Sara Deseran

220 California St., 415-955-1919, barbaccosf.com

Butchers are having their day, but what about the age-old profession of the fishmonger?

It’s not a secret that chefs aren’t the only rock stars in San Francisco’s food world.

A proper groupie will swoon over a butcher, a baker, a bartender, a barista. Even a pickler here has a fighting chance if the tattoos are right. Roll your eyes, but this fanaticism has encouraged a younger generation to re-embrace old-world trades.

Foreign Cinema sparkles at night

sanfranannie @flickr

The restaurant question we get asked more than anything is definitely: "Where should we go for my friend's birthday party?" Generally speaking, the situation involves a party of 10, more than a party of 200, but this restaurant short-list can accomodate a wide scope of food preferences, ambiance and number of people. Since we're of the mindset that hard booze never hurts, we've put a star by the restaurants with a full bar. Go ahead now: Celebrate good times. Common!

County Line farm in Marin is just one of the frequently dropped names on local menus.

I've been thinking about this lately: Are restaurants here ever going to get to the point where they don't feel its necessary to name drop farms—or at the very least put disclaimers (or claimers, in this case) stating that their ingredients are sourced from the local and organic? Will it ever become just an assumption?

Almost-former Eater editor Paoloirific

In a very Obama-esque move, the SF Chronicle's critic and food editor Michael Bauer is bringing Eater editor Paolo Lucchesi to work for him. Hillary (ahem) … Lucchesi, who has infused Eater with a good sense of fun since it launched in San Francisco, will be missed, but he certainly will spice up the paper's online presence—something it could definitely use. Bauer is a smart man. The biggest question though is what should we call Mr. Lucchesi now? The Paolorizer? The Big Easy? The Italian Job? Let me know.

No longer Valentino, Vega is the little neighborhood spot that should.

Vanessa F via Yelp

If San Francisco's restaurant world was a high-school cafeteria, there would be one table in the middle where the cool kids sit: This table perpetually has seats reserved for the Delfinas, the Zunis, the A16s, the Slanted Doors.