Sorting through cacao beans at Dandelion

SEARCHING for CHOCOLATE

Clearly we can’t get enough chocolate. As chocolatiers continue to proliferate around the country, we are blessed with an endless wealth of fine chocolate to choose from. Tirelessly sampling chocolates from every possible corner of the world, including every city and country I travel in, there are standouts from numerous angles, some perfecting a certain truffle, others a pure bean-to-bar process. Join me on a local and international journey through just a few of the best.

SF CHOCOLATE SOURCES

Dandelion Chocolate's new shop on Valencia Street

- With their new Victorian-era Mercantile on Haight Street and a brand new, second shop just opened up in North Beach, Buyer’s Best Friend is among the best gourmet food selections in the city on many levels. When it comes to chocolate, they often have samples of rarely seen, small chocolatiers from around the globe, many of which they are the sole source. Start asking questions and you’ll discover a whole world of chocolates you never new existed.
- Eccentric and delightful, Noe Valley’s Chocolate Covered has long been the chocolate shop of SF, with rare and varied selection. I lived directly across the street from it for six years – a dangerous proximity.
- Tiny but well-curated, Russian Hill’s shiny Candy Store has long been a source for rare and old fashioned chocolates and candies.

CHOCOLATE BOOK
One of the world’s great modern day chocolatiers from London, Paul A. Young (see International section) wrote Adventures with Chocolate, a visually striking book first exploring chocolate making details from combining beans for best flavor profiles to making the perfect ganache. Primarily, it is a cookbook utilizing chocolate in recipes from boozy drinks or teas to savory dishes and desserts.

Local

Many local greats are made here in the city, like SF classic Recchiuti, single-minded treasures like Hooker’s Sweet Treats, playful Poco Dolce and forward-thinking TCHO. Here are a few more:

BEST BEAN-TO-BAR: Dandelion Chocolates

Wrapping bars at Dandelion

There’s chocolate and then there’s bean-to-bar. Whereas most chocolatiers start with already fermented cacao beans (yes, cacao beans go through fermentation), a few oversee the entire process, from sourcing to processing. Dandelion Chocolates was launched right here in SF by chocolate lovers who experimented with bean-to-bar as a hobby, which then turned into a business. Purity of the cacao is their passion so they make chocolate with merely the bean and sugar, no cocoa butter. Tasting their bars side-by-side is like sampling wines or coffee, nuances and terroir apparent in each. There’s lush, malty notes of Rio Caribe, Venezuela (my favorite bar), bright citrus-strawberry expression of the Ambanja, Madagascar bar, and earthy, tannic notes from Elvesia, Dominican Republic. Dandelion is easily already one of the superior chocolates around.

Visiting their Dogpatch factory last month, I witnessed the entire process from roasting, cracking, sorting, winnowing, and grinding, to conching, tempering, molding and packaging, happening in one small space. Dandelion is moving to their new Mission location on Valencia (though also keeping their Dogpatch space), which is factory, tasting room, shop and cafe all in one. Opening this month, it’s sure to be a hit. It’s inspiring to see passion lead to success… and we all reap the benefits.

BEST TRUFFLES: Feve

Working my way through a box of chocolates from the now closed Shokolaat in Palo Alto

Many artisan chocolatiers boast a couple of exceptional truffles, but none I’ve tried have the volume of Feve Artisan Chocolatier, formerly Au Coeur Des Chocolats (found in shops like Bi-Rite or on their website). Owners Shawn and Kathryn Williams have traveled Europe extensively, visiting many of the world’s best chocolate makers. Besides artful, elegant precision in presentation, Shawn’s truffles succeed first and foremost in flavor.

Expecting a burst of curry or lemongrass or the like, the intended flavor of many expensive truffles (at the standard $1.50-$3 a piece) is often barely discernible, instead of refined yet prominent and lively. Typically, I’ll find one or two standouts in a line of truffles, but with Feve, I struggle to name a favorite. There’s cherry vanilla (dark chocolate and lemon ganache layered with cherry vanilla gelee), cardamom punchy with Scotch, sesame vanilla crispy with praline, dreamy banana caramel, pistachio rosemary caramel with pistachio praline, and vivid passion fruit or yuzu… each exquisitely lush.

ASSORTED TOP TRUFFLES and BARS

Chocolatier Blue's welcoming 4th Street shop in Berkeley

- Chocolatier Blue’s Berkeley shops serve fresh, creative truffles like Ants on a Log filled with celery seed, peanut butter and currant, a tart caramel apple, or peanut brittle crunch with caramelized banana and creamy peanut butter.
- Saratoga Chocolates‘ Caramel Cin, a heart-shaped treat of dark chocolate oozing decadent cinnamon caramel.
- Sixth Course Artisan Confections‘ aromatic caramels, like rosemary or sage and brown butter.
- Wine Country Chocolates‘ Elvis truffle of peanut butter and banana ganache rules, while the cinnamon and clover honey oozes honey goodness. www.winecountrychocolates.com
- Maison Bouche, Oakland’s elegant, French-spirited bars, a standout being salty Fleur de Sel using Brittany salt.

US

- Alma Chocolates in Portland makes an insanely good Thai peanut butter cup with ginger, Thai chiles, lime, even red volcanic sea salt, sometimes available at Portland chocolate haven, Cacao.
- Antidote is a quality, raw, NY-based bean-to-bar line made in Ecuador with dark chocolate bars in flavors like banana cayenne, lavender red salt, and almond fennel. Expect subtlety and a earth-like taste in each. At Buyer’s Best Friend.

