bernalman's Profile
Sushi Chef + Catering
ICHI Sushi does catering and is outstanding! (Was SF Weekly's Best of Bay: Best Sushi catering.) http://www.ichisushi.com/ICHI/ICHI.html
Great presentations of sustainable fish.
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ICHI Sushi
3369 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Local Mission Eatery, SF
Last Thursday I had the smoked sturgeon sandwich with roasted red beets and Meyer lemon creme fraiche. It was quite good, the smoky fish offset by the beets and lemon. I had a well-prepared puff pastry at the co-located Knead Patisserie. I will be back.
I'm still partial to Pal's Take Away at 24th and Hampshire. Today there I had the Kobe beef brisket on an Acme roll-- the juicy meat melted in my mouth.
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Pal's Take Away
2751 24th Street, San Francisco, CA
First time in SF - Need (specific) recs!
Chinatown is only really crazy if you are there during the New Year's Parade. Better food outside Chinatown (e.g., Koi Palace) but since you are in Union Square without a car, you can walk to R&G Lounge in Chinatown, among many others.
You might try Nombe, a new place in the Mission, for non-sushi izakaya food.
Slanted Door is fine if expectations aren't inflated by the difficulty getting a table. You might try lunch. Also, La Mar, an upscale Peruvian seafood place, is next door at Pier 1 1/2, and is a good alternative if you want to eat on the water.
Too many dining options and not enough time! Help me refine my weekend itinerary.
I like La Torta Gorda for the chicken huarache, and well as the tortas. And it gives you the chance to do a 24th St mural and food walk, including Balmy Alley murals, ice cream at Humphry Slocombe, and Dynamo Donuts.
NEVER been to San Francisco (or even California)
I'll add a favorite weekend brunch spot in the north Mission-- the Mission Beach Cafe.
NEVER been to San Francisco (or even California)
To focus on one ethnic cuisine, you might try Peruvian food while you are in SF-- you can read the NY Times article on SF Peruvian restaurants. La Mar is very scenic, on the Embarcadero, with unusual and good food. Limon and Limon Rotisserie (a bargain for the chicken) in the Mission are great. Piqueos on Cortland Street is quite good if you make it out to Bernal Heights, but it is a little far by transit.
To focus on one area, I highly recommend the Mission as an accessible, affordable area to try a variety of cuisines and cocktails. Beretta on Valencia and 23rd St for food and cocktails, Flour+Water (make a reservation now!) for interesting pasta and pizza, Saison for a fancy meal, Mission Street Food for cheap but interesting food, with proceeds going to charity. Delfina (and its pizza adjunct), Bar Bambino, Farina, Bar Tartine are all quite good. Vegan SF style at Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre. Many places for a classic Mission burrito. Dessert is great ice cream at Humphry Slocombe or Bi-Rite Creamery. Breakfast at the Tartine bakery. Coffee at Four Barrel, Ritual, or Dynamo Donuts. That is just a sampling of one neighborhood!
NEVER been to San Francisco (or even California)
That's too general a request.
Read this board, and check out tablehopper.com for some recommendations on restaurants and bars. See the Chronicle's 100 best restaurants and Bargain Bites list at sfgate.com
Sfweekly.com, sfbg.com, Yelp, Zagat, sf.eater.com among others have restaurant recommendations and links.
Any news on Bernal's Sandbox Bakery opening?
The website says the opening is this Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.
http://sandboxbakerysf.com/
π, yet more pizza in the mission?
I heard they were going to slice 22 inch diameter pizzas into 7 slices, so that each pizza slice would be 3.14 inches.
Anthony's Cookies
Tried these a couple weeks ago at a gallery opening next door to Anthony's. Thought the chocolate chip cookies were outstanding-- crisp outside, warm and soft inside, with warm chocolate chips and just the right sweetness. Banana cookies were not quite as successful-- a little too bready for me, with not the contrast of textures of the chocolate chip cookies.
I was impressed by the cookies and am eager to return.
Embarcadero bound and looking for seafood
Right on the Embarcadero, at Pier 1 1/2, just north of the Ferry Building, is La Mar Cebicheria. Peruvian seafood. Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for, but quite good, and different from what you would get at home. Ask for seating on the covered patio, right on the Bay. Not cheap, though.
Best BYOB Restaurants in SF
Fish & Farm charges only a $5 corkage if you bring a California wine.
Please vet my wine country itinerary
Around Philo, I recommend starting the day with the morning tour of Navarro (by appointment), Roederer, Esterlina (by appointment, for the incredible view of the Anderson Valley from the top of the ridge as you taste), some wines at Greenwood Ridge and Handley, Toulouse, and Breggo.
I need DOUGHNUTS in SF!!
You might be better off with St. Honore cake, made with cream puffs. You could get one for a wedding at Dianda's or Victoria's. Cream puffs hold up better than doughnuts.
