Chez Papa Resto

Located in Mint Plaza, just a stone's throw from the SF Shopping Center, Chez Papa Resto is one of my favorite spots in SF for an al fresco lunch or intimate dinner with friends. The cuisine consists of fresh California ingredients prepared using classic and modern French techniques. The food is delicious, service is excellent, ambience is sleek and sexy at night yet laid back during the day. And their herb pommes frites with aioli are scrumptious!

Chez Papa's herbed fries are some of SF's best - and justify a visit in and of themselves

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
www.chezpaparesto.com
Location: 4 Mint Plaza, San Francisco, California
Average price of dinner for two: $120

Humphry Slocombe

I can't believe I don't have a picture of the delicious ice cream at Humphry Slocombe, but I guess it's not that surprising - who has time to take pictures when concentrating on devouring the creamy, uniquely delicious ice cream before it melts?

Go to Humphry Slocombe. Eat their ice cream. And no matter what else you get, try the Secret Breakfast ice cream.

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4.5

The essentials:
www.humphryslocombe.com
Location: 2790 Harrison Street, San Francisco, California
Average price of dessert for two: $10

Bi-Rite Creamery

To say I love ice cream is an understatement. I really, really love ice cream. In fact, I never go a day without eating at least one spoon of ice cream. Currently, my favorite flavors are Haagen Dazs' Salty Butter Biscuit and Green Tea & Cookies (both only available in Tokyo).

The SF bay area has some of the BEST ice cream in the whole entire world. My absolute favorite flavor of all time was the Earl Grey at Sketch, a now defunct ice creamery in Berkeley. But since Sketch is gone, I'm on my search for my next favorite flavor of all time.

Bi-Rite Creamery, which serves unique flavors such as roasted banana, balsamic strawberry and honey lavender, has a cult following in San Francisco. It's not my personal favorite, but it's pretty darn good.



Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 3.5

The essentials:
biritecreamery.com
Location: 3692 18th Street, San Francisco, California
Average price of dessert for two: $10

Banh Mi Ba Le

My version of a perfect sandwich is a delicious Vietnamese banh mi on a crusty french roll, spread with a bit of mayo, stuffed with marinated pork, pickled cucumber and radish salad, a few sprigs of cilantro and a couple jalapeno peppers. One bite of my first banh mi and I was instantly in love with possibly the single best thing to come out of France's colonization of Vietnam.

There are several great places to get a banh mi in the SF bay area, but one of my favorites is at Banh Mi Ba Le in El Cerrito. It's dangerously close to the Richmond border, one of the most dangerous cities in the entire US, but it's totally worth a visit.

The perfect sandwich

Shrimp dumplings in translucent rice skin

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
Location: 10174 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, California
Average price of lunch for two: $10

Luce

I've been wanting to write about Luce ever since I fell in love with it after dining there in December. When I visited, it was fairly empty so I truly hope that SF diners discover its delicious, perfectly executed cuisine soon so that Luce doesn't fall prey to the travesty of amazing-but-failed-anyway restaurants that plague the restaurant world.

If you live anywhere near the bay area and need a place to go for a special occasion or just a fabulous meal, go to Luce. If you are visiting SF and want to have a fabulous meal, go to Luce. In a city full of amazing restaurants, Luce shines.

Recently awarded a Michelin star, I think it deserves at least another one (I've eaten my way through a fair share of Michelin stars in SF and Tokyo, and Luce is truly memorable).

Lobster gnocchi - the most delicious, chewy-soft gnocchi I've ever had

Luce's modern take on carbonara - squid ink infused housemade trofiette pasta with slow cooked organic egg, pancetta and parmesan. Lip-smackingly delicious.

"Le Jardin de Printemps" - spring vegetable garden with black olive and rye soil

Lobster and seared foie gras on a bed of faro

Food rating: *****
Bang for buck rating: 4.5

The essentials:
www.lucewinerestaurant.com/
Location: inside the Intercontinental hotel on Howard and 5th Streets
Average price of dinner for two: $100

1300 on Fillmore

I have a Pavlovian reaction to grits. I hear the word "grits" and I start salivating. I love me some grits. I like them boiled simply with water and salt, I like them with melted butter, I like them cheesy, I like them creamy, I like grits on its own, I like it with a side of bacon or ham, I like it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. But by far my favorite (before discovering 1300 on Fillmore) were the shrimp and grits I had in Charleston, South Carolina - buttery grits topped with barbecue shrimp in its own gravy.

Whenever I find grits on a menu outside the deep South (and especially in NorCal), I will order it just because I'm happy to see it on the menu, only to usually be disappointed.

But at 1300 on Fillmore I discovered what has to be the best grits west of the Mississippi....and perhaps the best grits on planet earth. The barbecue shrimp and grits at 1300 on Fillmore are TO DIE FOR. Creamy, perfectly cooked grits topped with succulent, savory shrimp, gravy, diced tomatoes and fried garlic slivers. It is a bowl of culinary perfection.

