ASIAN NEWCOMERS:
From Food Truck to Pop-Up

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

The Bay Area already boasts some of the best Asian food in the US, in a diverse range of categories. Though I can’t recreate the settings from the months I spent traveling Southeast Asia, I can find some of those flavors… and many more from places I long to visit… authentic and complex here in the Bay Area.

What follows are noteworthy dish/es, including fresh dumpling and Malaysian street food interpretations, from six new Asian restaurants (two being pop-ups, one a food truck) open a few months or less.

KOJA KITCHEN, Food Truck

One of the best food trucks to come along, well, maybe ever, is Koja Kitchen. While they make a steady run around the Bay Area, I catch them in my own ‘hood at Off the Grid Haight. Koja ($6 each) are essentially sandwiches where “bread” is toasted rice patties. My favorite is sweet, ground bulgogi beef, mixed with sautéed onions, sesame vinaigrette slaw, and their house red sauce.

I’m most in love with their crosscut fries (the Kamikaze Combo works best at $10.50 for koja, fries and a drink). The fries are elevated by soft, ground Korean bulgogi beef tossed with sautéed onions, kimchi green onions, house sauce and Japanese mayo… a sweet, savory mound of comfort.

AMERICAN BAO BAR, Mission (pop-up locations below)

Chef Blair Warsham traveled through Southeast Asia, taking inspiration from street food-rich countries like Malayasia to create the dishes in his current pop-up, American Bao Bar. Check Bao Bar’s Facebook page to confirm pop-up dinners, but currently they’re at Nombe on Monday nights and Southpaw BBQ on Tuesdays.

Changing dishes arrive in a filling $35 tasting menu, which started strong recently with red curry chicken XLB soup dumplings. Warsham’s XLB (xiao long bao, aka Shanghai soup dumplings) are tender, the dumpling wrappers chewy, al dente, encasing vivid curry and fowl. This is XLB like you’ve not had it before. Three bao or “hot buns on a plate” are stuffed with cumin lamb belly, grilled chili paneer and crispy five-spice smoked pork, the former a tad dry, the latter being my favorite.

Visually striking crispy rice forms a disc around an egg, served with hen and spring vegetables, while chicken is wrapped in plantains, inflected with a savory banana sambal sauce. Shrimp, pineapple and coconut pop on a shrimp chip accompanied by shooters of creamy Malaysian bouillabaisse, my other favorite after the XLB.

Dessert from Batter Bakery is understated perfection: mini-ice cream sandwiches, like chocolate five spice caramel ice cream in chocolate cookies, or oatmeal coconut cookies filled with gloriously tart kaffir lime sherbet.

HOUSE of PANCAKES, Parkside (937 Taraval between 19th & 20th Ave.; 415-681-8388)

Service is slow and Parkside is out of the way for many, but House of Pancakes serves delights worth trekking out for. Yes, there are Asian pancakes aplenty, but it’s the house-pulled noodles and fresh, al dente dumplings that enchant. Pancakes ($3.95-7.95) are solid, particularly simple green onion pancakes… but not the highlight. Think hand pulled noodles and dumplings.

Watching noodles hand pulled through the kitchen door is mesmerizing, as it is at Martin Yan’s new MY China… but House of Pancakes’ noodles ($6.95-7.95) are far more gratifying: think chewy comfort in broth, served with likes of lamb or seafood. The dense joy of the noodles carries over into impeccable, doughy dumplings ($5.95-8.95), filled with lamb or pork and chives, even fish of the day. Other than painfully slow service, House of Pancakes is one of the more exciting hole-in-the-wall Chinese eateries to come along in awhile and added to my favorites list.

HUTONG, Cow Hollow (2030 Union St. at Buchanan; 415-929-8855)

When I moved to SF at the beginning of 2001, restaurants like Ti Couz and Betelnut were on my regular dining circuit. Thankfully, the spirit of ever popular Betelnut remains, as does Chef Alex Ong. Betelnut was recently reincarnated as Hutong, with artful graffiti and bolder dishes fusing his Malaysian childhood, once part of a “secret” Blackboard Eats menu. But as of last week and one day after a negative review from the Chronicle’s critic, Michael Bauer, Hutong switched back to Betelnut. I’m disappointed as I witnessed promise in the more ambitious menu that was still working out kinks.

Highlights were on the raw/crudo side ($12-14), like sea bream in chili-lemon soy with radishes and mizuna, ahi tuna in apple-mustard sauce, or tombo tuna dotted with creamy wasabi, tobiko and lime. The raw great, however, was briny oysters icy dotted with Sriracha-lemon granita ($1.50 each). Chicken livers tossed with onions in black pepper sauce ($6.50) were on Ong’s secret Blackboard Eats menu, evolved into a seamless, meaty liver dish. Giant whole Gulf prawns ($3.74) were plump, wrapped in bacon and dipped in chili jam, while thin slices of lamb belly ($8.88) in jalapeno vinegar, a mainstay from Betelnut, are not at all gamey but clean, savory.

A wise move at the short-lived Hutong, one I wish more restaurants would embrace, is offering four salads ($8.88) that couldn’t be labeled “throwaway”, but boast interesting combinations beyond being merely nutritious. Roasted beets derived texture from cardamom yogurt, contrasted by salted plum vinaigrette, while the now ubiquitous kale salad arrived with Asian pears, cucumbers, roasted peppers, avocado in a bright lime-mustard dressing.

Hutong was still finding its footing with some misses (overly sweet cocktails, for one), but it seems rather than continuing to find ways to stay fresh and age into a new decade, they are reverting back to the past one.

NABE, Inner Sunset (1325 9th Ave. between Irving & Judah; 415-731-2658)

Another hot pot outpost, Nabe (its name derived from nabemono – pronounced “nay-bay-mo-no” – referring to nabe cooking pot/hot pot) is a Zen-yet-hip space lined with empty sake bottles, benefiting from sweet service and sustainably sourced Snake River Farms meat.

To start, Kurobuta pork gyoza ($7) are pan-seared dumplings exhibiting the right contrast of crispy and chewy, dipped in chili ponzu. A nabemono set ($19 regular/$24 large) comes with choice of meat, udon noodles and generous, assorted vegetables. I like shabu shabu choices of Washugyu beef or Kurobuta Berkshire pork in spicy miso broth – there’s also seafood (shrimp, salmon, scallops, clams) in dashi broth.

