Mourad & Akiko’s Restaurant

It had been a while since I had indulged in some fancy food at San Francisco and I wasn’t going to let this chance go. First, the stand-out Mourad which continues to earn its Michelin star.  Like the Michelin guide puts it, "Chef Lahlou is at his best when reinterpreting modern Moroccan cuisine with ingredients such as za’atar, harissa, and dates.”

Mourad has striking interiors with its soaring ceilings, glowing columns, and Persian motifs on its flooring tiles. The chef’s menu was also perfect for me, and I waited in anticipation as they quickly brought in my glass of wine and the amuse that started me off on a modern Moroccan culinary journey.

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AI and Steaks at SF

I was in the United States to attend an AI conference.  Luckily for me, it was being held in downtown  San Francisco, a location that is chock-full of my favourite restaurants.  This trip turned out to be a perfect mix of business and pleasure. I had been missing steaks for a while, and this also gave me a chance to try out some of the city’s better steakhouses.

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Hungry in Silicon Valley?

What better place to get hunger pangs than in the Bay Area? This mecca of all that is high-tech in the vicinity of Palo Alto and San Francisco also offers much for both the discerning palate and to  those who just want a quick interesting meal. My recent trip here has been replete with exciting new discoveries in addition to visits to old favorites.

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farm:table & Tycoon Thai

San Francisco is chock-a-block with interesting restaurants. You could be a few blocks away from a  great little place you would love but not find it.  Technology hasn’t evolved enough to match people with the places they are sure to enjoy. This is specially true of restaurant apps such as Yelp!, OpenTable or Zomato, all of who use crowd-sourced ratings to sort restaurants. Food is a very a personal thing that everyone tends to rate differently. A lover of spicy food can find even a good French restaurant insipid and bland, but even if their taste buds did not vary, one may give a higher importance to atmosphere, price, and/or service quality than another.

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Weekends in San Francisco

It is not often that I get to spend an entire weekend in downtown San Francisco. It is even more rare when such a weekend begins with the most perfect weather. Now that I had gotten one, I was going to make full use of it.  The previous week, I had flown into Boston during a time when the region was in the midst of a deep freeze due to crazy weather that seem to be the norm now-a-days. I could hardly venture outside for a coffee without feeling uncomfortable in the chilling wind. Washington DC was somewhat better, but only a little. This made the lovely weekend in San Fran even more welcome!  After waking up late and getting some food under my belt, I decided to take a long walk to the Ferry Building.

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A Craving for Burgers

My craving for burgers continues unabated. Every time I am in the United States, I hunt out new places to relish yet another spin on this uniquely American comfort food.  Thankfully, there is no dearth of variety! Burgers are now offered as fast food and in gourmet variants.  You can go gaga over In N Out or Super Duper Burgers, great examples of fast-food versions that are actually fun to eat, and then there is also the designer version dished out by Ralph Lauren's RL in Chicago, a favorite of celebrities such as Oprah.

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Grand Mexican at Colibri

There has been an upswing in the number of new and inventive Mexican restaurants in San Francisco lately.  Places such as La Urbana, Nopalita, and Tacolicious have successfully combined cutting edge Mexican culinary techniques with an upscale and chic ambiance that has both locals and visitors flocking to them.

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Trace at SF and More

I have stayed at the W Hotel in San Francisco several time, but I had always ignored their restaurant Trace. Given all the great restaurants in downtown SF, I never gave it another thought.  Turns out Trace can be a great place for a dinner, especially if you are in the hotel and don’t want to venture out.  Like most trendy places in California that cater to the younger swish set, this one pairs fresh, local produce that is easy on the palate with smartly dressed, pretty waitstaff that are easy on the eye!

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Aveline

Foodies in San Francisco, there is reason to rejoice! Aveline, which opened its doors in the Warwick Hotel in the theater district, is one of the best things that has happened to the dining scene in this city lately. Chef Casey Thompson's new restaurant is my top recommendation right now for those looking for a fancy dinner night.

