COCKTAILS

SPOONBAR, Healdsburg - I wrote last issue about Spoonbar in Sonoma County. It’s up to you get out there… and fast… for some of the best cocktails in all of the Bay Area (no surprise) from Mr. Scott Beattie.

Ask for the full cocktail menu beyond the one you get when first seated. It’s a glory of new creations, featuring edible flowers and the herbal, produce-driven beauties Beattie has perfected since Cyrus days. There’s the added bonus of classics done with a Beattie sensibility. I get giddy at the site of three versions each of Old-Fashioneds, Negronis, Manhattans and Sazeracs, the holy foursome of cocktails.

I chose the Tempus Fugit Negroni ($8.50). How could I not? Made with Ransom’s impeccable Old Tom Gin, Dolin Rouge Vermouth, orange zest and Tempus Fugit’s brilliant Gran Classico Bitter, it’s a musky, full revelation.

On the classics front, Beattie’s Dark ‘n Stormy trumps all others. There’s an Appleton Reserve version for $7.50 (or pitcher for five at $37.50). I had the Ron Zacapa Solera 23 (a rum I’ve long been a fan of already) version for $9/$45. With fresh lime juice and Angostura bitters, Beattie adds drops of essential ginger oil for a pure, full taste. Locally grown sunflower leaves are a vivid garnish.

Going the creative Beattie route is equally thrilling. John Chapman ($10.5) is a taste of fall. When you mix St. George Whiskey and Pear Eau de Vie with lemon, apple, ginger and a Thai coconut foam, you get magic. Ditto, on the other side of the spectrum, with the Summery  Siddartha ($9.5). This one utilizes Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Citron Vodka with Beefeater Gin, St. Germain Elderflower, lemon, Thai coconut milk and lemon verbena. It’s silky, seductively bright and garden fresh.

Trust a drink from Beattie and try the spectrum. I am plotting a return…

BAR AGRICOLE, SoMa - I’ve been asked about my take on the new and long awaited hotspot from Thad Vogler. Though I tried three cocktails and bites at a pre-opening event for Bar Agricole, I did not walk away with enough of a stand-out yet to give you a proper report, though I’m sure one will be forthcoming.

I will say the space is strikingly unique, welcome in our city of understated dining rooms. It’s forward-thinking and fresh, from the photography behind the bar, to radiant light fixtures, to the awesome front garden and patio.

15 ROMOLO, North Beach - I’m always happy here… you hear me say it enough. The 15 Romolo guys do it again with two divergent cocktails. One is Spaghetti Western ($9), it’s cool name belying the crazy candy taste that happens when rye and Campari meld with sweet tomatoes (love the plump tomato garnish), lemon and a Pilsner float. The other, the spirituous bitter of Lo Scandinavo ($11) with North Shore aquavit, Gran Classico, Carpano Antica… a Scandinavian approach to a Negroni.

TAMARINDO ANTJOERIA’s MIEL BAR and REVIVAL BAR & KITCHEN, Oakland and Berkeley - And in the East Bay, Tamarindo Antojeria opened a tequila bar, Miel, in half of their restaurant, a chic, shining temple of all things tequila. Besides a fine selection of tequilas by the pour, cocktails like the Mezcalito ($12) highlight Del Maguey’s Creme de Mezcal with a little fresh orange and volcanic salt rim. They do a nice job on their margaritas and Paloma, too.

Revival Bar & Kitchen is a welcome cocktail stop in downtown Berkeley, even if the menu (food and drink) is similar to many you’ve seen in SF in recent years. They do classics, like Death in the Afternoon, Bourbon Crusta and Jalisco Sour, but also whip up specials of their bartender’s doing, fresh with the likes of lavender, lemon and egg white.

REZA ESMAILI’S ROSEBUD, served at SF CHEFS’ SPICE PARTY

This is a layered, aromatic aperitivo created by Reza for SF Chefs and one of my favorite drinks of the week. He was gracious enough to share the recipe…

Rosebud
1oz vodka
.5oz Hendrick’s gin
1oz Lillet Blanc
.5oz Aperol
3 drops rosewater
1 “Russia Rose” or mini, dry rose used for asian teas

-stir ingredients for approx 10 seconds
-strain into two sherry or port glasses
-garnish with rose
serves two

SPIRITS

MINISTRY OF RUM – Another year of Ministry of Rum, a fine rum tasting event put on by rum expert (and a downright great guy), Ed Hamilton (read about last year’s here).