The crowning moment of this interactive dinner is included: a traditional Japanese finish to hot pot/shabu shabu as our server explained, rarely seen in the States. Our server removed excess broth from our finished hot pot, retaining just enough for flavor. She then filled it with rice, stirred slowly, cracked an egg in it, stirred awhile longer, then topping with shaved nori (seaweed). It’s called zosui, a rice soup/porridge akin to Chinese congee (or jook) but with more flavor. As breakfast the next morning, it was perfection – I  stir fried the leftover zosui with more egg.

SSISSO, Japantown (1700 Post St. at Buchanan, 415-441-1522)

In soft opening mode merely a couple months, Ssisso (Korean word for “seesaw”) is still sorting things out. With traditional and non-traditional Korean dishes, plus cult classic Frozen Kuhsterd for dessert, one can’t help comparing to other local Korean joints. Haemul pajeon ($9.95, $12.95), the ever addictive seafood pancake that turned me on to Korean food as a teen in NY, is gratifyingly (but not overly) greasy and crisp here, though I prefer versions at restaurants like Manna in the Inner Sunset.

Similarly, I think of Aato’s japchae – sweet potato noodles stir fried with beef, soy, onion – when trying Ssisso’s one-note (salty) version ($9.95 lunch, $13.95 dinner). Early on, the best dish remains one from downstairs karaoke lounge, Playground: fried Ssisso chicken ($9.95 lunch, $14.95 dinner), a superior pile of wings doused in sweet soy and loads of garlic. Put a plate in front of me and I’ll devour.

Three for Spring:
Jambalaya, Trout, Roasted Crab

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

Typically eating at two more or places a day, I dine at far more places than I can write about. Often, there are high points but not enough to warrant a full review or in the case of a casual hole-in-the-wall, there might be a noteworthy dish but not a list of reasons to visit. From time to time, it helps to highlight dishes from recent excursions. Here I cover noteworthy dishes from one restaurant just reaching its second birthday (Boxing Room), the other two just open within the last couple month.

BOXING ROOM, Hayes Valley (399 Grove St. at Gough, 415-430-6590)

Being on board with Boxing Room’s authentic New Orleans cuisine since day one, it’s their jambalaya that has me rhapsodizing akin to glorious meals in the one-and-only Big Easy. The biggest compliment I could give is that it’s distantly reminiscent of Coop’s Place, the best jambalaya I’ve ever had in a classic New Orleans’ dive bar. In reality, it is a pretty different dish. But unlike most mediocre jambalaya we’re typically subjected to (often more like a basic rice dish), Chef Justin Simoneaux’s jambalaya ($11/$21 with duck confit) is appropriately moist, dark with shredded duck meat and sausage, bright with tomatoes. Officially my favorite jambalaya outside of New Orleans, I’m grateful to get my fix at Boxing Room. Bonus dish: Tender cornbread-stuffed quail ($23) over dirty rice and pumpkin puree… I’m craving this divine cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving.

HILLSIDE SUPPER CLUB, Outer Mission (300 Precita Ave. at Folsom, 415-285-6005)

Beloved pop-up Hillside Supper Club, formed by two college classmates and young chefs Tony Ferrari and Jonathan Sutton, is now a brick-and-mortar restaurant on the corner of Precita Park (the street where I first lived in SF 12 years ago). Hillside is still sorting out its identity as a restaurant: the space is drafty and cold, there are pacing issues with dishes, and food runs about 50/50 with only half the dishes leaving an impression.

But a friendly, neighborhood welcome is intact from the host and stronger dishes intimate possibility. While a hamachi crudo ($10) is fresh, with lively accents of blood orange, hearts of palm and Fresno chilies, it’s drowning in yuzu sauce, and a dessert of English chocolate pudding ($8), though brilliantly weaving Baileys Irish Cream with subtle smoke in a smoked whipped cream, was quite dry. The shining dish was Mount Lassen trout ($22), with crispy skin, the fish is tender and flavor-packed. Over Israeli couscous, marinated beets and smears of horseradish yogurt, it hits hoped-for flavor, texture, and technique.

MISSION STREET OYSTER BAR, Mission (2282 Mission St. between 18th & 19th, 415-621-6987)

Bright and cheery in aquamarine and blues, Mission Street Oyster Bar is a welcoming neighborhood seafood joint that feels like the old Mission I knew over a decade ago: decidedly not hipster, it’s fresh and friendly, if a bit unremarkable.

While it hurts to pay $28.95 for one dish at a casual joint, it’s for a whole roasted crab – a solid price for a whole local Dungeness doused in garlic cloves and herbs. Though I prefer roasted crabs at local family-style Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants, this is a hearty meal, accompanied by a generous, cold seafood gazpacho ($16.95) loaded with crab legs, shrimp and avocado, looking like a giant Bloody Mary with a celery stalk standing tall in the glass, it tastes a bit muddled, lacking focus.

Purer tastes come in the simple: oily garlic bread ($4.95) and a cup of creamy Boston clam chowder ($3.95, bowl $5.95). Mission Street Oyster Bar’s sunny setting and service comfort, making me grateful these kinds of humble restaurants are still opening in the Mission.

KNISH’in: Eastern European Baked Goods

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

We obsess about every kind of food in the Bay Area, but the knish (pronunciation: kə-nĭsh) hasn’t gotten enough respect. This doughy, flaky potato snack has its roots in Eastern Europe and Jewish cultures, knish being a Yiddish word, translating to dumpling or “a kind of bun.”

This dumpling-like bun is set for revival, with a nod to what just might be a Jewish deli renaissance: Wise Sons and now brand new Shorty Goldstein’s, the latter selling three potato knishes for $7, divinely doughy knishes with a mashed potato-like softness – my favorites in town if you can get them before they sell out each day.

Two chefs are either focused solely on the knish (King Knish), or are serving an array of Eastern European-influenced baked goods, including traditional knish (20th Century Cafe). Typically encased in flaky dough, filled with the likes of potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, cheese, then fried, baked or grilled, knishes first appeared in New York bakeries and delis in the early 1900′s. Consider the knish a cousin of the Polish pierogi or Russian pirozhki.