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From Iran With Love

Iranian food continues to be called Persian in the United States; not sure if this is the Freedom Fries phenomenon at work! Iran’s ancient culture dates as far back as 2000 BC, sharing borders with then Indian territories. Just going by the names of culinary ingredients and food alone, I can see some influence of India and Iranian influences in each others' cuisine.  Sabzi, shorba, chai, sherbat, dopiazah, koofteh, and lobia are words that mean the same thing in both Persian and Hindi. While India discovered the fragrant rice dishes garnished with dry fruits, Persia took back spicy curry recipes that influence its stews to this date.

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Hops & Hominy

The quirkily named Hops & Hominy is a recent attempt by three friends to bring a modern version of Southern cuisine to San Francisco.  Located in a small alley near Union Square this restaurant succeeds in putting together a killer combination of quirky cocktails, a beer list from American micro-breweries and finger-lickin’ Southern dishes.

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The House

On the hunt for something new I had expanded my search to include the neighbouring areas of Union Square.  I was rewarded with this interesting find which showed up with 4.5 stars on Yelp! from 2700 reviews.  Users raved online about their 'top' Asian fusion fare and about their top-notch seafood specialities.  I clearly had to try The House right away!

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Wayfare Tavern

Another restaurant. Another celebrity chef.  Chef/owner Tyler Florence is well-known to viewers of the Food Channel and has several cookbooks in his name as well.  Wayfare Tavern is his culinary outpost where he brings to life traditional American food in very interesting surroundings.  The animal heads on the walls, the gold eagles on their plates, the pewter plates and curved Windsor chairs all add up to a lot of atmosphere.

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Tadich Grill

My hunt for a traditional, authentic San Francisco restaurant ended at the Tadich Grill.  Recently made famous by Anthony Bourdain when he toured this city, Tadich Grill set up shop during the California Gold Rush. This area, now full of gleaming towers of glass and steel, was back then swamp land; this eating place a tent with a sign that said Coffee Stand.  However, its Croatian owners soon reinvented the increasingly popular place into a seafood restaurant.  And that it has remained during the last 160 years.

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More M.Y.China & Hakkasan

While M.Y.China by no means tries to be authentic, I like their cocktails, dim sums and hand-made noodles.  Given the always chilly and windy San Francisco weather, I pop in here fairly frequently during my monthly business trips to this lovely city.

It was here, under the great bronze bell they carted all the way from a monastery in China, that I tasted my spiciest cocktail.  Called Fire in the Wok, this one is tequila spiced up and garnished with a red pepper!

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Michael Mina Once Again

I have visited and written about Michael Mina's eponymous restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas before.  Earlier, his signature restaurant in San Francisco was housed within the St. Francis hotel.  Two years ago, he recently moved this restaurant to the current location, where Aqua once existed and where he began his culinary career.

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Asian Fusion Food

Asian inspired cuisine is now pretty much mainstream in the Bay Area.  While it takes some hunting to locate the authentic tastes and flavors are the Far East, every other restaurant now has dishes crafted with Asian ingredients while others have melded staples from Japan, Korea, and Thailand with a Californian ethos.

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Farallon in Union Square

I have reviewed Farallon before.  Located in the tourist hotspot of the Union Square in San Francisco, this restaurant seems to be one that would be comfortably at home in Las Vegas or Atlantic City with its elaborate and whimsical ocean motifs and cavernous interiors.  The food is pretty good too, even if not mind-blowing, and that is what I went back for during a recent weekend.

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Eating Through San Fran - II

I was back at Ame after a while.  It was a Saturday evening but I was able to get a table without too much trouble even without a reservation.  I stayed with the basics and was rewarded by the same satisfaction I got when I dined here last.  The sake menu and the service continues to remain top-notch too.

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Eating Through San Fran - I

Downtown San Francisco is an ideal place for the travelling foodie. I have been returning here every month during the past two years, but have yet to run out of interesting new places to try.  This time was no different.

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