Many of last year’s same vendors were there at Waterfront Hotel/Miss Pearl’s Jam House in Jack London Square. Bartending greats shook cocktails as we sipped through various rums.

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva stands out with a caramelized, spiced nose and buttery spice and tobacco flavors. Cruzan’s smooth Single Barrel Rum is an easy after-dinner sip: a light but mature, pleasing rum at the right price (retails from $27-35 online).

Despite the greater aged 8 and 12 year El Dorado rums, I prefer the 5 year cask-aged version. It’s medium-bodied, lively and redolent of the tropics with toasted coconut and fruit notes.

Each time I’ve tasted them, I enjoy honey and dark chocolates notes in Santa Teresa 1796, aged in Solera oak barrels, and Flor de Cana’s rich, charred oak and dark caramel-tinged Centenario 18 year.

Black Tot Rum was the big hoopla of the afternoon, a 40-year rum doled out in dropper-sized tastes. From the little I could gather, it was nuanced though hardly revelatory, especially compared to whiskies of similar age. Though I find some younger rums more exciting, Black Tot was nonetheless an excellent slice of history and a worthy sip.

When it comes to rum, I can’t help but return to Zacapa rums as favorites, both the Centenario and the XO.

Here’s to next year, and thanks, Ed, for ever furthering our knowledge and showing us the scope of rum.

HEAVEN HILL – Heaven Hill has an enviable line-up including some of my favorite bourbons in existence. I jumped at a chance to stop in at 83 Proof on my way to judging a whisky contest to sip one of my top bourbons (another being Pappy Van Winkle 20 and 23 year): Parker’s Heritage.

I fell in love after first trying their anniversary edition at Whiskyfest. Tasting Parker’s 27 year again is fabulous every time. Sip their Golden Anniversary edition and you’ve died and gone to bourbon heaven.

I adore rye, and Rittenhouse 25-year Rye is surely a fine one, but I’m not sure I gained much more from the added years. When it comes to aged rye, my love still lies with Van Winkle Family Reserve 13-yr Rye, which is, tragically, very hard to come by.

ST. GEORGE’s AGUA LIBRE - Don’t even get me started on how much I love St. George Spirits. I’ve been a fan for years, from my rush to purchase their incomparable Absinthe Verte upon release, to the loss of my last bottle of Agua Azul Reposado until they make a tequila again in the future, I’ve been proud to have them in the Bay Area. Tours, release parties, any event at the distillery is memorable.

I won’t go into the joys and secrets of a private tour from distiller Dave Smith last week, replete with tastes, whiffs and ecstasies from bottles, test tubes and barrels of unreleased products. Experimentation is alive and well at St. George/Hangar One and it thrills me to witness it.

In the meantime, there’s two brand new releases to enjoy. The first US rum agricole grown from US sugarcane, Agua Libre comes in two forms: dark, aged rum and white, unaged, both grassy and smooth. Also, the second batch of Firelit Coffee Liqueur was just released with dark chocolate notes from the Blue Bottle beans.

BERKELEY

• Gather – Yes, it’s local, sustainable, organic (even the spirits, wine and beer). Though that’s happily typical in the Bay Area, I venture to say that Gather, open only since December, already operates like a hardly “typical”, fully-realized restaurant. In a large, rounded corner room, the bustling, open space is in full view of the kitchen, a muted showpiece in the center of activity. It’s casual, holistic and chic, all at the same time.

Cocktails stand out with organic spirits (like Papagayo rum), without sacrificing craftsmanship and taste. Portions are small but classically so, in the proper sizes cocktails once were served. Greg’s Pisco Sour ($10) is served in a champagne flute with Square One cucumber vodka, Marian Farms pisco, lemon, lime, with shaved hibiscus over the top of egg white foam.

Humo Dulce ($12), 4 Copas tequila, Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal, lime, pineapple gum syrup, captures the proper smokiness of the mezcal and doesn’t play it sweet. Wines and beers are local and organic, from Bay Area south to Santa Cruz, north to Wine Country and Mendocino.

