It’s good to have a tried-and-true date-night spot, but there's nothing like novelty to shake things up a little. One Chowhound gives the nod to Fable in the Castro, which feels fancy enough to impress but is affordable enough to treat your date.
Photo from Fable
Several Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish-boil restaurants have popped up around the Bay over the last 10 years. Which ones are actually good?
Photo from Cajun House
The Chronicle's Michael Bauer is the big dog of San Francisco food critics, but does the star system he uses for ratings make sense? Is there a better way to rank restaurants? Chowhounds debate the question.
Image from sfgate.com
Who makes the Bay Area’s best pies? Little-known Vive La Tarte is getting Chowhounds talking for its interesting savory pies, including Belgian "Cuckoo-Style" Chicken, made with wheat beer, endive, and free-range bird.
Photo from Vive la Tarte
Few things are more exciting than a hot new restaurant opening, but what about the classics? Chowhounds have come up with a list of old-school San Francisco bars and restaurants organized by the date they were established. Fourteen are older than 1900, like cioppino favorite Tadich Grill.
Photo from Tadich Grill
South Bay restaurant Manresa, proud holder of two Michelin stars, recently announced the dates for its annual Tomato Modernista event: September 21 and 22. The dinner showcases tomatoes from Love Apple Farms, the Santa Cruz operation that supplies all of the restaurant's produce. Dinner at Manresa is both an event and an investment, so the announcement got Chowhounds talking about whether this occasion is worth the price tag. READ MORE
San Francisco's Larkin Street offers a garden of Vietnamese delights, from beef broths pricked with star anise to spring rolls laced with pickled vegetables. But for a brief time, the bloom was off the rose: Turtle Tower, a pho shop best known for its chicken soup, had closed its original location on Larkin to prepare for a move to a bigger spot on the same street.
Now TT's open again at 645 Larkin Street, and 'hounds willing to wait with the famished masses welcomed the return. On Chowhound, Cynsa praises the "clean, pure flavors" of the restaurant's signature chicken broth, perked up with a squeeze of lemon and slices of jalapeño. The Tenderloin menu now includes banh mi sandwiches, which had only been offered at the Outer Richmond and SOMA locations previously, but srr says to stick with the soup.
Turtle Tower [Tenderloin]
645 Larkin Street, San Francisco
415-409-3333
Discuss: Larkin St Turtle Tower Reopens (SF)
Photo by Chris Rochelle / CHOW.com
Sour cherries are great in pies, tarts, and cocktails, but their season is all too brief, making fresh cherries an elusive prospect.
But the sought-after fruit was spotted on June 1 at the Lagier Ranches stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco. Head to your local farmers' market early in the day if you want to try your luck at scoring some—with many fans and a small harvest, sour cherries go fast.
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market [Embarcadero]
One Ferry Building, San Francisco
415-983-8030
Discuss: Sour cherries @ Ferry Plaza farmers market today
Photo by Chowhound user hhc
This recent Chowhound discussion poses the question and suggests some answers.
Photo from Ebisu Japanese Restaurant & Sushi
"Not greasy and a nice fragrance of coconut milk. Crispy on the bottom and until the end." –Alice Patis on the May 2013 Dish of the Month
