Best of Eat + Drink 2007

If the terms “surf and turf” and “hotel dining” conjure visions of Red Lobster meets heat lamp –warmed prime rib, we’re with you. But the re-imagination of surf and turf as executed by Seasons Steak & Seafood in the Four Seasons hotel is something we can get behind. Chef Jeremy Emmerson’s duo of tartares (tuna and steak) is an elegant study in contrasts, while his other duo, an entrée of lobster and venison loin anchoring either ends of the plate is success itself.

Seasons Steak & Seafood 757 Market St., 415-633-3838

Everybody knows about Golden Gate Bakery and the glory of a still-warm egg-custard tart, but not so much the bakery’s filled mochi, called daifuke. We’re especially fond of the ones dusted with coconut and filled with bean paste. Here’s the rub: Stop in most days, and there’ll be no mochi in sight. The no-nonsense women behind the counter will tell you to return, saying there may be mochi in 15 minutes—or two hours. Mochi is hard-won, but victory is sweet.

Golden Gate Bakery1029 Grant Ave., 415-781-2627

It can be hard to find a hot date for Friday night, but come Saturday morning, we know right where to go: Flying Disc Ranch’s booth at the Ferry Building Farmers Market. The Palm Springs–based date grower has the best assortment, including our favorite —a squat, plump variety called barhi. And the cute guy manning the stand? He could be a hot date too.

Flying Disc Ranch at the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

“From the D.F. to the S.F.” is the logo of El Huarache Loco, and in some ways it says it all. (For those not in the know, D.F. stands for District Federale—in other words, Mexico City.) At El Huarache’s little booth at the Alemany Farmers Market, people stand in line for hot plates of everything from eggs with green chile to the specialty “huarache,” a tortilla stuffed with black beans and (if you ask) topped with cactus salad. Sweet Mexico City–style coffee makes the ideal accompaniment. Keep a lookout for the little catering company’s new line of sauces too.

Saturdays at the Alemany Farmers Market 100 Alemany Blvd., 415-572-6832

We’d join a UCSF dental fraternity too if we knew dinner every night was going to be cooked by one of the SF Chronicle’s most recent Rising Star chefs. What started as a way to earn money while opening Poleng Lounge has become something Timothy Luym, 28, hasn’t let go of—yet. “They’re cool with me experimenting,” he says. But constrained by a tight budget, Luym usually turns out the likes of fried chicken with potatoes, fried rice and the occasional roast. Today, Luym is too busy to join in the frat festivities, but for his boys, the party continues.


Poleng Lounge 1751 Fulton St., 415-441-1710

Starstruck by the infusion of haute-rustic Italian being served up in SF, it’s easy to forget what’s been here since the get-go. For the last 27 years, Carlo Middione at Vivande has rolled and pulled some of the finest pasta around. One bite of his ethereal scrigno di venere, a “beggar’s purse” of thin pasta filled with hamp, peas, onion and béchamel sauce and set on a bed of cream and prosciutto, and this just may become your favorite Italian joint—again.

Vivande 2125 Fillmore St., 415-346-4430

So you’re in the Mission. You stumble from your bar stool at Casanova onto the street, ravenous. Like a mirage, you spot the hot-dog man, grilling up bacon-wrapped all-beef hot dogs, and topping them with bacon fat –grilled onions and—this is key—pickled jalapeñ os. Thing is, to get the most out of the experience, you’ve got to be well on your way to drunk. But rationalized from a foodie’s point of view, it’s one of life’s best pairings. Look for the hot-dog man in the late-night hours, near the Mission and 16th streets party corridor.

At La Torta Gorda, the classic Mexican sammie comes in the form of a soft roll judiciously spread with a thin layer of refried beans and mayo, your choice of 15 kinds of meat (we’re suckers for the pierna enchilada, a kind of pulled pork), then layered with avocado, queso fresco, onions and pickled jalapeñ os. It’s all grilled in a press under the watchful eye of owner Armando Macuil. The sunny back patio hasn’t opened yet, so grab a stool at the long, diner-style counter where you can watch the action. They deliver too. Paninis are dead. Long live the torta.