Not your typical grilled squid dish, Monterey Bay Squid ($12), on Forbidden black rice, with aioli, mint, chili, bacon, is a sumptuous small plate with layers and warmth. All I can say is “wow” for 28-month House-Cured Ham ($13) with grilled Castelfranco, marinated crescenza, cardoon-walnut salsa. The crescenza cheese is warm and melting over a delightful, thinly sliced ham, prosciutto-like, ribboned with fat. One of the best dishes here.

The piece de resistance is Vegan “Charcuterie” ($14)… and this comes from a decidedly non-vegetarian. As soon as this artwork array of vegetables come out on a wood slab, you know you’re about to experience something unique. If only veggies were always this flavor-packed, we’d eat them without complaint. Completely worth the price for a vegetable extravaganza. On the platter was:
- Heirloom carrots, green garlic confit, mint, English pea-tarragon puree
- Grilled asparagus, almond-pepper puree, Spanish red spring garlic, “aioli”
- Roasted sunchokes, Rub Red crescent potatoes, fried onion cabernet vinaigrette, oyster mushrooms
- Roasted baby beets, shaved fennel, dill, blood orange, horseradish almond puree, pistachio
- Fried tofu skin bruschetta, avocado, spicy baby fennel escabeche.

Those of us who eat for a living can get burnt out on the pizza insanity of recent years… that is, until we have another great one. I did not come here for pizza but as soon as I saw one, I had to order it. Puffy crust bubbles up in charred mounds filled with doughy bread and the house Sausage Pizza ($17) did not disappoint, laden with spring onion salsa, oregano, corno di capra (sweet peppers). A Petrale Sole special ($22) was a flaky, grilled fish with greens and lemon, rustically presented. It’s always work picking out little bones but the dish recalled whole fish I’ve had in Switzerland, fresh from the lakes.

With little room left for dessert, I still managed to bask in the light cream of Citrus Rice Pudding ($7.50) with uber-tart Meyer lemon frozen yogurt and cinnamon-dusted graham shortbread. This early on, I project that Gather is not only one of the East Bay’s best new openings but already one of its best restaurants.

OAKLAND

• Hibiscus is one of those chic Uptown newcomers with rustic walls and homey notes mixed with modern sensibilities serving “upscale” Caribbean/African food. I absolutely love the space, especially the charming bar area, which looks pretty different from the spacious dining room. It’s inviting, as is the sweet staff. I want to be crazy about the food, too, and I think it shows great promise. The restaurant is still in its early weeks of opening and should become more even over time. For now, ingredients are of high quality, even as some dishes stand out more than others. Exec Chef Sarah Kirnon plays with a range of culinary influences from Trinidad to the Congo. Jerk Cornish Hen ($10.25) is prepared Maroon-style (Jamaican), with luscious coconut-braised Sea Island peas and Red Fresno salsa. This was my favorite dish.

Super spicy Crab & Grits ($9) turns the traditional Southern dish on its head with Caribbean spices, peppers and plenty of heat. Saltfish & Ackee ($8.75), the national dish of Jamaica, comes with sweet plantains, contrasting with salty cod and heat intensity of garlic oil. Split-Pea Fritters ($7.50) with tamarind sauce weren’t as flavorful or texturally interesting as I’d hoped.

A simple Parish Punch ($7) is a mix of El Dorado Rum and house Ginger Limeade, initially a bit sweet, but once the salty heat of the meal kicks in, a refreshing soother. With ingredients and animals sourced locally and sustainably, not to mention the welcome pleasure of something different, this place has the potential of becoming another downtown Oakland gem.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO

• South San Francisco’s Xiao Long Bao Kitchen makes some mean xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings). They’re downright addictive and among the better I’ve had locally, warm broth oozing over ground pork and chewy dumpling wrapper. $6.95 for eight good-sized dumplings is a deal. If you order one giant one, good luck trying to eat it.

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

SAVORY – MEAT

• Berkeley’s Brazil Cafe feels like vacation… hit the original, street-side stand (they now have an indoor restaurant down the street), draped in palm leaves, with umbrella-covered tables, faded posters of Rio, a surfboard menu, and friendly owner, Pedro Robin, who seems like he lives a perpetual vacation. A Mango or Avocado Smoothie washes down the insanely tasty (fast becoming legendary around Berkeley) Tri-Tip Sandwich ($7.99), doused in addictive cilantro garlic sauce. Tender, juicy tri-tip is loaded with pineapple, jalapeno, green olive, tomato, onion, lettuce – a small bit of each for overall balance. Really, perfection in a sandwich. I’m salivating just thinking about it.

