RICH OR POOR, EAT YOUR HEART OUT IN SAN FRANCISCO.Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden - One of the charms of this culinary capital is that you don't necessarily have to eat fancy to eat well. At the spectacularly refurbished Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city. on the Embarcadero, for example, it's possible to nosh your way from establishment to establishment, assembling a tasty lunch piecemeal. Out on the sidewalk, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is held Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and it offers an impressive array of fresh produce from Northern California's small sustainable farms. There are also baked goods here, as well as some prepared items - from crepes to tamales to organic vegetarian dishes. (A Sunday market focuses on gardening and live plants, but there are also a few produce stands.) Inside the Ferry Building Marketplace's skylit Grand Nave, the hungry traveler can make any number of stops for further provisions. Cowgirl Creamery Cowgirl Creamery is a company located in Point Reyes Station, California which manufactures artisanal cheeses. Founded in 1994, the company both manufactures its own cheeses (including Red Hawk and Mt. , the acclaimed artisan cheese outlet of Point Reyes Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately 30 mi (48 km) WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula , displays such provocative selections as Great Hill Blue, Fromage Blanc and Humboldt Fog Humboldt Fog is a goat milk cheese made by Cypress Grove Chevre, of Arcata, California, in Humboldt County. It is named for the local ocean fog which rolls in from Humboldt bay. Humboldt Fog is a mold ripened cheese. It has a central line of edible ash much like Morbier. . Acme Bread Co., the Berkeley institution operated by a former Chez Panisse Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known as the birthplace of California cuisine, a style credited to its co-founder, Alice Waters. The restaurant is located in the north Berkeley neighborhood known locally as the "Gourmet Ghetto". baker, takes pride in hearty loaves made from organic flour. Golden Gate Meat Co. is renowned for its specialty pancetta pan·cet·ta n. Italian bacon that has been cured in salt and spices and then air-dried. [Italian, diminutive of pancia, belly, from Latin pantex, pantic-.] and prosciutto pro·sciut·to n. pl. pro·sciut·ti or pro·sciut·tos An aged, dry-cured, spiced Italian ham that is usually sliced thin and served without cooking. . Or you can opt for something already assembled and ready to eat at Lulu Petite, a gourmet deli that spun off from San Francisco's popular Restaurant Lulu. It serves up South of France-inspired salads and sandwiches featuring fresh ingredients. Wine tasting Noun 1. wine tasting - a gathering of people to taste and compare different wines assemblage, gathering - a group of persons together in one place wine tasting n → degustación f de vinos is also available at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, where a dark-wood bar is substantial enough to accommodate 20 tasters at once. Across town, at the western foot of Nob Hill, another unpretentious and unforgettable San Francisco experience awaits: lunch at Swan Oyster Depot. Clam clam, common name for certain bivalve mollusks, especially for marine species that live buried in mud or sand and have valves (the two pieces of the shell) of equal size. chowder chowder, stew of fish or shellfish with potatoes, onions, and pork (usually salt pork), thickened with crumbled hard bread. The name chowder seems to have originated from the French word chaudière . Fresh oysters (six different kinds on our visit). Cracked crab. Cold beer. Enjoy it all while perched on a stool at a narrow lunch counter. The Italian-American brothers who run the place unwittingly provide the floor show during lunch, joshing with one another about golf and ex-wives. The music on the sound system runs to Jack Jones' rendition of ``The Impossible Dream'' - or anything by Dean Martin. It's a good idea to visit this place when you're inclined to lunch early. By early afternoon, the line usually runs out the door and up Polk Street. We arrived at 11:25 a.m. just ahead of the rush. For dinner in San Francisco - and a more conventionally elegant experience - you can't go wrong at any of these restaurants, which have generated considerable buzz in gourmet circles lately: Merenda: Owners Keith and Raney Luce hit on a clever plan to showcase the Italian cuisine of their intimate establishment in Cow Hollow. Fixed prices are offered for two-, three- and four-course dinners, and guests can mix and match accordingly. (Prices are $32, $40 and $45 respectively.) Like the look of the first-course menu? Pick two of those and combine them with a main course that looks attractive. Intrigued by one of the pastas on the second-course menu? Request it as a main-course portion. Our plates held the bounty of a soft-shell crab on avocado relish, succulent prawns, polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. with spicy sausage, pan-roasted salmon and a flat- iron steak served in tender strips - some of which could be cut with a fork. If you order an unfamiliar wine by the glass, this restaurant will do something revolutionary: offer you a taste beforehand. We were treated to comparison tastes of the two champagnes on the menu before settling on a selection each. Be advised that service here is otherwise deliberate, in the European tradition. Our three-course dinner required 2 1/2 hours. The Slanted Door: Chef Charles Phan attracted attention for his stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. Vietnamese cuisine and his preference for organic ingredients when this restaurant was in the Mission District. Devoted followers tagged along when the restaurant moved to the Embarcadero, near PacBell Park, and they're sure to follow when it moves yet again to a new waterfront location in the Ferry Building (scheduled for January). This can be a difficult reservation to secure. Dishes are served family style, in the center of the table, and diners are encouraged to share. We were immediately dazzled by an appetizer of the restaurant's signature spring rolls - plump and bursting with an intriguing confluence of shrimp, pork, mint and peanut sauce. We didn't need to be impressed further, but were with mesquite-grilled ahi tuna and a ginger-soy dipping sauce, plus caramelized shrimp in garlic, onion and chili sauce. A side dish of organic asparagus with chanterelle chanterelle Highly prized, fragrant, edible mushroom (Cantharellus cibarius, order Polyporales), rich yellow in colour, found in woods in summer and autumn. Its similarity to the poisonous jack-o-lantern (Clitocybe illudens, order Agaricales), an orange-yellow fungus of mushrooms nearly upstaged the main courses. Zuni Cafe: This triangular building on Market Street has its dining room in a loft area, and we were pleased to wind up in a semi-private room. Zuni, like Merenda, has a limited and simple menu so the kitchen can concentrate on making a few dishes well. If you're ready for a deviation from San Francisco's tradition of excellent seafood, consider something like brick-oven-roasted quail with charred black plum tomatoes and potatoes roasted with rosemary. Even the salads reflect considerable imagination here. We liked a wild arugula arugula or rocket Yellowish-flowered European herbaceous plant (Eruca vesicaria sativa), of the mustard family, cultivated for its foliage, which is used especially in salads. with tromboncino squash, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and lemon oil vinaigrette. --Ferry Building Marketplace: www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com. Merenda: 1809 Union St. (415) 346-7373. The Slanted Door: 100 Brannan St. (415) 861-8032; www.slanteddoor.com. Swan Oyster Depot: 1517 Polk St. (415) 673-1101. Open daily except Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Zuni Cafe: 1658 Market St. (415) 552-2522. Closed Monday. |
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