One night in SF

[Instinctive cook]

My husband just heard about Michael Mina- a chef I've known about for a few years. I was disappointed when I saw the number of restaurants there are in the group and thought it might not be as good as he was told. We have one night in SF- we loved Boulevard a few years ago and I always crave the roast chicken at Zuni Cafe- any other suggestions??

[ankimo]

Ame

[Carrie 218]

I would go to any of the following before I returned to MM (which I find staid, pretentious, and downright mediocre):

Ame
Coi
Boulevard
Canteen
Incanto
Aziza

[steve h.]

quince is pretty good. the california cable car to van ness works if you're willing to walk a few blocks.

[keg]

Damning with faint praise? Chef Tusk's level of dedication is uncommon. He's amazingly dedicated to foraging. This means you'll truly taste place as well as the subtleties of Tusk's approach to creating food memories. pretty good, yeah.

[Robert Lauriston]

For a place with such high ambitions, Quince gets a lot of reports along the lines of "the pastas were incredible, next time we'll order more of those and skip the entrees."

[gemster]

But I think that's more a testament to the quality of the pastas than anything else...

[Paul H]

There is certainly a big spread between Zuni, Boulevard, and Michael Mina. Are you looking for a Michael Mina-type experience, are you looking for a Zuni experience, or are you looking for something in between (Boulevard)? It's tough to suggest something given your examples as they are all so different.

[bobpantzer]

Paul H is right. Most of my suggestions in my earlier post are in the Boulevard/Michael Minna category and not Zuni kind of places. Actually, Zuni is kind of a unique place and maybe in a category all its own.

[Robert Lauriston]

Lulu and Nopa are kind of like Zuni, but the original's still the best.

[bobpantzer]

Fleur de Lys
Dining Room at The Ritz Carlton
Gary Danko
Acquerello
Quince