Blair Warsham’s bao at American Bao Bar

ASIAN NEWCOMERS:
From Food Truck to Pop-Up

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

Going Japanese hot pot at Nabe

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

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

KOJA KITCHEN, Food Truck

Koja & Kamikaze fries

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

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

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

Visionary XLB dumplings

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

Soup shots & shrimp chips

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

Rice disc holding an egg

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

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

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

Stunning dumplings

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

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

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

Chicken liver

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

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

Kale salad

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

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

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

Nabe’s sleek space

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

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

Generous side of veggies comes with hot pot order

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

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

Those excellent chicken wings

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

Haemul pajeon

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

Garaje flair

Two of the Bay’s Best Burgers Under $10

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Tacos at Garaje

Burgers come in degrees: layered with expensive accoutrements, whole egg, foie gras, and the like… or simple, without pretense. I crave a burger in all degrees, whether upscale, knife and fork versions, or down and dirty. On the cheap, two burgers incite salivation in memory alone. One is at a brand new SoMa dive that also serves winning tacos, the other is Alameda’s shining jewel of burgerdom.

GARAJE, SoMa (475 Third Street between Bryant and Harrison, 415-644-0838)

Garaje's laid back space

Call me food snob (it’s too late to reverse the palate now) for wanting even my go-to dive to serve quality deliciousness, but brand new Garaje is my kind of dive. Sipping long excellent Old World-style California wine greats on tap in a garage with cheap burgers and tacos? A few visits in and I’m smitten.

Reluctantly I write about Garaje, dreading the day it’s overrun with crowds aware of its utter value. A  haphazard, funky setting initiates its charms. Goodyear and Ducati signs glow across a long, former garage space. Restored mini diner booths in dingy mauve line the center of the room, while vintage fast food boards list offerings. A retro red, 1950’s refrigerator door houses taps: eight beers, three impressive on tap wine options, including Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, and owner Al’s tart, sassy house Sangria Roja.

The best $6 burger in SF

On the taco front, corn and flour tortillas arrive daily from La Palma, the best Mexicatessen in existence. It’s apparent from this detail they mean business. There’s a range of tacos: $5 for two street style tacos of skirt steak asada, mojo chicken, or carnitas ($2 at happy hour) or $4 for one generous fish taco, either grilled tilapia and guacamole or beer-battered tilapia (using sustainable fish). After trying four different tacos, my unexpected favorite is Thai prawn ($5), a corn tortilla piled with plancha-grilled Gulf prawns, cilantro, cabbage. Creamy lime mayo intermingles with salty peanuts in a delight of Thai flavors.

Behold the drive-in cheeseburger ($6), a charbroiled 1/3 lb. certified Angus patty (cooked medium) slathered in cheddar, griddled onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, 1000 Island dressing on an Acme bun.

On tap

Straightforward and humble, the burger is like an elevated In ‘n Out – and just as gratifying. Typically, I don’t repeat dishes at a worthwhile spot until I’ve tried just about everything on a menu. Yet every visit to Garaje, I must reorder this burger. The only slight misstep has been beer battered fish & chips ($11), though still good, served with classic, creamy slaw: the tilapia tasted slightly fishy one visit, though fresher-tasting on tacos. ­­

How they manage to source local ingredients “whenever possible”, fry in rice bran oil, and use quality ingredients like Acme Bread yet keep prices so low, I’m wonder. But I’m grateful. The owner remembered my face from one visit to the next, welcoming me back. Each staff member has been friendly and attentive.

Big score for SoMa.

Garaje's funky, fun space

SCOLARI’S, Alameda (1303 Park St., 510-521-2400)

Scolari's tiny, bright shop

Now an Alameda staple, it is worth detouring for non-Alameda residents to pick up one of the best burgers I’ve ever had at Scolari’s. Drawing me like a beacon as I pass by on the 880 freeway, their $9 cheeseburger elicits sighs of contentment, nearly melting with onions and cheese. Again, direct and unfussy, it’s what a burger should be.

Scolari’s does plenty of things well – from sandwiches to strombolis – in a closet-sized space, using quality ingredients. Even fries ($5) are no afterthought, served with aioli of the week, or available in special form like garlic scampi fries doused in lemon and chilies ($6.50), or Buffalo fries laden with crumbled bleu, shaved carrot, celery ($7).

