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La Mar Cebicheria Peruana

06/01/09 11:04 am
Restaurant Website: http://www.lamarcebicheria.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Pier+1+1%2F2++San+Francisco&sll=37.753955,-122.404196&sspn=0.00928,0.013304&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=A

Superstar Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio’s first stateside restaurant occupies a breezy historic building smack-dab on the Embarcadero that, with its whitewashed beams and neon-blue webbed chairs, hints at country-club chic. Sample a refreshing pisco punch at the bar, grab a casual bite in the ceviche lounge or settle into a full supper in the dining room overlooking the Bay. The large deck provides some of the best waterfront dining in the city.

Eats:What's on your menu.: <p>A meal at La Mar is like a Peruvian primer—the menu is punctuated with traditional ingredients, from aji amarillo chiles to leche de tigre (a key ingredient in La Mar’s outstanding ceviche). Don’t miss the rice dishes, such as the arroz chaufa, an inspired Peruvian take on fried rice, and the full-flavored soups, among them a robust shrimp soup enriched by the addition of a poached egg.</p>
I visited the enormous new Peruvian sensation La Mar over the weekend, mostly because I  wanted to try their Pisco Sours.  They were terrific. I  don't know what they do for the egg-white foam on the top, which was as firm and lasting as a good brick wall (our server said they use  "pasteurized egg whites"), but the entire drink was delicious. It had  that lovely limey-floral high tone of a good Pisco Sour, the  requisite topping of bitters, and went down incredibly smoothly. I highly recommend.
Gaston Acurio: The celebrity you've never heard of.
As the economy worsens and real estate in San Francisco continues to hold steady, you’re going to start to hear a lot about the new “cool” neighborhoods. Hunter’s Point and Excelsior, I hear, are up and coming. Dogpatch is where everyone who’s been priced out of the Mission buys a house. Mission Bay? Just listen to the buzz about the light rail. But if we’re talking restaurant-wise, there’s evidence to show that no neighborhood is quite as hot right now as the Embarcadero—and we have a celebrity in our midst to prove it.