Bay Area

My favorites from Sunday’s " Fiets & Frites" tour of SF: Absinthe shoestring fries, with chipotle ketchup: Super Duper fries: Chili cheese fries from Bill’s Place: Yup. Not everywhere needs to be a Chez Panisse offshoot.

I finally had ice cream at Ici in Berkeley. The Candied Orange Peel and Chocolate Chip in their special homemade cone was great. Some people I know don’t like Ici as much as other places, and it was certainly a different style than Bi-Rite or Mr and Mrs Miscellaneous (Ici had a different texture– less uniformly smooth, a bit more dense), but I actually liked it. I don’t have a favorite, but I’d be happy to go here again. ...

After visiting a long string of “fine, but not amazing” izakayas* in the Bay Area (Nombe, Nojo, Sebo, Oyaji), I’ve finally gone to one I love: Ippuku (in Berkeley): Negima (chicken thighs + leek, one of my “baseline izakaya dishes”): Shishito peppers: Chicken with ume (sour plum) and shiso leaf. Perhaps my favorite dish of the night: Gyu no tataki (very rare grilled beef), also a favorite: ...

After a few disappointing restaurants in the past two months, I’m on a roll: the pizzas at Una Pizza Napoletana were the most delicious I’ve had in the bay area. A bold statement, but I stand by it. My eyes might have rolled back into my head. The crust was very good (slightly charred, and a bit chewier than the crispy sharded style I think of myself preferring– but it challenged my preconceived notions and won me over). But the real revelation was the outstanding flavor, from just the simple Neapolitan combination of buffalo mozzarella, olive oil, garlic, basil, and sea salt (in the case of the Bianca– the Margherita that added San Marzano tomato sauce was also fantastic). How was it so good? ...

It was so good I had to do it again when they switched menus. It wasn’t as every-single-dish-I-want-to-eat-again amazing as last time, but the radiatore with hen and the fattisu with duck and chanterelles (my favorite mushroom) were fantastic. Both were rich but slightly tart, whether from the lemon, the chanterelles, or the cabbage. For wine, the Tami Grillo and Foradori Teroldego were highlights.

I lucked into a special “summer pasta tasting” menu option recently, and it was one of my best meals out in quite a while. flour + water really is that good (especially their pasta). Every one of these pastas was something I’d happily order again as a standalone dish, but my favorites were probably the agnolotti dal plin (filled with hen and perhaps another meat or some pork broth? so rich…) and the rabbit francobolli with chanterelles & sage. ...

Peanut Butter Malt with hot fudge at Mr and Mrs Miscellaneous:

I don’t post about every meal I eat out– just notable ones. This Camino dinner certainly qualifies: Here’s the lamb hanging and twisting in front of the open fire, dripping juices into dishes of beans: Everything was great. David Lebovitz posted many photos and a long writeup (including musings on Chez Panisse kitchen history).

BBQ preferences can be a touchy subject, like pizza, with a lot of regional style preferences that make it hard for people to agree on what’s good. When I lived in New England, I far preferred Blue Ribbon BBQ in Arlington to Redbone s in Somerville, which I know shocks some people. And in the Bay Area I loved Doug’s in Emeryville (now closed, sadly), like Everett & Jones in Oakland and Gorilla BBQ in Pacifica a fair amount, but don’t like Memphis Minnie’s or Brother-in-Law’s (and the succession of replacements in the same space) in SF. ...