Anchor & Hope

A new fish house opened up recently close to my office in SoMa. Anchor & Hope is part of the Town Hall and Salt House group, two of my old favorites. I ate there for lunch last month with a co-worker. The space used to be a garage so the ceilings are very high and the room is open. The decor and details are super fun. They even had authentic Emeco Navy chairs. (These chairs have been made from recycled aluminum for over 60 years and they are practically indestructible.)

I'm torn on the food. I had an heirloom beet salad to start followed by a citrus glazed salmon and a strawberry crisp. The meal started off very well with the beet salad. The salmon was nothing special even though description on the menu made it sound interesting. Finishing with a strawberry crisp that was good, but again nothing special. That said, I tried some of my co-worker's fish and chips and it was phenomenal! The service was really good too.

In summary, they get points for the beet salad, fish and chips, service and atmosphere/decor. I'm definitely willing to try it again and get back to you.

(Picture from Jennifer Yin at sf.eater.com)

The Sentinel

I just got lunch from the new Dennis Leary (Canteen Restaurant) SoMa take-out counter, The Sentinel. It's a little dangerous that I can eat this well for lunch on a regular basis. In the past it was hard to do better than mass produced burritos and sandwiches unless you have 2 hours and $50 to spend on an everyday lunch. The lunches here range from $7.50 to $11. There are 4 sandwich/soup type items on the menu which changes daily and it is take out only. They also serve coffee and pastries in the morning. The coffee cake is on its way to becoming legendary.

Extra cool points go to The Sentinel because Dennis Leary actually prepared and handed me the food! (That is the guy you can see behind the counter.) How often do you go to a restaurant with a big name chef and know for sure that they actually had anything to do with the food preparation?

SoMa worker are in for a real treat. The bar for affordable, quick lunch has been raised very high indeed. The Sentinel is located at 37 New Montgomery across from The Palace Hotel.

Farmer Brown

How cool is this picture?! I used to live on Nob Hill just above Union Square and I always complained that the food in that neighborhood isn't very good. Well just in time for my move, Farmer Brown opened on the edge of Union Square and the Tenderloin.

The menu is packed with southern comfort. I had the fried chicken and mac & cheese. It was so perfectly crisp on the outside and steamy and moist on the inside. Tyler ordered the pulled pork sandwich and we shared a slice of the decadent pecan pie for dessert. The food was so rich and delicious. I didn't feel like eating until dinner the next day even after sharing an appetizer and dessert. Maybe it's good that I don't live close to this restaurant anymore, but I think we will find our way back occasionally. Just not before shopping for jeans!

Spruce

All the buzz in San Francisco is about Spruce in Presidio Heights. I recently dined there for a birthday celebration with friends. The food was definitely good and deserves the hype.

I arrived from work mid-meal, so I had to fore go the starter and skip straight to the entree. I ordered the harissa chicken with farro couscous, dates and almonds. My favorites were the rolls and dessert. The dinner rolls reminded me of the demi epi baguettes at French Laundry that kind of have a creamy, sweet taste. For dessert we shared a couple orders of the beignets and chocolate cake.

The service was not the best, but nothing too offensive. The bar space is pretty large (pictured), so you can try your luck at walking in if you can get there on the early side. Otherwise you will have to wait at least three weeks to get in, so plan ahead.

(Photo from Yelp)

Salt House

One of my favorite restaurants in the South of Market/Financial District area is Salt House. They have ties with Town Hall, another great restaurant in the same area. I love their burgers and onion rings. They also make a good mint lemonade.

Fleur de lys

Tyler and I went to Fleur de lys for my birthday. Fleur de lys is a San Francisco institution serving classic French cuisine. It definitely deserves to be a classic. The food was amazing and we didn't need to eat for days after indulging ourselves in the heavy, but delicious traditional French fare.