Chocolat Moderne's bistro bars (photo source: chocolatmoderne.com)

- Chocolat Modern is a longtime New York favorite of square “bistro bars”, dark and filled with the likes of bananas and Cognac, pumpkin praline, apricot and Bas Armagnac, zesty grapefruit. There’s a rotating selection available at The Candy Store.
- The best local chocolates I’ve had from Los Angeles, Compartes creates dark chocolate truffles and bars, including the apricot & shichimi 7-spice chocolate bar ($8), and truffle highlights: Smoked Salt, Peanut Butter, Pink Peppercorn & Raspberry.
- Fine & Raw is a Brooklyn-based, raw chocolatier with high dark chocolate content and cacao butter, managing to maintain creamy texture and flavor. Their most interesting bars are cacao & coconut or lucuma & vanilla. At Buyer’s Best Friend.
- Though I fear the healthy, superfood label when it comes to pleasures like chocolate, Boise, Idaho-based Good Cacao creates lemon ginger immunity and coconut omega-3 bars that taste like a tropical vacation. At Buyer’s Best Friend.
- MarieBelle’s elegant banana chocolate (65%) bar shines from this New York favorite with a Soho tea salon and cacao bar.

International

- Dublin’s Cocoa Atelier makes the best chocolate I had in Ireland, a chic outpost of drinking chocolate and elegant truffles using local specialties, like pot still Irish whiskey.

Paul Young's "Adventures With Chocolate" book

- Coco Chocolate is my Edinburgh favorite, a darling shop focusing on handmade bars, like rose and black pepper, pink peppercorn and nutmeg, and a tropical-inflected lime and coconut, invigorating with dark chocolate.
- Kopali Organics is packaged as vegan health food from passionate founders living off-the-grid in Costa Rica. Their fair trade dark chocolate covered banana bites taste like vivid, fresh banana chocolate instead of dried, chocolate-covered fruits. At Buyer’s Best Friend.
- If in Bordeaux, don’t miss charming La Maison Darricau. The romantic shop sells chocolate and creative truffles made fresh daily, like wine-filled Médoc, basil, Szechuan pepper, curry date, and an excellent blend of prune, almond paste, Armagnac.
- Among the best chocolates I’ve had in the world is Paul A. Young, with three London shops – the supreme example of what fresh truffles and exotic bars should be. Go funky with Marmite truffles, or herbaceous peppermint leaf. Whatever you do, when in London, don’t miss it.
- In London’s Borough Market, Rabot Estate is a rustic-hip shop with staff pouring cups of free dark hot chocolate and bars like chili with a lush Santa Lucia-grown dark chocolate.

Truffles at Paul Young's Islington, London shop

Kobe beef for shabu-shabu at Shabuway in the Inner Richmond

Three Affordable JAPANESE Meals

Article and photos by Virginia Miller

Japanese woods and individual grills at the new Camp BBQ

The nuances and clean lines of Japanese cuisine have long intrigued. I grew up during East Coast days with my lifelong best friend, who is half Japanese, discovering authentic cuisine in her home and around New York City, fondly recalling the first time I had sushi, okonomiyaki and sake, shabu-shabu in Manhattan.

SF boasts one of few Japantowns in the US – the oldest and largest Japantown in the country – and a dense Japanese community, so restaurant and market options are vibrant. Sushi is one of my greatest cravings, and the izakaya-Japanese pub/bar food wave seems to re-hit SF every few years with a slew of openings. Outside of these two dominant categories, we’re blessed with Kappou Gomi’s memorable small plates (buttered scallops, tempura crusted in macadamia, almonds and other nuts), Kare-Ken and Muracci’s Japanese curry, intimate Minako for organic, unusual dishes, Macha Cafe and YakiniQ Cafe for matcha tea, sweet potato coffee, and Japanese-influenced treats, Kitchen Kura for an okonomiyaki menu, Delica for Japanese deli goods, the list goes on. These three younger Japanese restaurants offer comforting food at a reasonable cost.

CAMP BBQ, Inner Richmond (4014 Geary Blvd. between 4th & 5th Ave., 415-387-1378)

Pork, ready for grilling

Opening this summer, Camp BBQ is Japanese grilling taking its cues from Korean BBQ. The long space is lined in rustic Japanese woods, roomy tables surrounding individual grills. Like Korean BBQ, mini-bowls of dipping sauces (like a house miso) arrive, then platters of vegetables, such as a “rainbow mix” ($6) of carrots, bok choy, onions and garlic cloves wrapped in foil, ready for the grill. Scallops soak in garlic butter ($7), tender and buttery in foil.

Pork cheek & corn on the cob to grill

When it comes to meats, there’s many options, sliced thin, generally tender – only the pork cheek, though juicy, was a little tough to bite. Kobe-style Kalbi chuck short rib ($13 for 3.5 oz.) and ox tongue ($8) are two worthy beef options, though I find the cheaper, savory qualities of spicy pork ($4) and pork cheek ($5) even more appealing. Portions are small enough to mix-and-match while sipping sake, Japanese beer, even pineapple or watermelon slushies. Moving away from the grill, cheese pockets ($5), essentially wontons supposedly filled with cream cheese and shrimp, are disappointingly empty. The setting is mellow with families and friends grilling and singing along (in the case of the kids during my last visit) to somehow appropriate dance pop tunes as backdrop.

