San Francisco in July

[brianmcbrearty]

@Truett W e l c h

@brianmcbrearty

I’m gonna go on calling it San Fran.

Damn hick from P-town.

[Alan_Rath]

@Ryan Caughey

@Jay T.

A few more favorites, most of which have already been listed, you can’t go wrong with:

1. La Ciccia – Sardinian. Outstanding, affordable, and unique. I recommend it to just about everyone who visits.

2. Piperade – Basque. For some reason it flies under the radar. The food is fantastic, the space is lovely, and it’s relatively easy to get a reservation.

3. Contigo – Catalan/Spanish tapas. Also flies under the radar, but this is our absolute favorite place to go with friends for a fun night in a casual setting. Ask questions about the wine; the wine director is awesome, and if you show an interest, he’ll let you taste just about anything and loves introducing people to interesting wines they have never heard of.

4. Rich Table – Californian. last year’s hot restaurant (along with State Bird Provisions). This restaurant will give you a good idea of what the current trend is in San Francisco. Extremely high-end food in a verycasual setting. Prices are reasonable. Has a bit of the hipster vibe, but not obnoxious.

5. Bar Tartine – Californian/Hungarian/Japanese. I love this place. It’s one of the most inventive restaurants I’ve ever visited, but it feels like a neighborhood restaurant. Similar vibe to Rich Table. Another place I recommend all the time because, unlike all the Cal-Ital places around the city (which I do love), the food you’ll get here you won’t be able to get anywhere else in the world.

6. Mamacita – Fancy Mexican. I’ve probably eaten here a dozen times, and it’s been awesome every time. Really good food. It’s noisy and gets a bet raucous as the night goes on, but I still think it’s the best place to get a fine-dining interpretation of Mexican food in San Francisco. If you are interested in high end Mexican in a slightly more conservative mode, Nopalito is also really, really good.

Awesome post. Thank you. I’m going to save for future reference.

Since 3 of the top 4 are also on my list, I have to agree And a couple of the names are unfamiliar to me (the two Mexican places), so thanks for those recs! I see Father’s Day dinner at one of them

[Alan_Rath]

@brianmcbrearty

what about places you might actually have a chance at getting into same day (today/saturday) after 7pm

Brian, where did you end up? Don’t forget the bar/lounge at a lot of places, generally easier to get into on short notice (and sometimes more enjoyable).

[brianmcbrearty]

We wound up at Boulevard because they had a 6:30 open up and it was more appealing than my 9pm at Perbacco. Was solid but not exciting. I’ll make a point of Rich Table very soon. Basically every place we mentioned was booked solid. I just called Boulevard from the car on the way up and said, “oh yeah? 30 minutes? yup, we can make that.”

Eating out is too expensive. I quit. I’m gonna buy all the damned kitchen stuff I ever wanted AND the pizza oven in the backyard.
Boulevard was fine of course. But two courses, and coffee, and a bottle of Peay plus tip and I don’t remember exactly… 300+ bucks? Just to eat well?

[Alan_Rath]

Haven’t been to Boulevard, I assume it’s like other restaurants in the group: solid if unexciting. And yeah, hard to get out much under $200 these days, kind of depressing. One reason we really like Scopa in Healdsburg (not that this helps you in SF, just an example). We just go out less frequently, and expect to pay more when we do something on the fine dining front.

[Jay_T]

We found a new place last night that I think should be on people’s radar: it’s called Prubechu. The restaurant offers Chamorro cuisine. Chamorros are the people from Guam and the other Marianas islands. I’d call the food a fusion of Filipino, Latin American, and Southern US cuisines.

It’s a hole in the wall in the Mission. The setting doesn’t look like much, and the service is very casual. But the food is fantastic, unique, and reasonably priced. The chef is a young guy from Guam, and he’s definitely passionate about interpreting the food he grew up with through the lens of cutting edge techniques and preparations. I thought the food was as good as any of the places mentioned in this thread charging $100+ per person. Also, they don’t charge corkage. You can do the chef’s tasting menu for $40 per person, which I highly recommend.

