It’s ever a joy to return to two of my all-time favorite SF restaurants (one for fine dining/special occasions), the other, my top Italian for offal, meat and wines.

I’ve visited Incanto many times over the years, falling in love instantly with Chris Cosentino’s bold cooking, his gift for making innards palatable, and a deft hand with meats, seafood and pastas.

Michael Mina has remained one of the few special occasion destinations where I never leave disappointed, always thrilled by the balance of flavor and inventiveness… here’s hoping we won’t lose Mina’s brilliant trios when he moves the restaurant to the former Aqua space.

Now, my walk through these two greats via photos from recent dinners:

MICHAEL MINA, Union Square
www.michaelmina.net

INCANTO, Noe Valley
www.incanto.biz

MISSION BEACH CAFE

198 Guerrero Street (at 14th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-861-0198
www.missionbeachcafesf.com

We need to be reminded, in the constant hype over new openings, to return to what is and has remained great through the years. Mission Beach Cafe, aka MBC, a welcoming corner restaurant many go to for brunch or incredible baked goods and Blue Bottle coffee in the morning, has maintained a rare level of quality through a handful of chef changes.

I am amazed at how delicious dinners here remain: from chef Thomas Martinez (see my 2009 review) to heartwarming Pot Pie Tuesdays. For about six months, they’ve had a new chef, Trevor Ogden, who most recently worked at Umami, at the now defunct Frisson and with Stephanie Izzard in Chicago. Though young, like former Chef Martinez, there’s inventive maturity in Ogden’s cooking.

A recent visit yielded literally one pleasurable dish after the other:

- MBC has thankfully kept their killer Flatbread of the Day ($14) on the menu. Ogden prepared ours with a goat gouda infused with hops (yes, you heard right), layered with crisp corn, caramelized ramps, chicken and two pepper purees (red pepper and padron).

- One of the stand-outs in a stand-out meal, is Tea-smoked Albacore Tuna ($14) topped with quail eggs, caviar, chili creme fraiche and dotted with crispy lemon-saffron risotto. A visual work of art and a lightly seductive pleasure to the palate.

- Mixed Baby Lettuces ($10) are shaped into bowl cupping mounds of avocado, red spring onions, toybox tomatoes, herbed tofu and walnuts in a creamy cabernet vinaigrette.

- I’m so not a vegetarian, but one of two vegetarian entrees was a favorite of mine: Smoked/Grilled Hodo Tofu ($17) is in good company with zucchini, toybox summer squash, eggplant, grilled corn and forbidden black rice. A little sweet comes in the form of strawberries and strawberry rhubarb glaze.

- Organic Pork Tenderloin ($23) is comforting with roasted German butterball potatoes, cipollini onions, baby carrots and sugar snap peas. But when it’s cooked in rosemary brown butter and drizzled with white peach pork jus, it’s downright luxurious.

- Pan-seared Branzino ($25) arrives stacked over shaved fennel, summer squash and pea tendrils. The fish is delicate but the skin adds crisp and saltiness. Most addictive is the Vidalia onion/Yukon gold soubise and tomato-lemon verbena broth accenting the dish.

- Those Truffle Fries resting under shaved Parmesan ($5) are as fabulous as they ever were.

- Alan Carter holds the crown of pastry chef extraordinaire and his pies ($6.50-7 a slice) are still mama’s home cooking and a long-awaited holiday rolled into one. It’s like coming home to his Banana Butterscotch Cream or Chocolate Pecan Pies, but I was especially entranced with my beloved rhubarb (thank you, Summer!) in his Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

I am happy to (continue) to say, do not forget to return to Mission Beach Cafe.

Mission Beach Cafe
198 Guerrero Street (at 14th)
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-861-0198
www.missionbeachcafesf.com

I’ve long loved Mission Beach Cafe for Blue Bottle Coffee (perfect cappuccinos and espressos), some of SF’s best pastries and a rockin’ brunch. With Thomas Martinez back, now as Executive Chef (age 22 and already this good? Watch out!), the dinner menu is also a journey worth taking.

If Grilled Flabtreads of the day ($11) all pack the flavor-punch of this one, you’re in for a thrill: Mt. Tam Triple Cheese, arugula, Bahri dates, caramelized pepper bacon, drizzled in balsamic vinegar. They had me at “tripel”.

