Dining in San Francisco and The Bay Area

Is it Number One for Dining or Jumping on the Musical Chairs?

Bon Appetit is one of the two early leaders in the glossy magazine approach to wine and dine. That is a category now inundated with mostly suspect, forest destroying wanabees…. with the exception, of the environmentally correct tree saving FrankAboutFood.com.  

Bon Appetit recently conducted a poll of its sophisticated readers. They were asked to choose the number one dining city in the United States. San Francisco was again #1 with New York #2 and New Orleans #3. You can dine interestingly in the Bay Area. However it will require some effort or a well lubricated credit card. Often both. There are some questions.

We will admit that after more than 50 visits, our heart still pounds ecstatically when we hit the crest of the 101- BayShore highway that gives us the above first view of San Francisco’s skyline, bay and bridges. It is easily the most beautiful city in the United States and ranks up there with Paris, Venice, Istanbul and Hong Kong worldwide.

However, unfortunately  "The City" (Please don’t ever call it Frisco there or anywhere) is,  considering its history, amazingly deficient in Italian and Chinese dining spots. They are the two most wanted  and important ethnic dining destinations. Yet both New York and underrated Los Angeles offer better choices in both categories. 

Those restaurants with the blatant  Italian names at the now very touristy and somewhat depressing Fisherman’s Wharf should be avoided at all costs. The same holds true for most of the mediocre Chinese restaurants on Grant Street in Chinatown.  The trip on a cable car to both areas can still be some fun. But use your all day pass, make it a quick round trip and eat somewhere else. See  far below for other possibiities. 

Then, amazingly, the two big names that give “The City” its aura are not in San Francisco.  Thomas Keller’s French Laundry is a 30 mile trek North across bridges to Napa Valley. Alice Water’s Chez Panisse is also inconveniently located on the other side of the Bay Bridge in Berkeley. They both are wonderful. They are just not in San Francisco.

Separately however, Napa  is worth the "schlep" and an overnight stay. The French Laundry is now thought by many to be the #1 dining experience in America, recently surpassing Charlie Trotter’s of Chicago though it is currently being challenged (successfully, some say) by the newly opened and more accessible Ducasse located conveniently near Central Park in New York.

We had recognized Keller’s talent and interviewed him many years ago when he was the young and down to earth executive chef at Checkers, a Los Angeles boutique hotel. Times have changed!! If money is no object, The French Laundry is certainly a worthwhile notch on your foodie belt. But be forewarned. The ill-conceived reservation system is like a Chinese Water Torture. Either you or a designated equally masochistic aide must hit the redial number from 9 AM to 6 PM exactly 8 weeks (I think) before you plan to dine. If you are lucky enough to have some one answer  some time before the end of that specific advance calling date, you may wind up with a 5:30 or 9:30 reservation.  Often you get nothing.

Keller does seek out the finest ingredients at every level and spends hours assiduously preparing an ever changing, brilliantly constructed and varied tasting menu. It is served with the finest tableware, linens and crystal.  Since this Prix Fixe multi course meal is well in excess of $100 and the wine list is aggressively priced (Corkage is discouraged and may be $50), be prepared to pay up to $500 per couple including tax and tip. Those notches don’t come cheaply. Further consider this: Keller is now involved in the opening of a New York branch of the "Laundry". Who is in charge of assiduousness while he is gone?

You will, however dine in a lovely one story understated renovated house in Yountville. It is so understated that there is no sign  You are just given an address and there may be no valet parking. The dining, however is sumptuous while the service is a bit tight and overwrought. The complete experience can take 2 /12 to 3 hours.

The Prescott group snagged  Wolfgang Puck and Postrio for its Post Street Prescott hotel. The beautifully designed lower level restaurant flourished under the helm of Puck mentored husband and wife team, Anne and David Gingrass.  For a while Postrio had everything. It was conveniently located and served great dinners and lunch. Many who couldn’t get reservations for either opted for wonderful breakfasts featuring Anne Gingrass’ baked goods.(Just to say they ate at Postrio). The Gingrass family however, then left to open their own Hawthorne Lane South of Market (SOMA). It is now my favorite San Francisco dining spot.

The restaurant is beautiful, somewhat large but unpretentious. Gingrass’ Cal- New American dishes are superb works of art and culinary delights. The entire serving staff makes you feel comfortable the moment you walk in. The total experience is fairly priced.