Scolari's perfect burger

Vibrant rhubarb tart, Buddha's hand dark chocolate cookie, rugelach at 20th Century Cafe

KNISH’in: Eastern European Baked Goods

Article & Photos by Virginia Miller

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

Shorty Goldstein's excellent knishes

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

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

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

20th CENTURY CAFE

Retro aprons & fantastic tarts

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

Knish & sauerkraut tart

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

Russian coffee cake

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

Poppy seed rugelach

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

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

KING KNISH

A range of King Knish

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

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

Levy's chutney

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

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

Baker & Banker's divine candied bacon doughnuts oozing with bourbon cheesecake

SWEET TOOTH: A slew of new sweet spots
(and a couple worth revisiting)

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Earthy, savory desserts call out to me. Despite diminishing tolerance for excessive sugar, ice cream/gelato remains my biggest weakness, and I’m as appreciative of baked goods and balanced, unique desserts as I ever was. There are a slew of new and noteworthy Bay Area sweets noteworthy sweets – and a couple older spots worth revisiting.

MISO SESAME RICE CRISPIES and SOME of SF’S BEST ICE CREAM
Delise, 327 Bay St., SF, 415-399-9694

Delise's unique "cupcakes"

Run by husband/wife pastry chef dynamo, Dennis and Eloise Leung (their fine dining background included Bong Su, a restaurant I still miss), Delise is a small cafe near Fisherman’s Wharf. Now three years old, the cozy spot is home to some of the best ice cream in SF (you heard right), cupcakes (thankfully unlike the typical “cupcake”), bars, cookies, bagels from House of Bagels, and sandwiches with unique Asian twists like crab salad in ginger turmeric aioli and kaffir lime dressing. Highlights are many, including a matcha green tea cupcake filled with red beans or a miso sesame rice crispy. I dream of ice cream flavors like Triple Threat, possibly the best pumpkin ice cream I’ve ever tasted with candied pumpkin seed and ale, or divine toasted rice ice cream, which is also served – alongside a few of Delise’s sorbets and ice creams – at Martin Yan’s brand new M.Y. China.

IN LIEU of ICE CREAM, THERE’S FROZEN CUSTARD
Frozen Kuhsterd, 415-371-9050

Look for the Frozen Kuhsterd cart (photo source: http://frozenkuhsterd.com)

Since its debut at the Underground Market in 2011, Frozen Kuhsterd (started by Jason Angeles, now run with Alex Lam and Tim Luym) is a Midwestern favorite with roots in Coney Island. Dense, creamy, soothing, it’s like ice cream made with eggs alongside cream and sugar. Available at a few locations, including from their food truck at SoMa StrEAT Food Park (follow on Twitter @frozenkuhsterd), flavors like Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Cereal Milk) and Thai Iced Tea are already a hit, Peppermint Bark and Eggnog Latte hook me for the holidays, and I’m eager to try the likes of Coffee Mint Mojito. Besides unusual sundae toppings, the custard is served in varying formats and collaborations announced via social media, such as in donut sandwiches with Dynamo Donuts or in French pastry favorite kouign amann from B. Patisserie.

CHOCOLATE LAB
Chocolate Lab,801 22nd St., SF, 415-489-2881

Chocolate Lab's floats

Afternoons at Chocolate Lab, chocolate master Michael Recchiuti’s brand new, all day chocolate cafe in the original Piccino space, feel almost Zen-like. Friendly service in cozy, light-filled environs, sitting at the communal table or at high corner tables with a Bay shrimp tartine sandwich, finished off with an affogato… it’s a happy respite. Opt for a Virgil’s root beer or cream soda float layered with Recchiuti extra bitter chocolate sauce and chocolate malt ice cream, then stop off at the shop next door to purchase some chocolates to take home.

INSTEAD of TWINKIES, TRY TWINKS
Pretty Please Bakeshop, 291 3rd Ave., SF, 415-347-3733

Cupcakes at Pretty Please

The first time I visited Inner Richmond’s new Pretty Please Bakeshop was two days post-opening – before the demise of Twinkies. I knew even then these far superior versions (think Twinkies for the gourmand) would be a hit. Trying to decide between red velvet, banana bread, or pumpkin twinks means I just get one of each. The rest of the offerings please, from cupcakes to a quality Ding Dong – yes, they’ve got that covered, too.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES… Enough Said
Sweet Bar Bakery, 2355 Broadway, Oakland, 510-788-4997

Sweet Bar Bakery

Opened this December in the historic MacFarlanes Candy & Ice Cream space, downtown Oakland gains new Sweet Bar Bakery – the kind of bakery where just about everything ordered tastes as good as it looks. As a peanut butter fanatic, chocolate dipped peanut butter cupcakes ($3.75) are more than enough reason to stop in. Lightly whipped yet intensely peanut-y PB rests inside dark chocolate coating a chocolate cupcake. They do right by all baked goods, from a savory bacon gorgonzola scone ($2.75) to perfect muscovado ginger cookies ($2).