My favorites of the night were Tyler's asparagus and truffled foie gras appetizer, my filet mignon and lobster entree with truffled macaroni gratin and the fleur burger for dessert. It was so adorable. The attention to detail was amazing! The burger was made from bittersweet chocolate ganache, the cheese was a thin sheet of passion fruiit jello-like substance, the bun was a doughnut, mint for lettuce, strawberry sliced thinly crosswise for tomato, kiwi in the form of a pickle, a mini chocolate shake, and pomme frite fashioned from fennel ice cream. It was all very clever.

Our celebrity sighting for the night - Bob Dole.

South Park Cafe

Tyler and I went to South Park Cafe for our anniversary. What a gem! The food was delicious, the atmosphere was cozy and charming, and the service was very warm. The price was amazingly reasonable too at $34 for three courses. I had the "Pig salad" with slow cooked pork, shallots, apples and mustard vinaigrette; Roast rack of lamb with macaroni gratin and parsley oil; and flourless carrot cake for dessert (my least favorite item of the three courses, although the other two dishes made up for my disappointment in dessert.) As a bonus, you feel like you are entering a different world once you set foot into South Park.

Holiday Wrap Up

We enjoyed a relaxing holiday with friends in the city this year. I had to work a little more than I had hoped, but I still got to enjoy a few long weekends with the way the holidays fell.

We kicked off the celebration mid-December with my office party at the Olympic Club. I'm very lucky to work with people that I actually like to hang out with during my time off.



Tyler and I celebrated our 11th anniversary a few days before Christmas. We had a lovely night starting with dinner at South Park Cafe and ending with the Smuin Ballet's Christmas Ballet.
The first half of the program is classic Christmas with dances set to Bach and Handel. The second half lightens up considerably with the likes of Santa Babay and Christmas Island (both pictured.)


The weekend before Christmas we discovered a new breakfast joint. I had read in San Francisco Magazine about the amazing apple and raspberry turnovers at Mission Beach Cafe. We decided to head over and try them for ourselves. We only intended to get pastries, but the plates of pancakes and eggs benedict rushing by us tempted us to stay for breakast. Tyler ordered the breakfast sandwich with a homemade English muffin, sausage and bacon. I had eggs benedict with proscuitto and Midnight Moon gouda drizzled with porchini hollandaise sauce. We had our turnovers too! The styling of the small space made for a perfectly relaxing morning. The interior is modern and warm with ivory upholstered chairs and lacqured wood tables. For a finishing touch everything is served on earthy brown Heath ceramic plates. They even serve Navarro grapejuice.

Next came our outing to the Mission to get all the ingredients for our Christmas Eve celebration. Read more about this in my La Palma post.

Christmas Eve brought our traditional afternoon outing to the beach followed by dinner and celebrating with friends over homemade chili and fresh tortillas.




Christmas day brought gifts and the most delicious French toast I've ever eaten. Adam made Brazilian French toast, which is basically sliced baguette dipped in sweetened condensed milk and deep fried. It's like doughnut French toast! He didn't stop there either. We also indulged in eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, pumpkin bread, and gingerbread cake.


Marlo made her first trip to the museum on Boxing day. We spent the afternoon browsing the Marie-Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles exhibit at the Legion of Honor instead of the sales racks.



To ring in the New Year, we invited a few friends over for a casual evening. Our new apartment has a view of the Bay Bridge and the waterfront near the Embarcadero, so we were able to watch the midnight fireworks from our livingroom.



We wrapped up the holidays with walk along the Embarcadero and a delicious brunch on the BBQ New Year's morning. We made gingerbread pancakes with lemon curd and blueberries. The pancakes were good, but they tasted more like brown sugar molasses pancakes than gingerbread. I'm still on the hunt for a recipe that tastes like Zazie's.

Happy New Year!!

Congratulations Jenn!

A few of us met last week to celebrate the new addition to Jenn's family. We had dinner at Terzo. I can't say enough about this place. I could eat there every night if I lived closer. Say "hi" to Ron for me if you go!