SHABUWAY, Inner Richmond (5120 Geary Blvd. between 15th & 16th Ave., 415-668-6080)

Shabuway's delicious takoyaki

Hot pot stylings of shabu-shabu are the basis for Shabuway, the first SF location of a local Bay Area chain that began in 2004 in San Mateo, growing to locations in Mountain View, San Jose, Union City, Santa Clara. Eiichi Mochizuki launched Shabuway using meats from animals fed on all vegetarian diets: Angus Prime, American kobe, Niman Ranch lamb, Kurobuta Berkshire pork. The result translates into a fresher than average shabu experience. In keeping with the meaning of shabu-shabu (“swish-swish”), one selects thinly-sliced meat of choice, chooses spicy miso or seaweed broths, then swishes raw meats in boiling broth until done. Vegetables (like cabbage, carrots, enoki mushrooms) and mini-bowls of soy and crave-inducing gomadare (an almost creamy sesame sauce) arrive, filled up when running low, with add-ons like udon or ramen noodles a mere $1-$1.75. When finished cooking meats and veggies, flavor-rich broth is poured over rice, eaten soup-like as a finish.

Choosing both styles of broth: spicy miso and seaweed

There is little besides shabu-shabu on the menu, an appreciated focus, but a special I’d recommend if you see it is takoyaki ($4.50), octopus dumpling balls topped in benito flakes, essentially okonomyiaki (the fantastic Japanese  “pancake”) in bread-y ball form, dotted with customary mayo and savory-sweet okonomiyaki sauce.

KIRIMACHI RAMEN, North Beach (450 Broadway St. between Kearny & Rowland, 415-335-5865)

'50's diner chairs at Kirimachi

Ramen is akin to pho in Vietnamese food or other filling soups in Asian cuisine. Maybe it was the month I spent in Vietnam eating far less than fresh pho (think greasy broth and unidentifiable meat) at locals only pho bars around the country, or most likely it’s my craving for bold, pronounced flavors that have made me not so much averse to basic broth soups as just bored by them.

Sapporo-style miso ramen

Typically, I prefer udon or soba noodles when it comes to Japanese soups for more texture and emphasis on the noodles. I may never be obsessed with ramen, pho or the like but Kirimachi Ramen, a months’ old spot tucked away in North Beach with 1950′s diner chairs and laid back vibe, does well by the genre. All bowls are hefty at$10, with veggie, pork or chicken as a base. They told me they haven’t found a reliable organic pork source yet but use Marin Sun Farms chicken, focusing on fresh ingredients. I took to Sapporo-style miso ramen with chopped pork, Chinese chives, bean sprouts, corn, with additional toppings ($1) including kikurage mushroom, fish cake and soft-boiled egg.

House strawberry soda in a cocktail at The Corner Store

SODA FOUNTAIN REVIVAL

A wave of old fashioned soda fountains serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic fountain treats alongside quality food is hitting various parts of the country with two notables in San Francisco, including the one-of-a-kind Ice Cream Bar and all-around delights of the new Corner Store.

THE CORNER STORE, Western Addition (5 Masonic Avenue at Geary, 415-359-1800)

Boozy, lush Manhattan shake

Old fashioned corner store in ethos, contemporary in style, The Corner Store, from 330 Ritch business partners Miles Palliser and Ezra Berman, sells sodas, candy, beers, wine and gourmet foods, and is an all day restaurant and soda fountain. An airy space and outdoor sidewalk patio nod to an era gone by, though fresh. While the menu reads straightforward, dishes are more interesting than first glance suggests.

Chef Nick Adams (Salt House, Town Hall) elevates the umpteenth roasted beets plate ($8) with Greek yogurt, candied almonds, purslane and radicchio in honey vinaigrette – it’s sweet, nutty, vegetal and creamy. Likewise, house smoked salmon ($10) goes well beyond the usual piece of salmon with potato pancake. An herb-laden egg salad flanks a crisp potato pancake, multiple slices of silky, fresh salmon and mound of lettuce.

Glorified house smoked salmon & potato pancake with herb-laden egg salad

Whether a burger ($12) laden with aged cheddar, pickled red onions, pickles and bacon jam, or a fried green tomato sandwich ($9) with burrata and avocado at lunch, items between bread are done right here. Thoughtful $16 entrees are a steal compared to similar dishes at greater cost elsewhere in town, like Snake River pork loin ($16), co-mingling with fennel, marble potatoes, and pancetta, invigorated with shishito peppers and a zippy nectarine mostarda. A side of house brioche dinner rolls ($3) with honey butter and sea salt makes it homey.

Gratifying fried green tomato sandwich at lunch

Hans Hinrichs (25 Lusk, Foreign Cinema) mans a soda fountain menu of cocktails ($10), boozy shakes ($10), and sodas ($8), using local or American craft spirits whenever possible. Though not the  journey through soda fountain history you’ll find at Ice Cream Bar, Hinrichs creates drinks that make you feel like a kid again… with booze. The Muir Trail is a tribute to local nature, both in name and the use of St. George Terroir Gin, a California gin foraged in the Bay Area. Hinrichs allows the gin to shine alongside tart huckleberry puree (huckleberry juice is infused with a sachet of spices, thinning it out with port wine reduction), dry vermouth, lemon and bitters. Sans alcohol, Lone Mountain Egg Cream is dulce de leche and sea salt, creamy with milk, perky with seltzer, plus a number of bottled classic sodas like Cheerwine and Dang! Butterscotch Beer ($4).