UPSCALE PASTRY DELIGHTS
Baker & Banker, 1701 Octavia St., SF, 415-351-2500

XXX chocolate cake

Dining at Baker & Banker is memorable, from the tranquil space and service to husband/wife chef duo Jeff Banker and Lori Baker’s finely crafted food. A Chef’s Table and tasting menu (at $75 per person) in their active bakery is a key way to sample their range, including Lori’s exquisite desserts, much of which is available at their bakery during the day. Their cult classic XXX chocolate cake is merely a starting point. A restaurant dessert that stays with me? Divine candied bacon doughnuts oozing with bourbon cheesecake filling under maple glaze. Bacon doughnuts may be overdone elsewhere, but there’s none quite like B&B’s.

Charming Chocolatier Blue Parlor on Berkeley's 4th Street

MORE SWEETS

Thai Sundae at Chocolatier Blue Parlor

While we await the menu launch at the new Dandelion Chocolate factory (read more in my recent chocolate article), the beautiful space sells Dandelion’s exquisite bars, and boxes of collaborative chocolates with two other local greats, Feve Artisan Chocolatier and Kika’s Treats.

Chic, peaceful Dolce Amore

Newly opened Dolce Amore is a peaceful rarity on traffic-laden Van Ness, transporting me to Italy. Serving Illy Coffee and Gelato Classico in a sleek, white and black space, they showcases miniature art from international artists in museum-like display, with a warm welcome from staff selling Norman Love and Swiss chocolates, pricey ($12.50-$14) sandwiches on Acme Bread, using Straus milk, and blending up gelato shakes- I like a strange-yet-winning mix of pumpkin and peanut butter.

Peppermint/red velvet whoopie cookies at Sift

Not one to typically be a fan of “free” anything when it comes to food (bring on the fat and flavor!), I’m as surprised as anyone to be recently smitten with pies from a fairly new gluten-free bakery in Humboldt County: Natural Decadence, sold at Whole Foods. Gluten, nut, egg and dairy free, these pies are intense with flavor, particularly a fluffy, decadent pumpkin and blessedly tart lemon sans meringue. Moist crust made of their gluten-free graham crackers seals the deal.

Sift's white chandeliers

Miso sesame rice crispies and sandwich tastes at Delise

Jittery John's bracing cold brew coffee sold and served at Doughnut Dolly

DOUGHNUTS & BAGELS in OAKLAND

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Beauty's beauty of a bagel and lox

Bagels and doughnuts in their many iterations (beignets, malasadas, bomboloni, etc…) are two of the more comforting breakfast – or any time – foods. It’s tougher than it should be to find proper bagels, but alongside notable SF sources, the East Bay welcomes a few new arrivals.  I stop first for fuel at Berkeley’s just-opened coffee and wine bar Bartavelle for a well-executed Sightglass Coffee cappuccino in the tiny-but-charming former Cafe Fanny space next to Kermit Lynch and Acme Bread.

Coffee at the new Bartavelle

First, bagels. Like anyone who has ever lived near or in NYC, I miss New York bagels. There’s nothing like properly boiled and baked bagels, with dense, chewy insides and cracklin’ exterior, topped with excellent schmear and lox. In Manhattan, I’ve schooled my California born-and-raised husband, The Renaissance Man, on NY bagels, journeying to different neighborhoods, from Barney Greengrass and Ess-A-Bagel, to favorites like Russ & Daughters.

Outside NYC, we get little that is comparable. In the Bay Area there’s the likes of short-lived Spot Bagel or now the excellent Schmendricks in pop-up form at Fayes Video & Espresso Bar on Wednesday and Friday mornings or by individual order. I’m impressed by Schmendricks bagels from Brooklyn native, Dave Kover, his wife Dagny Dingman, lawyer-turned-baker, Deepa Subramanian, and her husband Dan Scholnick. While I anticipate a permanent storefront for Schmendricks, Wise Sons‘ bialys, as a cousin to the bagel, fill a void.