My early knish experiences were relegated to New York, with a few forays in Chicago. No surprise: as they revive here, ingredients are elevated, sometimes with a saucy twist (chocolate dipped curry, maybe?) In the case of 20th Century, there’s much to love across the baked goods front, pulling from Austro-Hungarian influences, one of the great baking regions of the world.

20th CENTURY CAFE

Fiery red hair, retro style, and vintage aprons: Pastry Chef Michelle Polzine buzzes about with her kitchen staff, dressed in 1940′s-1950′s dresses (my scene entirely), during a recent Sunday run at State Bird Provisions, a “sneak preview bake sale” of her upcoming 20th Century Cafe slated to open in Hayes Valley this April. Polzine’s passion for baking is apparent in the artful deliciousness of her food (Bon Appetit’s recent interview is a sweet read). Her SF cooking history includes stints at now-shuttered Bacar, Delfina, Chez Panisse, and Range.

Polzine credits Hili Revzan, her assistant at Range where she worked for seven years, for introducing her to Hungarian baking. Hooked from then on to Eastern European baked goods, she experimented with traditional recipes, traveled to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest (a region I have fond memories of traveling through). Her vision for 20th Century Cafe is, according to Bon Appetit, to “do a sort of a mini grand cafe, like those in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, but with everything made in-house.”

Trying an array of visually striking baked goods, there are numerous treasures, supreme among them, the tarts. Paper thin slivers of rhubarb illuminate a rosy pink rhubarb tart ($6), tart and sweet simultaneously. A savory sauerkraut tart ($7) confirms it: I want more of Polzine’s kraut, which she works to perfect. Sweet and vinegary, it sits happily atop a flaky, thin dough with duck prosciutto and apples, recalling the glories of Alsatian flatbread… and begging for a white Alsace wine.

Poppy seed rugelach ($2) is blessedly less dry and more flavorful than many rugelach I’ve been subjected to at traditional bakeries. Little dark chocolate cookies ($2) explode with the tart of Buddha’s hand citrus. Only Russian coffee cake ($5) was a tad dry, but for a couple juicy huckleberries. As for the potato knish ($3)? These are classic, straightforward (i.e. heartwarming) knishes. Inside, Yukon gold potatoes, garlic and onions are lush with butter, topped with poppy seeds.

We are not without an impressive amount of world class bakeries in San Francisco. Polzine smartly brings a fresh angle to a saturated market: a retro, Austria-meets-Hungary-meets-San-Francisco bakery. Thankfully, April is just around the corner.

KING KNISH

King Knish first appeared on my radar at the New Taste Marketplace in St. Gregory’s on Potrero Hill, recalling a Middle Eastern food market in its art-filled, bustling space. The chef behind King Knish is Ramni Levy, who also runs Ramni Levy Catering & Events. Chatting with him even briefly, it’s clear he’s enthusiastic about food. Living in my other two top US cities, New Orleans and New York, before moving to San Francisco in the late ’90′s, Chef Levy once ran Bistro 1650 in the Richmond District, which he sold in 2005, catering ever since.

It requires some effort to track down King Knish: place an order here (you can go as small as a dozen at $5-7 each or mini knishes for cocktail parties), or catch him this weekend, March 17, at Hazon Jewish Food Festival. Besides tender texture in a pretty, little package, the joy of King Knish is how Levy circumvents the traditional. His sell-out knish (rightly so) is filled with pastrami. Enough said. If you happen upon the pastrami knish, snatch it up. My other recommend is meat-laden: a curry beef and potato knish. Savory and doused in poppy seeds, it makes a supreme snack.

Subtle wasabi permeates a potato knish topped in crumbled, crystallized ginger, or potato intermingles with caramelized onions and mushrooms. Levy’s mango chutney and berry compotes are sold by the jar ($7.50-15), vibrant contrasts to mild potato knishes. For those like myself who swoon over sweet and savory combinations, one option is the wasabi-ginger-potato knish dipped in dark chocolate or the beef curry knish in white chocolate (!) There’s also a sweet potato-marshmallow-pineapple-almond knish I’m curious to try.

Levy’s playfulness works, as any great ethnic food mashup does (Korean tacos, Indian burritos, etc…), in subverting the expected and stretching the boundaries of a beloved traditional food… but still making it taste good.

CHINESE SCENE

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

Style-over-substance at popular restaurants grew old in my Los Angeles days. A pretty package matters little if food isn’t excellent. In SF, we tend towards the other direction. Thank goodness for places like Gitane, Bix, Foreign Cinema, which manage both – a little style is welcome. With the entry of two new, upscale Chinese restaurants, we get style aplenty. One, the international Hakkasan chain, feels oh-so LA or NY, and the other, M.Y. China, is inside a mall (very Southern California) from famed chef Martin Yan.

Buzz has been nonstop about these two, where I’ve spent a pretty penny, from lunch to dessert. I disagree with the racist-tinged complaint that typically cheaper, ethnic cuisines shouldn’t cost more, but the reason any cuisine should is quality of ingredients and reinvention or reinterpretation of classic dishes. Stir-fry, for example, shouldn’t cost double what it would in a hole-in-the-wall if it’s virtually the same dish. After multiple visits, my assessment is mixed, each restaurant boasts strong points, but neither reinvents Chinese cuisine, which begs the question: are the prices worth it?

HAKKASAN, Downtown (1 Kearny St. at Market, 415-829-8148)

Early on, Hakkasan succeeds on a number of points: seamless service from a team that seemed to work in sync from opening day. Though the second floor restaurant overlooking Market Street is a bit scene-y, especially around a large, central bar, I can’t help but applaud a space that says “night on the town”… particularly when the food is quite good. Similar to dining at the subterranean London Hakkasan last year, I find the overall experience satisfying on someone else’s dime.

I’m delighted with a refreshing, elegant Plum Sour of Yamazaki 12 year Japanese whisky, umeshu plum liqueur, lemon, Angostura bitters and egg white, or a robust Smoky Negroni (Rusty Blade, Carpano Antica, Campari, smoke-infused Grand Marnier), but the $12-15 cocktails aren’t superior to or necessarily equal to lower-priced cocktails around town. Similarly, roasted silver cod in a Champagne honey sauce is silky and lush but at $39? Countless Japanese restaurants worth their salt serve a fantastic version of similar miso cod at half that price.