Zazie

Elise, Kim and I met for a late breakfast at Zazie today. Zazie is possibly my favorite breakfast place in SF. (I'm torn between who has the better breakfast - Mama's or Zazie.) My favorites are the poached eggs Albert with white cheddar, bacon, and salsa fresca served with the most delicious garlic roasted potatoes, gingerbread pancakes with lemon curd, french toast Tahiti stuffed with caramelized bananas and walnuts, orange-vanilla challah french toast with whipped cream and cherries.... you probably get the point! You can order most items al acarte which is nice for the days when I want 1 gingerbread pancake and 1 poached egg. The hot chocolate is really good too.

If you happen to be there on a decent weather day, check out the garden patio dining in back. I've heard that the lunch and dinner menus are equally as good, but I've never gotten that far in my perusing! I'm hoping to get the gingerbread pancake recipe out of them someday to use for Christmas brunch. So far I know that they use freshly grated ginger.

Frascati

I'm way behind on restaurant reviews, so you get two in one day. We went to Frascati a couple weeks ago for a work function. To sum it up, they really know how to cook! The menu is pretty traditional with a Mediterranean influence. I was particularly impressed with the scallop risotto appetizer. For my entree, I had the very delicious maple leaf duck breast with herb spaetzle. The dessert menu included traditional desserts such as apple crisp and chocolate bread pudding. Everything was prepared really well and the atmosphere was especially charming. Sans the business aspect, I can see this place as having some serious romance potential if anyone has an anniversary or special occasion coming up.

Swan Oyster Depot

Stephanie and I had lunch at Swan Oyster Depot last week. In my opinion they are the best shell fish establishment in the city. They get their fresh shipment of shell fish every morning and only stay open until they sell out. Plus the ambiance is fun. You sit at a bar that runs the length of the restaurant, the temperature is a little brisk, and the fish is so fresh you can still smell the salt water. It makes me feel like I'm actually on the ship. My favorites are the oysters and half crab. The line for lunch can be long so get there a little early if possible.

Afternoon Excursion

Jordan and I took a drive over to Berkeley today to visit her favorite boutique, Tail of the Yak (2632 Ashby Ave.) They have a very eclectic collection of objects such as vintage jewelry, prints, ribbon, beautiful paper products, and more. I picked up some vintage-style shadow cards, tiny clothespin paper clips, and fortune sticks.

Before the boutique, we ate lunch at the Pizza Board on Shattuck Ave. See my post here. In my opinion, this is the best pizza in the Bay Area. The crust is perfectly crisp on the bottom and slightly soft on the top, but not too thick. They serve one type of pizza per day and there is always a Jazz ensemble to entertain as you enjoy your pizza.

Lulu Petite

A few friends gathered for lunch at the Ferry Building today. We all got our food from different places and ate at one of the communal tables in the back. I got my sandwich from Lulu Petite. I opted for the warm ham with fontina and white truffle honey on focaccia. It was so delicious! One of their other sandwiches which was very tempting is tomato and blood orange braised pork.

I've eaten here one other time and enjoyed the food. I think they are somewhat overlooked in favor of Taylor's and Mijita, but the two times I've tried Lulu I thought the food was really good. Next time you are at the Ferry Building give them a try.

Table Stalker

Table Stalker recently added SF to their list of cities. This is a great way to increase your chances of getting into a trendy restaurant or finding your desired reservation on short notice. You select the restaurant, date, time, and # in your party and Table Stalker queries Open Table (a national on-line reservation service) constantly looking for any cancellations or released tables and e-mails you if they find the reservation you want. Pretty fabulous!

Ad Hoc

Dinner at Ad Hoc was delicious and reminiscent of a traditional family dinner. Originally, Ad Hoc was supposed to be a temporary establishment while Thomas Keller was developing his concept for a "bottles and burgers" restaurant. In the interim, he started serving a fixed four-course family-style menu for $45 and for walk-ins only. Well, people loved the concept and so it's now a permanent establishment and you can make reservations.

