Kiss Sushi
There are only twelve seats at this jewel box of a sushi spot in San Francisco. If you’re a purist about your sushi, you’ll love Kiss Seafood. (If you’re not and you love inventive sauces or creative combinations, eat elsewhere.) It’s run by a husband-and-wife team and open only four days a week, which further makes it feel like you’ve just been invited into their notably zen dining room for dinner. There’s a solid sake selection and some seriously fresh fish. The chef specializes in a series of cooked dishes, like fish ball soup or steamed sea urchin with tofu sauce, sashimi, sushi, and various levels of omakase. I recommend the chef’s omakase, which includes a mix of cooked dishes, sashimi and sushi. On the night we were there, the omakase included a trio of raw fish preparations,...
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Zuni Cafe
I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes for Judy Rodger’s New American, Zuni Cafe. For starters, they had an attitude every time I called for a reservation. And all anyone talked about was their famous Brick Oven Roast Chicken. Was it really worth fighting for a reservation for chicken? The answer surprisingly is yes. The Chicken is that good. It’s cooked in their Wood-Fired Oven ’til the skin’s crispy, sliced up and served over a warm bread salad with pine nuts, currants and garlic to sop up all of the delicious juices, then topped with a fistful of vinegary greens. And while I normally discourage people from spending time on the raw bar at a destination restaurant known for other things, the oysters here are some of the best I’ve had to date on the West...
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Hog Island Oyster
It ain’t easy to find a great oyster house… never mind one with a view, so you’ll want to savor not only the terrific variety of bivalves at Hog Island Oyster Co., but also the outdoor dining overlooking San Francisco Bay. Tourists and locals alike descend on this no-reservations spot for lunch or dinner so you may have to wait a bit, but it’s entirely worth it. Especially after you sample the Hog Island Sweetwater Pacific and Atlantic oysters as well as whatever other West Coast oysters they’re shucking that day. There’s plenty more reasons to visit, like the Steamers, a mix of fresh from the water Manila Clams, Beans, Fennel Sausage, and Leeks in an addictive Wheat Beer Broth that you’ll want to mop up with the bread. And while I’m typically a Manhattan Clam Chowder kind...
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Flour + Water
What’s all the buzz about… still? After all, Flour + Water has been open since 2009 and yet it’s more impossible than ever to get a prime-time reservation at this Mission eatery nearly four years later. As the restaurant’s name suggests, the fuss is what happens when you combine flour and water — Pasta & Pizza, that is. From the humble and laidback neighborhood setting to the menu items, this is a prime case of undersell and overdeliver. Just sink your teeth into one of their beautifully bubbly Neopolitan pies delivered from the wood-burning oven. There’s plenty of innovative options, like the Bianco Verde, a finely charred pizza paved with Asparagus, Nettles, Green Garlic and a bright hit of lemon that teases the vibrant vegetal quality out of all of the market fresh ingredients. While it’s mostly...
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Rich Table
This cozy corner spot in the Hayes Valley part of town looks more like your local neighborhood bistro than a destination restaurant, but as we all know, looks can be deceiving. In fact, Rich Table was nominated for a James Beard Award for best new restaurant. While the setting, with its open kitchen, long communal tables, and buzzy bar, may seem laidback, the food is innovative and pedigreed. Owners and husband-and-wife team, Evan and Sarah Rich, have worked at Bouley, Coi and several other praised eateries. While the cooking here is much more casual, it’s still exciting. Just sample the Sardine Chips, listed under “Bites,” a homemade potato chip skewered with a perfectly fried sardine, served with a spunky horseradish cream. Don’t see snacks like that these days. Or how about a Dried Porcini Doughnut, a warm puff of...
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The Slanted Door
Some may say this modern Vietnamese eatery, which opened in 1995 and relocated to the Ferry Building in 2004, has become too mainstream and lost some of its authenticity. Well, I’m glad I didn’t let any of the naysayers deter me from revisiting The Slanted Door because James Beard Best Chef Winner, Charles Phan, is still making magic in the kitchen. Sure, the drinks are undeniably trendy and the kitchen often takes a Westernized approach, but the food with its exotic Vietnamese flavors is as exciting as ever. Not to mention the amazing view of the bay (via floor-to-ceiling windows) from just about every table in the restaurant. While Slanted Door is technically not a seafood restaurant, they happen to have a terrific raw bar with locally plucked, California Yellowtail Sashimi and a beautiful dish of wondrously fresh Wild California...
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Silom Village
If you want to sample the scope of fresh seafood available in Bangkok, Silom Village is a great place to do that. This outdoor eatery, set smack in the middle of a shopping village, is composed of original Thai teak houses, so you’ll get a bit of culture and food in one. And at night, there’s live music and Thai dancing to accompany your meal, so you might want to visit at dinnertime. Consider yourself forewarned: There’s no air conditioning, so be prepared to sweat a bit. Seeing as spicy food cools down the body’s temperature, you’ll want to start with the Hot & Spicy Shrimp Soup better known as Tom Yum Koong. Silom Village’s rendition of this classic dish is particularly spicy, so order a Singha beer to chase it down (Thai beer always pairs best with...
