Clockwise from top left: squash blossom empanada at Mateo’s Cocina Latina; charred tomato flatbread at Absinthe; eggplant fries at Brassica; and fried green tomatoes at Park Tavern.
Though 2010 was really a banner year for new restaurants in S.F., 2011’s been no slouch. Between Nojo and Boxing Room and a new chef at Absinthe, Hayes Valley’s had a total food makeover. North Beach has seen some new life with Park Tavern and Txoko. And the Castro’s seen some refreshment too, with the recent opening of Canela and the early-summer opening of Criolla Kitchen. Meanwhile menus continue to be refreshed at mainstays like Flour + Water, Contigo, and Frances as summer fades slowly into fall. So allow us to suggest these twenty new dishes that might become your new addictions, most of them on the small-plates end of things, at twenty restaurants both new and not so new.
And when you’re done checking out our picks, make sure you head over to our other Grub Street editions — Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia — to see what they’re looking forward to this fall.
Absinthe398 Hayes Street; 415-551-1590On the revamped bar menu at Absinthe, from chef Adam Keough, is this excellent mini-pizza with roasted and charred cherry tomatoes, smoked bacon, ricotta, arugula, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It’s an awesome bar snack, especially with the now famous soft garlic pretzels with Vermont cheddar dipping sauce (also pictured), and perfect for soaking up one or two of Carlos Yturria’s excellent cocktails.
Beast & the Hare1001 Guerrero Street at 22nd; 415-821-1001Chef Ian Marks has been trying to take this one-time special off the menu — a braised rabbit and bacon stew over white corn polenta and herb salsa — for a couple of months now, but he fears a revolt among his loyal customers. “I go through twelve rabbits a week!” he tells us.
Boxing Room399 Grove Street at Gough; 415-430-6590San Francisco Magazine critic Josh Sens aptly describes these as “Creole arancini,” and they’re basically fried balls of rice laced with chicken liver and ground pork shoulder, with a bit of spicy aioli for dipping. They’re delicious for obvious reasons, and easy to fill up on — they’re also a little heartier and more interesting than the hushpuppies, which are also good — but they make a great start to a meal at this new New Orleans-inspired restaurant from the Absinthe team.
Brassica641 Main Street, St. Helena; 707-963-0700One of the most inventive small plates at Cindy Pawlcyn’s brand new Mediterranean eatery in downtown St. Helena (in what was formerly her restaurant Go Fish) are these crispy frites made with spears of eggplant, dusted with za’tar and served with a spiced yogurt for dipping. It’s fried eggplant made new, and almost feels healthy. And they’re so good we’re kind of surprised we’ve never seen this before.
Canela Bistro and Bar2272 Market Street; 415-552-3000Yes, there are plenty of non-fried items – charcuterie, flatbreads, salads – at this new tapas place in the Castro, but how can you beat a perfect croquette stuffed with Manchego cheese? Also, be advised, the kitchen stays open late (midnight on weekends), and we all know that fried food is just what the doctor ordered when you’ve been drinking.
Chile Pies & Ice Cream314 Church Street at 15th; 415-341-9411They may specialize in pies, both the savory and sweet variety, but the bakers at Chile Pies & Ice Cream also seem to know a thing or two about cake. In checking out the newest location on Church Street, we happened to see this wedge of moist-looking cake glowing on its stand. And the slice of it we took home proved truly glorious — as rich, moist, and chocolatey as it looked, with a homemade-tasting buttercream that was just this side of too sweet. It’s not available every day, but look for it as you pass by, and don’t pass it up.
Contigo1320 Castro Street at 24th; 415-285-0250Chef Brett Emerson prepares this traditional Catalan salad with frisée, grape tomatoes, chopped tomato, cucumber, croutons, Bronx grapes, and a drizzle of cumin-garlic vinaigrette. It’s a totally refreshing and unique summer salad that they’ll be serving well into the fall, as long as the grapes and tomatoes still look good, and servers have taken to explaining it to diners as a “deconstructed gazpacho,” even though it’s not exactly.
(Dr. Teeth and the Electric) Mayhem2323 Mission Street at 19th; 415-285-2380The menu at this newest Mission watering hole (in the former Bissap Baobab space) leans heavily toward simple fare like burgers and sliders, and our favorite of the bunch are these mini-Reuben sandwiches, served with tater tots. If you’re feeling really adventurous (and/or you enjoy pain), you can try the Ghost Burger, which comes with a ghost pepper sauce that you have to sign a waver for before eating.
Frances3870 17th Street at Pond; 415-621-3870Chef Melissa Perello recently added this delicious ode to late summer to the smaller-plates section of her menu, and it’s as humble but perfect as everything else at the restaurant. The bowl is prepped with a quenelle of smoked-chili creme fraiche over a bed of roasted white corn, and lime-scented sea salt, and then filled in with a satisfying white corn soup. The result is satisfying, with a modernized nod to the 1980s and the southwestern flavors that came with early California Cuisine.