Avocado Mango Salad ($9) kicks into gear with barrel-aged feta and mango vinaigrette. Another ideal mix? Arugula Strawberry Salad ($9) with shaved fennel and candied “quinoa balsamic cracker”. Order a glass or bottle of the 2007 Voss Sauvignon Blanc ($11/42) and your starters will be brightened by its crisp, grapefruit notes.

Entrees are generous, well-cooked and quite tasty from famed Pot Pies ($18 – come Tuesdays to try all varieties: I’ll take rabbit, thank you), to a beautiful Confit Duck Leg ($21) over fava beans and beets. A medium rare Prather Ranch Beach Burger ($13.50) is lightly blackened (outside), pink (inside), with aged gouda, caramelized onion and mushrooms gushing forth from under the bun. One of the better burgers I’ve had in awhile. Paired with Kennebec fries in truffle oil and shaved Parmesan, it shoots into the stratosphere. You could add bacon or avocado ($2) but that would just be gluttonous.

Desserts, from Pastry Chef par excellence, Alan Carter, are one great pie, cookie or cake after another. You can’t really go too wrong. I crave the tartness of Lemon Velvet Cream Pie or crazy-good Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie (both $6.50).

From a choice of five or so dessert wines and ports, Arrested Zinfandel ’06 Port from Napa ($12), is robust with a hint of sweet (and a whiff of butterscotch!) Quady Essentia’s ’06 Orange Muscat ($8) from Madera is bright, apricot-orange, and a sexy finish to a meal. But my top choice is probably Truchard’s ’05 Late Harvest Botrytis (that’s “noble rot” to you). A viscous acidity reveals hints of pear, peach, honey. Gorgeous.

**All photos in this article by Rick Camargo: www.rickycphotography.com**

BROKEN RECORD
1166 Geneva Avenue (between Edinburgh and Naples Streets)
San Francisco, CA  94112
415-963-1713
http://brokenrecordsf.com

If you can’t hang with dive bars or aren’t willing to venture into the far reaches of the Excelsior, Broken Record may stay off your radar.  But you’d be the one missing out.  Parking is easy, so why not?  Go, and you may, like me, not only keep returning, but become downright giddy with the dynamite combo of top shelf, 150-plus whiskey selection (at crazy-low prices), surprisingly great cocktails, and killer housemade sausages and BBQ, which haunt your nostrils from the moment you enter. This is truly a “diamond in the rough” (emphasis on the rough).

As a bar, it’s divey-comfortable, replete with pool table, darts, jukebox and knowledgeable, affable, tattoo-covered bartenders.  It’s dim but not dirty, mellow early evenings and weeknights, bustling at Friday’s Happy Hour with $2 pitchers of Pabst. The owner, Jason King’s, passion for the brown stuff (the aforementioned whiskeys, bourbons, scotches) shows in his impeccable selection. If you’ve wanted to sample top-notch whiskeys at lower prices than almost any other bar around town, this is place to hone the taste of your inner connoisseur.  They make a beautifully-balanced Sazeracs and a dreamy Manhattan, not to mention Hot Toddies to warm a chilly night… and all for merely $4-5 on average, a rarity at this quality level.  The shock comes when you realize they didn’t skimp on ingredients: yes, that’s St. George Absinthe rinsing your Sazerac glass!  Hey, even I can be a big spender (and tip generously) here.

Then there’s the food.  Head down the hallway to the down-home back room (plus charming outdoor patio) with mismatched booths, tables and chairs, an easy place to bring a group of friends.  Everything is made with care and all under $7.50. Housemade Sausages include spicy Alligator ($7), Hot Links ($5.50), Venison with Cranberries and wine ($6), or my fave, Wild Boar with apples and wine ($6).

Biscuits ($1.50) with honey butter are unjustly good – I’ve tried sharing them and it doesn’t go over well.  Order your own.  Hush Puppies (lightly fried cornbread balls, made here with a touch of cheese and jalapeno, $4) or Buffalo Wings loaded with tender chicken meat, served with blue cheese and celery sticks ($6), are perfect for sharing.  Specials might be a hearty bowl of Crawfish Etouffee ($6), mixed with savory rice and finely-browned roux – no skimping on juicy chunks of crawfish.  BBQ sandwiches ($7.50), Pulled Pork topped with slaw or addictive Beef Brisket with pickled onions, secrete a smoky tenderness soooo good, in a North Carolina-style (read: vinegar-based) BBQ sauce.  I finish with Toffee Crack (75 cents) – a dark chocolate toffee wafer – again, housemade.