Cheery Corner Store

Spirits-laden shakes induce cravings. 50/50 – spiced rum, orange marmalade, vanilla ice cream – is textured and rich with rum and marmalade, accented by strips of candied orange peel. My youthful favorite, a Grasshopper, is a minty dream with Tempus Fugit’s unparalleled Creme de Menthe and Creme de Cacao, vanilla ice cream and a hint La Sorciere absinthe to perk up the mint. Probably my favorite of all three boozy shakes is the Manhattan. Tasting like a real Manhattan, punchy with bourbon, sweet vermouth, cherry syrup, creamy with vanilla ice cream, bourbon shines though Hinrichs uses no more than 1 oz. of base spirit plus 1/2-1 oz. of any other liqueur in any given shake.

Corner Store suits a range of needs and moods, stronger as a restaurant than its casual demeanor would suggest, succeeding as an elevated, craft soda fountain.

Over 75 house tinctures for use in sodas & shakes at Ice Cream Bar

ICE CREAM BAR, Cole Valley (815 Cole St. at Carl; 415-742-4932)

Fantastic new Bonne Vie No. 2: basil leaves, basil ice cream, pink grapefruit, citric acid

Already a Cole Valley destination, Ice Cream Bar is one-of-a-kind. It’s the first to recreate soda fountain drinks not just from popularized ‘50’s shops, but back to the 1800’s, reviving the lactart, phosphate, and traditional sassafras root beer. Recent changes at the family friendly shop include the launch of a food menu and gain of a liquor license – it’s a beer and wine license, so they’re utilizing beer, bitters and fortified wine.

Food is simple diner fare, the quality in keeping with their ice cream and soda fountain. Slices of fluffy, thick, house-baked brioche make the sandwiches, each served with a pickle and roasted vegetable salad or house-made sweet potato chips. An egg salad sandwich is soft and lively with chives, arugula, and the clincher: pimento cheese. My favorite, the tuna melt, evokes childhood elevated by Gruyere cheese, organic tomatoes and arugula,  the brioche nearly dissolving in the mouth.

Egg salad sandwich on melting-fresh house brioche

There’s one “must” on the new alcoholic section of the fountain menu (the majority is still non-alcoholic): a classic Angostura Phosphate. Fizzy with acid phosphate, gum foam and soda, a heavy pour of Angostura Bitters makes for a spiced beauty, conjuring fall and winter simultaneously. Can’t Stop is a notable dessert of butterscotch syrup, whole egg and cream, effervescent with Drakes Bay Hefeweizen (adding notes of grain and hay), topped with a musky Carpano Antica vermouth float.

Celery heaven: A Stalk in the Park

Some soda fountain newcomers are among the best drinks they’ve done yet. Bonne Vie No. 2 is a citrus garden delight of basil leaves, basil ice cream, and pink grapefruit – its sour-fresh qualities glorified with citric acid. A healthy-tasting lactart, A Stalk in the Park, is celery seed extract, celery stalks and mint blended with lactart and soda water – a fizzy, vegetal pleasure. Ode to Mr. O’Neil (a double-charged, amplified chocolate soda/lactart) and the wild cherry phosphate remain among their best sodas, but new additions confirm why Ice Cream Bar is like no other.

As part of SF Cocktail Week, I judged the first ever soda jerk competition where competitors crafted one alcoholic and non-alcoholic creation. Though unintended, it was no surprise that all three finalists and the winner are all soda jerks at Ice Cream Bar.

Ice Cream Bar's Angostura Phosphate & Can't Stop

Creamy, textured 50/50 shake at The Corner Store

Despite bacon overkill the past decade, you'll dream of the bacon at Blackwood

DESTINATION BITES: Lasagnas, Millionaire’s Bacon, Melted Buratta Spaghettini, Explosion Burger

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

There are restaurants weaving together the whole package, a melange of atmosphere, service and most importantly, memorable food. Sometimes there’s the overarching solidity of a menu… other times, one walks away dreaming about that one specific item. Here are four such dishes from four locations, worth going out of your way for.

MARCELLA’S, Dogpatch (1099 Tennessee St. between 20th & 22nd, 415-920-2225)

Utterly gratifying: Bolognese lasagna

Lasgana… there are few foods as evocative of my childhood. Being Sicilian, my mother did pasta best. Her lasagna was always of the Bolognese kind, bubbling over with cheese, meat and perfect red sauce. Until now, Gaspare’s in the Outer Richmond is typically where I’d get my old school lasagna fix. Since May, Dogpatch now has a lasagneria, of all fantastic things. Marcella’s Lasagneria & Cucina is a humble corner shop selling Chef Massimo’s aioli spreads/dips (like black truffle or spicy Chardonnay) and other food products produced on premises, as well as paninis, soups, and pizzas for eating in or taking out. Though pizzas aren’t necessarily the strong point, who needs pizzas when you have six kinds of lasagna to choose from?

Marcella's humble, welcoming dining room

Jovial Massimo hails from Italy’s Abruzzo region, regaling with stories of chef days in Italy (I’m charmed by the 1980′s-looking photo of him above the counter in chef’s hat with a glass of wine) or about his family, who clearly play a big part in the business. The shop is named after his daughter while his friendly son sometimes works the counter (note: currently they are only open Monday-Friday, 11:30am – 7pm). On a typical visit, lasagna options are butternut squash, bolognese, wild mushroom, spicy eggplant, spicy sausage and a pesto zucchini. Buying a whole lasagna for a family birthday (yes, it’s celebratory-good), I thank Chef Massimo for making each available by the slice ($8.50). I’ll bring home three slices for dinner, reveling in savory-sweet red sauce and ultra-thin pasta sheets redolent but not overcome with ricotta and mozzarella.