• Though I think $15 is an insane amount to pay for a sandwich of this size and from a lunch window next to Enrico’s in North Beach, Naked Lunch (skilled Chef Ian Begg, of now-closed Cafe Majestic) serves some truly gourmet sandwiches at a worthy $8-9… until you get to the mother lode: the $15 Foie Gras Torchon & Duck Prosciutto Sandwich with Heirloom tomato, butter lettuce, white truffle oil. You might still be hungry afterwards, but it’s well worth trying – a luscious, luxurious, if spendy, sandwich.

SAVORY – VEGETARIAN

•  It was with humor and reverence that I entered Doc’s Clock blissfully greasy bar on a Sunday, ordered a peppery Bloody Mary ($8) with a tender piece of tri-tip and two stalks of asparagus (all of which bartender, Ryan, grills himself some Sundays), placed it on my Michael Jackson (Jackson 5 days) placemat and opened up a Bible to the Three Papayas menu inside. Three Papayas is chef Ta-Wei Lin, who just launched Vietnamese brunch every Sunday afternoon from 12-4pm at Doc’s. Portions are huge and all $8 (about 5 of them). Chef Lin garnishes plates with seasonal, delicious fruits like figs, passion fruit and, of course, papayas. Lin’s creative plates are fun enough to look at, but even more fun to eat. I dig the Vietnamese Crepe (vegetarian or with pork & shrimp), Papaya Salad, and for cardamom and daal (lentil) lovers, I recommend the unusual Bunny Chao, a hefty, hollowed-out loaf of bread (with filling piled neatly on the side) overflowing with green lentils, veggies and cardamom-pods. Amen and hallelujah!

•  Probably my favorite dishes (at least of the few I was able to try due to 30 minute+ lines) at the madly-packed SF Street Food Festival were Aziza’s.  Their “Bite”, a Squid Salad ($3) with maras pepper, preserved lemon, cabbage, mint and cilantro, was explosively bright, and their “Forks & Fingers” main dish, a Moroccan “Taco” ($8), was a thick, grilled flatbread drizzled with harissa, filled with yogurt and veggies – or lamb, if you so desired. Yum.

SAVORY – SEAFOOD

•  The trek down to Mountain View provides something we don’t see a lot of in SF, despite our excellent Tenderloin ‘curry houses’: upscale, creative Indian food with cocktails (yes, Amber attempts this). New Sakoon is sleekly designed, with upstairs lounge and striking fiber-optic light fixtures oozing a magical glow. I’m partial to the Kerela Fish Curry ($18), a finely cooked sea bass with shrimp and scallops joining in, covered in creamy coconut curry sauce. It partners well with The Mistress of Spice cocktail ($8): Cuervo Traditional tequila, Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb, 5-spiced mango nectar, lemon, salt rim. I couldn’t get enough of their Naan – especially Rosemary Pesto.

•  Since it opened, I’ve had a problem with the overpricing at Nettie’s Crab Shack, much as I adore the bright, New England-meets-California decor. In a recent re-visit, I found a more affordable way to eat here than $17 Fish & Chips or $36 Lobster Rolls (ouch! Even in NYC, mid-20’s is the highest I paid for the best I’ve ever had at Pearl’s Oyster Bar). I started with Blueberry Skillet Cornbread in maple syrup ($5 for two big pieces), four juicy Gulf Prawns on a skewer ($10), a lovely Halibut Fish Taco ($5) and a perfectly grilled Sardine ($4). Four items for the cost of one of the main dish highlights. The outdoor grill gets going at noon and with a $7 Boston Swizzle (bourbon & lemon in a frosty, julep-like cup), it’s a pleasant lunch.

•  Jai Yun is a Chinatown classic known for its multi-course, Chinese feasts - starting at $55 a person. Those dinners add up but a cheaper alternative is try it at lunch on a weekday where a mere $18 gets you five starter tastes (pickled vegetables, ginger and other delights) and 6 dishes, many of which are served as part of the dinners. I’m such a fan of being able to taste many things, rather than being limited to one or two, and this lunch delivered. My favorite was an Octopus Salad, punchy with chilis and a flavorful broth.