Visiting San Francisco from Ireland for 4 Days
Good list. I would substitute Incanto for La Ciccia, for Italian in Noe Valley. There are some great places on your back-up list. Note the wait for dinner at Burma SuperStar can be long. Best dim sum is outside of Chinatown: Ton Kiang in the Richmond district, Yank Sing downtown, and Koi Palace just south of SF are well-regarded options.
Birthday dinner in SF - advice?
In the Mission, Foreign Cinema can accommodate large parties, and is a fun, sophisticated place with very good food. An alternative is Medjool, nearby on Mission St., which easily accommodates large parties.
South of Market, Lulu has large tables, and serves communal dishes. Nearby in SOMA, Bong Su accommodates large parties, and is a good alternative to the Slanted Door for high end Vietnamese.
In the Civic Center area, Soluna is a fun place for a group-- though it's been a while since I've eaten there.
Opentable.com has a "great for groups" link on the website, for a quick search of places that accommodate large groups.
Dining Near Hilton on O'Farrell
How about Farmer Brown, on Mason St, near Market St? American, locally sourced food; "cool, eclectic atmoshpere" is a fair description.
Fried Chicken in San Francisco
I've had the fried chicken twice at Farmer Brown, and three times at the Front Porch. All were good experiences, but the fried chicken I had at the Front Porch the last time-- about 2 weeks ago-- was sublime. The coating was crisp and tasty, and the meat was flavorful and very moist. I shared a bucket with a Southerner, who loved it, too.
Weird Fish report: Not so very fantastic
Five of us had lunch there last Sunday, 2pm. No wait for a table!
Two vegetarians, two fish eaters, and a 4-year -old
Fish and chips were very good-- mine were cooked properly. Vegetarians enjoyed the tofu scramble with veggie sausage. One person's spinach never arrived; otherwise service was very good. Crayons and paper for the kid.
Overall a very good experience. We'd been there once before for dinner, which was excellent, both for the fish eater, and the vegetarian.
While one can go elsewhere for good fish, there are few places where fish eaters and vegetarians happily coexist. (Another such place on the same block is Minako.)
Dinner Recs for Tenderloinish/Downtown area
I agree with Soluna as an option. I've walked there from 5th and Market. Not too far a walk, but through the heart of the TL.
At Westfield, how about Out the Door ? It has a nice, separate seating area with table service, despite its location by the food court.
Restaurant recommendations for a vegetarian
I agree-- Tommaso's pizza is quite good.
Only caveats-- the wait at Tommaso's can be long, and service is brusque.
Restaurant recommendations for a vegetarian
I don't recommend Millenium to meat-eaters, but no other restaurant in SF has its range of complex, well-prepared vegan dishes.
My partner is vegetarian, and often when we go to highly-regarded restaurants (for meat-eaters), I have a great meal, while he has the sole vegetarian entree, which is often not of the same quality as the other entrees. For too many SF restuarants, the token vegetarian entree is an afterthought. It's usually pasta, risotto, or a grilled vegetable plate. At Millenium, vegetarians can choose from the whole menu. My partner usually has a better dining experience at Millenium than at whatever the latest, hottest place is, so I always recommend that visiting vegetarians have a meal there.
Restaurant recommendations for a vegetarian
For vegetarian Japanese food, Minako is very special. The space is small, with basic decor, and the food comes out slowly. But the food is excellent.
Millenium (On Geary and Jones)is a nice vegan restaurant with very creative preparations--a good middle ground between a casual cafe and the outstanding-but-very-expensive Fleur de Lys.
Weird Fish, on Mission near 18th St, has vegetarian "fish and chips," made with tempeh. They also have a tasty tofu/sweet potato stack for an appetizer. If you are travelling with a fish eater, the tilapia fish and chips is excellent.
For a casual brunch in the Mission, check out two hipster places: St. Francis Fountain, on 24th St, and Boogaloo's on Valencia at 22nd St. Both have an excellent tofu scramble, with a big side of home fries.
Best Thai in SF?
Suriya used to be one of the best in SF. But the last time I went there, the prices had been jacked up, the portions were smaller, and the quality was not what it used to be.
The Front Porch Opens -- (long)
We had a good experience at The Front Porch. The place is already very popular. We were told that there would be a 10 minute wait at 6:15pm, but it was closer to 30 minutes. However, the host did check in with us, and our wait was rewarded with a comfy booth.
There was a nice vibe to the restaurant. The staff was friendly, and service was good. The chicken liver pate appetizer was excellent, and generously-sized. The fried chicken was well-prepared--crunchy outside, hot and tender inside, and flavorful. The vegan entree-- okra and plantains in a tomato-molasses sauce-- was flavorful, and enjoyed by my partner. Our friend's hamburger was a little overcooked, and his fries were soggy. A carafe of sangria was tasty, if a bit overpriced at $24.
Overall, we enjoyed the food, the service, and the atmosphere, and plan to return soon.