The menu changes everyday, but everyone eats the same 4 courses. They will accommodate you if you just cannot eat something on the menu. For example, one person in our party requested a firm cheese due to her pregnancy. You can call the day of your reservation to find out what you will be eating that night. We were all very full by the end of the meal, but don't be afraid to ask for seconds if you need another taste of something to satisfy your taste buds.

We started with a frisee salad that had the most delicious feta cheese, marinated wild mushrooms, and pickled icicle radishes. The main course was Spanish red peppers stuffed with short ribs on a bed of Israeli couscous. Next was the cheese course- I don't remember the name, but it was a Spanish sheep's milk cheese served with a sweet red onion marmalade. Finally, for dessert we were served creme fraiche parfaits with berries.

The peppers stuffed with short ribs was by far the star of the night. Every bite was an explosion of flavor. The cheese was good, but it didn't wow me and the same goes for the dessert. I suppose that is kind of the point of the restaurant though. They serve traditional family style meals with gourmet twists using incredible ingredients and perfect technique.

If you want the "wow" factor, go to The French Laundry. If you are looking for one of the best "home-cooked" meals you'll ever eat try Ad Hoc.

Here's another sample menu from yesterday:

*Baby Iceberg Wedge w/oven dried tomatoes, bacon lardons and winterlake lodge bleu cheese dressing
*Barbecued Brisket with spicy potato wedges, cole slaw and honey butter corn bread
*Meso Seco w/fruit relish
*Strawberry Shortcake

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Wow, it is warm outside today! San Francisco doesn't see many days approaching 90 degrees or more. Ice cream was made for days like this. Here are some Bay Area favorites (Fenton's and Mitchell's are both open until 11 pm):

Fenton's (Oakland)
Mitchell's (SF)
Sketch (Berkley)
St. Francis Fountain (SF)

If you can't make it to one of these locations, I highly recommend Haagan-Dazs Black Raspberry Chip.

North Beach Revisited

North Beach can be pretty touristy, but I still love it. The atmosphere is very energetic and opportunities for people watching abound. You do have to be a little picky about the restaurants if you really want a quality Italian meal.

My favorite is L'Osteria Del Forno. It's pretty tiny and the lines are usually long, but it feels like an authentic European joint. After dinner, I usually head to Stella's for dessert.

A couple years back the Chronicle foodies visited 41 North Beach restaurants over 4 months. (They mentioned L'Osteria as being good, but didn't include them in the test because they don't serve pasta.) Here are the Chronicle food staff's favorite 10:

Best Overall:
Albona Ristorante Istriano
Caffe Puccini
Da Flora
Ristorante Ideale
Rose Pistola

Next Best:
Franchino
Macaroni Sciue Sciue
Panta Rei
Pinocchio
Washington Square Bar and Grill

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Tartine Bakery is one of the best bakeries in the city. The morning buns are my favorite. They are the perfect combination of a flaky, crunchy, caramelized exterior and a soft, bready interior. To finish, they are dipped in large crystal orange infused sugar. They usually sell out by 10:30 or 11:00 a.m., so get there early. If you don't get there in time don't worry because everything they make is divine.

p.s. I got really excited when they released their cookbook, but I was very disappointed that morning buns weren't even mentioned anywhere in the book.

La Mediterranee

Tyler got off work early on Monday, so to celebrate we went to La Mediterranee for dinner. This is one of my favorite "everyday" food places. They have a couple places in SF and one in Berkeley. I love the Chicken Cilicia which is cinnamon spiced chicken with almonds, chickpeas and raisins in filo. Their baba ghanoush is incredible too. If you are hungry or in a group, order the large combination appetizer with dolmas, hummus, baba ghanoush and other delicious morsels. They cater too. My friend Jen has used them for a couple of parties and highly recommends them.