The only points I’d say New York scores are due to both its critical mass (although per head comparisons would be interesting) and that innate impatience with anything old, ensuring a blinkingly turnover of premises and a labourious obsession with where's 'hot'.
You’ll need a coffee to perk you up after what is likely to
be a long flight. Blue Bottle is San Francisco’s Monmouth or Square Mile. They
have plenty of outlets around the Bay Area, but if you’re after a cultural fix
too, the excellent SF MOMA sports its own, complete with Mondrian cake and an
interesting rooftop sculpture garden.
If in the Mission, try Ritual, the other major SF roastery. I found
it smoother than Blue Bottle and a bit less stiff. This place has a ridiculous hipster quotient. Don’t
you dare bring in a PC laptop. Or arrive clean-shaven!
Check the amount of
shiny Apple lights coming from these antisocial, unemployed, uniform drones:
As mentioned, San Franciscans are obsessive about produce,
which isn’t surprising given the climate and soil of the surrounding country. Superlative fruit, vegetables and wine are everywhere – out of
state is anathema, let alone imported. Even the crummiest corner deli has a robust craft
beer selection (I’m not sure we can count Sam Adams, Sierra or Brooklyn any
more) to make a London 'specialist' weep.
America means burgers, right? Even with a hugely diverse
population especially heavy on both Asian and Latino cultures, there are
countless diners, traditional restaurants and deceptively divey looking bars
slinging good burgers.
Jasper’s Taproom offered fantastic spiced cotechini and
other bar treats, but this SF Gate Top 50-rated burger was a bit of a let-down.
The bun was inexplicably an over-salted focaccia and not the freshest either.
You can’t hide this even with a drizzle of oil people, focaccia hardens up in
minutes rather than hours! Combined with a forgettable patty – don’t bother.
My vote for Bay Area burger goes to the brilliant Plum Bar
in OaklandActually (yes, I know, but it’s like their Brooklyn, honest!) but I’ll
cover those badlands in another post.
The Nob Hill Grille is up there with my favourite brunch
places on Earth. The location is great for the hotels, and the hills provide a brilliant way of walking off the impending feast. My chicken and waffles was absolutely sublime and one of my most memorable breakfasts ever. Only in an American morning would this be considered a thing of decency:
The chicken was deep-fried to absolute crunchy perfection, with
a hint of paprika giving some spice. And two huge pieces meant I was sorted all
day. The Piglet’s corned beef hash with poached eggs was also enormous. Sit at the bar and watch it all masterfully unfold.
Hayes Valley is one of my favourite areas in the city to wander
around – it’s pedestrian friendly and Hayes Street is an attractive strip of
many indie fashion, home and coffee places. A good amount of the shopping is for guys too. When you tire of big department
stores, cabbing it between places and dodging piss-sodden bums around Union Square, it's just the tonic.
Arlequin was our sarnie stop-off here.
Brilliant coffees and beers, solid food (meatball sub and spinach and basil
pesto grilled cheese) and next door is an excellent wine bar and store.
As SF’s hipsterdom epicentre, the Mission hosts some very
good dining and boozing options. Mission Cheese I’ve conferred its own glory here, and there are plenty more in
another stretch which is walkable and has enough variety to explore. But the
area is traditionally (and still is, especially along Mission St rather than
more swanky Valencia) the Mexican and Central American hub of the city.
Taqueria Cancun will sling you three massive tacos overflowing
with tender carnitas, cheese, beans and other mush. Superb, especially when
taken into Knockout next door (who have no kitchen but the best margaritas) –
and all for about $7. Note that black beans in the US are often blended into a
baby food consistency…I prefer the bite of a discernible bean but to each gringo,
their own.
Finally, some fancier contemporary food. We ate in an endless
procession of worthy and affordable restos (I would also recommend SPQR, Delfina, Foreign
Cinema and Hayes Street Grill) but on this visit, Nopa was my stand-out.
The
menu is contemporary Californian, which is to say that it uses all the local
hotshot ingredients (seriously SF, get over the heirloom tomatoes) but primarily
in Italian guises and reinventions. There is a wannabe Italian thing going on
in California, hence the revolting ‘Tuscan-style’ villas the rich erect, but
the climate does lend itself to replicating the food very well.
Wood-baked butter beans with a breadcrumb and pesto crust
was innovative and damn good. Flat bread slices with ham hock, greens and tons
of parmesan was a great sharing starter. But why not call it a pizza bianca?
Duck leg with seasonal greens and potatoes had an incredibly
sweet and yet mellow jus just beneath the spiced, crispy skin. House-made pappardelle
with a humble tomato and spinach sauce was perfect simplicity.
Spinach was no doubt in season on our visit, as it was ubiquitous on menus and specials lists. San Franciscans are a demanding, discerning lot, and with such competition and high standards, it has created one of the best dining scenes on the planet. And I haven’t even touched the surface of the incredible Asian food available…
No comments:
Post a Comment