The fried green tomato salad with goat cheese and honey-lavender dressing was also excellent, as was the warm cornbread wedges with honey butter and sweet red pepper marmalade. The fried chicken was juicy and tender and the portion was very generous. I thought the mac n' cheese was disappointingly bland, but this was the only flaw, and one I can happily overlook in my ecstatic glee at discovering this awesome restaurant, which I will definitely be visiting many many many many times in the future. I also love the subdued but classy decor - and I'm loving the revamped area of the Western Addition!

Did I mention the amazing grits?

Black skillet roasted catfish

Barbecue shrimp n' creamy grits

Black skillet fried chicken with buttermilk biscuits

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 3.5

The essentials:
www.1300fillmore.com
Location: 1300 Fillmore Street, San Francisco
Average price of meal for two: $80

Tartine Bakery

I would seriously move to the Mission Dolores area for one reason alone: Tartine Bakery. Tartine is so quintessentially San Francisco - the crowd is a diverse mix of hippies, hipsters and yuppies of all races and age groups congregating at shared tables (or separate tables thisclose to each other so that you might as well be sharing a table) over newspapers, chess games, and the perfection embodied by Tartine's frangipane croissants, lemon tarts, bread pudding and croque monsieurs.

Yes, you'll have to wait 30 minutes in line just to order one croissant, so make sure you order EVERYTHING you want the first time around because you don't want to underorder then debate (after finishing off your croissant, smacking your lips and licking your fingers) whether you should get in the now 45-minute line to order that other pastry you were eyeing.

Tartine makes me oh-so-happy. Even though my visits to Tartine are rare (it's just so out of the way for me), it makes me happy just to know that it exists and that if I am craving a perfect cup of bread pudding covered with fresh berries, or a cup of muesli made with Strauss organic yogurt and chock full of muesli, nuts and fruit, or a perfect flaky frangipane croissant oozing with almond paste filling, or a perfect tangy and creamy lemon tart, I know exactly where to find it in San Francisco.

Tartine, je t'aime.

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.tartinebakery.com/
Location: 600 Guerrero Street, San Francisco
Average price of meal for two: $30

Hog Island Oyster Company

Happiness is a humongous platter of oysters shared with friends at the Ferry Building on a sunny, breezy SF summer day. It's really as simple as that.

At the Ferry Building

The most delicious oysters - you can mix and match between their various daily offerings

Hog Island's grilled cheese sandwich is also scrumptious!

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.hogislandoysters.com/
Location: Ferry Building, San Francisco (or the oyster farm off Route 1 in Marshall)
Average price of meal for two: $80

ABC Seafood

The SF bay area is home to some of the best dim sum you will find outside of Hong Kong - translucent rice-based wonton skins wrapped around succulent shrimp, chicken feet braised in a savory black bean sauce, glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves and filled with marinated meat and vegetables, perfectly fried sesame doughnuts with lotus filling...the list goes on. Servers bring around carts so all you need to do is point to choose, though if you don't know what something is, you might want to ask (unless you don't mind accidentally ordering chicken's feet or tripe)!

Clockwise from top left: chicken feet, tripe, har giao, shrimp and spinach dumplings

Seaweed salad and jellyfish, barbecue pork rice rolls


The essentials:
http://www.abcseafoodrestaurant.com/
Location: 973 East Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, CA
Average price of meal for two: $40

Koh Samui & The Monkey

I have an awesome recipe for Thai pumpkin curry that I will share with you.

Instructions:

1. Pour yourself a glass of champagne or cabernet.
2. Call (415) 369-0007 and ask for the pumpkin curry.
3. While you're at it, also order the fried sweet corn patties, sea bass clay pot, crushed sesame scallops and pad thai.
4. Throw in a few good friends, some laughter, and a couple cocktails and you have: THE BEST MEAL EVER.

My place in SF is literally 2 blocks away and I am completely serious when I say that when I was looking to make my real estate purchase, my building's proximity to Koh Samui was a deciding factor (ok, not THE deciding factor because that would be silly now, wouldn't it, but definitely A deciding factor).

I LOVE Koh Samui & The Monkey. I refuse to get into philosophical arguments about which Thai restaurant in the Bay Area has the most "authentic" Thai food because that is besides the point. Koh Samui & The Monkey is my favorite Thai restaurant in SF, in the bay area, in the US, in the world. I can't count how many happy meals I've had here with friends. If you are my friend and you lived in or visited SF while I was living there, then I'm pretty sure you've been to Koh Samui. With me. Because I take everyone there. And if I haven't taken you, I am truly sorry, and promise to take you next time I'm in town.