If you are looking for a really delicious meal in SF unlike anything you can get anywhere else, I highly recommend Prubechu. I still enjoy fine dining and love many of the high end French, Cal-Ital, and Spanish restaurants in San Francisco, but if I was a tourist, I think I’d actually prefer a place like Prubechu (or to a lesser extent, La Ciccia or Bar Tartine), where I would have an experience unlike anything I could get in most other cities in the US, and for not too much money to boot.

[Linda_Baehr]

@Jay T.

We found a new place last night that I think should be on people’s radar: it’s called Prubechu. The restaurant offers Chamorro cuisine. Chamorros are the people from Guam and the other Marianas islands. I’d call the food a fusion of Filipino, Latin American, and Southern US cuisines.

It’s a hole in the wall in the Mission. The setting doesn’t look like much, and the service is very casual. But the food is fantastic, unique, and reasonably priced. The chef is a young guy from Guam, and he’s definitely passionate about interpreting the food he grew up with through the lens of cutting edge techniques and preparations. I thought the food was as good as any of the places mentioned in this thread charging $100+ per person. Also, they don’t charge corkage. You can do the chef’s tasting menu for $40 per person, which I highly recommend.

If you are looking for a really delicious meal in SF unlike anything you can get anywhere else, I highly recommend Prubechu. I still enjoy fine dining and love many of the high end French, Cal-Ital, and Spanish restaurants in San Francisco, but if I was a tourist, I think I’d actually prefer a place like Prubechu (or to a lesser extent, La Ciccia or Bar Tartine), where I would have an experience unlike anything I could get in most other cities in the US, and for not too much money to boot.

Thanks for that. I love hole in the wall ethnic places.

[Robert_R]

SPQR on Filmore St…great food and an excellent all Italian wine list

[Jay_Miller]

@Jay T.

5. Bar Tartine – Californian/Hungarian/Japanese. I love this place. It’s one of the most inventive restaurants I’ve ever visited, but it feels like a neighborhood restaurant. Similar vibe to Rich Table. Another place I recommend all the time because, unlike all the Cal-Ital places around the city (which I do love), the food you’ll get here you won’t be able to get anywhere else in the world.

I love Bar Tartine but I want to start a campaign to get them to put the thyme and black pepper gougeres back on the menu.

[Bill_Gold]

We have enjoyed RN74 and also like Cotogna.

[Larry_P]

@brianmcbrearty

I’m gonna buy all the damned kitchen stuff I ever wanted AND the pizza oven in the backyard.
Boulevard was fine of course.

We’ll be over to work the dough!

[Larry_P]

@CWun

For Japanese, try Akikos. amazing stuff flown in from Japan.

Agree - Akikos on Bush. There are two Akikos, one much better that the other.

[brianmcbrearty]

@Larry P

@brianmcbrearty

I’m gonna buy all the damned kitchen stuff I ever wanted AND the pizza oven in the backyard.
Boulevard was fine of course.

We’ll be over to work the dough!

Update: Wife brought up the subject, no prompting. Walking around yard, and… “Hmmm… this would be a good place for our wood oven!”
Gimme maybe another year. It’s not as though it’s the only home project on the wish list. But this is a nice development.

[David_Kaufman]

Made a reservation for La Folie - looks amazing.

Still trying to figure out dinners for the balance of the trip.

What about good places to grab a drink? Any can’t-miss wine bars?

[brianmcbrearty]

We went to Rye bar. Quite good, I thought. Wish I could remember everything they put in a cucumber/basil muddled thing.

