An Epicure’s Guide to San Francisco
My wife and I had the opportunity to spend 10 days here and we visited old haunts and new. Here is my guide for those who are inclined toward good food and wine. In order of preference:
R&G Grill
Simply the best Chinese food I’ve ever had in the US. A frenetic, jammed, loud place with little ambiance, but every dish we sampled was outstanding, and they make a mean lychee martini. Reservations a must. It’s great fun and wonderful dining.
Ozuma
Upscale Japanese food in a huge, bright, loud restaurant that is always jammed because the food is so fresh, original, and wonderful. The wait staff is highly skilled in helping you order, and their saki selection is second to none. Go with at least four people so that you can share.
Gary Danko
Formerly in my top ten nationally, Gary Danko has lost a step or two. In an elegant setting (and loud, a characteristic of San Francisco restaurants, unfortunately), I don’t like seeing men in tee shirts sitting at the bar. They once enforced a jacket rule for men which added to the elegance of the place. No more. The service remains exquisite and the ambiance and people watching excellent, but the chef seems to favor presentation over taste. Still good, but less so.
North Beach Restaurant
Northern Italian cooking in the midst of terrific Italian restaurants. Great atmosphere, wonderful service, home made pasta. They’ll try to create whatever you request, and the portions are more than generous.
Tadich’s
We first ate here in the 70s (it’s been in business since 1849). Tourists flock to it only wait while the wily regulars get there at the right time. No reservations, a huge menu, outstanding seafood, totally phlegmatic waiters. The best charcoal broiled petrale you’ll ever taste.
Michael Mina
Another “name” chef who took over the old Aqua, and it’s too bad he did. The service is attentive, the décor attractive, the racket unbearable. All that is forgivable, of course, if the food is wonderful. This food isn’t. I asked the waiter for the best Michael Mina experience and he recommended the lamb. I don’t. It was pedestrian and uninteresting, more sauce than meat. Terribly overrated. (I told the waiter I had never seen such a small martini. He said it was a full pour. Maybe in Munchkin Land, but not in my world.)
Benu
Corey Lee is the “name” chef here. Unlike the noise elsewhere, Benu is almost serene. High ceilings, monochromatic design, Asian fusion food—you could be waiting for a massage. Silverware is placed on fossilized wood no longer available anywhere, and they have to tell you about that. The tasting menu takes three hours to consume, which is longer than I was awake in college, so we ordered a la carte. The food is simply dreadful, colorful and artfully presented, but bland. You’d think there is an art major in the kitchen, not a chef. The people who rave about this remind me of those who give a standing ovation to mediocre theater either because they have no taste or they are trying not to concede they wasted $400 on a ticket. Stay away.
(I had had a great week of business and splurged on a Chevalier Montrechet. By the end of the meal it was no longer a luxury, but a life raft.)
Of Note:
The Occidental Cigar Bar on Pine has five owner-bartenders, no food, just cigars and liquor, and the highest-end liquor you’ll see in a small space, better than the elegant restaurants mentioned above. For example, I was drinking Heitz Cellars cabernet which was sold by the glass. Scores of single malts and find brandies adorned the shelves. Great place.
