I hadn’t been back to the Bay for almost a year. That is about as long as I can go without perfect dim sum, delicious Dry-Farmed Early Girl Tomatoes and that view of the Bay. It was surprisingly sunny for August: go figure. I also think the food landscape has changed a bit and not for the better. The continued influx of young, and not always sophisticated, tech bros and the occasional sister seem to have made restaurant prices escalate without quality keeping up. I saw a $46 Cesar salad on the menu, the price of which rises to $58 if you add chicken, and no amount of suave tableside prep could possibly make that worth it for me (or perhaps anyone).
Two of the better meals I had were among the simplest: dim sum at its finest. While the Richmond has always been a known destination for great, classic Chinese eats the Sunset also has it going on in shades. The Dim Sum Club is no fuss, no nonsense and super delicious. The restaurant is featuring the pan-fried pork bao that is the rage all over town, including at vaunted places like the Happy Crane. See below. It almost looks like a pastry and is fiercely hot on arrival: you need to poke a hole in it and let it sit a minute before sopping up all the delicious soup inside. The restaurant’s bowls of garlic-laden choys of all kinds are also delicious.
Another classic, meat-filled outpost is Galpao Gaucho. I had a chance to visit the Walnut Creek outpost and thoroughly enjoyed tender cuts of steak, mixed with chicken and sausage. I even got a few stalks of asparagus in there for good measure. The wine list skews very California and is quite varied.
Delicate pork baos at Fusion.
The View that Never Gets Old
Top of the Mark is a San Francisco legend. It is the City’s first bar that offered locals, and visitors, a 360 view of the town. It was iconic during the Second World War for welcoming solders for a final toast before they went off to war.
Crab noodles at Fusion Dumpling.
Dozens of civilians donated bottles of spirits, many of which are still displayed in the hotel, with messages wishing them well. The sightlines are still magnificent, and the views never get old. The Negronis are damn fine as well.
Another view, that is ever evolving, is that of the restaurant lineup in Mission Bay. This once far-flung area of San Francisco is home to dozens of new buildings and restaurants. I had the pleasure of dining at Miller & Lux, Tyler Florence’s restaurant that opened in 2021. It’s a high-end steak destination but we went for the oysters and pork (and an enormous banana split). How much beef can a girl eat? The Champagne cart is a beautiful throwback, and the dining room is an Old School delight and has views of the Bay. The wine list is vast, with some nice Loire Valley reds and Sicilian options, but pricey.
The over-the top banana split at Miller & Lux.
Duck carnitas at MariaIsabel.
The 30 pounds of Dry-Farmed Early Girls that I took home to make red sauce.
Another view that rarely gets old is that of the Redwood Room in the Clift Hotel. This Art Deco-inspired stunner opened the day after Prohibition was repealed. Its high ceilings, elegant vibe and live jazz or a 1980-vibes DJ complete the picture. The smash burger was amazing, even with American cheese! It is a blast from the past.
New Flavor Discoveries
Two of my long-term favorite SF-based chefs have long been Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz. The first ran a pop-up called Istanbul Modern. Their food was fantastic from the get-go in various locations. That was before they opened a short-lived restaurant on Fillmore and spent a year traveling in the Eastern Mediterranean and parts of the Middle East. When they headed back to San Francisco, they opened Dalida in the Presidio, a stunning restaurant featuring a mix of street food and high-end interpretations of complex dishes. The place is a hit and the food is delicious.
After spending years invested in the food of the Eastern European Med and the Middle Eastern diaspora, Laura finally opened her own place as an ode to her Mexican roots. Is it called Maria Isabel and you can barely get a table. The wine list features many wines from Mexican, and female, winemakers and ambitious Mexican dishes. All the ingredient sourcing is local and the menu strives to unify the two Pacific Coasts of California and Mexico. The green and red sausages with melted cheese were delicious.