Now I can't vouch for everything on the menu. I think I ordered a beef Penang curry once just to mix it up and immediately wished I had just stuck to my tried and true items. So please just trust me on this one and order exactly what I listed above. And I promise you, you will agree that it was one of the best (if not THE best) Thai meals you've ever had in your life.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos because I can't be bothered to delay the gratification of my tastebuds and stomach once the food arrives, but there are plenty here: http://www.kohsamuiandthemonkey.com/gallery.shtml

Food rating: *****
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
http://www.kohsamuiandthemonkey.com
Location: 415 Brannan Street, between 3rd and 4th Streets, San Francisco
Average price of dinner for two (but best with groups so you can order more variety): $60

Tsing Tao

Taking a little break from Tokyo reviews to write up one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the SF bay area: Tsing Tao, in Albany. Tsing Tao specializes in Chinese-Korean cuisine, which is the cuisine that Chinese immigrants in Korea created/adapted for Korean tastebuds.

Jja jang myun is thick, handmade flour-based noodles topped with a black bean based sauce that includes pork, shrimp and vegetables. In Korea, jja jang myun delivery is as common as pizza delivery in the States. When made right, it is deliciously satisfying. Tsing Tao does it right - best jja jang myun I've had in the bay area.

Koreans call jja jang myun "Chinese" the way Americans call burritos "Mexican", but you won't actually find jja jang myun in China or burritos in Mexico. Jja jang myun was created in Korea by Chinese immigrants the way burritos were created in the States by Mexican immigrants. Chinese-Korean restaurants usually serve up the Chinese version of kimchi, made with regular cabbage rather than napa cabbage and satisfying in its own way.

If you are Korean, Tsing Tao will place a Korean menu in front of you that includes jja jang myun and jjam bbong (handmade flour noodles in a spicy rich seafood broth), but you won't find these on the English menu (at least not the last time I checked).

Order the yang jang pi - flat glass noodles tossed tableside with stir-fried pork, sea cucumbers, egg, shrimp, squid, cucumbers and carrots in a spicy mustard sauce. It is the best Chinese-Korean dish EVER, period. I always order this when I visit Tsing Tao and am never disappointed.

Also order the jja jang myun, which will arrive with the noodles in one bowl and the sauce in another. Pour the sauce over the noodles, mix thoroughly and dig in. Don't forget to wipe your mouth afterward, you'll probably have a black bean mustache. (sorry, unfortunately I don't have photos of the jja jang myun. forgot to take some because was too busy stuffing my face!)

Ah, I miss the bay area.

Yang jang pi - a delicious mix of glass noodles, jellyfish, shrimp, sauteed pork, octopus, sea cucumber, veggies, egg

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
No website
Location: 1479 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA
Average price of dinner for two: $40

Hwedupbab - A perfect meal

A perfect meal doesn't have to be at a Michelin-starred or high Zagat-rated restaurant. In fact, it rarely is (for me), if only because a perfect meal generally cannot involve pretentiousness. The elements are simple: excellent fresh delicious food in good company with good conversation. One of the best meals I've had in all of 2009 was my grandmother's hwedupbab, Korea's version of chirashi. Hwedupbab is a bowl of hot rice topped with julienned lettuce, cabbage, perilla or shiso leaves (I prefer perilla, also known as ggetnib), cucumber, slivers of garlic, a couple slices of spicy pepper such as jalapeno and cubes of sashimi (any type of sashimi is fine, but my favorites for hwedupbab are hamachi, maguro (toro is too fatty and the subtle flavor gets lost in the spicy red pepper sauce) and salmon. Drizzle with a bit of toasted sesame oil and prepared cho-gochujang (Korean vinegared red pepper paste), mix together and...you have one of the world's greatest culinary creations. I don't know about hwedupbab anywhere else because I generally only eat my grandma's, so...too bad for everyone else who doesn't have the chance to eat my grandmother's hwedupbab because it is truly one of the BEST FOODS EVER. I ate this meal in the company of my grandmother and my little bro on a warm summer day in California sitting in our kitchen/dining room, adding a little more of this and a little more of that as we ate and it was truly a perfect meal.

Brenda's French Soul Food

Sadly, I don't have photos to accompany this post. But I do have the happy memory of praline covered pancakes sitting in my belly. I wrote this entry for yelp awhile back:

Comfort.

Is my ratty Ugg slippers. Is my flannel pajama pants and 10+ year old favorite t-shirt. Is reading a good novel under the covers in my uber-comfy king-size bed. Is spending a leisurely Saturday morning with a person who knows you inside out and feeling that amazing connection found once in a blue moon. Is Brenda's sweet potato pancakes with pecan praline syrup, Brenda's cream biscuits smothered with homemade peach jam, Brenda's extra-buttery grits, Brenda's potato hash and Brenda's fried oyster and bacon omelet.

Brenda, you got soul. Your food made me so happy that it caused me to display random acts of kindness all day for no reason other than that I felt giddy, warm, happy and loved after having brunch at your restaurant. The answer to world peace may be in Brenda's sweet potato pancakes smothered with a brown sugar, pecan and butter concoction that could make anyone forget about differences in religion, politics, or why you broke up. Why should such trivial things matter when we can focus on the things that really matter in life, the things that unite us as humans: good food and good company?

Food rating: **** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4 (the prices are fine, but the long wait....oh the wait!)

The essentials:
http://www.frenchsoulfood.com/
Location: The Tenderloin, SF
Average price for meal for 2: $40