people I’ve taken there have thought the neighborhood was sketchy. It is close to the Tenderloin but no big woop if you’ll be cabbing. Slanted Door used to be good in their old location, I haven’t been to the new place in the Ferry Terminal. New Loi’s on Taraval is good, cheap authentic Vietnamese, but I haven’t been in a while. Ton Kiang for dim sum has usually been my pick, as has La Taqueria on Mission. What does the missus have against the Tadich? Good fresh fish, raw bar and champagne “on draft” as one of my friends put it. No pleasing some people.
Oh, and just to clarify, Bradley Ogden isn’t my cousin, I just included that quote as support for my recommendation. My cousin is his partner, Michael Dellar. Didn’t want to mislead anyone.
Apparently they redid the websites sometime recently and cutesy-ied them up a lot. They used to be bland, but functional without babies or other suburban crap.
I suspect there are better restaraunts in the west-coast Frisco than around here… although there are a couple decent ones I can think of.
We haven’t had the opportunity to dine at either yet, but the buzz up this way is that Masa and Michael Mina’s are to die for. I’ve had a few co-workers give glowing reviews and suggest we check them out when we get the chance, and it looks like they may have gotten some good published reviews.
I can give personal reviews on just a few.
Firefly - Shrimp and Sea scallop pot stickers - interesting. and tasty. Great steak, good wine list. Nice service, although the waitress we had was a bit odd. Still it’s a nice place.
Home - Sassy turned us on to this cozy place in the Castro. Really great comfort food. The place can be a little noisy, but not too bad. Decent prices. Nice location on the corner for people watching, lots of windows.
Ristorante Bacco - This one is on the highly recommended list. We had the pleasure of dining there after receiving a gift certificate as a wedding present from a friend. Saxface and her husband were in town and joined us, and I think we all agreed that dinner was absolutely fantastic. The service was extraordinarily helpful and friendly, the food was perfect, and the atmosphere was elegant, yet simple. We will definitely be back.
E & O Trading Co. - We were introduced to this great place by another board member a few years ago. Nicely done Southeast Asian cuisine. And pomegranite margaritas. Great food, nice place, and perfect location if you’re already downtown.
Whatever you do, make sure you make it to the Ferry Building. It’s my new favorite place in SF. Great places in there for lunch.
I love Ananda Fuara, at Market and 9th. It’s a little odd and not at all fancy, but if you’re looking for “ethnic oddball”, this might be a good one to try. They serve vegetarian/vegan American/Indian food, and my very non-vegetarian husband really likes it.
The ambience is kind of a cross between diner and monastery dining room, and the servers all dress in robes. I believe the place is run by some sort of cult (or perhaps it’s merely a religious sect), but they make great food and they’re pretty friendly. The food isn’t very expensive, especially for San Francisco, which is a good thing, since they take cash only.
I don’t live in San Francisco but I was just there and ate at an interesting restaurant called The Slanted Door. It’s located in the newly restored Ferry Building on the bay and has a very cool, modern interior and interesting Vietnamese-inspired fusion. Wasn’t cheap (not horrible tho’, it was the wine that really ran up the bill) but it was a neat dining experience.
You could cross the bay and try Chez Panisse. The upstairs cafe has lovely food. The downstairs restaurant is fancier, but only offers a limited menu of whatever they consider to be the best seasonal stuff. They print copies of each week’s menu so you can decide which looks most to your taste.
The BayWolf in Oakland is also a very nice East Bay choice.
In SF, Masa’s was fantastic when we lived in the area (through 1991) and still seems to be getting great reviews. They have various tasting menus, which can be fun.
My favorite ethnic oddball is the Golden Turtle, which has great Vietnamese food. The spring rolls with lettuce and fresh herbs are one of the things I hope to taste again before I die.
There’s a renovated alley in the financial district called Belden Place. BP is lined with five or six charming restaurants, all of which are French, Italian or Spanish. The alleyway is covered from side to side with outdoor seating and has a very European feel. All the restaurants are rated good or better, and I think it’s a lot of fun to go there and choose which cuisine you feel like that night. We plan to go to B44, a Spanish tapas and paella place, next time we go.
Warning: most of the best places in SF are not open for lunch on Saturdays. A good exception is Chez Papa in Potrero Heights. They serve a proper full French lunch on Saturday and the parking is much better than over in the city proper.