I start drooling as soon as I walk into this place, knowing I’ll be treated well (the chefs remembered me by my second visit), enjoy a round of games with friends, and find my wallet unharmed by reasonable prices… I’ve spent $40 on four people and we ate like kings.

CYRUS

Healdsburg, CA

There is no way to quite do the magical dining experience that is CYRUS justice. Much has already been written about one of the highest-rated restaurants in the nation, and I’ve been dying to go since it opened.

The Renaissance Man made it my birthday dinner surprise (we went the weekend before since my birthday is actually Christmas Day). It is possibly the best fine dining experience I’ve ever had up to this point.

CYRUS sits at the northern end of Sonoma County just a couple blocks from Healdsburg’s town square, with a sophisticated but understated dining room in the Paris-reminiscent Les Mars Hotel. Not only is there a spare elegance to the room, but service is absolutely impeccable from start to finish. I asked the girl cleaning bread crumbs off our table to confirm an ingredient I thought I was tasting in a dish and she knew exactly what went into it. Every server was completely knowledgeable about every last detail of the meal, which impressively speaks of not only the waitstaff but management’s ethos to inform and educate their employees.

Tasting menus run three ($78), four ($90) or five ($102) courses, each your choice, or there’s a chef choice at $130. Decadent extras include a Champagne and Caviar Cart or truffles in a box, shaved over dishes. The wine list is exhaustive and broad, and the cocktails, created by the one-and-only Scott Beattie (check out his recent book, Artisanal Cocktails, which is fast becoming the standard for artisanal, farm-fresh cocktails), are a revelation. The drinks ($12) change each season. Winter includes a sweet apple chip-topped Autumn Apple, made of Germain-Robin Apple Brandy, apple juice, sparkling apple cider, lemon juice, ginger syrup and a thick layer of creamy apple foam. Glorious! The Egg Nog cocktail could be dessert, whipped light and creamy, perfectly balanced with Weller Bourbon, eggs, cream, nutmeg, vanilla beans. But there’s more than seasonal: updated classics are made to absolute perfection, including a Frankfort Manhattan made with vanilla citrus peel-infused 12-year Weller Bourbon, or The Last Word: Plymouth Gin, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Green Chartreuse, Lime Juice.

We ordered four courses each, each one thrilling in its own right. In addition, there’s an Amuse Bouche “tower”, covering all five taste profiles: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. I’d love to start every meal this way – with all taste buds awakened! There’s divine housemade breads, like Garlic Sea Salt Sourdough or melt-in-the-mouth Gruyere Hawaiian rolls, served with two kinds of sea salt and butters. A palate cleansing Prickly Pear and Lime Popsicle came midway, and a platter of exquisite candy treats finished us off (mini-chocolate Alfajores, Pistachio Cinnamon White Chocolate Truffles, Blueberry Marshmellows… oh, my)!

There was not a disappointing course among the eight I tried… from a Terrine of Foie Gras with Asian Pear, Tamarind, Crumpets, to Crispy Poussin with Brussel Sprouts, creamy Parsnip Puree, Maple Butter Jus, to the sublime Medai (Butterfish) with Curried Cauliflower, Apples, Coconut Milk Foam. I was forced to choose a favorite, however, it would be Truffled Red Wine Risotto with a Parmesan Foam/Broth. I (unsuccessfully) tried to contain a moan of pleasure with each bite, savory truffle complimenting the delicate risotto exquisitely. The Cheese Cart was yet another highlight, with a choice of three cheeses out of many from around the world. I had a strong, smooth Roquefort Blue from France (paired nicely with a housemade Pan Forte), a sharp Cheddar from Modesto, CA, and an ideally-balanced Green Hill Double Creme from Georgia.

