Top Tastes is my usual run-down of tastes over the past two weeks. Rather than being a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), it’s highlights since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, being a revisit I’ve written about before or simply not as stand-out as dishes mentioned.

SAVORY – VEGETARIAN

•  Bar Bambino is going to have to get two mentions, the first being one I literally can’t get out of my mind. I’ve always loved their fresh Pea & Mint Bruschette, upset not to see it on the menu anymore (seasonal?) My loss became gain, however, when I tried the Egg, White Truffle Salt & Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano Bruschette ($11.50). A perfectly poached egg with Parmesan shavings gently melting on rustic bread and the taste of white truffle subtle but enveloping. Glorious.

•  Daniel Patterson’s Cane Rosso hit the Ferry Plaza Building the week of July 13 and I was there to try some initial offerings. Immediately won over by Corn Pane Budino (a piatto del giorno that should be a regular, $9), this fluffy bread pudding with sweet white corn and a decadently crispy top is worth coming back again and again for. I was deflated thereafter to try five other dishes (including porchetta and brisket) that were just ok, some bland, some salty, but none to compare with the budino. It was opening week – here’s to working the kinks out. Love the hand-written list above their counter of farmers produce featured in the dishes.

•  Bar Bambino often offers memorable charcuterie and cheese. Last visit, it was the Vache Agour cheese. Though I loved all three cheeses on my $13 platter, this cow’s milk cheese wowed me with complexity and richness, from Navarre, Spain. Brisbane’s Fresca Italia has been the distributor up till now, but there’s a good chance they won’t continue to carry it and Bambino’s Head Monger, Colin Shaff, told me they’re on their last wheel. Sigh. Trust him to choose something else unique for you, but keep your eye out for this one.

SAVORY – MEAT

•  ‘Dogs are clearly ‘the new black’ and one can’t throw a rock in our fair city without running into a good one (well, not quite, but it’s heading that way). Ryan Farr needs no introduction in the meat world. The hog master himself sits outside Elixir on nice Sunday afternoons (which we’ve been having a lot of) grilling up his beloved hot dogs ($5) and revolving sausages like Chicken Beer (made with Anchor Steam; $5). Follow him on Twitter to see what Sundays he’ll be there. Stakes rise when you order “zilla style“, meaning your dog is topped with kimchi, onions, Ryan’s special “money sauce”, and his snack-to-usurp-all-snacks, Chicharrones. It’s as good as it sounds. Belly up to (and pay at) the bar where you can eat your dog and order from Elixir’s tempting list of Summer cocktails (see Imbiber).  A cocktail and a dog. Now, that’s the life.

•  A snack whereby addictions are formed: Cane Rosso’s Bacon Caramel Granoturco ($5). Selling by the box, get this home-made popcorn, sticky with caramel, savory with one heckofa bacon, to go.

•  Yummy Yummy is just that if you order correctly and one of the best options from their generously portioned, affordable Vietnamese menu is Goi Bo ($7.25): raw beef salad (reminiscent of carpaccio), mixed with shredded cabbage, mint, basil, onion, peanuts, toasted coconut.

•  Happy the lunch from Kitchenette out of a Dogpatch garage. Last visit, I had a good time eating a Dogpatch Millionaire Fried Chicken Sandwich ($9) with garam masala honey, mayo, cabbage, cilantro. Bahn mi meets fried chicken sandwich while watching Slumdog Millionaire.

•  I’m developing fond feelings for Showdogs, despite the dodgy, out-of-the-way (unless you’re going to the Warfield or Golden Gate Theater) location. Warm, mostly Irish staff (at least when I’ve been), eight quality draft beers you can get in 4 oz ($2), 8 oz ($3) or 16 oz ($5) portions (I value a place that gives you tasting options), and gratifying range of local dogs ($5-8.50), are all why this could get serious. Cheers for serving a Boudin Noir and a Duck Sausage with kimchi. Lemon Chicken Sausage with fresh arugula is a crowd-pleaser. I love a spicy Louisiana Hot Link and that hefty corn dog. Ditto on crisp, lightly fried (in buttermilk/rice flour) onion rings ($4).

Dogpatch Millionaire Sandwich at Kitchenette

SAVORY – SEAFOOD

• Pal’s Take Away serves sweet-ass sandwiches and salads out of a corner liquor store, which I’ve been enjoying since the week they launched. I took to last week’s Miso-glazed Columbia River Coho Salmon BLT ($7.75) with applewood bacon, heirloom tomato, lettuce, herbed canola mayo. Generous on the salmon, bacon was the right accent.

Peaches & Herb Waffle

SWEET

• Peaches and Herb Waffles at Little Skillet (a Summer special; $6): this mini-waffle works as breakfast, snack or lunch as far as I’m concerned. Though toppings change, they tend to be ‘right on’… this one with fresh peaches and maple thyme sour cream.

Eating is highly subjective, and the man who accepts say-so in youth will wind up in bad and overtouted restaurants in middle age, ordering what the maitre d’hotel suggests.”- A.J. Liebling, “Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris”, 1962

I can barely keep up with all the amazing tastes this month. So, narrowing it down…

BREAKFAST

• Nothing like Chicken & Waffles (in maple syrup) on a chilly day. Hit the HP (Hunter’s Point, that is) for Auntie April’s $5 killer waffles with juicy fried chicken. Fills the void when I’m missing Roscoe’s.

SAVORY – VEGETARIAN

• Sweet Corn Tamales with a cup of excellent Champurrado (Mexican drink, traditionally served with churros, made of hominy flour base, water, chocolate, milk, cinnamon, anise… reminiscent of chai) from the Mission’s La Espiga de Oro

• Love Pizza Nostra’s beautifully creamy Burrata with fava beans and wheat toast.