Beauty's Bagel Shop

Then there’s Montreal-style bagels, less chewy than a NY bagel, slightly thinner yet dense, with a touch of char from wood-fired baking. Beauty’s Bagel has been the rave of Oakland since opening this Summer, their bagels hand-rolled, boiled in honey water, then baked in a wood-fired oven. Yes, it’s NY prices: $9 for closed, $12 for an open-faced bagel sandwich, or $1.65 per individual bagel (in a few choice flavors like sesame, poppy, onion, or everything). But the quality is a significant step up from most. After apprenticing at a Montreal bagelry and working as a chef at Delfina, Blake Joffe and girlfriend Amy Remsen, made roughly 800 bagels a week at Addie’s Pizza Pie in Berkeley before opening Beauty’s. Serving Healdsburg’s coffee king, Flying Goat, they also craft chopped chicken liver, deviled eggs, cream cheeses/schmear and pickles in house, sourcing smoked trout and lox. It’s a fresh lox, scallion schmear, tomato, red onion and capers bagel sandwich that makes me smile, almost as if I’m back in Manhattan on the hunt for a perfect bagel and lox… including the Manhattan prices.

A box full of Donut Savant

On to doughnuts. SF masters the best in both old school Bob’s Donuts (particularly at 1 or 2am when they’re pulling those gems out of the oven) or the newer gourmet wave at Dynamo Donuts, with their beautiful Campari or spiced chocolate donuts, to name a few. Oakland gained two doughnut newcomers this summer, Donut Savant and Doughnut Dolly.

Doughnut Dolly, down a cheery Temescal alley

Downtown Oakland’s Donut Savant serves essentially glorified donut holes, their Twitter feed making me crave flavors like key lime, pumpkin or an Old Fashioned with Bulleit bourbon glaze, Angostura bitters cream and a twist of lemon, which they introduced at Oakland’s Art Murmur in August. This led to disappointment when first crossing the Bay Bridge weeks after they opened only to be met with a sign during regularly scheduled morning hours saying they’d return hours later with more donuts.

When I was able to trek back to the humble shop and find actual donuts, I bought every one in sight. Flavors were straightforward, rather than the interesting aforementioned. Chocolate coconut donut holes won over chocolate or vanilla, though a dark chocolate donut with a light dusting of sugar was plain but more satisfying. One topped with butter cream stood out with creamy contrast and candied ginger strips.

Doughnut Dolly's filled doughnuts

Doughnut Dolly charms in an alley off 49th Street. Pastel-striped walls and a friendly woman graciously attending to each customer makes it feel immediately like a beloved neighborhood secret. By the bottle or glass, Jittery John’s (JJ’s) Cold Brew Coffee is bracingly strong, New Orleans’ style chicory coffee, made by a Oakland local – adding cream or milk makes one $10 bottle stretch to 4-5 glasses of iced coffee. Dare I say it’s almost worth stopping in just for this eye-opening brew that reminds me of Nola? Doughnuts are the filled kind (no holes), the strawberry jelly donut superior to a childhood favorite with fresh jam inside. On my visits, flavors were a little basic for my tastes, the “naughty cream” basically a standard vanilla, with the chocolate pudding-like vs. dark and seductive, but the donut itself has a soft, gratifying texture. When taking a few additional donuts home, a few seconds in the microwave ensured they melted warm in my mouth.

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

An array of Nick Balla's artful smorrebrod at Bar Tartine during new daytime hours

SANDWICH-ing in the MISSION

Photos and article by Virginia Miller

Two unusual, new Mission sandwich options: one of the city’s best restaurants launches lunch with Scandinavian influence (part of the Nordic culinary wave finally reaching the West Coast), and a low-key panini shop opens, refreshingly real with Middle Eastern touches.

BAR TARTINE, Mission (561 Valencia St. between 16th & 17th Sts., 415-487-1600)

Bar Tartine chef Nick Balla talks smorrebrod at SF Chefs' Scandinavian/Eastern European cooking demo in early August

Nick Balla’s forward-thinking, Eastern European cuisine at Bar Tartine is some of the most exciting food in the city right now so new daytime hours (Wed.-Sun., 10:30am-2:30pm) are a gain. Smørrebrød is Danish for “bread and butter” – these open-faced sandwiches (1 for $6; 3 for $15) lead the way on the new menu, though heartier sandwiches are on offer, too, such as beef tongue ($12) generously laden with sauerkraut, onion and that Hungarian staple, paprika, or on the vegetarian side, slab bread filled with lentil croquettes, yogurt, cucumber, padron peppers.