As with M.Y. China, dim sum is a highlight, but $7-26 for a few dumplings is a struggle when far cheaper, quality dim sum is plentiful around town. Worthwhile dishes are atypical dim sum, like roasted duck pumpkin puffs or black pepper duck dumplings. Whether noodles ($12-39) or stir-fry ($12-58), I haven’t had a bad dish at Hakkasan. But leaving lunch for two over $100 lighter, or the same for drinks and a couple appetizers, I can’t help but conclude: food, drink and service shine… if someone else is paying.

M.Y. CHINA, Downtown/Union Square (Westfield Mall, 845 Market St., 4th Floor, 415-580-3001)

Growing up, I loved watching Yan Can Cook. To this day I’m inspired by Martin Yan’s energy and childlike exuberance, infectious whether in person at events like SF Chefs or jumping out from the screen. His anticipated SF restaurant opening, M.Y. China, is more affordable than Hakkasan, conveniently under the Dome at the Westfield Mall for a post or pre-movie (Century Theaters) meal.

Despite all the noodle attention, including a world-champion noodle puller and noodle pulling stations viewable while dining, spectacle doesn’t necessarily equal stellar noodles. For example, squid ink snap noodles ($18), more like torn pasta squares, tossed with shrimp, scallops and calamari in Shaoxing wine, fail to exude much flavor. Dan Dan noodles ($12) are a stronger choice, and the favorite of everyone I’ve talked to is lush scissor noodles ($14), cut by kitchen scissors then wok-cooked with wild boar.

Wild boar shows up everywhere, a mild version of the robust meat (i.e. inoffensive for those afraid of boar), whether in lettuce cups ($9) or dumplings (4 for $8). Every visit yielded disappointingly average wok-tossed dishes, and flavorless small plates like portabello sliders ($8) or mapo tofu ($8), which gets its sole perk from Sichuan peppercorn oil. Teas are a comforting choice, while cocktails ($10-13), which are better but pricier at Hakkasan, have been off balance, like a too sour Three Gorges, with a base of #209 Gin and lemon, lacking absinthe’s nuance or clean bitter structure from Cocchi Americano.

Each meal there’s a singular standout category: dim sum ($6-19). Spicy seafood dumplings (6 for $9) are a joy in vivid green spinach wrappers loaded with scallops and shrimp, as are plump, lightly crispy whole wheat potstickers filled with pork and cabbage. Go for decadence with pork and black truffle dumplings ($18). Dessert includes Delise cafe ($4) offerings, among my favorite locally made ice cream, namely their Chinese almond, toasted rice or lemongrass ice cream, and coconut pandan or tangerine sorbet.

Despite the mall setting, “under the dome” is the Westfield’s striking feature while chic design and noodle pulling entertainment set the experience apart. As for me, I’ll return for unusual dim sum.

CAPO’S: Deep Dish Better Than in Chicago

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

Capo’s, 641 Vallejo Street, 415.986.8998, cash only

Tony’s Pizza Napoletana reigns for my best all-around pizza experience because of its range of impeccable pies, from New York to Neapolitan. I’m no stranger to these categories, consuming countless pizzas in my many travels in Italy and years living in a suburb of NYC – not to mention living in what has become a damn great pizza town itself. As an 11-time World Pizza Champion, Tony Gemignani has done the impossible: win the 2007 World Champion Pizza Maker at the World Pizza Cup in Italy, the only American and non-Neapolitan to do so. What makes Tony’s special is the painstaking detail to which each style is prepared, right down to flour and ovens used. In one restaurant, there’s authentic versions of Detroit pizza cooked in a 550 degree gas oven, or a Jersey tomato pie that could make one weep with its garlic and tomato purity.

Enter Capo’s (“boss” in Italian), Gemignani’s new Chicago pizza endeavor. Consulting four of Chicago’s legendary pizza families (Marc Malnati of Lou Malnati’s, Leo Spitziri of Giordano’s, Jeff Stolfe from Connie’s, Tony Troiano of JB Alberto’s), he chose three ovens (one wood-fired and two brick, heated to different degrees depending on recipe), and is the only West Coast restaurant using Ceresota flour from one of Illinois’ oldest mills, a staple of Chicago’s most revered pizzerias.

Capo’s Prohibition-era setting under pressed tin ceiling is entirely my scene. From the doorman to a stylish host, it evokes a decades old North Beach haunt, not a newcomer. Red leather booths named after Chicago mobsters (Tony Accardo, Frank Nitii, Jim Colosimo, and naturally, Al Capone), a functioning 1930’s telephone booth, a restored, 1960′s panoramic painting (found in the floor boards) of Adolf Restaurant once housed in the space… Capo’s is an ode to Chicago and San Francisco’s rich Italian-American immigrant history.

Sweet, spicy house Calabrese sausage ($18) in roasted peppers, garlic, caramelized onions, and light tomato cream sauce is dreamy. An antipasti platter ($12) feels sparse compared to antipasti “salads” of my New Jersey youth, dense with meat and cheese, but meats here are hand-sliced daily on an antique slicer in Capo’s front window. An eggplant caprese salad, though small, is drizzled in lush, aged balsamic. But you don’t come here for the salads.

Rarely seeing Chicago specialties, mostaccioli or conchiglie ($12 in pesto or tomato sauce, $13.50 in meat sauce), on West Coast menus, Tony’s mostaccioli is a beaut. Appropriately cheesy, baked in a wood-fired oven, red meat sauce seals the deal. Quattro forni ($13), Capo’s signature dish, is limited to 20 a day due to the preparation required and well worth ordering. Like a glorified garlic bread, or as a waitress described it, doughnut, puffed bread is cooked four times in different ovens, doused in tomato sauce, mozzarella, garlic.

