Here are just a few restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond) I visited in September. Perfect (gluten-free!) soft shell crab, a tuna carpaccio for the ages, must-try koji-cultured Wagyu and ice cream and more….
San Francisco Restaurants
Waterbar soft shell crab with curry sauce
ama interior, photo credit Yoshihiro Makino
I caught the last of the season’s soft shell crab at Waterbar in San Francisco’s FiDi. I’d rather have the curry sauce on the side for dipping but deeply appreciated that this dish was gluten-free. I ate every available morsel of crab, leaving only the carapace.
Also in the FiDi, Chef Brad Kilgore and Kilgore Culinary Group are not yet done transforming the area around the Transamerica Building into Eater Central. First was Cafe Sebastian and new on the scene is its hip younger siblings, ama and ama Social Club. Enter through the unmarked door along the wide, white wall across from the pyramid (none of these restaurants are actually in the pyramid) and note that there’s a mere 18 seats (24 including the copper-wrapped cocktail bar).
Waft through the curtains to behold the miracle of the social club, a cozy, perfectly-lighted space where the Japanese-influenced menu will (presumably) compete with the sound of pinballs ricocheting around the two pinball machines in the corner.
North Bay Restaurants
tuna carpaccio with burnt sungold tomatoes and castelfranco chicory at Violetto in Saint Helena
dry-aged duck with a swirl of tapenade and aioli plus tiny Tokyo turnips and their greens on a dark grey plate at Ram’s Gate Winery’s Equinox Experience
Hokkaido Scallop dressed with flowers and greens as served at RO restaurant & Lounge in Yountville, Napa Valley
In Bodgea Bay, a tiny town slung along the Sonoma Coast, Drakes at Bodega Bay Lodge has always had stunning views and now has stunning food to match. I stopped in for a cocktail and happy hour treats, including a beautiful hamachi crudo with hazelnuts, stone fruit and nuoc cham. Weather permitting, you can eat on the patio and take in the sublime views while sitting next to a roaring fire, your feet cozied into a warm blanket.
A bit further up the road is one of my favorite Sonoma restaurants, Terrapin Creek. (Stefan and I went regularly before kids.) This time, the charred octopus and cauliflower with smoked red pepper aioli stole the show. The homey vibe is still intact and the wine list is as exceptional as ever.
In Saint Helena, I had the good fortune to have dinner at Violetto at Alila Napa Valley. Chef Mark Shoemaker is bringing it with exciting flavors all over the menu. I fell for his Tuna Carpaccio, its texture enhanced with micro-cuts, then topped with burnt Sungold tomatoes and Castelfranco chicories. It’s just one of the many exciting dishes on the new fall menu.
Down the road a stretch in Yountville, Chef Jeffery Hayashi at RO Restaurant & Lounge wowed me not for his Hokkaido Scallop, which I expected to be excellent, but for its charcoal-grilled Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Ribeye. Hayashi cures the beef with koji culture, adding texture and an unbelievable umami to the sublime beef. It took the dish to 11. Or maybe even 21. Crazy. Hayashi “kojied” cream to make the most insane ice cream I’ve ever tasted, too. Not to be missed.
And in the Carneros region of Sonoma, Executive Chef Michael Diaz De Leon at Ram’s Gate Winery launched the Equinox Experience menu, as noted above. If you like duck, you won’t want to miss Diaz De Leon’s expression with plum barbecue sauce and goji berry-anchovy tapenade. If you thought demi-glace was enough zhuzhing for duck, just you wait. Yum.
A Quick East Bay Stop
Scolari’s Wimpy Burger is quite petite and just adorable
Niki and I stopped at Scolari’s in Alameda (because, of course) and to my surpirse, he ordered the Wimpy Burger! No matter the size burger, this is one of the East Bay’s best burgers and will be a regular stop after Alameda Flea. (Thanks, Roberta!)
And a Note About Detroit
While Detroit is not (yet) known as a center of gastronomic delight, I reveled in the city’s architecture and marvelous Art Deco interiors over a recent weekend. The Whitney is a stunner of a spot and my friends and I found it imperative to sit at the Ghost Bar upstairs where I enjoyed a Flora’s Flight cocktail.