On rustic rye bread, smørrebrød toppings evolve – I find two enough, three for those with a bigger appetite. My favorite is bacon, egg, avocado, dill and roasted tomato in a blue cheese sauce blessedly garlic-heavy, garlic happily present in my mouth for the rest of the day. Creamy chicken liver pate is a gourmand’s option, although such a generous scoop of pate overwhelms accompanying apricot jam. Another toast is topped with smoked eggplant, white beans, olive, roasted tomato, while a sweeter side is expressed in hazelnut butter and rhubarb compote.

Humble, urban charm of the new Hot Press

They’re calling it a sandwich counter and you can certainly take out, but Bar Tartine’s rustic tables and expanded space welcome, ideal for lingering with Four Barrel coffee and that divine Hungarian fried bread, langos ($9), you’ve heard me talk about often – it is on the lunch menu, thank God. Now it’s amped up with toppings like lamb, horseradish cream, summer squash and tomato, or blackberries, peaches and cream. Langos with fried egg, hollandaise and bacon is a breakfast dish of my dreams.

In the spirit of meggyleves, Balla’s Hungarian sour cherry soup that wowed me last summer, there’s chilled apricot soup ($9), not as sweet as suspected, smoked almonds and sour cream adding texture to the savory/fruity broth. Jars of pickled treats line the walls, available in the menu’s snacks section (pickled curried green beans!), refreshing contrasted with a kefir-ginger-strawberry shake ($5). During the launch week of Bar Tartine’s lunch, I noticed the place packed with food writers, sommeliers, and industry folk eating artistic slabs of Eastern European/Scandinavian-influenced eats, already confirming it as a smørrebrød/daytime destination.

HOT PRESS, Mission (2966 Mission St. between 25th & 26th Sts., 415-814-3814)

Middle Eastern influence in Hot Press' Dream Cream

With a friendly Middle Eastern welcome, the guys at the new Hot Press welcome customers into their humble Mission shop for panini, Caffe Trieste coffee, and Three Twins ice cream by the scoop, waffle cone or sundae. While American sandwiches, like their pastrami loaded Staten Island ($7.75) with Emmentaler cheese, house Dijonaise, cabbage slaw and sliced pickles, it’s Middle Eastern/Lebanese touches and vegetarian offerings that skew unusual. Dream Cream ($6.50) is soft-yet-crusty ciabatta bread slathered in light cream cheese, sauteed peppers, caramelized walnuts and cucumbers, Za’atar spices perking up the mild, comforting panini. On a French baguette, another vegetarian sandwich with Middle Easter leanings is Ayia Napa ($6.99), likewise comforting with melted halloumi (a traditional Cypriot cheese from the island of Cyprus), mint leaves, tomatoes and a douse of olive oil. Pollo de la Mission ($7.75) is a neighborhood tribute of free range chicken on ciabatta in creamy chipotle sauce, pressed with peppers, grilled onions, Colby Jack cheese and corn.

Staten Island: pastrami as panini

Sides ($2.25 1/2 pint; $4.25 pint) range from coleslaw to a salad of spinach leaves, goat cheese and strawberries, while three bean salad – cannellini, kidney and garbanzo beans tossed with onion, parsley, lemon, olive oil – comes in mini-tasting cups with each sandwich. Local ingredients go beyond ice cream and coffee to sandwich bread from Bordenave’s in San Rafael, with neighborhood goodwill in the form of a kids menu and dessert sandwiches like Peanut Butter & Better ($4.99): creamy or crunchy PB, sliced bananas, lavender honey or grape jelly.

The space is non-descript in a refreshing way, with sidewalk seating and Middle Eastern music videos playing on a flat screen. Thankfully, not every new opening in the Mission is a hipster, trendy affair.

Pican's dreamy smoked brisket meatloaf

FIVE PLAYFUL SUMMER DISHES

Here’s five dishes that made a recent impression, from meaty, current-day classics in Oakland, at a bar brunch, and along Market Street, to fresh new joys in Palo Alto and SF – each bringing a little sunshine to the table.

15 ROMOLO – Fried Chicken Bacon Breakfast Biscuit Sandwich

Free flowing brunch punch specials ($4 per glass)

Brunch at one of the city’s best bars, 15 Romolo, is a pleasure. The well-spaced room tucked off a North Beach alley is blessedly unmobbed. Arrive at opening (11:30am), late by breakfast standards, and you’re likely to secure a table instantly. Greeted with complimentary waffle shots – yes, rounds of waffle bites resting in a mini-pool of maple syrup and boozy rum – you’re then guaranteed impeccable mid-day cocktails ($9-10), like a zippy, frothy absinthe showcase (read: not for the anise/licorice averse), Famous Fizz, made with St. George absinthe, shaken with strawberry-thyme shrub, cream, egg white, finished with seltzer water. Or try a Breakfast of Champions # 2, rich with Manzanilla sherry, Nocino walnut liqueur, maple syrup, coffee tincture and house banana cordial – not cloying but warmly gratifying.