If my stomach wasn’t near bursting already, then came dessert! Outside of the cheeses and dessert we chose as part of our four-course dinner, unexpected fun arrived with a birthday treat in a glass case, a balloon attached. They ordered me to deflate the balloon, which released chocolate shavings in a shower over chocolate chip cookies inside. Its compliment was a playful mini-Brooklyn Egg Cream (milk, Valhrona Chocolate, Club Soda). A birthday dinner I will remember…

CRUSTACEAN KINGS
I’m a fanatic of all things shellfish, especially crustaceans. It doesn’t get better than fresh, sweet crabmeat! Summer is not crab season in these parts but it’s one of my favorite times to eat crab with a refreshing rose, sparkling wine or minty lemonade.

There are amazing whole roasted crabs at classic spots like Thanh Long or oyster king, Hog Island Oyster Bar in the Ferry Plaza Building, but now, I write about crustacean bars for straight-up, fresh crabmeat, shrimp or oysters.

Nearly hundred year old Swan Oyster Depot serves some of SF’s best seafood … but there’s the equally good, lesser known, Gigi’s Oysteria Sotto Mare, which I’ve long ‘kept mum’ about though I’ve been going since it opened a couple years ago. I didn’t want to see the same long waits at Sotto, but, thankfully, it has stayed chill, filled with locals. Except for usually steady weekend nights, I can walk in and sit at the bar for fabulous crustaceans and oysters… during hours that Swan isn’t even open.

SAN FRANCISCO

Swan Oyster Depot:
1517 Polk Street (between California and Sacramento Streets)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-673-1101
Hours: Monday-Saturday 8am-5:30pm
Price: Mid Range, $5-$30

The King of great SF seafood, Swan is what the Wharf should be, but ain’t. If you live here and haven’t been, you’re not yet a full-fledged San Franciscan. It’s that much of an institution. The line is exasperating, sure. But that’s what 8am is for (!?) If you can stand to eat oysters early morn or mid-afternoon, you’ll cut wait time down, otherwise, hold out for those few coveted (uncomfortable) counter stools.

What you go for is the spectacle of freshness before you: succulent oysters, a mountain of crabmeat in the “salad” (which is really a pile of crabmeat on a bit of iceberg lettuce – I ask for the Louis dressing on the side), and for loveably crusty service from the family (brothers, sons, cousins) who’ve owned it for decades.

New England-style clam chowder is thinner, less heavy than the classic norm, full of savory clam juice and luscious clam meat. Other gems include salmon (fresh or smoked), half cracked crab, plump shrimp (salad or cocktail) and catch-of-the-day fish to take home. Don’t worry: there’s Anchor Steam or wine to pair with it.

Instead of taking that visiting family member and shellfish lover to Fisherman’s Wharf, take them here. You (both) won’t regret it. Don’t bring a group. More than two or three is pushing it here…

96 years old this year (open since 1912), this place is the definition of San Francisco Seafood… old school style. Long live Swan!

Gigi’s Oysteria Sotto Mare:
552 Green Street (between Columbus and Grant Avenues)
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-398-3181

Hours: Monday-Thursday 11am-8:30pm; Friday-Saturday 11am-9:30pm

Price: Mid Range, $7-$25

Ah, Sotto Mare… I’d have written about you long ago, but you’re one of those places I’ve selfishly kept to myself for fear of the entire city descending on it (not that my voice would singularly make that happen… but it has happened to many a favorite).

Much of what’s great at Swan is also great here: sweet crabmeat or plump shrimp, served as “salads” ($11-18) or cocktail style ($8-13), clam chowder, an always fresh selection of oysters ($1-2.50 each). Crab Cioppino ($25) and pastas ($12-15) are unexpected gems. They also grill up some mean Sand Dabs ($17).

There’s a spacious long countertop here, but also a few tables (including sidewalk tables). Though not ideal for a huge group, you can bring a small one, something not possible without suffering for it at Swan.

On top of the food, service and attitude are charming and saucy. The Renaissance Man likes to “hassle” a regular waitress we’ve had most visits, saying she has such a feisty sense of humor, she reminds him of a beloved Canadian Aunt. Great seafood and feels like family? If I lived in North Beach, I’d be a regular.

ETHIOPIAN

Ethiopian is a comforting, homey cuisine: spicy, filling and best when made fresh by a loving hand. Though there are a number of decent Ethiopian spots in San Francisco, and more broadly, the East Bay, many blend into each other as fairly average (like Lower Haight’s Axum Café, Café Ethiopia in the Mission, or Western Addition’s quirky dive bar, Club Waziema). Here are a few I feel stand out above the rest.