SAVORY – SEAFOOD

• Charleston She Crab Soup ($10) is served at new upscale Southern, Pican in Oakland. Since Charleston, I haven’t even seen She-Crab soup on a menu: a creamy, rich bisque with sherry, topped here with fresh Louisiana Blue crabmeat. Traditionally the soup is enhanced by crab roe, which I believe is the case here, though didn’t see any – maybe mixed in? Either way, it’s good.

• Bushi Tei Bistro, a casual offshoot of what’s long been my favorite upscale Japanese-with-French-cooking-ethos, Bushi-Tei, is a welcome all-day spot for sushi, udon and Japanese curry, inside Japantown Mall, but… it doesn’t begin to compare to the original. Starters are generally better than entrees, but a couple pieces of sushi were slightly rubbery (not ok!) I was, however, pleased to eat a Crab Salad ($9.95) inspired by Bushi-Tei’s brilliant Lobster Salad, replacing lobster with crab, tossed with smoky bacon and papaya, in a salad of Chrysanthemum leaves. Hopefully, BT’s bistro catches up.

• Overall freshness is the name of the game at brand new Otoro, a Japanese sushi joint that just opened this week in Hayes Valley (yes, they do have a lot of good sushi in HV!) Everything from spicy scallop handrolls, to cooked butterfish, to signature Otoro Roll, are made with ultra-fresh fish and generously portioned. The space is tiny, chic… a welcome lunchtime respite.

SAVORY – MEAT

• Kitchenette does it again! At the Dogpatch garage for another weekday lunch, I, once again, licked my fingers clean of Berkshire Pork Korean Tacos ($8) marinated in hot bean & sweet rice, with napa cabbage & apple salad and spring onion-cilantro salsa. Run, don’t walk, if you see it there again!

• Oh, Ryan Farr… if your Chicharrones weren’t addictive enough, I had to try your gourmet Corn Dogs straight out of the oven, dipped in mustard sauce at Meatpaper Magazine’s Pig Party at Camino. Damn!

• Pal’s Takeaway, inside dodgy Tony’s Market on 24th Street, has kick-ass sandwiches on ACME bread, like a Bahn Mi of pink/brown beef with jalapeno, cilantro and carrot.

• Celadon in downtown Napa is romantic, leisurely, with fine service. Starters rule: a Beef Satay ($12) cooked in yellow curry with cucumber, green papaya, pickled ginger, peanut sauce, transported me straight to Thailand. The tender meat was cooked just like I had it in my months there, not like most Thai places in the US. But equally as fabulous was crispy Soy-braised Pork Belly ($13; I know, I can’t get enough of the belly) with tons of watermelon cubes, radishes, mint and Thai basil.

SWEET

• Jardinere’s Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding with candied kumquat ice cream ($10) is hot, chocolately goodness punctuated with the candied tart bite of kumquat, served in a little cast-iron dish. Luxurious.

• Anthony’s Cookies in the Mission ($5 for a half dozen) taste like Mom’s homemade. They’re ALL good but I think I’d choose Cookies & Cream if you forced me.

DRINK

• 15 Romolo (15 Romolo Place, San Francisco, 94133, 415-398-1359) is back… and then some. With new managing partners, Scott Baird and Aaron Smith, joining owners, Greg Lindgren and Jon Gasparini, revamped Romolo still has the intrigue of alley access in the heart of North Beach, a well-chosen jukebox selection, and a hint of the Old West from handlebar-mustachioed bartenders, to a dim, woody bar. Cocktails hold rank with SF’s greats, including a Pimm’s Cup even better than at Napoleon House in New Orleans (though who can beat their 18th century ambiance?) I was crazy about maybe the lightest, freshest take on absinthe yet: L’arc de Triomphe, with Kubler Absinthe, Egg White, Orange, Lemon and Orange Bitter Syrup. With the care I see going into drinks from each talented bartender, to some of the most creatively playful bar bites around (addictive Jambalini: Italian arancini-style jambalaya balls with Creole aioli; $4 for five), I think we have a new classic on our hands.

• Adesso (4395 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, 94611, 510-601-0305) has pretty much the best happy hour ever… not only because cocktails are of artisan quality, like the Billionaire ($9) with Bakers’ 107 Bourbon Whiskey, Grenadine, Absinthe Bitters, Lemon, or seasonal, mercifully not-too-sweet Fragola Coppa ($8): Pimm’s No. 1, Cointreau, Limonata, with muddled strawberries, cucumber and mint; but because their FREE happy hour food is not just any free food: pork ragu arancini, salumi from their extensive selection, paninis, crostinis. It’s good stuff – all for the price of a drink.

• Passion fruit aroma burst from a glass of Terra Mia Sauvignon Blanc at Liberty Cafe… passion fruit on the tongue, too, with a nice, mineral finish.

• At Sidebar in Oakland, I appreciate the cocktail menu from none other than Jonny Raglin of Absinthe as consultant. Two versions of classic cocktails is a unique/cool concept: “Classicist” or “Locavore”, the latter being versions made with Bay Area liquors. My initial favorite was the hard to define, cinnamonny-cherry refresher, Zamboanga ‘Zenie’ ($10), a 1946 recipe from Charles H. Baker’s Gentleman’s Companion. The “locavore” is made with St. George Chardonnay Brandy, Acqua Perfecta Kirsch, pineapple gum, lime, bitters.

• At Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, I always have a good time. My latest F.I. fling? The Nui Nui ($8) is a Don the Beachcomber classic with fresh citrus, housemade allspice liqueur and cinnamon syrup. I get the fresh breezes of Summer and the spiced comfort of Winter, all in one drink.