My second owner operated choice is the intimate, romantic  and expensive  Fleur De Lys in the heart of the city on Sutter.  It has a real history. Chef  Hubert Keller has been rated at the city’s top for close to 3 decades. He creates beautiful classic French plates in a stunningly remodeled and romantic room. This Keller actually finds time to come out and talk personally to his guests at the end of a meal. He also offers a wonderful vegetarian tasting menu.  

If you can’t get in, you might have to opt for that alternate notch with the other  current  hot ticket, The Fifth Floor. It is located, however  on ...guess what floor of The Palomar Hotel, another Prescott venture.  Current chef Laurent Gras has classic training under superstar French chefs, Alain Ducasse (see above), Jacques Maximin, and the perhaps overrated Alain Senderens of Lucas Carton in Paris.  Gras jumped on the musical chair left open when George Morrone who opened The Fifth Floor in 1999 heard the music stop for a moment and leaped for a musical stool at Redwood Park in the TransAmerica Building.

Some think Gras'  food is somewhat precious. But others say that no one in San Francisco cooks like him. If you haven’t had serious French food lately and most of us haven’t, this might be a chance worth taking. It is expensive but cheaper than the Concorde and ½ the price of dinner at Lucas Carton .  Besides, why should we give the French any of our money?

Avoid the pseudo bistro style Rubicon, absentee owned by Francis Ford Coppola, Robin Williams and Robert De Niro and very absentee managed by Drew Neiporent who is already way over his head with the multiple but also trendy New York eateries under his helm…. unless you want to be hyped into overpriced wines by Super Sommelier Larry Stone.  The food and service may be somewhat of an afterthought.

If you do crave an ethnic Italian or Chinese fix there is still some hope. Family managed  Yank Sing downtown may serve the finest and freshest Dim Sum lunch in the United States outside of Shun Lee in New York!! The selection and service are exceptional. They were forced out of their landmark location on Battery, which was Chinese Theater at its most chaotic. Their other location is still nearby in that Soma District. The addictive dumplings, duck, vegetables and tarts are still the same but not as much fun. If you lose control, you can easily spend $25 per person for lunch. Let’s hope they find an additional location. There is no way one Yank Sing can fill the unbelievable demand.

If you have a car, or don’t care about cab fares or are willing to enjoy the multi-ethnic fun of  riding the Express Geary St. Bus to the outer Avenues, then take that short jaunt to Ton Kiang (Interesting Japantown is on the route).  It is far and away the best Chinese restaurant in the City with wonderful, inexpensive and unhurried Dim Sum and great inexpensive dinners.  It features Hakka style clay pot cooking by the owners along with other authentic dishes and the prices are so low that it will more than pay the cab fare. Service is unbelievably friendly for a Chinese restaurant. You will probably be one of the few “round eyes” in the restaurant.

The Slanted Door in a Mission Street loft offering authentic Vietnamese food is also an inexpensive and worthwhile Asian adventure.

If you are traveling down the Peninsula toward Stanford or Palo Alto, Fook Yuen or Hong Kong Flower both in Millbrae offer Monterey Park price and quality experiences for both wonderful Dim Sum and fresh seafood out of a live tank. As in Monterey Park, you will be outnumbered.

Finally and sadly, the only  Italian restaurant worth considering (Forget North Beach's hyped Rose Pistola) is Pane e Vino at the end of the interesting Union Street shopping area on the other side of Van Ness.  It is a hearty and chaotic Northern Italian family eatery with good trattoria style food. It takes but doesn’t seem to honor  reservations. However the upbeat atmosphere, friendly crowds and fun servers make the wait an entertainment and you will feel like a native instead of a tourist.

Absolutely finally, if you want to create your own dining adventure, take the California Street cable car to one block before the end of the line at Van Ness and stroll the locally convenient Polk Street area. There you will find a wide range of dining choices primarily frequented by the natives. An excellent example is The Swan Oyster Depot. It has been on Polk Street since 1912. The same family has owned it since 1946. It has no tables, only a bar with 19 stools. It is open from about 8 AM to 6 PM serving oysters collected that morning or fresh Dungeness crab. Its opposite in the area is the touristy Italian restaurant,  Acquerello on nearby Sacramento. Most folks in the neighborhood think it is an over truffled and overpriced Italian restaurant with overly suave waiters.   

Maybe you should print all of this out.