Then there’s the pizza. While I’ve savored excellent thin crust in Chicago, even after multiple tries at original locations of legendary chains or solo favorites, I’ve yet to find deep dish remotely comparable to Capo’s or Bay Area deep dish havens, Zachary’s and Little Star. I won’t give up the hunt, but thus far for me eating deep dish here is better than going to Chicago (though I’d happily eat my way through Chicago any day, one of our country’s greatest cities).

Appropriate to Chicago, there’s four types of pies: deep dish ($21-33), cast iron pan ($21-33), stuffed ($23-35) and cracker-thin ($17-20). You can’t go wrong. Meat blissfully dominates most pies (unless you build your own), whether folds of Italian beef, thinly shaved in authentic Chi-town fashion, or house fennel, Calabrese and Italian sausages, shown off in the likes of the Sam Giancana or Old Chicago pies. The Italian Stallion pizza, which I prefer in cracker-thin form, showcases Italian beef, heightened by a drizzle of horseradish cream and insanely good sweet-hot peppers you’ll find on a number of Capo’s pies. Flour-based crust gets texture and complexity from a dusting of cornmeal, while Tony reveals a key to its perfection: European butter and a bit of lard. Fresh cheese oozes, unlike chewy wads of low-quality mozzarella I’m faced with in some of Chicago’s venerable deep dish houses. If you have room and a warm whiskey crisp is available for dessert, get it.

Elmer Mejicanos heads up a whiskey-centric bar program, housing over 100 American-dominant whiskies, while Tony mentions finding a few antique whiskey bottles dating back to the 1920′s in the basement (when are we pouring?) Building your own Old Fashioned is a key menu focus, alongside a short-but-sweet cocktail list ($12). Trying every one on the menu, I’ve re-ordered only The Silencer. Carpano Antica takes the form of ice cubes melting in Campari, Seltzer Sister Soda and crystals of brandy – an ideally bitter, bright aperitif. A glass of Chianti or Montepulciano is well-suited to all that red sauce – Tony’s longtime business partner Marni McKirahan runs the wine program, also highlighting rare Midwest (Michigan, Chicago) wineries.

If I seem to be gushing, perhaps I am. Visiting three times in the first month alone, I’ve tried almost every listed pizza and cocktail on the menu. Some new openings are exciting, fresh, visionary. A spare few respect the past, even perfect it. The comforting kind you want to return to with family and friends and hope stay around forever. Capo’s is the latter.

Comfort Food Newcomers

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

San Francisco doesn’t lack for comfort food. The wave of gastropubs and gourmet comfort food of the past decade has insured most neighborhoods aren’t without elevated burgers and grown-up childhood favorites. Two new restaurants in SoMa and the Mission opened in September with very different menus but both with comfort at the forefront.

COMPANY, Mission (1000 Guerrero at 22nd, 415-374-7479) http://companysf.com

Guerrero and 22nd has long been one of my favorite corners. Whether a pint at The Liberties, a cocktail at retro fabulous bar Lone Palm, house charcuterie at Beast and the Hare, at this intersection I somehow feel transported, encouraged to linger and take in my surroundings, as if in Europe. In Company‘s (formerly Tao Cafe) big picture windows, vintage red chairs and retro lamps make the space even more welcoming than it was before. Lunch hours are idyllic, where a book, a sandwich and a bowl of soup becomes a way of spoiling myself, an inviting break from work.

Dinner is likewise mellow, families and couples confirming a locals vibe. Chefs/owners Karen Hoffman came from Four Seasons Newport Beach and Jardiniere, and Jason Poindexter from Ritz Carlton Chicago, Four Seasons Chicago and San Francisco. Manager/owner Thuy Nguyen (she owned Tao) calls the food “haute comfort”, the menu’s Cal-Med influences (an entirely overplayed category) obvious.

It’s clear in early months that while Company may not be revolutionary destination dining, it’s a neighborhood spot offering tranquil surroundings and well-executed food. The ubiquitous upscale burger is there: “Bread & Butter” burger ($14), a patty of ground chuck and oxtail, topped with Madeira glazed pioppini mushrooms and decadent triple creme brie. At lunch, vegetarian stands up to burger and pork offerings: a panini of grilled eggplant and house ricotta ($11) is layered with rapini/broccoli rabé and romesco sauce. Smoky eggplant and ricotta are in harmony: warm, luxurious, almost healthy. A bowl of squash soup, savory with duck confit, brightened by citrus reduction, is $8 but as an add-on cup to a lunch entree is merely $3.

At dinner, salads are vivid, the unlisted vegetables one night in a “crisp vegetable salad” ($9) being beets, cucumber and avocado over sweet gem lettuce, tossed with feta and toasted pine nuts in a basil mint vinaigrette. House-cured salmon salad ($11) is likewise fresh and silky, with a repeat of cucumber and beets in yogurt dill dressing. Crispy confit chicken wings ($9) are especially tender, accented with heat (and color) from red jalapenos and fried mint leaves. Syrah-braised short ribs ($23) are cooked in harissa, evoking Middle Eastern intrigue over whipped garnet yams and charred rapini.

With four beers on draft, like intense peach notes of Widmer Bros. BRRR Seasonal Red Ale from Portland ($6), and a shorter wine list (heavy on France, Italy, California), there are cocktails sans hard liquor from Assistant General Manager Russell Morton, who worked with Poindexter and Hoffman at Four Seasons. While I typically don’t get excited about soju and wine cocktails, preferring robust spirits to far milder soju, Morton elevates an amaretto sour (something Portland’s star bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler drew attention to earlier this year) in an Almond Cherry Sour ($6), keeping house amaretto tart vs. too sweet with lemon, cherry bitters and brandied cherries.

While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend crossing town for Company, I’d head here when longing for a peaceful respite and a no-fuss, solid meal.

JAMBER, SoMa (858 Folsom St. between 4th & 5th Sts., 415-273-9192) http://www.jambersf.com

Midwestern brother/sister duo Jess and Matt Voss opened Jamber, serving gourmet pub food from Chef Peter Baker with California-only wines and beers, all on tap. The siblings’ care shows in hand-assembled tables, chairs made from wine barrels, wines selected from wineries they personally visited, a hip, industrial vibe warmed by woods and graffiti art in the narrow, loft-like space with walled front patio.