Marcella's "slow food" ethos proudly displayed

All recipes I’ve had or made of butternut squash lasagna have been white so that the squash shines. Here it still does, while benefiting from a bit of red sauce. Earthy wild mushroom, spicy eggplant or pesto ricotta are winning lasagna offerings, though in reference to my upbringing – and because meaty lasagna is the ultimate – I like classic Bolognese best (the Italian sausage lasagna is ideal for larger chunks of meat). Massimo corners balance: though layering each lasagna with bechamel sauce and fillings, there’s not too much of any one ingredient. The entirety melts and dissolves soft in your mouth, as heartwarming as your Italian mama’s cooking… or the one you dreamed of.

BLACKWOOD, Marina (2150 Chestnut St. between Steiner & Pierce, 415-931-9663)

Blackwood's version of Mieng Kum Kung topped w/ crispy tiger prawns

Blackwood is an unusual Marina restaurant. There are not many Thai joints in the neighborhood to begin with (though Yukol Place has been keeping it real for years), and certainly not one like this. High ceilings and shades of black and grey set a chic tone, while non-traditional dishes like mushroom egg rolls and unfortunately named Marina Strips – Wagyu beef strips wrapped in baby hearts of palm – fill the menu. Many dishes are larger, more artfully arranged, versions of what you’d find in most Thai restaurants, like papaya salad or Pad See Ew (spelled Pad See You). Their Thai fusion label is apparent in a Thai Wagyu burger ($12) on brioche loaded with a Thai salad of cucumber, carrot, cilantro, sesame, or in generous, sizzling stone pots ($14-16), akin to Koran bibimbap, filled with rice, veggies, meat of choice (I like crispy red snapper in plum dressing) and topped with a fried egg.

Like Korean bibimbap, a Thai stone pot

However, the one destination item is merely a $5 add-on to a breakfast platter (served daily, 8am-4pm) – and what an add-on! Though only open since June, Blackwood’s Millionaire’s Bacon has already been named on the Destination America’s United States of Food on the Discovery Channel. Two hefty strips of bacon are dense, shimmery, chewy beauties, caramelized and slightly sweet and smoky. Despite bacon burn-out over the past decade, with bacon gracing every dessert and dish possible, these juicy strips renew and refresh the love, reminiscent of Southern ham in gourmet jerky-like form.

BLUESTEM BRASSERIE, Downtown/Union Square (One Yerba Buena Lane between 3rd & 4th Sts., 415-547-1111)

Calabrian chile spaghettini topped w/ melted burrata

Bluestem Brasserie is not your typical downtown shopping break. In fact, it has improved since opening in summer 2011, honing in on its menu, house charcuterie and whole-animal butchery practices so no part goes to waste. With new Executive Chef Francis Hogan there is fresh life in the space frequented by tourists and locals shopping along Market Street or the business, tech, Moscone Center crowd. While wine on tap, grass-fed beef, and whole-animal practices are common in SF at large, being centrally situated downtown between SoMa and Union Square, Bluestem is exposing a range of clientele who otherwise would not be exposed to just how good sustainability can taste.

Bluestem's charcuterie platter

Besides satisfying house pates (on the charcuterie platter) of pork, pistachio and the like, a whole roasted branzino ($29) is flaky, perked up with roasted summer chilis (or your choice of side), while grass-fed 6 oz. filet ($31) or 12 oz. ribeye ($34) steaks are appropriately tender, medium rare, with choice of sauce ($3.75), like bourbon espresso or horseradish-roasted garlic cream.

Peaches & Herb 'Reunited' Sundae

The dish I found myself trekking back for whether at lunch or dinner is Calabrian chile spaghettini ($19). Though I would prefer some heat from the chiles (I detected none), the heaping bowl of pasta is topped with Early Girl tomatoes, arugula and basil, the pièce de résistance being melted burrata flowing over the pasta in lush waves. A gentle zesting of lemon rind perfects it.

Dessert ($9.50) is no afterthought. While the Peaches & Herb ‘Reunited’ Sundae was a layered summer treat, it’s a jar filled with mini-cookies baked in-house, from lemon sugar to peanut butter, that made me feel like a kid again. There were so many cookies, I finished the rest for breakfast the next day with coffee.

EPIC ROASTHOUSE, Embarcadero (369 The Embarcadero between Folsom and Harrison, 415-369-9955)

Cocktail with a view from Epic's dining room

With those stunning Bay Bridge views and a newly opened patio, a sunny lunch or brunch at Epic Roasthouse celebrates the beauty of San Francisco with a masculine-chic, light-filled dining room appropriately striking as the vantage point for such a vista. While historically their steaks were not among my favorites, Epic has a number of strong dishes and sides, though its most crave-worthy item has evolved into one of the best upscale burgers in the city. While $20 is steep, the Explosion Burger ($20) is more than one person can finish, changing over time to become an elaborate “explosion” of burger stuffed with cheese in the middle of the patty.

Explosion burger oozes cheese from its center

Whether morbier or aged cheddar, the giant patty oozes cheese, on a toasted, soft bun accompanied by a wooden tray of toppings in little cups, from a corn salad to just-grilled bacon bits, and an array of house pickles. The main issue I’ve had with steaks here is receiving them overcooke, even medium well, when I requested medium rare, but the burger comes appropriately medium rare, pink, drizzling with meaty juices. I cannot possibly finish one of these alongside crispy frites… but I am happy to try.

