Piccino, a smart corner cafe in a remodeled, navy blue Victorian comes as a surprise in gentrifying Dogpatch, a sunny microneighborhood at the bottom of the eastern slope of Potrero Hill.Who would expect to find rows of untouched, pre-earthquake cottages on a narrow tree-lined block amid warehouses, truck depots and workshops?
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Last week two of us serendipitously found a $25 promotional gift certificate to Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the mail. Fifty dollars off a steak dinner for two seemed pretty substantial so we headed right over. But as it turned out, a 50-buck credit barely makes a dent in a Ruth’s Chris tab.
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Hungry folks mill around the front door of SPQR, anguishing over whether they can endure the wait. I breeze by and find a seat at Florio, a few storefronts north, and one of my favorite little bistros anywhere.
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In a barely noticeable double storefront on a commercial, if slightly barren, block of inner Balboa, Namu is a find: an affordable wine-and-sake bar with a menu of small, enticing Japanese/Korean dishes, with both counter and table seating.Three Korean brothers, all in their 20s but experienced beyond their years from growing up in restaurants, opened it a little more than a year ago.
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Starbucks vs. Peets? So old school. The hottest/coolest coffee drama in San Francisco today stars Blue Bottle and Ritual, two small, local coffee roasters that have elevated a cup of brewed coffee to grand cru heights.
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When I told an old scriptwriter pal of mine to meet me at Fish and Farm, the new little restaurant in the Mark Twain Hotel, he shot back an ecstatic e-mail."Surf ‘n’ turf at last! Dry martinis, juicy steak and lobster dipped in butter. Mama!""Better start visualizing organic cocktails, sablefish with Brussels sprouts and ‘duo of naturally fed beef,’" I told him, "but, it’s really good. I promise."
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The hottest block in San Francisco now is anchored at one end by Yoshi’s, a top flight jazz club and restaurant; and on the south end by 1300 on Fillmore, an evocative jazz lounge and high-concept dinner house featuring the polished American soul food of chef
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Jessica Bonecutter was very deep in the weeds behind the stove at the opening of the Hog Island Oyster Bar in the then-newly renovated Ferry Building. People were pouring in, orders were piling up and service was breaking down. I had an anxiety attack just watching her, but this young chef stayed surprisinglycalm. She put her head down and worked through the tickets one by one. Though slow to arrive, the food was delicious.
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The yin-yang synergy of Hime, a new world izakaya — a Japanese pub — starts outside on the sidewalk in front of a giant Buddha that gazes serenely at six lanes of Lombard Street traffic. Those of us who have driven past this location for 30 years dimly recall that this 1950s-style ranch house used to be a coffee shop and pie bakery. Now, Hime’s interior — antique wood, bamboo, shimmering orange and yellow window covering, leather chairs, Japanese chests — glows mysteriously in soft, low light.
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Examiner food critic Patricia Unterman checks in with her latest report from her culinary adventures around the world. Today: Mexico City
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Examiner food critic Patricia Unterman checks in with her latest report from her culinary adventures around the world. TODAY: Oaxaca, Mexico
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Loaded with hot red chiles, chile oil, garlic and fragrant — if mouth numbing — prickly ash berries or "peppercorns," Sichuan cooking may not be for the faint of heart. But those who like the heat and are excited by a pantry that embraces pickled greens, leeks, fresh bacon, smoked duck and freshwater fish should consider Panda Country Kitchen.
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Of all the lauded healthy Mediterranean diets, Turkish, for me, is the most scrumptious. It represents the best of Mediterranean cooking, full of vegetables, olive oil, yogurt, whole grains, fresh and wild greens, aromatic herbs, Eastern Mediterranean spices and just enough meat or fish to satisfy without heaviness. The preparations are vibrant.
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For years Christopher Lee worked in the great training kitchen, Chez Panisse. Yet the food at his own three-year-old restaurant Eccolo, a bustling California-style bistro/trattoria in Berkeley’s upscale Fourth Street shopping complex, is distinctly his own. Though he shares principles with the mothership — the worship of local, seasonal and artisanal ingredients — his dishes are richer, meatier and heartier. After a meal at Eccolo, you know you have eaten. Plus, Eccolo has a bar, a real bar that serves martinis and cocktails.
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