SWEET

•  I recommend brand new Starbelly (from owners of wildly successful Beretta), because new opening kinks and all, it’s already an ideal urban comfort food spot with fine beers on tap, gracious service and reasonably-priced gourmet goods (hello, Corn with mascarpone & garlic!) A first go-round at Starbelly led me to a finale that topped it all: Warm Strawberry & Fig Crumble ($7) with my beloved Humprhy Slocombe’s balsamic-caramel ice cream. 

•  Summer (and ANY time) is the right time for ice cream and Tara’s is a happy addition to the Bay Area, established in Sante Fe but moved to Berkeley last year. Thankfully, there’s an SF option now as well as the Berkeley shop – you can get Tara’s at the daily Island Earth Farmer’s Market inside the Metreon. Not only are Tara’s ice creams unique, full of flavor and organic, but the staff have excellent pairing suggestions – flavors you might think wouldn’t go together, end up making wonderful partners. Why not try Basil and Banana?  Sweet Corn and Sage? Black Sesame stands strong alone. Ask them.

•  Not being a cream puff lover, it says a lot when one wins me over… I tried a few at new Pacific Puffs, but my ‘hats off’ to the Classic ($3.25), oozing vanilla custard, crowned with chocolate. From the owners’ long-held family recipe, it does them proud.

CIOCCOLATA DI VINO
1801 Shattuck Avenue, Suite C
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-898-1392
www.cioccolatadivino.com

Open just a few months now, I’ve been eager to try this dessert-focused spot, ever wishing there were more options for post-dinner imbibements. Berkeley’s Cioccolata di Vino does have a Savory antipasti menu with some pleasing-looking Italian plates, but I’m not going for that… I want the namesake chocolate and wine experience.

Candlelit, playing a mixture of classic jazz (Ella, my Ella!), world music and even oldies, the space is soothing immediately, as are the sweet servers, if not exactly the occasional large groups that pass through (I was given the option to move if the large group was too noisy). But most moments were quiet, and to while a couple hours with a close friend in deep conversation over vino, dessert, candlelight and jazz, is magic.

Unless you hate chocolate (who are you?!), you probably shouldn’t go without ordering the Torta al Cioccolato Liquefatto ($6.95) – yes, it’s basically warm, molten lava cake, something you can get a lot of places, but this is a dense, dark, squeal-inducing version, and unlike other restaurants, you can feel free to come solely for this dish.

Equally squeal-inducing, the hot chocolate, of which I am a picky customer (MUST be dark, rich, not watered-down in any way), did not disappointment. I was particularly warmed by the Cinnamon and Spice ($3.50) version (there’s also a Sweet Vanilla, Hot Cha Chai, and straight up Cioccolato Caldo). Thankfully not sweet, it’s rich without being heavy and appropriately spiced. Ooh, la la.

And what about vino? In a thoughtful, reasonably-priced selection of bubbly, whites, reds, and what they call “stickies”, basically dessert wine, I find the 2006 Orange Muscat from Margaret’s Vineyard/ Robert Hall, Paso Robles ($5 glass/$42.75 bottle) is one you can’t go wrong pairing with chocolate. Clear and light, there’s spice on the nose and hints of orange blossom and tropical fruit to taste.

Best of all was the White Port from Bodega Bay Port Works, Kenwood ($8 glass/$48 bottle), a late harvest Chardonnay that hints of honey on the nose but has such strong, nutty flavors that send me into ecstasy when sipped along with the Torta al Cioccolato.

Good news: it’s open all day (from 11am on) so you can come in for hot chocolate and pastries, blissfully securing a buzz from chocolate instead of coffee.

Reconnect with your Country Roots

Just in time for Fall, when I continue to dive into my beloved classic country albums (my ultimate hero, Cash, but also Hank Williams, Dolly, George Jones, Loretta, Waylon, etc…), I get nostalgic for hearty BBQ and roots music. There are a number of us in a city as diverse as San Francisco who were born or grew up in places like Oklahoma (my birthplace, before we moved to Kansas City when I was one, then on to California at age six), the South, Mid-West or anywhere classic country music and good BBQ are considered imperative.