An array of Korean banchan (bites) accompanies BAP sets at FuseBOX

KOREAN SNACKS

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Grilled shishito peppers at FuseBOX

The nation has become increasingly enamored with kimchi and all things fermented. California long being home to some of the US’ densest Asian populations, this side of the palate is staple vs. exotic novelty. As San Francisco’s population consists of as many Asians as Caucasians, it’s no surprise that we are blessed with an endless wealth of authentic Asian food, though Korean has been one of the few not at the forefront. Historically, NY and LA, both areas I’ve lived in, are the strongest/densest for Korean food in the US.

Aria's fried seaweed rolls

Age 18 was the first time I ate Korean food. My girlhood best friend since my New Jersey days had begun dating her now husband when we went out to dinner with his family. From Flushing, Queens (read about my top Flushing Korean BBQ joint), every meal with his Korean family was the real deal (i.e. not places a Caucasian would go). My first impression of Korean food was: red. The usual array of panchan or banchan (mini-dishes often accompanying a Korean meal) arrived doused in red sauce, each bite fiery with heat. Though I wasn’t hooked immediately on kimchi as I am now, I wasn’t averse to it as I was doenjang (fermented soybean paste) at first, which took me longer to appreciate. As a novice that day in NY, the dish I fell in love with was dolsot bibimbap (meaning “stone pot”), a popular melange of rice, meat and veggies, served in a sizzling stone pot topped with an egg. Though a common Korean dish, in a non-descript NY basement, this superior version spoiled me for all bibimbap.

FuseBox mantra: "I bleed kimchi"

Despite a dearth of Korean BBQ joints in SF and a concentrated Oakland Korean population, it hasn’t been until the last few years I’ve witnessed restaurants offering far beyond BBQ. From the forward-thinking “fusion” of Namu Gaji to the home-cooked joys of To Hyang, Nan, Manna, and Aato, we’ve seen a steady growth in Korean openings in recent years. In Oakland, good times are had at what regulars refer to as the “porno bar” due to the Korean film posters lining the walls (nothing explicit), Dan Sung Sa. Fried chicken and rounds of Korean beers in a comfortable dive atmosphere evoke a Korean speakeasy, ideal with a group of friends. It’s reminiscent of long-timer Toyose, a similarly relaxed, tucked away SF spot in an Outer Sunset garage.

Here’s two stand-outs in another wave of openings exemplifying the gourmet fun of Korean snacking and casual eating, ideal with cheap beer and good friends.

ARIA KOREAN AMERICAN SNACK BAR, Tenderloin (932 Larkin St. between Post & Geary, 415-292-6914)

Aria's cheery Tenderloin welcome

The Kim family has moved into what was Old Chelsea Fish & Chips with Aria Korean American Snack Bar. The closet-sized space is still dingy on a bustling Tenderloin block, but the Kims have infused it with fresh life, greeting with smiles and a record player stocked with Tom Jones and Sintra LPs. Mom and Pop Kim run the place, though their son and his girlfriend have come up from LA to help them get going.

Aria's crave-inducing, boneless fried chicken

They have a hit on their hands with their Korean Fried Chicken (9 pieces – $6.99-7.99, 16 pieces $12.99-13.99). It feels like everyone is doing KFC these days, but these boneless, overgrown nuggets are special: crispy-tender, fried in cottonseed oil. Dip in earthy-sweet “spicy sauce” and an addiction is born. Mama’s acidic sweet and sour radishes are just the right accompaniment to clean the palate and perk up the taste buds.

There’s an array of fried snacks, from mixed veggies (carrots, sweet potato, zucchini, onion) to fried seaweed rolls packed with potato and glass noodles ($5.99, 8 pieces). Another of Mama Kim’s recipes is Korean hot and spicy rice cake ($5.99), blessedly chewy, it sits in – what else? – a spicy, red sauce. The Kim family’s good cheer and authentic, fried bites make this the kind of snack bar every neighborhood should be so lucky to have.

FuseBOX, Oakland (2311 A Magnolia St. at 24th, 510-444-3100)

Ridiculously good bacon-wrapped mochi

Tucked away in a sunny courtyard off desolate West Oakland streets is FuseBOX, a truly exciting haven for Asian “fusion” – only open Wednesday through Friday (11:30am—2:30pm) though dinner is promised soon. You could deem it Korean food served Japanese izakaya style, although it’s mashup of both and beyond. Open just over three months, this cash-only respite from Sunhui and Ellen Sebastian Chang offers daily robata bites ($1-3) on the specials board. Granted, these are merely bites, but the joy is sampling a range of grilled vegetables and meat.

FuseBOX's sunny courtyard

From the spare, industrial interior boasting merely a few tables to rice ($2) purified with binchotan (Japanese white charcoal), it’s clear this no typical Asian  eatery. There is, of course, KFC ($5), although here it is lightly fried, spicy chicken wings more akin to Buffalo wings than the aforementioned boneless chicken at Aria. BAP sets ($6-10) offer meat or veggies alongside rice and panchan or banchan (mini-dishes often accompanying a Korean meal), which rotate daily. Spinach roots or French breakfast radish crowns are brined in mustard, nori (seaweed) and sesame leaves are pickled in soy, white zucchini or green mango in vinegar. Kimchee comes in multiple forms, like bok choy and kale.

Refreshing, cool corn tea made in house

The aforementioned robata specials are grilled on wood skewers, from okra and snap peas, to tender chicken thigh and back oyster cuts. The best bite of all? Bacon mochi ($2.50). The mochi is sticky, subtly savory and gummy, satisfying on its own merit – until you reach the bacon and accompanying mustard seeds. Sigh. I’d eat this fantastic bite for breakfast, dessert – basically any way at all. For bigger appetites, there’s sandwiches ($8) like a Tokyo po boy laden with fried chicken, red cabbage slaw, house mayo and pickles.

