Category: Restaurant Reviews

Posted on October 30, 2011

I always considered myself to be very familiar with the Financial District restaurant scene. Since I work in the neighborhood, people come to me for recommendations, and I’ve got a list handy. But it wasn’t until a few months ago that Chiaroscuro caught my eye.

The Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant’s entrance on Washington Street can be easy to miss, but once inside, the bold interior (concrete seating! open kitchen!) stands out. During my second visit, my dining companion and I were greeted with an amuse bouche as soon as we sat down.

The tiny bite of blue cheese, grape, and pickled shallot packed a punch, and the piquant shallot was my favorite part. (I love anything sour and anything pickled.)

The tiny bite of blue cheese, grape, and pickled shallot packed a punch, and the piquant shallot was my favorite part. (I love anything sour and anything pickled.)

We decided to share a salad of baby spinach, pancetta, bleu del Moncenisio and toasted almonds. The blue cheese was a little overwhelming (in fairness, I’m not much of a blue cheese fan) but the mellow vinaigrette helped balance things out.

Next came my squid ink tagliatelle. Served with prawns and clams, this dish tasted as delicious as it was beautiful. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, the clams and shrimp were briny and fresh, and I only wished there was more pasta to mop up the wonderful sauce.

I’ve been to Chiaroscuro for both lunch and dinner, and it makes for a special Italian meal at either time of the day. Service is always friendly and attentive, and the menu frequently changes. It just goes to show — maybe I should pay more attention to my neighborhood surroundings.

Posted on October 23, 2011October 24, 2011

I’ve written about the Bay Area’s proliferation of izakayas before. It feels like nearly every month there’s a new izakaya in town — not that I’m complaining. San Francisco’s Chotto, which opened this summer, has been among the most buzz-worthy, and with good reason.

Excited at the prospect of grilled offal and fresh seafood, I had dinner at Chotto with a few friends one balmy evening. Located in the Marina District, Chotto’s cool, modern aesthetic betrays the neighborhood’s somewhat touristy vibe. (Sorry. It had to be said. Please don’t take offense, Marina dwellers.) Once we were seated, we pored over the eclectic menu.

The small plates are served family-style, and the wakamesu, or seaweed and cucumber salad came first. This was a good palate cleanser, and I loved the crisp texture of the purple seaweed, which I don’t usually see in wakamesu. (Does anyone know the name of this type of seaweed? Drop me a line.)

Next came the spicy tuna. I love tuna, but I’m not a big fan of the spicy tuna you usually see in maki sushi because it’s often the less palatable cuts minced up and blended with chili sauce to mask the texture and flavor. This, on the other hand, was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Buttery, flavorful cuts of tuna were drizzled with a sweet, spicy sauce that didn’t overpower at all. We soon ordered a second plate.

Next came the uni, the most beautiful dish of the evening. Served atop shredded daikon radish and red bell peppers, this creamy uni tasted of the sea without being fishy. In other words, it tasted the way good uni should taste.

The applewood bacon mochi arrived next, and it was a hit. Chewy, plain mochi were wrapped in crisp, smoky bacon and briny nori seaweed. Bacon and seaweed don’t usually go together, but in this case, it worked wonders.

The gyutan, or Kobe beef tongue, arrived next, and it was one of my personal favorites. The tongue was tender, and the chili sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the strong flavors of the grilled beef.

Our next offal dish was the grilled chicken hearts, served with shichimi chili. Chicken hearts are one of my favorite types of offal: perfectly chewy, delicately flavored, and well, delicious. These were no exception.

We shared a few more dishes, but by this point I’d lost count. Suffice to say, Chotto is among my favorite izakayas in the Bay Area, and with friendly, helpful service to boot. Who knew one restaurant could so easily change my opinion of the Marina District?

Posted on October 5, 2011October 5, 2011

A few years ago, I lived in San Francisco’s Richmond District. I didn’t realize how good I had it at the time — you could hardly take ten steps in any direction without walking into a quality restaurant. My favorite dim sum restaurant was a five minute walk away, and after I moved, I searched fruitlessly for a replacement dim sum joint.

Enter City View. Located on the border of the Financial District and Chinatown, City View has become my new favorite dim sum restaurant — well, on this side of the city at least. I first visited for a work lunch, and I’ve been back many times since, most recently to introduce my great-aunt, who was visiting from Iran, to the joys of dim sum.

We started with the shrimp rice noodle rolls. These are usually stuffed with beef, but both variations were ethereal, velvety, and coated with just the right amount of savory sauce. Flecked with green onions and juicy shrimp, these are one of my favorite dim sum.

Next, we had the seafood-stuffed eggplant and tofu. Deep-fried and delicately stuffed with a shellfish puree, this was hearty. The eggplant was my favorite part: buttery without being oily.

We feasted on several more dim sum: shrimp dumplings, potstickers, siu mai, crisp-skinned duck with Mandarin pancakes and sesame balls, each delicious in their own way.

I’ve visited City View on weekdays and weekends alike and it’s nearly always busy. You’ll want to arrive before 1:00 pm so you have a good selection from the carts (City View closes at 2:30 pm).

And oh, my great-aunt? Suffice to say she’s now a fan too. It just goes to show you: good dim sum knows no boundaries.

Posted on October 3, 2011October 5, 2011

I tend to take fusion cuisine with a grain of salt. Too many wasabi-creme foams and deep-fried California rolls have made me apprehensive, but done right, fusion can be a beautiful thing. At the Embarcadero’s Ferry Building, Hapa Ramen does fusion right by serving up bowls of locally sourced and locally influenced noodles.

I stopped by the Ferry Building on a Thursday, and easily found the Hapa Ramen booth by the long line of hungry office workers. Intrigued by the fried chicken bowl, I ordered a bowl and sat outside to enjoy.

It may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but this was pure comfort food, California style. Instead of bamboo shoots and wakame seaweed, this ramen featured artichoke hearts and asparagus. The curious combination worked, and I happily munched on the juicy fried chicken before it had a chance to get lost in the broth. The noodles themselves were done right too: chewy and with the right amount of pull.

Hapa Ramen’s serving sizes are smaller than the standard ramen served in sit-down restaurants, but if you’re ordering at the Ferry Building, you’ll have plenty of snack and dessert options aftewards. Hapa Ramen sets up shop at the Ferry Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm, and at Off the Grid at Fort Mason on Fridays from 5pm to 9pm.