Fab breakfast biscuit sando w/ rye sausage patty

Drinks are a given but one of the many joys of Romolo is that food is never a slouch. This has been true at night of items like their Challah @ Cha’ Boy ($7 – grilled banana, nutella, pickle, bacon sandwich on challah bread) and it’s likewise true at brunch. The one that makes me salivate is the breakfast biscuit sando ($9). In keeping with other brunch dishes, portions are generous, while a moist, green chile biscuit converts, filled with crispy fried chicken, the kind of bacon odes are written to (not too crispy, fatty), fried egg, house pickles, and a vivid arugula walnut pesto. Hash browns accompany, then adding on a hefty, savory house rye sausage patty ($3), I nearly rolled onto Romolo Place post-meal, blissfully fattened.

PICAN – Smoked Brisket Meatloaf

Romolo's waffle shots

Though one can occasionally experience a few highs and lows at downtown Oakland’s upscale Southern sanctuary, Pican (like uneven desserts or cocktails – oh, would that watery, sweet Mint Julep be less syrupy and served in a proper Julep cup), staff are eager to please and their American whiskey list is extensive. New Executive Chef Sophina Uong (of Waterbar, 900 Grayson, Betty Zlatchin Catering), who was helming the kitchen at one of my recent return dinners, introduces vibrant new dishes to the menus.

Pican's blue crab profiteroles

Even as I begin digging into new menu items like playful blue crab profiteroles, my heart belongs to their classic smoked brisket meatloaf ($21). It’s genius, really: shaved slices of Creekstone natural beef brisket are baked into a meaty-yet-light loaf, served with BBQ tomato jam, on roasted sweet corn salad with Cajun cheddar aioli. It’s like mom’s home cooking met an upscale Southern restaurant, then married California creative-fresh, a veritable mash-up of cuisines… which, in fact, sounds a lot like the vision behind Pican’s still satisfying food menu.

RANGOON RUBY – Mango Salad

Rangoon Ruby's brightly fresh mango salad

Merely a couple weeks old, downtown Palo Alto’s brand new Rangoon Ruby boasts chefs Win Aye and Win Tin formerly of Burma Superstar’s Oakland and Alameda locations (respectively), serving fresh, vivid Burmese dishes. The chic, clean space boasts a nice spirits collection (all three St. George gins can be found here, along with Camus Cognac) and tiki-focused cocktails, including lava and scorpion bowls for two or four. Burmese native and owner John Lee says the place has already been packed nightly. While they’re still working out opening and service kinks, Lee presents a gracious, hard-working aesthetic grown from his own experience working from the ground up in the restaurant at San Francisco’s Fairmont.

Rangoon's light fixtures

Beloved Burmese salads ($10-13), from tea leaf to ginger, are done right here – brightly generous. But no matter how many Burmese mango salads I’ve tried, Rangoon Ruby’s is a superior version, with strips of mango atop greens, that fantastic hint of savory imparted by fried onions and garlic, accented with cucumber and dried shrimp. Also try Nan Gyi Nok ($12), a heartwarming mound of rice noodles doused in coconut milk chicken and yellow bean powder, accented by a squeeze of lemon and a hard-boiled egg.

SHOWDOGS – Pickled Hot Link

Pickled hot link

Showdogs corners dogs in a space that continues to improve Market Street’s less attractive blocks, adding on old school sign and sidewalk seating enclosed by hedges since they opened. I have a number of go-to sausages (plus they rock a corn dog), but it’s their pickled hot link ($6.95) that remains truly different. A hot link, plump and pickled in apple-cider vinegar for a couple weeks, it’s tangy, slightly blackened as it’s grilled to order, topped with Crater Lake blue cheese sauce (more of that, please) and arugula leaves.

