Sushi Ran's meltingly good tempura

Top Tastes, rather than a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), is highlights of the best things I’ve been eating since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit previously written about or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned.

MID-RANGE RESTAURANTS

Tartare de Boeuf at Grand Cafe

•  Grand Cafe has a new chef de cuisine, Sophiane Benaouda, from Lyon, France, with a background working in three-star Michelin restaurant, L’Auberge de L’Eridan, and attending none other than Paul Bocuse’s culinary school, Chateau du Vivier. He’s also a delightful human being, graciously stopping by to say hello as he’s able, eager to talk about food, travel… he’s a wonderful asset, enlivening Grand Cafe with new spark. Bringing French cooking expertise and Provençal flavors to the Cafe’s menu, at a recent media dinner, I feasted on his garlicky, buttery Escargots de Bourgogne ($10), Tartare de Boeuf ($16), a lovely Waygu steak tartare mixed with aioli and capers, fresh-as-the-sea meat from King Crab Legs ($7 each for 5 oz. legs), luscious seared Scallops ($30) with crisped artichoke and celery root puree, then the gorgeous pink and brown of a medium-rare Buffalo special with a mound of artistic scalloped potatoes. Pastry chef, Jessica Miller’s chocolates, went home with me. Sea Salt Chocolate melted with a filling that tasted of butter and brown sugar. Sigh. French food is receiving a breath of life at Grand.

Dessert at enchanting Poggio

•  On a rainy night, the mood at Poggio was magic. Lamps glowed, the smell of spit-roasted pig gave a whiff of intrigue for Porchetta Mondays (a generous $16 dish with white beans, tomato and sage), and my classic Negroni (Tony, the bartender’s specialty), is one of the best I’ve ever had. Add in an order of homemade Burrata ($11), delicate cheese with sun-dried tomato puree on grilled ciabatta, or awesome pastas (all made in-house), like Chitarra (square cut spaghetti, $19) with big chunks of Dungeness crab and a light sauce of Meyer lemon aioli and saffron, then maybe an Affogato to finish. I was transported to Italy in spirit while enchanted by a misty Sausalito night.

APPETIZERS with DRINKS

Medallion's cool patio

•  I can’t yet vouch for steaks and dinner at Burlingame’s new Medallion Steakhouse, but its proximity right off the freeway a minute or two from SFO makes it an easy stop pre or post airport pick-ups. Sip The Medallion cocktail ($10/$5 at happy hour, 4-7pm, M-F) – Milagro Blanco tequila, Chamomile Citrus Berry AperiTea, St. Germain, lime – while eating oysters, a Prime Rib Spring Roll ($9/$6 at happy hour) or Fennel & Sausage Pizza ($11). What really intrigues me is a striking wood-walled patio with chic fountain, firepit, and big screen playing “Rebel Without A Cause”. This could be an amazing spot in warm weather for drinks outdoors. Add in a relaxed crowd and it would feel like a happening private party.

CATERING

•  A 1/18 private Bourbon & Branch Glenmorangie party was catered by chef, Daniel Isberg, recently in SF via Stockholm, having lived and cooked around the world. He caters through Mind Your Tongue, his international mix peeking out in creative dishes or classics, like a heaping wok full of Paella. My “Top Taste” nod goes to his Wasabi Cheesecake, with sweet graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake with a gentle whiff of wasabi, topped with a little salmon. Wow.

BERKELEY

eVe's Pork Belly

•  eVe, one of Berkeley’s latest openings a mere 6 weeks ago, surprised me with fine dining techniques, like sous vide, cooked comfortably within view at a mere $11 a course (must order a minimum of two, which is plenty filling for one). Exec Chef and Pastry Chef/husband and wife team, Christopher and Veronica Laramie, showcase cooking skills from Veronica’s native Peru, to their stints with Charlie Trotter, to culinary school at the gold standard, Paris’ Le Cordon Bleu. In a clean, black and white space, I ate Squid Ink Risotto: grilled squid over risotto balanced with a tart kick from candied kumquats and yuzu.

eVe's artistry exemplified in a Monkfish dish

A sizable piece of fatty-licious Pork Belly goes beautifully with a warm watermelon radish, chive flower and paper thin slice of candied Buddha’s hand. A generous Monkfish entree is perked up by hints of Peruvian panca chili over pureed sweet potato and grilled cipollini onions. Five-spice Short Ribs happily co-exist with farro, red cabbage, parsnip, sweet baked prune, red wine sauce. Only a Gnocchi dish, that didn’t taste like gnocchi, fell a little short for me (though still good), hitting mainly salty/earthy notes without a balance of other taste profiles. Desserts showcase fruits and vegetables, the overall effect a pleasant surprise of unique presentation and cutting-edge technique… at a mere $11. Go now for what is truly creative deliciousness at a steal!