Wines (happily, there’s options: 2.5 oz. and 5 oz. glasses, 1/2 or full 25 oz. jugs), like Darcie Kent Gruner Veltliner from Monterey or a Margerum Grenache Blanc from Santa Barbara, flow easily from taps, with beers such as Almanac’s Farmhouse Ale or a hibiscus saison, Pacific Brewing Lab’s Nautulis.

In my visits, there’s a relaxed welcome from staff best experienced sitting at the rustic wood bar. Jess’ bacon jam recipe is a highlight: a savory, textured pleasure of a spread, no matter what it’s served with. Mr. Meatloaf ($15) is the star, a hefty, tender slab of buffalo meatloaf wrapped in bacon, accompanied by mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. I’m often bored by big hunks of ground meat. Not so here. Jamber’s meatloaf is about as good as meatloaf gets.

Two more standouts? PB & Jam ($11) is a hunk of pork belly layered in a sandwich with peanut butter and that Jamber bacon jam. With most starters on the heavy side, from pretzels to fried mozzarella, and the poutine ($9) a mound of fries and cheese curds with too-scarce gravy at the bottom, the top starter is easily “Parmesan rosemary mashed potater tots” ($8) – warm mashed potatoes oozing out of lightly fried breading – with, yes, Jamber bacon jam. After a decent mac ‘n cheese ($10) or freshly generous salads ($7-9), pot pie ($12-14), namely ratatouille, sounded brilliant but was a soggy, funky mash of vegetables in flavorless crust. Likewise, the beet Jamburger ($10 – there is a veal/beef burger for $12) made me sorry I took the vegetarian path. Despite fresh bread, it tasted like slices of beet on a bun rather than creative beet/veggie patties I’ve had that never replace a “real” burger but can be a worthy sandwich on its own.

Despite a couple difficult dishes, there’s enough here to love at this all day SoMa stop for a drink and a filling bite.

GREEK COMFORT in West Portal

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

OREXI, West Portal (243 W. Portal Ave. at 14th Ave., 415-664-6739)

West Portal has long warmed my heart. Maybe it’s the removed setting, tucked away over the hill from Twin Peaks where the MUNI K and T lines end. Or it’s a sense of stepping back in time to a 1970′s San Francisco, a sleepy area unfazed by trends and hipsterization. It’s a family neighborhood, residential and small town in feel, and like any corner of our city, has its food gems, like old school blue cheese buffalo burgers at charmingly dated Bulls Head, or vividly fresh sandwiches and salads at the original location of Market and Rye.

In a couple short months, West Portal residents have been flocking to Orexi, bustling even on weeknights. It’s Greek… sadly a rarity in the Bay Area despite a plethora of Mediterranean eateries. Kokkari has long been the Greek queen of San Francisco (along with its sister restaurant, Evvia, in Palo Alto) – and it has no equal. Kokkari is on the upscale end, or the likes of Ayola on the cheaper side. I find myself longing for restaurants like Taverna Kyclades in Astoria, Queens, a mid-range, family-style seafood Greek restaurant typical of New York’s famed Greek neighborhood, convivial with Greek families, rounds of crisp, Greek white wines and platters of octopus and grilled fish. Orexi is a step in the right direction – a comfortable, neighborhood Greek restaurant using quality ingredients.

Owners John and Effie Loufas have created an approachable dining experience, already securing a loyal local following. I dined here a couple weeks after opening, returning again one month later to the same waiter who remembered a wine I ordered the month before and a busser who recounted the shirt my husband was wearing last visit. No wonder they’re securing repeat diners.

The understated dining room is chic rather than rustic, warm with a honeycomb-like wall hanging and mirrors reflecting the room’s warm glow. As for the food, grilled octopus ($11 – there’s also an octopus salad for $12.50), typically a favorite of mine, is a bit rubbery over arugula, while gigantes ($7) baked white beans, suffer from blandness but for a dousing of appropriately sweet-savory tomato sauce and crumbled feta on top.

My appetite (the meaning of the Greek word “orexi”) is satiated in unexpected places. House pita bread arrives humbly from the oven, belying its addictive nature, warm and gratifying dipped in small scoops of house dips ($6 each), my favorite being a salty taramosalata, a creamy, fish roe spread laden with olive oil and lemon. The eggplant dip, melitzanosalata, is a balanced expression of the vegetable’s smoky notes, while I wish tyrokafteri, a spicy feta spread dotted with jalapeno, was actually spicy.

Zucchini fritters ($7) with tzatziki (a tangy cucumber yoghurt dip) are a solid starter, while lamb riblets ($9) or lamb carpaccio ($10.75) step it up in tenderness and meaty (not gamey) flavor. In terms of entrees, I’m smitten with homey moussaka ($17). Layers of ground lamb and beef meld with allspice and stewed eggplant under creamy bechamel sauce, reminiscent of the melting-soft, homemade lasagna of my childhood. Simple and also heartwarming, their “signature” rotisserie chicken ($17) is a generous half-bird (free range, thank you very much), over greens and unremarkable potatoes, marinated in lemon, oil and spices, tender inside, with slightly crispy, oregano-laced skin.

In the mix with zippy Greek whites and California wines, the wine list holds a rare treat (and I always head straight for the unusual): retsina. Retsina ($6 a glass at Orexi) is a thousands year old Greek tradition of white or rosé wine aromatized with pine resin (used to seal ancient wine vessels from excess oxygen). As you might imagine, pine resin gives the wine a piney, forest flavor, which some describe as turpentine or sap – “Not for everyone,” our waiter clarifies. Its herbal green notes work beautifully with the roasted chicken.

Orexi’s amiable welcome and candelit glow is comfortably gratifying, like slipping on a pair of slippers by the fire. Thankfully not about “the scene” or the next hot trend, the restaurant is about well-executed comfort food in a neglected category with effortless service paramount.

SUSHI TIME

Sushi bars proliferate around SF with two more brand new spots on Russian Hill and in the Mission.

