Specialties to look for this time of year ....

[eater_va]

Have reservations at Zuni (lunch), Aqua and Coi (dinner) next week. Im coming from DC -- any local ingredients I should be seeking to try on the menus (or general, recent menu suggestions for these spots).

Also, looking for a place for lunch on Thursday. Dim Sum. Any suggestions beyond Yank Sing? I may be near Powell St. BART so I was looking at Tian Sing.

[Cynsa]

During strawberry season, I go for the Strawberry Manju at Benkyo-do in JapanTown.

http://www.benkyodocompany.com/manju/...

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Benkyodo
1747 Buchanan St, San Francisco, CA

[shellie]

Robert's list was good - I would just add ramps, sorel, and mussels.

[Robert Lauriston]

High season for mussels is fall and winter. Though most of them come from the airport, and it's always fall or winter somewhere on the globe.

Ramps season is short, roughly April and May.

[Xiao Yang]

Not only that, but ramps are more of an East Coast fetish to begin with, and certainly not something a foodie from DC will be seeking out in California.

[Ruth Lafler]

Both ramps and mussels were featured at Fish and Farm this week, which makes me think there's a local source for both.

[Xiao Yang]

I'm not saying there are no ramps around here this time of year, but that people in the Easterns states get excited when they (and fiddlehead ferns) first appear as harbingers of Spring.

[wally]

Hog Island raises mussels and clams in addition to oysters.

[Robert Lauriston]

Zuni's menu changes daily, so is a good place to look to find out what's in season.

Some stuff I've seen on market-driven menus lately:

fennel
garlic
onions
favas
spinach
lamb's quarter
English peas
pea leaf (Chinese restaurants)
green beans
beets
artichokes
morels
porcini
new potatoes
local halibut
cherries
Meyer lemons
apricots
strawberries

[Ruth Lafler]

Yeah, that pretty much reflects was was on the menu at Fish and Farm this week.

[Mari]

Zuni has a coffee granita on the menu year round, I think. If the weather stays warm then it would be a nice afternoon treat with your lunch.

[Xiao Yang]

Tian Sing is a good option for that part of town. Good to excellent dim sum, somewhat pricey compared to Chinatown but not compared to Yank Sing, and comfortably configured for solo and couple diners.

Sporq has the dim sum menu:

http://www.sporq.com/sanfrancisco/tia...

[wolfe]

Is 37A XLB?

[Xiao Yang]

Yep.

[grayelf]

X_Y, thanks for the tip on Sporq -- really handy to help plan good Chow for out of towner.