La Salette's baked Sardines

•  There are some misses, like most of the sandwiches and “burgers” at veggie Mediterranean Chick-O-Pea’s, but its clean, bright, and decidedly non-hippie, a deli-like offering of take-out or made-to-order plates. Skinny fries come with a fun range of dips or tossed in spices like harrisa, but it’s pita fries that are really crispy, yummy. Other highlights include salads ($7) and pre-boxed sides like Israeli Couscous or Persian Cucumber Yogurt ($4 each).

SONOMA-PETALUMA

• White Anchovies (one option in tasting platters; 3 items for $15, 5 for $24, 7 for $33) and Sardinhas Assadas ($13) were a thrill in an all-around great meal at La Salette. Sonoma’s long-standing Portuguese restaurant is a special one, platters laden with your choice of cheeses, Spanish hams, marinated octopus, blood sausage, and aforementioned anchovies. With a glass of wine, I’m transported to Portugal, carried further into bliss by hefty Bacalhau no Forno ($21), a baked salt cod disc loaded with potatoes,  onions, olives, or especially those baked, meaty Sardines, drizzled with olive oil.

Smoked Trout Salad at Central Market

•  Central Market is a Petaluma classic that continues to work – bustling and airy, the space buzzes with noise but isn’t annoying. It’s artisan ingredients in a chic, small town, main street setting. I loved smoked trout atop a Local Butter Lettuce Salad ($9) with Fuji apples, cranberries and creamy mustard seed dressing. Jalapeno Guacamole rocked a Kona Kampachi “Crudo” ($11.50), soaked in lemon olive oil.

MARIN

Vietnamese Shaking Beef at Sushi Ran

•  Any time I visit Sushi Ran is a happy occasion. My visit a couple weeks ago showed no lapse in quality since my first years ago. There’s their meltingly good tempura ($7 each plate) – I particularly love the Broccolini Tempura – tempura as it was meant to be. Then, delicate Smoked Hamachi Tataki ($13.50) over avocado, ruby grapefruit, in a yuzu-black pepper sauce. Simple as it sounds, I dream of the fresh bite of a Salmon Citrus Maki ($15) perked up by lime wedges over salmon, Japanese cucumber and avocado. One of the best dishes is not even fish: Vietnamese Shaking Beef ($20), juicy, tender, pink cubes, rich with lime-black pepper sauce and the sweet of caramelized onions.

CHEAP EATS

Pheasant Sausage at Rosamunde

• Rosamunde Sausage Grill has been my favorite SF sausage source for a decade, and I may always be partial to the walk-in only original in Lower Haight with dynamic duo of Toronado Bar next door. But I have no problem seeing the sausage love spread around, even if the Mission gets so much of the city’s best food already. They now get the 2nd Rosamunde right on Mission at 24th, with craft beers on draft (thick Rasputin Imperial Stout takes 5 minutes to pour, but it’s worth it!) The other big pluses here are tables (!), extra menu items (like a $5.75 Sausage/egg/cheddar breakfast sandwich and Four Barrel Coffee in the morning), and sausages to cook at home from a little deli counter. Opening week, Pheasant/pork/wine/cranberries special ($6.50) popped with grilled onions, sweet peppers and house garlic pepper mayo.

Top Tastes in DRINK

1/20 - Science of Cocktails at the Exploratorium

WINE

New cocktail bar, The Residence

• Oh, 2006 Puligny-Montrachet, you are such a gorgeous Chardonnay… thankfully, RN74 serves you by the glass.

• I was delighted by the drinkability of Angove’s Nine Vines Rose, a South Australian wine that came across my desk. A blend of  70% Grenache/30% Shiraz, it’s zesty but rich, with spicy cherry notes, light but with satisfying depth. The winemakers are doing some wine pairing dinners soon: one on 2/24 at Betelnut, the other on 3/24 at Scalas’s, with 30% of ticket sales going straight to Project Open Hand.

BEER

•  Delarosa may be in the Marina, but they’ve got some fine cocktails and beer (see my take on their food): sipped a complex Maredsous with fruit and white pepper notes and a bitter Drake’s IPA with strong passion fruit aromas and toffee malt taste.

COFFEE

My new ‘hood (Upper Haight) is sadly lacking in fine coffee – if only I could get Blue Bottle to go any time from Magnolia. But Central Coffee Tea & Spice is not far from me and as a locals go-to since 1995, they serve fair trade, robust, well-prepared coffee in a dingy but welcoming environment.