[Walter_Nissen]

For better or worse, when I saw the thread title with “Frisco” I thought the poster wasn’t serious and skipped it. Anyway… My impression is that Boulevard and Danko depend heavily on the out-of-town crowd, though I’ve not been. One that I’ve not seen mentioned is Plaj. (Pronounced “play”.) Scandinavian, including some ingredients like fish flown in, they make their own variety of acquavits, and do some wonderful things with lobster. Not cheap but not high end. Also Zuni Cafe, especially if you have the hour it takes for the chicken with bread salad for two, but even solo they do a great job with oysters (and other shellfish; they typically have boulots) and French standards. However, don’t overlook the bar area, which has lovingly crafted cocktails. Both are easy to get to from the Palace. I also like Piperade, though I’ve had trouble getting reservations on Saturday nights. Completely on the other spectrum is Pier 23, which is basically a half-step above a dive bar, but if you want a whole crab for cheap it can’t be beat. Friendly staff and patrons, too. Another place I can’t help but recommend for AFWE folks is Terroir, which is in a semi-dumpy neighborhood in SOMA, but if you’re into low-sulfur, indigenous yeast “vins de soif”, there’s no place better. The menu is limited (rillettes, maybe a pate, always several artisinal cheeses) but I’ve met great people there as well, especially if you go in the afternoon.

[David_Kaufman]

Help me decide…La Ciccia or Zuni Cafe? I am leaning towards La Ciccia, but that wood fired chicken specialty at Zuni has my interest. Unfortunately, dinner plans for our other two evenings are already planned, so I must pick one of the above.

[Ed_Kurtzman]

For an SF classic, Zuni is great. I’m a chicken fanatic, and theirs is worth the hour wait. But if you order it right when you’re seated, even before looking at the wine list, that hour goes by pretty fast.

I’ve been to La Ciccia four times, and I absolutely love it. Excellent food, and as interesting an Italian wine list as you’ll get in the US. You won’t find old Barolos and Brunellos for $300+, but you will discover Sardinian and southern Italian wines for $40 to $80 that you might not see most other places.

If I had to pick one of the two for pure enjoyment, I’d go with La Ciccia. For an SF experience, Zuni.

I’m surprised no one mentioned Foreign Cinema. Year in and year out, they’ve been so consistent on a very good level. Good wine list, the best oysters in SF, and a fun atmosphere.

[David_Kaufman]

@Ed Kurtzman

For an SF classic, Zuni is great. I’m a chicken fanatic, and theirs is worth the hour wait. But if you order it right when you’re seated, even before looking at the wine list, that hour goes by pretty fast.

I’ve been to La Ciccia four times, and I absolutely love it. Excellent food, and as interesting an Italian wine list as you’ll get in the US. You won’t find old Barolos and Brunellos for $300+, but you will discover Sardinian and southern Italian wines for $40 to $80 that you might not see most other places.

If I had to pick one of the two for pure enjoyment, I’d go with La Ciccia. For an SF experience, Zuni.

I’m surprised no one mentioned Foreign Cinema. Year in and year out, they’ve been so consistent on a very good level. Good wine list, the best oysters in SF, and a fun atmosphere.

Thanks, Ed. I ended up making a reservation at La Ciccia.

[S_L_i_m]

I’ll skip the restaurant recs since it’s been well covered but the number 1 tip I always give to visitors is:

Always have layers (cardigan, sweatshirt, hoodie, whatever) on you. Even if you wake up and it’s 100+ out and not a cloud in the sky: bring layers.

I’ve seen too many tourists wandering around the Ferry Building on a gorgeous Saturday morning, enjoying the farmer’s market in the sun (I love doing this by the way), in shorts and t-shirts with nothing else on them but sunglasses. Then a while later, they are walking up to Fisherman’s Wharf (which I wouldn’t recommend going anyway) and suddenly, the fog rolls in, the temperature drops from a pleasant high-80s to a shitty mid-60s. It’s suddenly cold, windy, and wet, and they are miserable and have no choice but to buy the crappy “I LOVE FISHERMAN’S WHARF” hoodies…

So yeah, always have layers on you.