Flour + Water2401 Harrison Street at 20th; 415-826-7000One of the newest pizzas on the Flour + Water menu is this fall-focused mushroom pie, which is loaded with earthy nettles, chanterelles, fontina cheese, and sage cream.
GreensFort Mason Center; 415-771-6222Over at this 32-year-old vegetarian mainstay overlooking the Bay there is a brand new happy hour up front at Greens to Go, featuring $5 wine specials and new small plates like these hearty little corn cakes, emphasis on the corn — there’s just a light eggy batter holding together a lot of fresh kernels. They’re served with sour cream, salsa, and a tangy green-olive salsa verde.
Hecho185 Sutter at Kearny; 415-835-6400There’s a lot to like about the new Mexico-meets-Japan, tequila/sushi bar and izakaya called Hecho, in the former Midi spot at the Galleria Park Hotel, but our favorite item by far is this slightly fusion-y plate of fried chicken nuggets, exquisitely seasoned, and dressed with lime juice and sliced raw jalapeno. The jalapeno and lime bring this traditional Japanese drinking snack full circle back to the tequila-bar end of things, but the dish still somehow tastes Asian — probably because of a soy kick in the fry batter, but we can’t be sure.
Jasper’s Corner Tap & Kitchen401 Taylor Street at O’Farrell; 415-775-7979Deviled eggs are kind of a thing lately, and the best we’ve had in town are the “Caesar salad” deviled eggs (at left), laced with plenty of anchovy, that are part of a trio of varieties on offer from chef Adam Carpenter at Jasper’s. The other two (romesco, and garden vegetable) are fine and well seasoned, but nothing beats the garlic-mustard-anchovy kick of those Caesar salad ones, topped tiny croutons.
Mateo’s Cocina Latina214 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg; 707-433-1520The newly open, Yucatan-inspired restaurant in downtown Healdsburg, from former Dry Creek Kitchen-turned-pop-up chef Mateo Granados, features much of the homey food that made his Tendejon de la Calle pop-ups a success. These fine empanadas, topped with raw goat’s milk feta, are shown here with one of bar star Scott Beattie’s creations for the tequila- and mezcal-driven bar program: a savory salsa fresca margarita with cucumber, jicama, lime, and cherry tomato.
Michael Mina252 California Street; 415-397-9222One of the tastier treats on the two-month-old bar menu at Michael Mina is this dish of haute-fusion-style tacos, featuring braised duck leg, pickled onions, and a drizzling of smoked-tomato crème fraiche. We gather the traders like to land at the bar after the markets close, around 3:30, and order these things and the sliders by the dozen.
Nojo231 Franklin Street at Linden; 415-896-4587Chef Greg Dunmore knows his way around yakitori, and his California-touched, Japanese small plates are all inspired and photo-worthy. But we wanted to call your attention to this humble but astonishing rice cake, grilled and seasoned with a deft hand, which should form the beginning of any meal at Nojo. It’s a worthy tribute to the country from which it comes, and it’s as soulful a dish as any we can think of.
Park Tavern1652 Stockton at Union; 415-989-7300Much like the menu at little sister restaurant Marlowe, the stuff at the newly open Park Tavern is pretty much all good. The smaller-plates end of the menu is divided into three sections: Raw, Fried, and Smoked. And from the fried section, a highlight has to be these amazingly crisp, creamy, fried green tomatoes, wedged rather than sliced, that manage to be molten-fresh and tomato-y in the middle without sogging their crusts. And they’re served with a tasty, smoky aioli with a Tabasco kick.
Prospect300 Spear Street at Folsom; 415-247-7770Everyone knows by now that the food at one-year-old Prospect is solid, and that the bar can be a major scene most weeknights, sandwiched between the Financial District and the ballpark. But one of the best things on their newly launched bar menu are these house-made beer nuts, which are quite seriously addictive, well spiced, and delicious.
TraceW Hotel, 181 3rd Street at Howard; 415-817-7836One of the most surprising dishes on the simple but slyly inventive, farm-to-table menu at the newly opened Trace is this pasta dish, which features charred cherry tomatoes, roasted corn, fennel pollen, and artichoke chips. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and the sauce had a virtually meaty complexity from all the components — particularly the char on the tomatoes and corn, we think. It’s a satisfying and luxurious vegetarian dish.
Txoko504 Broadway; 415-500-2744We like a lot of the pintxos from chef Ian Begg at this new North Beach tapas place, but probably the most addictive is this flaky wild mushroom empanada, filled with tasty chanterelles, hen-of-the-woods, and portobello mushrooms. Try it with a glass of sherry, or one of their fine and original cocktails, like the Fatty Arbuckle: bacon-infused Elijah Craig 12-year bourbon, lemon-verbena simple syrup, and tobacco tincture.
