American restaurants in San Francisco
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A
Dottie’s True Blue Café
Consider yourself lucky if you stand in line less than an hour and get hit up for change only once – but fresh baked goods come to those who wait at Dottie’s. Cinnamon pancakes, grilled cornbread, scrambles with whiskey fennel sausage and anything else off the griddle are tried and true blue.
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B
Home
There's no place like it, especially if you enjoy comfort food - mac 'n' cheese, roast chicken, pot roast - served fireside, with a gaggle of gym-fresh men and $4 Homegirls (aka Cosmo plus Champagne) during the 4pm to 7pm happy hour.
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C
Restaurant Michael Mina
Involuntary shudders can be induced in most San Franciscan foodies by uttering the words ‘hotel restaurant, ’ but chef Michael Mina’s exception to the rule at the Hotel St Francis proved so successful, he’s expanded his empire to 15 other restaurants. Mina takes a three-dimensional approach to dining, where each dish is actually three variations on one key ingredient. Though the signature triple tuna tartare starter and lobster pot pie mains have inspired raves and legions of copycats, the seasonal menu showcases innovation and ripe flavors – butter-poached lobster with melon laced with red curry, or foie gras terrine with pickled strawberries. Consultations with your wel…
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D
Farmerbrown
Half of SF has a crush on this rebel from the wrong side of the block, which dishes up a mean seasonal watermelon margarita with a cayenne salt rim (genius), ribs that stick to yours, and coleslaw with a kick that’ll leave your lips buzzing like an everlasting game of spin the bottle. Chef-owner Jay Foster works with local organic and African American farmers to provide food with actual soul, in a setting that’s rusted and cleverly repurposed as a shotgun shack, with harried service (it’s always busy) and a band banging away in a corner some nights.
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E
Town Hall
The plain-speaking menus and low-key décor recall a simpler time, before nouvelle cuisine created menus that read like romance novels and dinner for two became high theater. But if you're won over by the populist charm, wait until you try whipsmart dishes like slow-roasted duck with wild rice and gingersnap gravy, or scallop and andouille sausage jambalaya. Speaking plainly: mains are just as inventive at lunch, at half the price.
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F
Delancey Street
There’s an explanation for the eclectic comfort-food menu and your server’s tattoos: this restaurant is nonprofit Delancey St’s job-retraining program for ex-cons, and everything from the menu to the service is provided by participants supervised by acclaimed restaurant professionals. Brunch is best, and the entire tab for your gingery pumpkin pancakes or poached eggs with crabcakes goes right into the program, tips included.
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G
Louis
The newfangled and sadly soulless Cliff House can’t compare to old-school Louis just up the street, with its Pacific views, ’70s brown-and-orange decor, and hearty diner fare confidently slapped down in front of you by waitstaff who know you’ll be back for more. At brunch on weekends, get your name on the list, then explore Sutro Baths until your 20-minute wait is up.
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H
Sparky’s Diner
By day it’s a family-friendly burger joint, but around midnight Sparky’s becomes the unofficial drunk tank of the Mission and Castro, with regulars stumbling through the door in their leather chaps (ouch, that step gets everyone), divas trailing boas demanding home fries and omelettes with Tabasco and ‘extra grease, ’ and the occasional impromptu sing-along.
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I
Stacks
The kitschy urns of artificial flowers and faux-garden decor are more Branson-Missouri motel than Cali cafe, but the fluffy-crispy wheat germ pancakes and crepes stuffed with pesto, portobello and roast chicken are fresh California takes on brunch.The prices may seem high until you get your loaded plate, and realize that you could use it for a boogie board.
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J
Powell's Place
You came for the fried chicken, right? Join locals who anxiously followed this historic restaurant to its new location in the Fillmore, and rediscovered perfectly crispy chicken, spicy collard greens, and dirty rice with savory flecks of meat and secret spices. Bet you can't finish that order of chicken and waffles.
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K
Blue Plate
Eccentric and contemporary, with laid-back service and reinvented comfort food that ranges from honestly good meatloaf to fried cornmeal balsamic oysters with braised bacon. On foggy nights, snuggle up to a heatlamp at outdoor tables or let the pork belly and soup of the day warm you from the inside out.
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L
Roadside BBQ
Generous $8 pulled-pork sandwiches and $10 racks of ribs are slow-cooked in a smoker, and their baked beans, sweet-potato fries and coleslaw ‘roadsides’ are made fresh from scratch – diets are definitely roadkill here.
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