SAN FRANCISCO

Sheba Piano Lounge: Sheba is a special, unique place and my favorite Ethiopian in SF (Café Colucci is my favorite East Bay Ethiopian). Similar to Rassela’s Jazz Club across the street, they have live jazz and Ethiopian food… but the similarities end there. Rassela’s requires a two drink minimum and occasionally a cover on top of that – and let’s just say the food is not like Sheba’s.

Sheba’s is a relaxed restaurant and piano bar serving heartwarming, just-like-Mom-makes Ethiopian. There’s a “bar bites” menu, which you can snack on in the lounge area’s comfy couches, but the traditional Ethiopian menu holds the real treasures: Tibs (meat or eggplant sautéed with onions, rosemary, garlic), Kik Alicha (a yellow split pea dish), Mesir Wat (lentils in a Berbere sauce with onions, garlic, ginger) and Gomen (collard greens). Though only a Vegetarian Sampler ($13) is listed, you can request a Meat Sampler to try the meat entrees in one large platter, which easily feeds two, if not three. They have a decent wine and beer selection and smooth Ethiopian Honey Wine.

Décor is clean, modern, comfortable. Nightly live piano jazz soothes with the sometimes added bonus of a vocalist (I was happy to hear Bossa Nova on one occasion). Ricardo Sales, an amazing local jazz pianist, often plays here. The effect is not unlike being in an Ethiopian friends’ home listening to musicians play while scooping up good home cooking. The Fillmore, and SF, needs a place just like this…

Assab Eritrean:
2845 Geary Boulevard (between Collins and Wood Streets)
San Francisco, CA 94118
415.441.7083
Hours: Monday-Thursday 4-9:30pmm
Friday-Saturday 4-10pm

A little neighborhood treasure in the Inner Richmond, Assab is an Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant with a sparse, clean interior and a charming couple serving stomach pleasing food from their homeland. The Injera is addictive, warm. The meat and vegetarian platters ensure I can get all my favorites in one sitting. I love Zigni, cubed beef soft after simmering in clarified butter with hot pepper, onions and tomato. Shiro, ground chickpeas with onions, tomatoes, butter and pepper, and Bersin, a lentil dish (I like the red lentils, but they also serve it with brown), are two other winners… all with just the right amount of heat, creating a slow burn. The meat entrees are all around $11.95 ($13.95 for the platter) and the vegetarian around $8-10. Portions (again) are hearty, so The Renaissance Man and I share.

Massawa:
1538 Haight Street (between Ashbury and Clayton Streets)
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.621.4129
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 10am-10pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-11pm

If I want a great night out with Ethiopian food and live music, I hit Sheba. If I want the freshest? Café Colucci. But for a good, cheap, savory meal, Massawa does the trick and is my preferred stop over many average Ethiopian joints in town. The interior leaves a lot to be desired: dingy, ugly, it adds nothing to the experience. But traditional dishes are here in tasty, giant portions, and it’s open all day, every day. On upper Haight Street, dining options are often far from thrilling so it’s also a reliable Haight restaurant.

BERKELEY

Café Colucci: This humble East Bay gem offers some the best Ethiopian around, serving fresh, organic ingredients with a brilliant little shop next door selling Ethiopian groceries, spices, grains and lentils or pre-made sauces and Injera to take home.

Their informative website provides definitions of spices used in Ethiopian cooking, and a list of traditional sauces. They serve Teff Injera to sop up the food. Teff, the smallest grain in the world, is a flour indigenous to Ethiopia, packed with protein and iron.

The food comes in dense portions (entrees: $9-12, which easily serve two), and vegetarian offerings are as packed with flavor as the meat dishes. I like Buticha, a hummus-like “dip” made of chickpea, garlic, onions, jalapeno & olive oil. The spiciness of Messer-Wot, a lentil dish in Bebere (a red hot chili pepper sauce), satisfies. Favorites like Tibs (meat or eggplant sautéed with onions, rosemary, garlic) and Gomen (collard greens) are all done well and Ethiopian beer or Honey Wine show up as accompaniments.

The modest interior, tabletops filled with grains and legumes used in the cooking, is decorated with Ethiopian art, palm branches, and sidewalk seating that almost has an island feel. As is common with authentic Ethiopian spots, they are on Africa time so expect kindly but slow service … come prepared to linger.