Restaurants in San Francisco
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A
Destino
Your taste buds will think tectonic plates have shifted at this Peru-meets-California bistro, starring ahi ceviche with organic mango and achiote oil, duck breast with bacon-plantain cakes and passion-fruit Pisco sour cocktails.
reviewed
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B
Delfina
Simple yet sensational seasonal California cuisine with a slight Italian accent: Sonoma duck with Barolo-roasted cherries, housemade pasta with local wild boar ragu, profiteroles with coffee gelato and candied almonds. Since this is the one California-cuisine restaurant all of SF's picky eaters agree on, make reservations now, arrive early and prepare for a wait with a glass of wine – though when you get a whiff of the sensational wild mushroom pizza at Delfina Pizza next door, you might want to sign up there instead.
reviewed
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C
Saigon Sandwich Shop
Order your $3.50 banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) when the ladies of the Saigon call you, or you'll get skipped. Act fast and be rewarded with a baguette piled high with your choice of roast pork, chicken, pâté, meatballs and/or tofu, plus pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapeño and thinly sliced onion.
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D
Tu Lan
Sidewalks don't get skankier than the one you'll be waiting on, but try complaining after your heap of velvety Vietnamese chicken curry or tangy tomato-onion prawns. One dish under $10 easily fills two starving artists.
reviewed
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E
Little Chihuahua
Who says sustainable, organic food has to be expensive or French? Charbroiled tomatillos, sustainable fish, Niman Ranch meats and organic veggies add up to sensational tacos, washed down with $3 draft beer or housemade organic agua fresca (fruit drink).
reviewed
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F
Mission Beach Cafe
Brunch gets an upgrade to first class with farm-fresh organic ingredients: pancakes come with strawberries and bourbon syrup, while huevos rancheros (ranch-style eggs) are served with heritage beans and sustainably raised pulled pork. The crowning glory is the veggie eggs Benedict with wild mushrooms, caramelized onions and truffle sauce, loaded onto an English muffin made by the in-house pastry chef.
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G
Wooden Charcoal BBQ
Serious late-night munchies deserve marinated short ribs and chicken, thinly sliced and grilled to perfection at your table. All orders come with rice, soup, and an assortment of sundubu, Korean side dishes.
reviewed
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H
Thanh Long
Since 1971 San Franciscans have lingered in the Sunset after sunset for two reasons, both at Thanh Long: roast pepper crab and garlic noodles. One crab serves two (market price runs $34 to $40) with noodles ($9), but shaking beef and mussels make a proper feast. The wine list offers good-value local pairings, especially Navarro's dry gewürztraminer.
reviewed
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Sai Jai Thai
Mom and the cooks shout at each other in Thai, hardly anyone speaks English and the room is grungy, but the cooking's spot on. Just make sure when they ask how hot, you reply, 'Spicy like for Thai people!' Alas, no beer.
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City View
Dim sum aficionados used to cramped quarters and surly service are wowed by impeccable shrimp and leek dumplings, tender asparagus, crisp Peking duck, and coconut-dusted custard tarts, all dished up from carts with a flourish in a spacious, sunny room. Try to arrive on the early or late side of lunch, when your server has the time to explain what exactly it is that smells so good in those bamboo steamers.
reviewed
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Barbara’s Fish Trap
Generations of families come to this ramshackle harborside seafood shack with checked tablecloths, fresh-fish specials, fish and chips and a near-constant line out the door. Always good, never great.
reviewed
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Cameron’s Restaurant & Inn
Eat pub grub, swill beer and shoot darts at Cameron’s, a century-old, atmospheric English-style pub with more garage-sale junk pinned to the walls than you’ll be able to take in.
reviewed
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K
Bocadillos
Forget multipage menus and giant portions, and have your choice of two small sandwiches on toasted rolls, with a green salad, for just $10 at this downtown favorite for tapas and small plates. The juicy lamb burgers, snapper ceviche with Asian pears, and Catalan sausages are just-right Basque bites, made better with wine by the glass.
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Fish & Farm
Ecocomfort food showcases organic produce, sustainable seafood and humanely raised meats, all sourced within 100 miles - plus cocktails blended with seasonal, organic fruit.
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Alemany
City-run Alemany has offered bargain prices for local and organic produce every Saturday year-round since 1945, plus stalls with ready-to-eat foods.
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Cole Valley Cafe
Powerful coffee and chai, free wi-fi, chocolate-chip pumpkin cake and hot gourmet sandwiches – go for the lip-smacking thyme-marinated chicken with lemony avocado spread, or smoky roasted eggplant with peppers and pesto. Chef/owner Jawad knows the entire neighborhood by name and lunch order, and has a kind word for everyone.
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Shalimar
Follow your nose to tandoori chicken straight off the skewer and naan bread still bubbling from the oven at this fluorescent-lit, linoleum-floored downtown Indian dive. Watch and learn as foodies, who demand five-star service elsewhere, meekly fetch their own water pitchers and tamarind sauce from the fridge.
reviewed
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Molinari
Grab a number and a crusty roll, and when your number rolls around, the guys behind the counter will stuff it with translucent sheets of prosciutto di Parma, milky buffalo mozzarella, tender marinated artichokes or slabs of the legendary house-cured salami (the city's best). While you wait, load up on essential Italian groceries for later, like truffle-filled gnocchi, seasoned pecorino (sheep's cheese) and aged balsamic vinegar.
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Q
Inner Sunset
Local and some organic produce as well as artisan foods at moderate prices, plus kids programs on Sundays April through September.
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R
Taiwan
Feast for days on heaping, housemade sesame hot-sauce noodles, dumplings made fresh to order, smoky dry braised green beans and feisty black bean chicken.
reviewed
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S
Radio Africa Kitchen
Radio Africa Kitchen, run by chef Eskender Aseged, serves inspired Mediterranean-African small plates with organic, local ingredients.
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Kitchenette
Serves inspired, seasonal small plates under $10 at Heart.
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Heart of the City Farmers Market
This market has local produce (some organics), including an excellent selection of lesser-known varietals, plus prepared-food stalls. Bargain prices.
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V
Island Earth market
Has local produce, food artisans and wine tasting; it’s indoors, occasionally with a live DJ. There are some organics, and prices are moderate.
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Bi-Rite Creamery
Velvet ropes at clubs seem pretentious in laid-back San Francisco, but at organic Bi-Rite Creamery they make perfect sense: as soon as SF temperatures nudge past 70 degrees, the line wraps around the corner for legendary salted caramel ice cream with housemade hot fudge. Also worth the wait is the Sonoma honey-lavender ice cream packed into an organic waffle cone – but for a quicker fix, try the balsamic strawberry soft serve at the soft-serve window (open 1pm to 9pm daily).
reviewed