The Regular

We all have restaurants we have been meaning to dine at foh-evah, but haven't quite gotten around to (I'll share a couple currently on my list: Café Jacqueline, Tommy Toy's [I wanna try the Executive Lunch!], and Manka's in Inverness). And up…

*THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED* Sometimes, all you want is a good sandwich—a tasty preparation that shows there's someone out there who really cares about your lunch, besides your mother when you were seven and brown-bagging it. At ABIGAIL'S BAKERY AND CAFÉ, a hidden-away little alcove…

I have a friend and colleague who is crazy for Joel Huff's cooking. Like, if Huff had a fan club, she'd be a charter member. Susan has been singing his praises since her first meal at SILKS, calling him the best new chef of San Francisco,…

UPDATE: Chef-owner Daniel Patterson just keeps fine tuning things at his natural-modern jewel box on Broadway. The last meal I had at the restaurant was almost perfect, each dish its own little study in culinary witchery. The combination of oyster and roasted beet was totally brand new to my palate…

*THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED* Now, LE PETIT ROBERT has been on my list of places to visit for far too long. Not quite sure what took me so damned long to get my act together and pay a visit to this reportedly well-loved bistro. We all have places on our…

CAFÉ CLAUDE went through some ownership and kitchen changes about a year or so ago (the new owner is Franck Leclerc, who brought on ex-Chez Papa chef Philippe Chevalier), but it firmly remains one of my favorite places for an alfresco lunch, or an escapist dinner. Why escapist? Because you…

This SF hotspot is coming up on three years in business, and it's still roaring like a popular newcomer on the scene. Some of my favorite mid-level restaurants execute a continuity of concept in almost every detail, a quality that is more common at higher-end restaurants; it'…

No matter how many people I steer to this restaurant, it continually surprises me how few have eaten there. Trust me, people, it's worth that trek to the Richmond, which really isn't a trek at all (unless you are in a cab, in which case it…

*THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED* San Francisco continues to generate restaurants featuring higher-end interpretations of otherwise inexpensive ethnic cuisines—Mamacita is a far cry from the Tamale Lady, Shanghai 1930 and Shanghai Restaurant are two very different animals, Prana is opening soon and DOSA is, well, we don't have…

So a while back, when I was chatting with Sante Salvoni about his departure from the Slow Club, we got to talking about our favorite restaurants in the City. (It happens.) I have him to thank for turning me on to the quirky YUMMY YUMMY for Vietnamese food out in…