sf restaurant advice

i’ve got a few days in san francisco in july. based on prior trips and new info i was thinking of hitting the following places. i’ve got time for 3 lunches and 3 dinners.

swan
slanted door
state bird
rich table
perbacco
zuni

i would greatly value some opinions (and i know, slanted door is very touristy, the old one was much better, it’s so popular nobody goes there anymore etc)
thanks [cheers.gif]

add to list-

Local’s Corner
Namu Gaji
Bar Tartine

def’ly giving bar tartine strong consideration
any other locals have some insight for me?

commonwealth should be towards the top of your list.

unless you have a ressie at state bird, you’ll likely not go. lines are insane.

yaacov
i’ll be solo so hoping to walk in and sit at the bar

commonwealth looks great, thanks

My top three in the mid-price range

1.) State Bird, State Bird, State Bird! Go early put your name on the list and tell them you will eat in front of the kitchen

2.) Commonwealth

3.) Le Ciccia

Other suggestions:

Central Kitchen

Mission Chinese - I like the original better than the NYC one

Locals Corner for lunch

Outer Lands - Chef Trained with the Chef/owner of State Bird but it is in a location that it is bit far from the center of the city

Plow for breakfast

Higher End - Benu or Atelier Crenn

robert
is the original as crowded as the one on orchard?

anyone been to rich table?

Kokkari

Yes, it was great. One of my current favorites.

great. got a solid review from a friend on this coast so going to check it out. is there by any chance a bar i can eat at?

You can try Bar Agricole or RN74.

thanks for the tip daniel. i would like to know if rich food has a bar as well.

It does, but for my taste Rich Table is just another example of why Michael Bauer (SF Chronicle restaurant critic) is useless. In fairness I’ve only been once, but my friend and I had 6 dishes - two were terrific, two were quite ordinary, and two were just plain awful. On a more positive note - the best meals I’ve had in the last few months have been at Commonwealth, AQ, and Frances.

I have heard that Frances is quite good.

menu at aq looks great. thanks to all, and keep the reccs coming!

Are you with a group, eating alone? I’m a big fan of Slanted Door, if alone just sit at the bar. Frances was excellent the one time we went. Liked State Bird, wasn’t blown away, but would go back. Not a fancy place at all, but an interesting approach, kind of American dim sum. I would have Quince on the list in a high end spot, and its next-door sister restaurant Cotogna on the list as more casual. Both have bar space, though Cotogna fills up and is tough to get a seat.

I don’t understand State Bird. I had no clue what it was when I went, my friend just took me there when I visited. It was just kinda typical small plates that are opening all over LA/SF.

State Bird: kind of agree. We had a few dishes that were really outstanding, but some that were very ordinary. I need to go at least once more to form a better judgment, but at the difficulty level it is to get in, probably not any time soon. Its one plus was that the bill didn’t hurt my wallet as much as most places do.

alan, i’ll be eating alone except for one meal.
sounds like i’ll skip state bird this time as don’t want to do battle for a seat.