Returning visit to SF - Food itinerary suggestions!
Hello Chowhounders!
I'd appreciate some help planning a weekend itinerary for a trip in 2 weeks. I lived in east bay and SF for 6 years but I moved to NY and now LA . So I've tried quite a few places in SF but I'm less familiar with the dining scene in the last 4 years.
Two things to note:
1. I and half of my friends (all local and foodies) are now on grad student budgets so entrees should be under $30, ideally closer to $20. could splurge if something is truly fantastic
2. I'll probably be staying in nob hill. I don't mind traveling a little via bart but I'd prefer to stick to SF for such a short trip.
3. I've looked at quite a few chowhound and yelp posts. One problem is a lot of places in SF are small and already full for reservations so places that can accommodate more on shorter notice would be good. I also dont know how many people will be in the party yet (my guess is 4-6)
4. Asian food must be authentic
5. some of my favorites when I lived in the Bay Area were: Ad Hoc, Chez Panisse, Delfina, Range, Tartine, farmerbrown. Other than Tartine I prefer to try new places. Some places I found overrated: Gary Danko, Town Hall, One Market, R&G, La Mar <none of these were bad, just disappointing and not worth the price>
Here is a tentative itinerary. would really appreciate thoughts on this :)
Friday dinner: Cotogna or other suggestion
Saturday lunch: Ferry Building farmers market for Roli Roti or 4505 Meats
Saturday dinner: Range, Baker and Banker, or other. My friend really wanted to try Frances but its too late to get a reservation. Other thoughts would be great (party of 4-6) Initially wanted this to be a semi-splurge meal but cheaper suggestions appreciated
Sun lunch: Little Saigon - I always had pho when i went to Little Saigon but this time I want family style so thoughts on this would be great. Bodega Bistro, Pagolac, or other. Especially interested in the 7 courses of beef or crab dishes
Sun dinner: early bird menu at Chapeau! before I catch my flight is 9pm.
Some other places that sound good from reviews:
Benu (tiny portions?) same with sons and daughters
mr pollo
Bar Crudo (happy hour)
Commonwealth
Heirloom cafe
Maverick
flour+water
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Bodega Bistro
607 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Bar Crudo
655 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
Pagolac
655 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Roli Roti
, Hayward, CA
4505 Meats
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, CA
Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
By silverlainy
on Jul 10, 2011 12:20 PM
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Given your likes, which are similar to mine, don't miss Cotogna, and consider Bar Tartine.
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Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
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Thanks - I really wanted to try Cotogna but it doenst look like any reservations are available for the weekend...even at 5:30! Do you know whether they save tables for walk-ins? Or should a group of 4-6 not even bother? I have been curious about flour+water as well - is that a good substitute?
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Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
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I think Cotogna reserves most of the restaurant for walk-ins. At least on Opentable they take reservations only before and after dinner rush.
Flour + Water is good but not quite in the same league with Cotogna.
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Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133
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Better: call the restaurant. It sounds like you're using open table; call and you can ask. OT takes a huge cut of the reservation.
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I had a great crab experience at Bodega Bistro a few months ago--
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/727576
The time has passed for local crab but you should still be able to get good quality brought down from northern waters. The salt & pepper crab dishes at the Vietnamese places are especially good.
You might also consider Kim Thanh, which doesn't have BB's nice decor but has excellent crab preparations plus other great dishes--
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/752492
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Bodega Bistro
607 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Kim Thanh
607 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102
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Both of the Vietnamese restaurants sound great - do you have a preference? Is it pretty much the same price? My friend highly recommended the squab at BB but the seafood at KT sounds delicious.
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Both places are great. Kim Thanh is a very unpretentious place, while Bodega Bistro has a fancier décor and costs more but is still very reasonable.
The crab I had in December at Kim Thanh was my best of the season to that point (and I had previously had some excellent crab at places like Yum’s Bistro). A few months later at BB I commented that the crab there was as good or maybe even a little better and my companions who had been at Kim Thanh agreed. It would be hard to choose between the two.
Other than crab I’ve had different types of dishes at KT than at BB. At KT everyone loved the fried dishes especially the charbroiled pork and the frog. On a second visit the pork was excellent again but didn’t awe me quite as much. That always happens—the second time I taste something that totally wowed me the first time it almost never can live up to my inflated expectations. My first visit our whole group was busy scraping every last little bit of tasty fried goodness off the serving plates.
At BB I’ve had more cold dishes like wraps and papaya salad. Their dipping sauces are outstanding and are competitive with those at other highly regarded places like Vung Tau in San Jose.
I haven’t tried enough items at each place to be sure but I think the two places have different strengths—KT for great wok fried dishes, BB for wraps like banh xeo and french-influenced entrees, and either place for excellent salt and pepper crab.
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Vung Tau Restaurant
535 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95112
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Bodega's strengths are the catfish, papaya salad, crepe, and shaken beef. I've never tried roast crab there except in the spring rolls and am not sure it's always offered. It is a wonderful restaurant.
BTW Little Saigon is a politically charged tourist name/appropriation: Bodega Bistro's owners for example are from Hanoi.
If you can, go to Mr. Pollo for lunch. It keeps getting written up, which means dinner is a 2-hour wait before seating.
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Bodega Bistro
607 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Mr. Pollo
2823 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
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Thanks guys for comparison! I think KT sounds like what I'm craving - I hope the crab is still good despite the season!
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Range is wonderful for your splurge. Someone in your group should get the chicken - better than Zuni's.
Pagolac's 7 courses of beef is delicious, and the place is warm and inviting. very nice family run place.
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Pagolac
655 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109
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Bar Tartine is really excellent so I'll second the mention (not sure if you planned on the cafe or the restaurant, but both are great).
Frances leaves some tables for neighborhood walk-ins. You also might find the reservations become available day off. It's worth that effort.
Since you liked Farmerbrown, I'll mention their take out lunch location, Little Skillet.
Mr. Pollo is a lot of fun, but coming from NY and then LA, I wouldn't break your neck to get there. It's worth a stop if it fits in, simply because it's uniquely personable. I've been advising to go ala carte instead of the tasting.
4505 Meats, and Maverick are a lot of hype in my opinion. In the case of 4505 meats there are so many better offering, and I think the Prather Ranch burger is better. Il Cane Rosso comes to mind as another option.
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Mr. Pollo
2823 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Prather Ranch
1 Ferry Bldg # 32, San Francisco, CA
4505 Meats
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, CA
Il Cane Rosso
1 Ferry Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94105
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thanks sugartoof- Do you think mr pollo is a good value? LA has plenty of South american food, but generally not both refined and cheap. I did eat a lot in South america so if it is delicious id be interested
What is your favorite from the Ferry Building Farmer's market? I mainly wanted to try Roli Roti. I also like the normal vendors like delica and miette.
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Roli Roti
, Hayward, CA
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Mr Pollo is a good value for what amounts to a chef's table, with the $15 tasting menu, but I'm not sure I'd call it refined.
Most everything has the same sauce...luckily it's a delicious sauce, but some of the courses start to seem redundant, and depending on how busy the chef is, some protein tends to arrive overcooked, or without finesse. Again, it's about the experience here. The dessert tasting menu is also $15 for 3 dessert tastes, all made in house. A great value with very interesting options when I sampled it.
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