NOMBE – Chawan-mushi

Chawan-mushi (R) alongside buttered brown scallops

As part of an affordable seven-course Kaiseki dinner ($39.95) at Nombe, chef Noriyuki Sugie perfects chawan-mushi or Japanese savory egg custard. Though numerous izakayas (particularly Nojo) make memorable versions, I was recently hooked on Sugie’s uni chawan-mushi, lush with uni’s sea-worthy, umami notes, woven into a silky, custard, topped with fresh uni, served traditionally in a covered dish. Order a pour from Nombe’s impressive sake list – ask co-owner and sake sommelier, Gil Payne, to recommend a pairing for you – and settle into black booths in the quirky, comfy Mission diner space.

Brasa's sunny, charming back patio

NEW EAST & SOUTH BAY CHEAP EATS

In the spirit of my new SF cheap eats article last issue (and recent Guardian column), here are two noteworthy new cheap eats joints East and South: Berkeley and Palo Alto.

ASIAN BOX, Palo Alto (855 El Camino Real, 650-391-9305)

Fresh, Asian eats in Palo Alto

Asian Box is a newer take-out shop (with one narrow communal table inside and a couple tables outside) in a mobbed Palo Alto strip mall. What could be just another casual Asian food joint has two key things going for it. One is two former San Francisco chefs behind it: executive chef Grace Nguyen, of Out The Door’s Bush Street location, and Chad Newton, who many of us followed at Fish & Farm (where he created one incredible burger).

The other is that Asian Box’s affordable food ($6.95-$8.25) is ultra-fresh and satisfying. It’s an assemble-your-own meal, starting with short or long grain rice, Asian vegetable salad or rice noodles. Choose a protein – I like juicy garlic soy glazed beef or creamy coconut curry tofu, and finish with add-ons like jalapeno, bean sprouts, carrots, peanuts, mint, basil, pickled vegetables, lime – all at no additional charge (except for a .95 caramel egg).

Choose-your-own ingredients

In terms of sauces, creamy peanut sauce with lime and coconut stands out, while there’s also Sriracha and a no oil fish sauce. Vietnamese iced coffee and tart lemon lime marmalade ($2.95 – both winners) flow from juice dispensers, while, much as I wanted to try it, house Jungle jerky ($2.75) was sold out on my recent visit.

Though SF residents needn’t trek from the city, if you’re in the area, it’s easily one of the best cheap meals in Palo Alto and would be a lunch hit in SF if they had a Financial District location.

BRASA, Berkeley (1960 University Avenue at Milvia; 510-868-0735)

Brasa Peruvian

In the space were eVe used to be (which I included in the Guardian’s 2010 Best of the Bay), husband/wife owners, Veronica and Chris Laramie, reopened the place as Brasa, a casual Peruvian eatery with lime green and neutral walls, and idyllic back deck. While they hope to revisit the eVe concept in a bigger space eventually, Veronica tells me the current goal is to open another Brasa.

The menu is simple, heartwarming Peruvian fare, if not solely worth heading across the bridge for, is worthwhile if in the area. Classic Peruvian favorites like Lomo Saltado here become a sandwich ($8.25) packed with hangar steak, red onion, tomato, soy sauce, and French fries.

Brasa's small dining room

Their house specialty is rotisserie chicken (quarter to whole chicken with 1-2 sides: $8.75-$21.75), crispy skin dotted with herbs. We have quality rotisserie in SF, but dipping sauces are a plus here, featuring common Peruvian peppers, aji amarillo and rocoto, my favorite being a green hucatay, sometimes referred to as Peruvian black mint, though it is actually an herb related to marigold and tarragon. The sauce is spicy, herbaceous and creamy.

Sip a refreshing chicha morada ($2), a sweet, purple corn Peruvian juice laden with clove and cinnamon, and finish with house alfajores ($3.50), dulce de leche sandwich cookies (though my favorite alfajores remain Sabores del Sur in SF) or Straus soft serve ice cream (cone $3, pint $6) infused with coffee caramel.

GOURMET CHEAP EATS

The Galley sandwiches

Trekking around the Bay for what is not at all elusive – excellent food – is ever a pleasure. Finding it on the cheap? Options are endless. Sandwiches stand as one of the easiest ways to fill up for less, making the continued glut of sandwich openings unsurprising (check out the Richmond’s new Chomp n’ Swig – hard to top their Bacon Butter Crunch sandwich: white cheddar, tomato, bits of bacon, and guacamole; or in the Mission, the Galley inside Clooney’s Pub serves a meaty French Onion Sandwich – yes, like the soup and oh, so good). Beyond merely sandwiches, these affordable new (and one not so new) bites delight.