ELEPHANT SUSHI, Russian Hill (1916 Hyde St., between Green St. & Delgado Pl., 415-440-1905)

Think of Elephant Sushi as on “island time” (read: chilled out) and you’ll enjoy your experience all the more. Reminiscent of early days at the original Sushi Bistro in the Inner Richmond when it first opened, dreadlocked waitstaff and reggae tunes set a relaxed, island vibe at Elephant. Soft opening in late August in the former Sushi Groove space, Elephant is in its infancy. Besides the Japan-meets-Jamaica spirit of the cozy space, Elephant sets itself apart at first glance with real wasabi (which I love eating on its own), housemade soy sauce and pots of intense, pickled ginger.

Winning points for doing what so few sushi restaurants do, even in our eco-conscious region, they source mostly wild or sustainably farmed fish, going the funky-fun route in their rolls and appetizers but not without freshness and precision in plain sight. Walu (Hawaiian term for escolar, the fish occasionally known to cause potentially unpleasant side effects in the… ahem… bathroom) is succulent and buttery here ($5 nigiri/$11 for 5 piece sashimi), among the best walu I’ve ever tasted. Sizzling mango seabass ($12) wins on presentation, arriving on fire in mini-cast iron skillet, thanks to sake and vodka, doused in masago aioli, Japanese chilis and scallion. But the dish was bland, a let down from the flashy flame of presentation.

Sipping sake or Sapporo on draft, I ordered crudo ($14) served in four spoons, two of young yellowtail in truffle oil, ponzu sauce, garlic chips and scallions, two of seared scallop in heirloom tomato, pickled wasabi stem and a tangy yuzu vinaigrette. If not quite the exquisite bites served at Bar Crudo, this crudo still pops with fresh flavor. Though varying in taste, maki (rolls) seems to be where their whimsical ethos best shines. Spicy King salmon ($9) rolled with cucumber, orange peel and masago roe in chili sauce is heavy on the orange notes, while the White Out ($15) is a mix of hamachi and avocado draped in more of that luscious walu (seared in this case – I prefer it raw).

The roll that stayed with me is the Boom Box ($10). I adore raw scallop, here with avocado, crunchy garlic chips and English cucumber. It’s set apart draped in ripe banana with sweet soy glaze, a spanking fresh, of-the-sea dessert. Continue the banana theme with neighboring Swensen’s banana ice cream ($3), placing Elephant Sushi firmly in the sleepy Hyde Street ‘hood, a welcome addition I anticpate watching come into its own.

SUGOI SUSHI, Mission (1058 Valencia St. between 21st and 22nd, 415-401-8442)

The building formerly housing Spork and pop-up Rice Broker was too cool to stay empty for long. In August, Sugoi Sushi opened in the space serving nigiri ($4.25-$7 for two pieces), five piece sashimi ($12-15), sushi rolls/maki ($6-$13), and a quite reasonable omakase tasting menu of roughly $40 for a few rounds of sushi. Mini-two person booths remain intact, while red walls, pillows of lime green and red brighten the space.

Friendly staff bring out plates that border on works of art, as fine sushi does, but in this case, even a step above many. Case in point: a sashimi platter as part of the omakase arrives on a stone slab,  a bunch of twigs are bound together, covered in shredded daikon radish, draped with cuts of fish: masaba ($6) – Japanese mackerel, toro ($10) – blue fin fatty tuna, and kanpachi ($6) – baby yellowtail.

Another trio – raw scallops, escolar dotted with lemon seed mustard, and albacore belly bin toro – is presented three ways: in a cup, on a shell, on a pile of daikon.

While presentation immediately impresses, in each visit, there’s been a funky piece of fish or two, though they emphasize sourcing fresh daily. Maybe it’s source or style, but Japanese mackerel one visit was almost unbearably salty, while Japanese red snapper with truffle oil and sea salt was nearly gummy. Yakitori ($3) at times disappoints, namely a hot dog-like spicy pork sausage, while tender chicken thigh fares better. 

Rolls are filling and bright, like Golden Mountain ($14) packed with toasted salmon, scallop, crab, avocado, in curry tempura, or Hot & Cold Tuna ($12), of deep fried spicy tuna covered with maguro roe and seaweed salad. Sashimi-like slices of seared blue fin toro ($18) are a bit salty but fresh in chili sesame sauce and curry onion tempura, adding a rich, savory layer to the fish.

While Sugoi is still clearly on the hunt for its identity with consistency issues, the funky, relaxed space on Valencia Street and the artful eye of its sushi chefs hold promise, steps beyond other sushi restaurants lining the street.

PRIMED for GREATNESS

RICH TABLE, Hayes Valley (199 Gough St. at Oak, 415-355-9085)

Not since State Bird Provisions and AQ opened towards the end of 2011 have I been as excited about a new opening. Evan and Sarah Rich’s new Rich Table presents itself as the whole package, kinks and all, even in the first month. With efficient, informed service, reasonably priced wine list, few but well-crafted cocktails, a comfortable dining room with rustic-urban decor, and most importantly, a number of exquisite dishes, Rich Table is primed for greatness.

The Riches, a husband and wife chef duo, worked at Bouley in New York, Coi here in San Francisco, Evan at Quince, Sarah at Michael Mina, with the couple hosting memorable pop-up dinners at Radius last fall. This fine dining pedigree infuses their mid-range menu. Dishes don’t often surprise beyond a menu reading, but here numerous dishes are more fascinating than they read. At AQ, dishes are works of art unfolding in layers of unexpected flavor. At Rich Table, there’s an approachable comfort elevated with refined nuances.

On the light bites side, everyone (and I mean everyone) has been buzzing about paper-thin potato chips ($7) with sardines interwoven through the center, dipped in horseradish cream. As a big sardine fan, these are not overrated, worth ordering every time. I brushed past Castelvetrano olives ($5) as common – thankfully a dining companion ordered them one visit. Brightened by celery leaves and preserved lemon, the olives became even greater than they are alone.

On an early visit, popcorn soup ($10) tasted like buttery, pureed popcorn in a bowl dotted with popcorn. Yuzu kosho (a fermented paste of chili peppers and yuzu rind) perks up the creamy bowl. Outstanding squid dishes ($14) morph with seasonal ingredients. The first incarnation wowed, the plump squid lively with watermelon yet simultaneously savory in black olive vinaigrette, dotted with crispy onions.