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Vini Da Arturo
The chef at this tiny, Venetian trattoria prides himself on the fact that, in a city laden with fish-focused restaurants, there’s no seafood whatsoever on the menu here. Instead, chef Ernesto Ballarin focuses on vegetables, meat and pastas and boy do they do justice to pasta!! You’d be wise to order more than one. We sampled the just made Pappardelle with Radicchio. The radicchio is simmered with cream for four hours until it becomes something that mimics the texture of creamed spinach. It’s the perfect foil for the perfectly al dente ribbons of pappardelle and a simple, yet tremendously satisfying bowl of pasta. Just as good is the Spaghetti alla Siciliana, which translated to a tangle of spaghetti mingled with eggplant, tomato and mozzarella.
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Osteria Da Fiore
First things first, request the one, precious two-top, overlooking the canal when you book a reservation here. It’s the best table in the house by far (though we did drop our credit card into the canal when we paid the bill, so watch out for that!). Known as Venice’s best restaurant, Da Fiore is perhaps the most universally recommended spot in these parts. What’s all the fuss about? Perhaps it’s the simply grilled Red Mullet, which tasted like it had just been plucked from the water, smartly paired with blood orange and olives. Then again, it could be the excellent Calamarata Pasta (shaped like calamari) tossed with calamari and peas along with a spring pea puree. If you want to sample the spectrum of fish Venice has to offer, try their Fritto De Mare, a salty, crunchy mix of lightly...
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Boutique Del Gelato
You can’t go to Italy and not have gelato. Seriously, that’s like a crime or it should be anyway. If you happen to be in Venice, this is THE gelato shop to visit. This teeny, standing room only shop doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s peddling some crazily creamy gelato. It’s no nonsense, sadly no sampling approach to frozen treats makes it hard core, but we’ll happily put up with it because the gelato’s just that good. Over the course of four days, we sampled a bevvy of flavors, but our favorites were the Banana, Zabaglione, Straciatella, Coconut and Dark Chocolate. The only flavor they’re missing is pistachio, but we’ll forgive them and order another scoop of Dark...
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Osteria Alla Testiere
If it’s fish you’re after, this teeny tiny restaurant with just nine tables is a terrific spot to sample Venice’s seafood traditions, albeit with a contemporary and creative touch. In fact, the fish is so fresh and dependent on the market that the menu is printed daily. We sampled Scallops baked with a lovely combination of tomato, leeks and orange, and a simple but splendidly fresh Steamed Spider Crab dressed with nothing more than salt, pepper and olive oil. And there’s a bevvy of whole fish to choose from nightly. While the atmosphere is laidback, the food is thoughtful as is the wine list, which is filled with an excellent variety of local bottles and half-bottles. The seafood is also used to good measure in the pasta section, like Broccoli & Ricotta Ravioli scattered with Shrimp and fresh Tomatoes and...
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Do Forni
This spot has been around for a long time and apparently for good reason. It serves solid Venetian cuisine with an emphasis on seafood. Just take a look at the ice display as you enter the dining room. While we noticed plenty of tourists at nearby tables (not always a good sign), we also observed just as many locals (a better sign) chatting away in Italian and feasting on baked whole fish served in a salt crust and bowls upon bowls of pasta. Spend a little time with the wine list here, which is extensive and filled with interesting, local bottles. And start with an order of Venice’s terrifically fresh Scampi. Here, they’re served boiled and dabbed with just enough herbs and olive oil to flatter the shellfish without adulterating its pure flavor. The Mussel Soup is another...
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L’Osteria Di Santa Marina
This charming restaurant takes a sophisticated, often modern approach to Venetian cooking without losing the integrity of the classics. Take the Squid Dumplings, for example, which aren’t dumplings at all. (We assumes they were ravioli stuffed with squid.) Instead what arrives is a delicate arrangement of grilled squid molded into the shape of dumplings and dressed with a flavorful duo of pistachio sauce and tomato sauce. I don’t want to get ahead of myself as the house always serves an appetizing amuse bouche, like a dish of sweet white polenta crowned with a salty foil of anchovies — a simple, satisfying dish that wreaks of Italy. There’s great attention to detail at L’Osteria Di Santa Marina where they make both the bread and pasta in-house as well as all the pastries. In fact, the bread comes right from the oven...