La Torta Gorda 2833 24th St., 415-642-9600

Looking for a Belgian lambic or a Japanese ale? Beer aficionados, welcome to City Beer Store and Tasting Room. Like a library of brews, this year-old SoMa shop encourages browsing. Choose a six-pack or a single from the enormous selection of beers from around the world, sample a six-ounce tasting of one of four varieties on tap or ask owner Craig Wathen to pop the top on a retail bottle so you can try before you buy (a $1 corkage fee will be added to the beer’s price).

City Beer Store and Tasting Room 1168 Folsom St., 415-503-1033

The world of wine is mercurial. How can you tell the plonk from the good stuff? We suggest giving yourself over to Peter Langenstein, owner of Brix26, who acts as a kind of “personal shopper” for wine, choosing bottles to suit your specific taste. A former tech guy with a love of good wine, Peter is devoted to bringing boutique California wines to the people. He has access to small-production bottlings from top-notch wineries, and every shipment comes accompanied with his expert tasting notes.  We like the “Best Boutique” mixed cases—surprises are good.

Brix26 866-427-4926

Let’s face it—until recently, Glen Park was a neighborhood where people lived, not one that people visited—and certainly not a neighborhood where you went to eat. But thanks to a sudden boom, now we’re heading there to eat pizza (Gialina), slurp bubble tea (Eggettes) and shop for high-end comestibles (Canyon Market). Easy access to BART and the freeway, not too foggy and great pizza? Watch out, here we come.

Canyon Market 2815 Diamond St., 415-586-9999
Gialina 2842 Diamond St., 415-239-8500
Eggettes 2810 Diamond St, 415-839-5282

Say what you will about bloggers ; we’re slaves to their off-the-cuff (and sometimes snarky) comments, their funny anecdotes and the verité of their cyber People’s Republic. The time-wasting geniuses at blogsoop.com have created a clearinghouse of blog entries about restaurants in San Francisco, L.A. and New York: Choose a city, select a restaurant and hear what the people have to say.

Slathering butter on your toast on can now be considered doing your civic duty. The St. Anthony’s Foundation, which provides daily meals to some of the city’s neediest residents, also operates an organic dairy farm in Sonoma that doubles as a drug-and-alcohol recovery program. The farm has long supplied organic milk to Petaluma’s Clover Stornetta, and now the two outfits are collaborating on an organic European-style butter. Packed into a French-style glazed crock and sold under the label Friarworks, the butter will be available this summer, just in time for corn on the cob.

St. Anthony’s Foundation 121 Golden Gate Ave., 415-241-2600

This is our little secret: One of the top tamales makers in town does not operate anywhere near the Mission District. Holly Li, a soft-spoken woman from Guangzhou, married a Mexican-Chinese man and found herself living in Mexico City for years before she moved to the Bay Area. At her little coffee shop, Sutter Café, tucked away from the street and situated directly across from the Sutter-Stockton parking garage elevators, she sells the tamales she learned to make from her mother-in-law. They’re little things with a perfect ratio of masa to filling—a spicy mixture of shredded chicken and green olives.

Sutter Café 330 Sutter St., 415-434-3309

At the downtown Italian newcomer Perbacco, Carpano (a sweet red vermouth that only recently became available in the States) is skillfully blended with dry vermouth and Aperol, an Italian aperitif with essences of orange, to create the Torino. Its interestingly bitter edge is the ideal lead-in to Perbacco’s delicious (and rich) charcuterie.

Perbacco 230 California St., 415-955-0663

The new Manila Oriental Market (MOM) in the Excelsior is all about its stellar selection of seafood. At what we’ve deemed the “choose your own adventure” counter, select from one of over 25 different varieties of sparkling fresh fish, some very much alive and swimming in tanks. Services include gutting, scaling and filleting, and—if you should wish (which you should)—you can also have your fish fried up right then and there.

Manila Oriental Market 4175 Mission St., 415-337-7272