This sweet/savory, fresh/grilled dish was such a joy, I couldn’t help but be a little let down by its successor: squid with figs, crisp onions and lardon draped across the top. The breezy luminosity brought by the melon felt a bit weighted down with figs, though still a winning dish. Crushed peas ($14) with California yellowtail and saltine crackers to scoop up is vivaciously fresh, but a slight (i.e. miniscule) serving.

The menu is not easily categorized nor a copycat of anyone, but is packed with pleasures peeking out in unforseen places. Case in point? The pasta. I could come here for pasta alone (one dinner I ordered all four pasta dishes on the ever-changing menu). None shines more than a divine duck lasagne ($19). A smile crosses my face just thinking of delicate, melting sheets of pasta, layered with braised duck, light béchamel, and tart Santa Rosa plums. It’s a glorious pasta dish with no equal in this town… or in any other. Other pasta dishes may not reach these heights but each is worthwhile, even excellent, whether rigatoni bolognese ($18) elevated by bone marrow and crispy kale or beets, or spaghetti ($18) tossed with Jimmy Nardello peppers, clams and purslane.

On the entree front, lichen-poached rabbit ($25) is heartwarming as it is gourmet, mingling with cippolini onions, radicchio leaves and broccoli raabe. Pork belly panzanella ($24) is the classic Italian bread salad of tomato, basil, cucumber and toasted bread cubes tossed with fatty pork belly, though I took to a hearty tomato braised oxtail on toast ($25) even more. While accompanying grilled octopus and collard greens seemed disparate, the meaty toast alone makes it worthwhile, as satisfying as Southern BBQ.

TURKISH GEM in the FiDi

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

With the Guardian’s recent move to the Financial District, I’ve frequented downtown haunts, returning to old favorites, discovering new gems. Humble, tiny spaces like La Fusion, delight with Peruvian-influenced Nuevo Latino dishes, including rotisserie chicken and warm bread salad, vivid ceviches, cinnamon-clove inflected sangria, and fried empanadas dipped in huacatay sauce and piquillo pepper aioli. However, the biggest standout of new FiDi dining spots has been an upscale Turkish restaurant, Machka.

MACHKA, FiDi (584 Washington St., between Columbus Ave. & Hotaling St., 415-391-8228)

Walking up to Machka, directly across from the Transamerica Building behind a line of motorcycle and Vespa parking, one feels as if they’re stumbling upon a chic cafe in Rome or Istanbul. In fact, Machka is Turkish, in a brick-walled dining room with massive chandelier, its lighting casting an appealing glow on fellow diners, while a flat screen plays classic Turkish films, like Kirik Plak (1959), visible through a glass wall from inside the restaurant.

Just opened in July by lawyer, Farshad Owji, and his wife Sibel, the chef is Reynol Martinez, who served those delightful duck confit tacos and some of SF’s best fish tacos at Potrero Hill hidden gem, Papito (he also cooked at Globe, Aperto, Epic Roasthouse). Service is one of Machka’s strong suits, whether the professionally engaging warmth of Jessica (who was a server at Nopa), or Gulhan, who recently moved here from Turkey, his gracious hospitality setting a familial tone  -P.S. he’s also an inspiring reader of Turkish coffee grounds.

Starting with the SF standard – locally sourced, mostly organic ingredients – one journeys Turkey in rare form. Though there’s long been hole-in-the-wall treasures like A La Turca in the Tenderloin or the Mission’s mid-range Tuba, the list has been short. Machka fills a gap, faring well with both traditional and creative Turkish. In the meze/starter realm, pistachio-crusted goat cheese ($11) is easy to lap up. Spread the subtle, soft cheese, crunchy with pistachios, over toasts, sweet and savory with caramelized onions, golden raisins and wildflower honey. There’s only a handful of lamb tartare dishes in town (Gitane’s being one of the best), and Machka’s version ($13) is brightly gratifying, tossed in mint, grainy mustard and argan oil, with haricot verts.

Tender, grilled octopus ($13) is mixed with chickpeas and celery, doused in lemon and olive oil – it’s a delicate smattering of celery leaves that adds a garden-fresh aspect to my favorite invertebrate. Blue cheese and chorizo-stuffed dates ($9) are a crowd-pleaser, particularly wrapped in pastirma (Armenian cured beef) in a sherry wine-mustard vinaigrette. The only missteps seemed to be a bowl of fava beans ($10) which sounded like the ideal veggie dish, mixed with English peas, snap peas, cilantro, mint, sumac in lemon and a smoked paprika vinaigrette, but was surprisingly bland. A traditional fattoush salad ($11) was likewise humdrum, a mere couple tomatoes, cucumbers and pita crisps unable to bring the greens to life.

On the entree side, I crave their durum (flatbread) wrap ($12) to-go when I don’t have time sit down and savor the restaurant’s soothing setting. I love the falafel wrap (also available as a $9 starter), laced with cacik (light, seasoned yogurt), pickled cucumber, lettuce, grilled red onions, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and tahini sauce. The elements weave together into the ideal wrap: fresh, textured, filling – also available with chicken, lamb or beef. Speaking of lamb, they do it right, whether as a burger ($15), curry-marinated in a kebab over rice pilaf (one skewer $13/two $26), or in my top choice, a marinated ground beef and lamb sausage, the adana kebab.

Chef Martinez displays vision in entrees like a seared branzino ($25). The flaky fish is interspersed with roasted fennel and cherry tomatoes, which taste like another glorious fruit altogether – sweet, sour, fantastic – roasted in a balsamic pomegranate reduction. It’s an elegant entree and unexpected turn with the tomatoes.

The wine list ($9 for a 5 oz. glass, $14 for 8 oz.) includes interesting Turkish wines, like an acidic, zippy 2010 Kavaklidere Cankaya Emir from Ankara, and from the same producer, a balanced, fruity red: 2011 Kavaklidere Yakut Okuzgozu. Another wine that worked well with starters was a tropical fruit-laden 2011 Pinot Gris from New Zealand, The Ned.

You couldn’t do better than a dessert of kunefe (or kanafeh, an Arab cheese crusted in shredded pastry, often phyllo dough  – Jannah in the Western Addition also makes a beauty of a version). Soft, white cheese oozes from crisp, shredded phyllo soaked in honey and rosewater syrup, as finish sweet and satisfying as the overall experience in this Turkish respite.