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Thip Samai
If you love Pad Thai, Thip Samai is your Graceland. This is Shrimp Pad Thai the way it was meant to be eaten — incredibly light and flavorful with Thai’s signature hints of salty, sour, spicy, and sweet. It’s a gorgeous tangle of springy, yet soft noodles, mingled with achingly fresh shrimp, shrimp roe, sweet egg, sprouts, peanuts, scallions, and tossed with dried red chile peppers, fish sauce, palm sugar, and vinegar. Which is why it’s perpetually packed with young people, scarfing down plates of the stuff. But did you know that pad thai isn’t really pad thai at all? It’s true. The dish first came to Thailand by way of Vietnamese traders and it didn’t really become popular in Thailand until the 1930’s when the prime minister encouraged the production of rice noodles, even going so far...
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Or Tor Kor Market
Talk about a crash course in Thai cuisine. This lively Bangkok market is a veritable Disneyland for traditional Thai dishes and ingredients. Thai mangoes, coconuts, longan fruit, jackfruit, dragonfruit, durian and countless species of bananas, mangosteen (my favorite), lychee, custard apples, rambutan and oodles more! Ever tasted sapodilla fruit? I hadn’t either until I visited Bangkok, but I long for it daily now that I’m back in the states, so make the most of all the exotic fruits you’ll see and smell in Thailand. Reminiscent of a mango in shape with a light brown skin, sapodilla is divinely soft and fragrant with a flavor that evokes honey and caramel. And don’t listen to what people say about stinky durian. You may not care to eat it raw (it’s indeed stinky), but cooked and used to make a dessert...
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Krua Apsorn
There isn’t much in the way of fine dining in Bangkok, at least not where Thai people go to splurge or celebrate a special occasion. The fancier restaurants are for tourists or expats, most often found at hotels. But there is traditional and celebrated cooking, and one of the most celebrated is Krua Apsorn (there’s two ouptosts). Everyone who’s anyone seems to have eaten at Krua Apsorn, including the Thai Royal Family, who frequent the eatery often. Still, the decor is minimal, but clean and the waitstaff attentive. (And the bathroom is entirely usable!) We settled into a table next to the window, looking out over the bustling Bangkok streets, watching motor bikes and tuks-tuks whiz by while we reveled in an ice cold Singha served up in a frozen mug and air conditioning, which is hard to come...
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The Boarding House
These guys could hold their own in the New York dining scene, but we’d much rather eat on the patio, prime for people-watching smack in the heart of town. Then again, the newly revived and cozy inside dining is just as alluring these days, especially on a rainy or chilly fall night. The vibe is warm and the bar is buzzing with locals and tourists alike eager to sample chef and owner Seth Raynor’s creations. The menu embraces everything about Nantucket, from the fish to cheese and lettuces. Order a Blueberry Spring Thyme cocktail, a blend of meyer lemon, blueberries, vodka and fresh thyme while you wander the menu. We rarely insist on a dish, but we take exception in matters of “5 pm Fresh Ricotta.” Believe me, you’ll want to secure an order the moment you sit (before...
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Topper’s at The Wauwinet
Locals and tourists alike insist that a visit to The Wauwinet is a rite of passage when visiting Nantucket. Whether you’re staying here for the weekend, or just popping in for lunch, this tranquil inn houses one of the best restaurants on the island. Or more specifically, one of the best lobster rolls in town. Served on a sturdy, bun-like roll, it comes stuffed with a tasty mix of tail and claw meat, anointed with a bright, lemon aioli, and sided by an equally as good mountain of hand-cut French fries sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning. Start with an ice tea or a glass of rose and some local, Sweet Neck Farm Oysters, sweet and fresh, then make your way into the Lobster Roll. Just ten minutes outside of town, The Wauwinet is a great place to...
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Nantucket’s Best Ice Cream Shop: The Juice Bar
Don’t let the block long lines deter you from making a pit stop at the best ice cream shop in Nantucket. That’s right, we said ice cream shop. Though they do indeed sell juices and smoothies, The Juice Bar’s much more famous to locals and tourists alike for their impressive selection of homemade ice creams. There are almost too many flavor to choose from, but our favorite kinds are the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Coffee Heathbar, Grapenut, and Chocolate Oreo. In fact, the only one we didn’t really love was the Green Monster (mint with cookie dough). If you’re looking for something a tad bit healthier, they also make low fat flavors, like Mint Oreo and Mocha Chip. Did we mention the warm waffle cones? They’re to-die-for as well and all baked fresh to order. ...
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Something Natural
There’s fine dining and then there’s lunchtime, which is a whole different genre of grub. We wish we had a Something Natural in New York, but we’ll settle for an overstuffed sandwich a day at this charmed shop and bakery. Speaking of, they bake all of their breads in-house and they’re all AMAZING, especially the Six Grain, Oatmeal and Portuguese Bread. Their Lobster Salad sandwich, made with whole claws and mingled with dill and a swipe of mayo, puts most renditions to shame. But you can’t really go wrong. There’s roast beef, smoked turkey, ham and veggies with terrific garnishes, including sprouts, pickles, hummus, bacon and chutney. Definitely save room for their humongous cookies. The cookies are freshly baked as well, super moist and super good, especially the Oatmeal Raisin. You can pick up or eat in, but we...
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