To drink there’s a bracing, cool roasted corn tea ($1), chilled and nearly creamy with fresh corn flavor. Other drink options include Tang (yes, Tang!), house barrel aged soju, and neighbors like Alameda’s Rock Wall wines or beer on tap from Oakland’s Linden Street Brewery. As their hours expand, I’ve no doubt FuseBOX will become more crowded than its three-day lunches already are. There’s no place like it.

Deliciously visual: dayboat scallops w/ compressed watermelon, pineapple mint, Padron peppers, lipstick pimento sauce, ancho chile/pumpkin seed pesto

MAVERICK at 7: Better Than Ever

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

MAVERICK, Mission (3316 17th St. between Mission and Valencia, 415-863-3061)

Divine (upscale) fried chicken

Opened in 2005, by modern day restaurant standards, Maverick is a longtimer. I’d posit at its 7th anniversary (July 13), it’s better than ever with new executive chef Emmanual Eng brought on last year by owners Scott Youkilis and Michael Pierce (GM, Wine Director). In contrast to its more casual, younger sister Hog & Rocks, Maverick’s food has grown more sophisticated and focused over the years, though the space is tiny and low-key.

Maverick's interior

The menu delights (and evolves slightly each visit) with whispers of Southern influence (and beyond) married to forward-thinking culinary vision. Evoking “New Southern” cuisine, the likes of which I’ve seen in cities such as Charleston and Atlanta in recent years or as I dine at SF newcomers like Dixie and St. Vincent, traditional Southern ingredients and dishes are a springboard for cutting-edge interpretation.

Maverick has not slumbered into laziness with age but seems, especially with talented, young Chef Eng on board, to continue challenging itself. An artist and Portland native, in moving to SF, Eng boldly walked into Indigo in 2000, offering to work for free to learn the ropes. He eventually became line cook at Aqua, Quince and Foreign Cinema, then sous chef at Boulevard and Sons & Daughters. His experience at some of SF’s top restaurants shows in his bold-yet-refined cooking.

Lobster bread pudding topped with smoked cod

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: their signature fried chicken ($24) is as fantastic as ever. Juicy inside, crispy outside and not at all greasy, the batter is touched with cinnamon, cayenne, and white pepper. Recently served with blackened patty-pan squash, succotash, pickled watermelon rind, and cornbread croutons, it’s the ham hock and mustard gravy tying it all together, eliciting sighs of delight. It’s hard not to want to return to this one over and over again – and many diners do.

Tasso-cured duck "proscuiutto" w/ heirloom melon and cucumbers, lime, anise hyssop

But you’d be remiss not branching out. There’s nothing Southern about a squash blossom stuffed with brandade ($10), rosso bruno tomatoes, Calabrian chilis, and basil, but it’s delicious. Italian spirit is also present in burrata cheese, made nearby on 16th St. ($12), but rather than being just another burrata starter, Eng layers flavors with ashed rind from corn husks, baby leeks, arugula pisto, pickled fiddlehead ferns and zucchini. Just before the foie gras ban (which I am not happy about), a duck butcher plate ($16) impressed with foie, tasso-cured duck breast (there’s your Southern touch: fantastic tasso ham), strawberry mostarda, white peach, lime, and duck rilette croquette. Summery as it was rich, it’s the mostarda I craved more of.

Light alcohol aperitifs: ginger lemon fizz

Another inspired Southern reinterpretation is porcini mushroom and Anson Mills grits ($12.50). It’s not remotely a traditional grits dish, in fact, there’s just a smattering of creamy grits amidst tender porcinis, pearl onion, snap peas and a smoked soft-poached egg running over ingredients when punctured. For a vegetarian dish, it’s almost meaty and soulful. Massachusetts Dayboat sea scallops ($13) are seared just right, but it’s accents of compressed watermelon, pineapple mint, Padron peppers, dotted with lipstick pimento sauce and ancho chile/pumpkin seed pesto making it memorable. Lobster bread pudding draped in smoked cod ($26) is a brilliant twist on traditional New Brunswick stew – in this case, a creamy mussel chowder touched with jerky-like strips of linguica, clams, corn, and sea beans (seaweed). Dessert is no afterthought. In fact, a chocolate Samoa truffle ($9) feels like vacation, a chocolate mound spiked with chocolate bark in a pool of caramelized coconut accented by crumbled shortbread.

Grits reimagined w/ porcinis & smoked egg

Pierce’s wine pairings and frank, engaging welcome are another key part of what makes Maverick special. Yes, we share a  New Jersey past, while his love of wine has grown since his days at Sociale to opening Maverick with Youkilis. The thoughful wine list is inclusive of some of California’s more interesting small labels like Wind Gap or Le P’Tit Paysan. A 2009 Cru Pinot from Monterey is perfection with the grits, while anise hyssop dotting tasso-cured duck “prosciutto” pops paired with a floral, crisp 2011 Domaine de la Fouquette Grenache/Cinsault/Syrah/Rolle rose from Provence. Ask Pierce about his Junk Food Wine Pairing series – he’ll pair wines with the likes of Slim Jim’s and Doritos.

