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Ugly Food, D.I.Y. Burgers and Classic Cocktails...
We take a look at all the trends fit to eat.
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by Jessica Battilana
posted on January 28, 2008
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The Right to Choose
We’re Americans, dammit, and we like to have it our way. In 2007, we saw the arrival of a spate of burger lounges catering to the “outside the box” eater: SoMa’s Custom Burger/Lounge and Horizon in North Beach each have a dizzying array of choices for bun, burger and toppings. (Want a tofu burger on brioche with truffle cheese and bacon? Coming right up.) This year will bring Best O Burger to downtown and, we’re hoping, an outpost of Hubert Keller’s lauded Vegas spot, Burger Bar, both with similar build-your-own concepts. So if your burger sucks, now there’s no one to blame but yourself.
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Ugly but Good
We’ll happily eat it—and wait a good hour for it. The first examples reared their (ugly) heads at A16, then the trend gathered speed at SPQR, where escarole is braised until it reaches a less-than-flattering army green and soffrito, a mix of beans and ground pork (pictured), has nary a fleck of parsley to enliven it. Further proof? Even Mikey likes it. As if in support of the trend, SF Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer recently gave SPQR three stars. See, its not all about looks.
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Greening Up
Restaurants are jettisoning wasteful bottled water in favor of house-filtered and carbonated agua. Temple and Prana (the nightclub/restaurant combo that opened in September 2007) have even employed a director of sustainability, who oversees their efforts: Fryer oil is turned into biodiesel, an aggressive recycling campaign is under way and they are hoping to install solar panels and an energy-generating dance floor by year’s end.
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Animal House
Practically every professional kitchen in the city has blood sausage or sweetbreads on its menu. Those all a little too tame? We dare you to try the duck testicles or pig’s tail (pictured) at Incanto, the grilled heart at Essencia, the headcheese at Kokkari and the braised tripe at SPQR.
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Wine Before its Time
Wine directors around town continue to keep us on our toes. There’s not a list from District to Spruce that doesn’t have something we’ve never heard of. If the likes of an Italian Falanghina seems old hat already, keep your eye on Spanish wines (Laïola has a list of 120). Word has it that, in a few years, the Mencia grape from the Bierzo region is going to be everything.
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Savory, Meet Sweet
Move over, brownies and ice-cream sundaes (unless, that is, you’re a Bi-Rite Creamery sundae made with chocolate ice cream and topped with bergamot olive oil and salt): The most captivating desserts in town are seriously flirting with the savory. Witness the cheddar–cheese ice cream at Coi, the Parmesan gelato at Nopa and the cumin pot de crème at Sens (pictured). Also duly noted: sodium chloride appearing on sweet things the city over, from A16’s chocolate budino with sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil to the chocolate mousse at Perbacco, crowned with caramel and, yes, salt.
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Midnight Express
We’ll never rival New York in terms of late-night dining. But increasingly, come midnight, our dining options have expanded beyond bacon-wrapped hot dogs in the Mission to include a burger and garlic-truffle fries at Bar Johnny (pictured), tempura soft-shell crab at Yoshi’s and Peruvian potato samosas at Prana—up until the wee (for SF) hour of 1 a.m.
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Get in Line
Call it Opentable backlash, but some of SF’s newest (and, in a frustrating catch-22, most popular) restaurants are opting out of the reservations game, content to let potential diners wait it out—sometimes for hours on end. It began with Laïola (pictured)—which due to some public pressure, now reserves nearly half of its seats.Then SPQR followed suit with a walk-in-only policy. Dogpatch newcomer Serpentine, taking a page from sister restaurant Slow Club, has followed suit.
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Deer in the Spotlight
Venison (the other, other red meat)—which has sheepishly hung out on a handful of menus around town for years—finally seems ready for prime time. The lean protein is turning up in myriad forms: venison carpaccio (pictured) at Ducca, venison loin with spaetzle at Ame and a beetroot-chutney-topped burger at South. Social faux pas: references to Bambi. As tempting as they might be, don’t.
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World Eats
Last year was the year of Peruvian food. First came Piqueo’s (sister restaurant to old-timer Mochica), quickly followed by Essencia in Hayes Valley. As we head into 2008, two more places will be joining the ranks: At press time, Limón had committed to opening a second spot, in the Mint Plaza, and down on the Embarcadero, La Mar Cebichería Peruana, a waterfront spot with an emphasis on ceviche, is also slated to open this spring. This may be the year of the izakaya, Japanese drinking establishments that serve casual food. A few have paved the way (Hime, Nihon and O Izakaya Lounge (pictured); we suspect they mark the start of a revolution.
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Kill your Cosmos
(Almost) gone are the days of lychee martinis and watermelon mojitos; our parents’ favored Singapore slings and gin fizzes are making a comeback. “Cosmo” has become a dirty word—ask for one at the speakeasy wannabe Bourbon & Branch, and you’ll be shown the door. Not only are bartenders at Absinthe and Jardinière resurrecting the old recipes; they’re in the midst of a full-blown love affair with forgotten liqueurs, such as those flavored with walnut or violet. Now if we could only make liquor illegal again.
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Home Ec
Daniel Patterson, chef and owner of Coi, made national waves when he wrote about churning butter (pictured) for his restaurant for The New York Times Magazine, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re seeing house-made chutneys, preserves (pepper jelly at 1300 on Fillmore, fruit jams at Mama’s) and pickles (Tartine), along with burrata and sauerkraut. Even bartenders are making everything from their own tonic water (Bourbon & Branch) to their own sodas (The Alembic) and liqueurs (Nopa). We wouldn’t be surprised if this year brings restaurants that mill their own grain and raise their own chickens. Undoubtedly, some chef is pondering the idea as we type.
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Boutique Beans
Just as we were beginning to become coffee-savvy—seeking out small roasters, eschewing lattes after dinner and becoming versed in free trade—the bar was raised. Now, it’s all about pedigreed beans, and SF restaurants from Piccino to Bar Tartine are name-dropping designer coffee. Which means only one thing: If you’ve got Blue Bottle, flaunt it.
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Winos Forever. (or not.)
If you thought San Francisco was destined to be an “all wine, all the time” town (as evidenced by the nonstop proliferation of wine bars in every neighborhood), it appears beer has gotten its foot in the door. Gourmet pubs, such as the brand-new Monk’s Kettle in the Mission and North Beach’s La Trappe, are soon going to make Sierra Nevada passé.
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Credits: (Burgers): Deanna Washington; (Soffrito): courtesy of SPQR; (Water): Kristian StensØnes;
(Incanto and wine): Stefanie Michedja; (Sens): Frankie Frankeny; (Bar Johnny): Allyson WIley; (Venison, Laïola, cocktail, butter and coffee): Stefanie Michejda; (O Izakaya): Frankie Frankeny; (beer): Georgiou Panagiotis
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