People are always asking me where to eat, but really, it should be what to eat. No restaurant is perfect across the board. Getting the most out of restaurants is a matter of knowing what to order.
So, for you—and for ourselves—we've compiled The Big Eat SF, a list of 100 dishes and drinks "to try before you die." (If San Francisco was a restaurant, this would be its menu.) Don't think of this as a morbid activity though. Think of it as a celebration of life.
I did a quick poll around the office to see who really holds their own in SF's food world. Of our editors, Jessica has had 73 (impressive for someone that landed here four years ago). Robin has had 30. Jen—our online editor who excuses herself because she just moved back to SF from New York—has had 22. But the shocking revelation is that Tom Hartle, Hartle Media's CEO, has only had 17 (!!). He has a lot of celebrating left to do. The excitement of trying a slice of bread straight from a still-warm loaf of Tartine bread; the shock and awe of a beer sausage at Rosamunde; the buttery-gingery zip of a ginger snap from Miette; the pork broth sauna one gets from a bowl of chasu ramen at Katana-Ya ... all are still his to be had. I'm almost jealous. Being Tom would like being born again.
I've had 87 myself. Which I feel is really almost poor standing. (You want to know a secret? I've never had Zuni's roast chicken. A food writer should be stoned for this.)
Let us know what you've had—and what's missing from the list. Convince me we should extend the list to 200.