Dessert: chocolate Samoa truffle

I appreciate that even sans hard liquor license, they attempt creative cocktails ($9) using vermouth and sake in low alcohol aperitifs. Some work better than others but the attentive use of local imbibements like Sutton Cellars vermouth (for example, in Dark Sunset: Sutton Cellars dry vermouth, orange juice, cardamom, bitters, smoked paprika, Cava) is something I wish more wine and beer only restaurants would do. The most consistent drink is a ginger lemon fizz, utilizing Sutton’s dry vermouth, bright with ginger, Meyer lemon and dreamy honey foam.

At Maverick, attentive staff, intimate dining room and unique explorations of regional American food exhibit what makes Southern cooking often the best in America: heart.

Dominique Crenn wows at Atelier Crenn with a silken, edible nest filled with dehydrated vanilla pods over sweet corn and porcinis

VISIONARY CHEF COLLABORATIONS
at Manresa & Atelier Crenn

Chef Shewry's straightforward, elegant amuse: fresh walnuts in the shell

A strong concentration of the US’s cutting-edge chefs are right here in the Bay Area. Widely acknowledged in food publications and amongst global diners, there’s been an uptick in Bay Area creativity buzz in recent years. Collaborative dinners between local chefs and with chefs from countries beyond uniquely showcase the forward-thinking cooking coming out of our region. I’ve been privileged to attend recent one-of-a-kind dinners like the one this week between culinary “it” town Copenhagen chef Christian Puglisi of Michelin-starred Relae and Bar Tartine’s visionary chef Nick Balla.

Manresa's dining room

During a weekend in May, one of Australia’s star chefs, Ben Shewry of Attica in Melbourne, joined the incredible David Kinch at Michelin-starred Manresa in Los Gatos (which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month a series of collaborative dinners with guest chefs). Both chefs are known foragers, utilizing local bounty in their restaurants on par with art form, Manresa sourcing their produce from nearby Love Apple Farms (which hosts a series of classes on everything from gardening to cider-making). The few hour dinner was a dream of freshness in unexpected forms, heartwarming in taste – not merely visual.

Shewry started with walnuts in their shell, unadorned and tender, while Kinch offered carrots, clams and savory, textural granola dotting vegetable marrow bouillon. Shewry’s fresh crab and artichoke leaves arrived softly layered, dotted with citrus cream. Unlike any crab dish I’ve had before, it nearly dissolved on the tongue, fresh as the sea yet elegantly subtle. A stunner.

Shewry's crab & artichoke leaves - a revelation

As was his beauty of diced sweet potato, purslane and egg doused in a creamy pool of Cabot clothbound Vermont cheddar. Kinch’s gorgeous dessert was a silken, custard-like mound of white chocolate surrounded by crispy quinoa, goat’s milk ice cream, and a strip of rhubarb like an elevated fruit roll-up for the gourmand.

Manresa (namely Kinch’s cooking) is a destination any time, “the whole package” with garden-fresh cocktails, impeccable service and wine list. The partnership this particular weekend showcased two world class chefs side-by-side, expressing their gifts, melding their visions.

Manresa chef David Kinch's art form of a dessert melds goat cheese and white chocolate with rhubarb and quinoa

As part of SF Chefs‘ current Dinner Party Project, teaming up local chefs in themed dinners leading up to the big food and drink classic swiftly approaching August 2-5, inventive chefs Dominique Crenn and Jason Fox (Commonwealth) partnered at Dominique’s restaurant, Atelier Crenn, for a special dinner on July 8th. Both chefs connect over a similar ethos apparent in their delicate yet bold, often playful, cooking styles. Alternating courses, each flowed out bright with Summery spirit.

Campari Explosion!

An amuse bouche certainly did “amuse”, awakening the taste buds: little white chocolate shells dubbed “Campari explosion” actually exploded with vivid, joyously bitter Campari reduction, paired alongside a Campari/blood orange cocktail aperitif. Both chefs rocked the tomato in unexpected ways. Fox plays with green tomato in the form of a jelly disc gracefully dotted with silky uni, shiso mint leaves and refreshing cucumber granita. Crenn salutes the glories of red and yellow tomatoes in varying forms and textures – from peeled to sorbet – in a vibrant bowl accented by goat cheese, edible flowers from her home garden, and a strip of lardo, that beauty of pig fat salume, for rich contrast.

Commonwealth chef Jason Fox delights with a beauty of disc of green tomato topped with uni

Unpredictable touches jump out, like Fox’s frozen “white snow” over corn pudding topped with grilled sweetbreads and tempura-fried okra (paired beautifully with a 2006 Pierre Morey Bourgogne Chardonnay), or another Fox hit: bone marrow puree animating hearts of palm, skinned red potato and poached ruby fish, happily paired with a cup of duck consommé tea. The meaty tea seamlessly interacted with the vegetables and bone marrow, highlighting masculine mischievousness in Fox’s stylish cooking.

Crenn's dreamy melange of tomatoes in varying textures & forms

Besides her truly imaginative take on tomatoes, my other favorite Crenn dish arrived dramatically on a scooped stone slab graced with a chocolate branch and an edible, glistening silk nest filled with dehydrated vanilla pods over sweet corn and porcini mushrooms. Like a treasure found in an enchanted forest, the dish explored both savory and sweet whimsically, a feminine wildness tempered by refinement.

Fox's rubyfish w/ bone marrow puree & hearts of palm

We’ll see more from both skilled chefs – and many others – during SF Chefs days’ long extravaganza, which I look forward to every year in tented Union Square (event schedule here). It’s a pleasure to witness our region’s best collaborate with each other and the finest globally, a reminder as to why the Bay Area is in the midst of yet another culinary renaissance, one of many the past few decades.