Inside airy, open Market & Rye

MARKET & RYE, West Portal (68 West Portal Avenue, between Ulloa & Vicente, 415-564-5950)

West Portal is lucky to claim new Market & Rye from Top Chef alum Ryan Scott. What could be just another sandwich shop is instead an airy, high-ceilinged cafe in yellows and whites under skylights.

Salted rye bread is made specifically for them by North Beach’s classic Italian French Baking Company (they also use IFBC’s sourdough and wheat breads).

Chicken meatball Reuben

Sandwiches ($8.50-$9) offer enough playful touches to keep them unique, like funyuns on roast beef or Cool Ranch Doritos adding crunch to chicken salad layered with avocado spread and Pepper Jack. Messy and falling out all over the place, I nonetheless took to the Reuben chicken meatball sandwich on salted rye. It helps that I’m nuts about Reubens, overflowing with 1000 Island dressing, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and in this case, red cabbage caraway slaw and house chicken meatballs. I almost didn’t miss the corned beef.

Fresh salad sides

Build-Your-Own-Salads offer healthy alternatives, while above average sides ($4 per scoop, $7.50 2 scoops, $10.50 3 scoops) are generous helpings of the likes of roasted zucchini tossed with cherry tomatoes, boccaccini (mini mozzarella balls), enlivened by mint vinaigrette. The side that didn’t work for me was grilled broccoli. It appeared green and verdant, dotted with ricotta and walnuts in red wine dressing, but was so cold, flavor was stunted.

House made root beer float twinkies ($3.50) are a fun finish, though twinkie-lovers be aware: these are dense, dark cakes filled with a dreamy root beer float cream, not fluffy sponge cakes. Kudos for full-on root beer flavor.

ALL GOOD PIZZA, Bayview (1605 Jerrold Ave. at 3rd, 415-846-6960)

Spicy Louisiana sausage pizza

A jaunt to Jerrold and 3rd Street leads to a food truck parked in a surprising Bayview oasis: a gated parking lot filled with picnic tables, potted cacti, and herbs used for cooking. All Good Pizza (open weekdays only: 10am-2pm) just launched this month from neighborhood locals desiring healthy food and “good, sincere pizza”, with a real commitment to the area (check out their community page).

Nola Muffaletta sandwich

The lot invites lingering over cracker-thin pizzas (a steal at $7), from a basic Margherita to a spicy pie dotted with peppers, fennel, mozzarella, and Louisiana hot links smoked on site. Their trailer houses a 650 degree gas-fired oven in which they cook pizzas. These aren’t game-changing pies but there’s nothing like it in the ‘hood – nor are there many healthy salads, like a kale, radicchio, sweet potato crisps, Parmesan, balsamic reserva combo. There’s panini sandwiches ($7) such as a pig-heavy, super salty Nola Muffaletta: Genoa salami, smoked ham, olive salad, fior di latte mozzarella and provolone cheese.

Italian sodas ($2.50) are all made on premises, like a candy sweet coconut soda evoking coconut oil, beaches and vacation. All this in a Bayview parking lot.

ANDA PIROSHKI, Bernal Heights (331 Cortland Ave. at Bennington, 415-271-9055)

Hot Piroshki sign signals fresh-out-of-the-oven

A close childhood pal is Russian and her mother and grandmother often home-baked us unforgettable Russian treats as kids, from blintzes to piroshkis, those little baked buns stuffed with goodness. I still dream of them – a rarity in this town. Not even in Chicago or NY have I tasted piroshkis as fresh as Anda Piroshki, a stall in the tiny but idyllic 331 Cortland marketplace housing a few take-out food purveyors. I’ve eaten Anda at SF Street Food Fest, but the ideal is to arrive at 331 soon after it opens when piroshkis are pulled from the oven piping hot.

Smoked salmon piroshkis

The dough is airy yet dense, ever-so-subtly sweet, like a glorified Hawaiian roll. They don’t skimp on fillings, in fact, one piroshki ($3.75-$4.50) fills me up. Sustainable meats and local ingredients make them relatively guilt-free. Try a button mushroom piroshki overflowing with fresh spinach, or one of ground beef, rice and Swiss, oozing comfort. My favorite is Atlantic smoked salmon and cream cheese accented by black pepper and dill. It makes a savory, creamy breakfast.

The one downside has been a straight-faced, disinterested server who could not be bothered as I asked a question about Russian sodas (like Kvass, a fermented rye soda – pleasing rye notes if too saccharine) and acted the same when I returned a second time… a stark contrast to the friendliness I encounter at every other 331 business. But momentary coldness is still worth those piroshkis.