Three-month old Matching Half Cafe is a few blocks further, a longer walk from home, but it does me right with fabulous Verve coffee prepared as it should be (drip for a cup; cappuccinos with proper foam).

SPIRITS

Lasanta

•  A private Glenmorangie party at Bourbon on Branch on 1/18, offered a rare foray into B&B’s basement for a taste of the entire line of Glemorangie scotches and a talk from its master distiller, truly charming Scotsman, Dr. Bill Lumsden. Sampling the new Sonnalta PX before it was widely available was a pleasure – a well-balanced scotch. My greatest delight came in sipping 12-year Lasanta (“warmth and passion” in Gaelic), a spicy blend matured in bourbon casks, then in Oloroso sherry casks, with toffee notes and sherry sweetness. A close second for me is Quinta Ruban, also aged 12 years in bourbon casks, then extra-matured in ruby port casks. A little smoother than the spicy Lasanta, its walnut and orange notes are fine companions to hints of port.

ROOT

•  ROOT – This new liquor comes from Pennsylvania and though unlike anything out there, it takes it’s cues from as far as back as the 1700’s when colonists were first introduced to root tea (with sassafras, sarsaparilla, wintergreen birch bark, among other things) by Native Americans who drank it as an herbal remedy, all the way to all-American root beer. Art In the Age has created something unique with the complexity of that colonial root tea (minus sassafras root, which was banned here in 1960), plus notes of root beer and a whisper of spearmint. It’s not sweet or thick, nor is it “flavored” liqueur. This is a strong, vegetal spirit… an adult’s dream of root beer with an herbal body.

COCKTAILS

5:15 to Bangkok at Hum/ Perfect Puree event

• On 1/18, at a private party for Hum Liqueur and The Perfect Puree at Luce, Chicago bartender extraordinaire (of Nacional 27), Adam Seger, tended bar. Straight Hum is syrupy-sweet (so I like it better in a cocktail), but love its emphasis on cardamom and hibiscus, with peppery hints and a honey sweetness. My favorite cocktail was 5:15 Bird to Bangkok, a dessert of a drink using Kaffir Lime-infused UE’ Nonio Grappa, Hum, lime juice, Perfect Puree’s Caramelized Pineapple and Meyer Lemon, with a dollop of Luce chef, Dominique Crenn’s, lime sorbet and a lime leaf on top. Puckering tart melded beautifully with fruity, not-too-sweet tones. Aesthetically, that lime green was striking melting into pomegranate red.

Doug Williams' cocktail wizardry

•  I hope the unique Science of Cocktails (The Chronicle’s Jon Bonne did a nice overview of the event, which I don’t have the space to outline in detail here) becomes a recurring event annually. Nothing like having free reign of a playhouse like the Exploratorium, cocktails in hand, while classes, experiments, food and game all surround the science of mixology.

It was a joy to see nitrogen smoke coming from Liquid Alchemy’s cocktail wizard, Doug Williams, in a one-of-a-kind drink he created with Tom Mich of Sagatiba: Sagatiba cachaca, maraschino liqueur, lime, pink grapefruit, simple syrup… but in a crispy, boozy disc that dissolves in your mouth. Cocktails can be giddy and playful in such capable hands.

Sky Jet Wegman's cocktail

Other drink highlights include the always beautiful creations of Joel Baker of Bourbon and Branch: Pear Sonata, which I’ve had at B&B before, is a bright mix of 209 Gin, elderflower liqueur, Meyer lemon, dry vermouth and pear eau de vie.

Next to him, Sky Jet Wegman of 83 Proof, was doing some creative stuff with jalapeno skin, imparting that fresh pepper taste in 209 Gin with Aperol, toasted peppercorn, Darjeeling simple syrup and lemon. Removing seeds (and heat) from the jalapeno, the taste of the pepper and other ingredients shine.

Castro's new cocktail bar, The Residence

•  I’m always in love with what 15 Romolo is creating ($9-12 each). Last week I couldn’t decide which I loved more: the surprising, layered taste of Track 42 (42 Below Manuka Honey Vodka, basil, unfiltered apple juice, lemon, egg white), or the adult dessert stylings of a Hunter’s Flip (Speakeasy Hunter’s Point Porter, Root Liqueur – see above, Kraken Rum, whole egg, nutmeg, cacao nib tincture). How about one of each?

•  Multiple visits to Smuggler’s Cove and I only want more… thankfully, there are always more treasures. Port Royal is creative and spicy with Jerk simple syrup, lime, two kinds of Jamaican rum, housemade Hellfire tincture. Then there’s pretty much the best Banana Daiquiri ever – minus bubbly froth. Don’t forget the rum tasting flights.