Where can a down-home boy or gal get a fix in our metropolitan West Coast city? Though there are tons of cowboys in the Wild West of California (there’s a huge amount of cowboy events year round in towns like Visalia and Victorville, or the annual Monterey Cowboy Music & Poetry Festival – yep, cowboy poetry), but less for you little cowhands in the big city. Events like the Grand National Rodeo at Cow Palace should help satiate, as might a few of these local stops:

MUSIC

Atlas Café Bluegrass Thursdays: Long time Mission tradition, Bluegrass Thursdays at Atlas (8-10pm) are down home, good time jams. You’ll hear not just bluegrass but country swing and hillbilly in this small café with fresh, affordable food, coffee, teas, and draft beers.

Twang Sundays at Thee Parkside: Every Sunday, 5-8pm, Potrero’s divey neighborhood fave, Thee Parkside, serves icy cold beers to go w/ free live twangy country, Americana, rockabilly and western music.

Freight & Salvage Coffee House: Berkeley does it their way at this classic coffee house and non-profit community arts organization known for its concerts. Though the focus ranges in Traditional music from all ethnicities (read: World Music), much of the concerts here are comprised of Americana, bluegrass, and fiddle bands.

SF Hootenanny Night at Café International: (in Lower Haight) Held every second Saturday of the month, this folk music jam/concert is raucous… and free. Yeehaw!

After my BBQ tasting road trip through the South, I concur with Michael Lee West, quoting her Mama, in “Consuming Passions: A Food Obsessed Life”: “I can understand leaving a man, or even a town… but not good barbecue.”

FOOD

Uncle Frank’s BBQ: The number one reason to drive all the way down to Mountain View (besides an occasionally great Theatre Works play, is Uncle Frank’s. In the back room of a dingy bar on a non-descript, suburban street (since only through the bar, the back patio is the spot for 21 and under!), lies a dim dive with killer BBQ sauce, sides and, of course, BBQ. I’ve been a fan for years, but this year it popped up in Zagat for the first time, so the word continues to spread. This is the closest we’re gonna get to real Southern BBQ on the West Coast, y’all. Signature, tender beef brisket is thick with fat AND, thus, robust with flavor. Pork ribs and Louisiana links will make your belly… well, let’s just say… happy. Sides are excellent: fire-hot Cajun Corn is one of my top choices, but baked bean and coleslaw lovers won’t be disappointed. Then there’s Sweet Potato Pie and cinammon-y Peach Cobbler. Uncle Frank, why must you be all the way down the Peninsula?

Ironwood BBQ: Randomly situated on a golf course in Golden Gate Park, next to the Archery Field (with parking!) this unexpected BBQ mecca offers some of SF’s best Pulled Pork, Brisket and homemade BBQ Sauce. Using a rare Wham Turbo BBQ Pit from Memphis, meats are 100% oak-wood fired. There’s Ribs or Chicken but I’m a Pulled Pork girl first and foremost, and theirs does not disappoint. Sit outside overlooking the golfing green, whether foggy or sunny, for a unique experience of down home BBQ in GG Park. I’ve been happily going since they opened, as this is one of SF’s lesser-known food havens.

Bluegrass Grill: A delightful new Wine Country addition in the middle of Glen Ellen is this mid-range restaurant dishing BBQ and Western eats in a more refined setting. Laid back and friendly, its décor honors cowboys and Indians without being kitschy. In an old mill over a stream (natch) with a picture window view of the rotating water wheel from the bar area, you can smell the meat simmering. On the back deck, families and hefty, all-American guys chow down on beers and ribs… comforting in a hip, Midwestern sort-of way. I “heart” their brisket, BBQ sauce and Smoked Pork Nachos! Settle your stomach with a cold Bundaberg Ginger Beer as you fill up on appetizers like Blue Cheese Chili Oil Fries or Panko Crusted Chili Relleno. But save some room for the meat!

Johnson’s BBQ: Though SF isn’t swimming in authentic BBQ joints, there are a few gems, Johnson’s being one. This is Arkansas style BBQ… when they say their sauce is hot, they mean it. Lunch is a deal: for $6.75, I get a half order of the “pork sandwich” plus two sides (coleslaw, baked beans, yams, etc…), which is actually a huge heaping of BBQ pulled pork over a slice of bread (worth it even if you don’t want the bread!) They serve ribs, catfish, oxtails, links and more. I have to say the dingy environment is far from appealing, but that’s part of the authenticity.

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.