Coming back to SF after a two year absence

[micki]

I'm really looking forward to my trip in early November. I've been to SF many times and always manage to discover new delicious places to eat thanks in part to the good folks on this board. My number one dining destination this time around is Mission Chinese. I also want to hit Roli Roti at the Saturday Farmers Market at the Ferry Building (totally hung up on the porchetta sandwich). Maybe a trip across the bridge to Chez Panisse, too. Dim sum at Yank Sing is also a favorite. But I'd like your input too since I'm always on the look out for a great new restaurant or two. No limits! Thanks.

-----
Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

Roli Roti
, Hayward, CA

[boris_qd]

Il Cane Rosso in the Ferry Terminal also has excellent sandwiches if you're looking for something a little different this time around (not that you should - roli roti has one of the best porchetta sandwiches). The beef brisket is stellar. http://canerossosf.com/

Have you been to Tartine? Breakfast, Lunch, or Snack would work. If you're up for a picnic their bread is also awesome but has to be reserved ahead of time for evening pickup. I know. weird.

If you're looking for something different in East Bay Ippuku is a great Japanese yakitori place that's right by the Berkeley downtown BART station. Being by BART you can have as much sake as you like and still safely get back to the city. Everything I've had there is great and if you're into foody bragging rights they serve a raw chicken salad (with raw quail egg). I actually think that it's authentically tasty (as opposed to being a novelty dish). Surprisingly rich and unctuous.

-----
Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Il Cane Rosso
1 Ferry Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94105

Ippuku
2130 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704

[micki]

Tartine is definitely on my list. Last time I was in SF the line at Tartine was so long and the place so crowded that I didn't bother to go in. A friend on mine was there last month and emailed some pix of her breakfast sweets. Looked so good now I'll have to brave the crowds. Thanks for reminding me.

[eethan]

As long as the line doesn't go past the kitchen window (on the outside), I think it is bearable given how great(!!) the pastries are. The one sandwich I ever had was just OK. But don't hold out hope for a seat, esp. if you are more than one person.

I have to say, it is really hard for me to refrain from myself sick (or spending $50+) at Tartine.

[Scott M]

IMO I wouldn't go across the bridge for CP. However, if in the East Bay I would recommend Commis, Plum, Bowl'd Korean, and Hawker Fare. Commonwealth is near Mission Chinese in the city and the better restaurant in my opinion.

-----
Bowl'd
1479 Solano Ave, Albany, CA 94706

Commis
3859 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611

Hawker Fare
2300 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94612

[Robert Lauriston]

Bar Tartine and Cotogna are two new places worth considering. Bar Tartine has the same name as before but the menu has totally changed under the new chef.

It's definitely worth a visit but don't get your hopes too high for Mission Chinese Food.

-----
Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Mission Chinese Food
2234 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

[peasantpalate]

I definitely agree with the Mission Chinese comment. Of course, you can't go expecting amazing , authentic Chinese.

[Robert Lauriston]

Nobody who heard about Mission Chinese Food from the press (NY Times: one of the country's "hottest destination restaurants"; Bon Appetit: #2 of the ten best new restaurants in the US) would be expecting traditional dishes.

-----
Mission Chinese Food
2234 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

[Windy]

Too bad no one at the NYTimes or Bon Appetit seems to know anything about Sichuan food. It's regional, but hardly unheard of.

[Robert Lauriston]

I'm not sure what you're responding to with that comment. Mark Bittman said "many of Mission’s dishes are precisely as “Chinese” as Bowien himself (which is to say not at all)."

[eethan]

Wagering a guess: many of MCF's dishes are Sichuan-esque, so it might be fair to say they're not quite 'not at all' Chinese.

[Robert Lauriston]

What Bittman said was, " Many of Mission’s dishes are precisely as 'Chinese' as Bowien himself (which is to say not at all)," and the article goes on to talk about some Chinese-influenced dishes.

Windy's post seems to be responding to a claim that Sichuan cuisine is unheard-of, which I can't find. Bittman would certainly never say such a thing.

[Ruth Lafler]

I read Windy's comment as being "If Bitman thinks these dishes are not at all Chinese then he's apparently never heard of Sichuan cuisine." I.e. "unheard of" by Bitman. Not the MCF is Sichuan, but to say that it's "not at all Chinese" is silly.

[sugartoof]

MCF appears to serve a take on authentic menus featuring Chinese Sichuan, and Xi'an regional dishes. If you were to go on the NY side of Chowhound, these would be the dishes most often discussed in relation to the current Chinese food scene there. It's odd a NY Times writer wouldn't know that.

[Robert Lauriston]

Bittman was talking about dishes, not the whole menu. Some of MFC's dishes, notably the chawan mushi, are not at all Chinese:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-03-13...

Bittman obviously knows that others are, since he's seen the menu and his article includes recipes for Bowien's salt-and-pepper shrimp, Sichuan pickles, and Westlake porridge.

Bowien's cooking is sort of pan-San-Francisco-Asian fusion, though without the usual French and California clichés that term usually implies. "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel or shoot for authenticity—we're just trying to make good food we're happy about."

[sugartoof]

The Momofuko reference would seem to be the biggest tip off as to what they're up to.

[sfbing]

Speaking from personal experience since my mom made both savory and sweet versions, Chinese people make steamed egg custard dishes. We just don't call them chawan mushi.

[Robert Lauriston]

Sure, but if you look at Bowien's recipe, it's very Japanese, with a touch of French:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

[sfbing]

I think that's more an issue of vocabulary. You would think my mother's custard was very japanese too, if i described it as using shoyu (instead of soy sauce), sake (instead of rice wine), and dried scallop dashi (instead of stock with rehydrated dried scallops). Also, using duck confit instead of laap aap (preserved duck in Cantonese).

[Robert Lauriston]

It's not a matter of description, all the products are Japanese and none are Chinese. Dried scallops and Shaoxing wine have different and stronger flavors than bonito flakes and sake. The current version on the menu is even more Japanese, he's using uni.

I'm actually kind of surprised that he doesn't take that dish in a more Chinese direction, since generally he prefers bigger, bolder flavors.