Restaurants – by location

Grillades & Grits (Brenda’s French Soul Food – SF)

GRILLADES & GRITS – BRENDA’S FRENCH SOUL FOOD (SF)

Like my earlier review, Brenda’s is the most authentic and delicious Creole and Cajun dishes I’ve found beyond Louisiana in seriously a long time. The fact they have grillades & grits for brunch, and all the dishes cost $10 or less…man, this is a little treasure indeed.

Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo (Brenda’s French Soul Food)

Like most sane people, I rarely eat Cajun food outside of Louisiana. I’ve had awful “Cajun” food in New York and Los Angeles, and even Cajun food in Texas and Mississippi can be suspect. I also think blackening fish is criminal, and chain restaurants with anything Cajun on their menu need some schooling. By schooling I mean an old nun with a cane cut from a pecan tree bent on a proper instruction, the kind one remembers for life.

Duck Prosciutto (Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro, SF)

It takes a lot of effort to make prosciutto. Generally about 18 months or so, and some serious patience to watch it hang until it’s ready. But when it comes, it makes patience aphoristically virtuous. But thankfully, we can just order prosciutto without the watch and wait. Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro recently offered a small plate of their special house-made duck prosciutto.

Pork Chop (Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro, SF)

The pork chop at Annabelle’s is nicely grilled with the familiar char-diamond argyle pattern, and slices open to a perfectly pale rose pink interior with lots of natural juices inside from proper rest. Glazed baby carrots add curious color and crunch, and a mound of organic mushroom rice provides the starch to sop up the fantastic bourbon jus.

New York Steak (Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro, SF)

BASEBALL CUT NEW YORK STEAK – ANNABELLE’S BAR & BISTRO

Executive Chef Larry Piaskowy came into Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro not long ago, and has been humbly building a menu of terrific, all-natural meat dishes (and other dishes, of course). It’s about time he got some kudos. From the handful of dishes I’ve eaten there, all [...]

Anchor Steam Braised Short Ribs (Annabelle’s Bar & Bistro, SF)

The short ribs have about a 4-hour braising period in the Anchor Steam bath, as it were, and are crisscrossed with a benediction of horseradish creme fraiche. (I think the creme fraiche is probably the right amount from a chef’s perspective, but it’s so good I really wanted a few spoonfuls more.) The ribs sit folded over a structure of green beans like thick, dark teepee flaps

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. – Awesome Vegetarian Dishes

SF CHEFS. FOOD. WINE. 2009 – FAVORITE VEGETARIAN DISHES

OK, we’re wrapping up the small detour to blasphemy, giving kudos to a couple chefs who knocked out super vegetarian dishes at SF Chefs. Food. Wine. 2009, the food festival that wins the prize for ignoring iambic pentameter and simplicity and being very difficult to say or [...]

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. – Awesome Seafood Dishes

And Hubert Keller (Fleur de Lys) also got to the deepest core of flavor with his lobster essence. Kapow. Knockout. I drifted over with my lobster essence and pulled a spoon of crabmeat from Mark Dommen (One Market) to dip it in. Kapow again.

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. – Charcuterie Plates

Corso restaurant in Berkeley was also dishing out charcuterie at the SF Chefs. Food. Wine. opening night. Chef Rodrigo da Silva and his team had a nice little charcuterie plate with two types of less intensely flavored salume than Fra’Mani, and a really fantastic, pistachio-mottled mortadella. Both salume were great, and I could have eaten a pound of the mortadella alone. Trattoria Corso also had a baby burrata stuffed with figs and drizzled with honey.

Filet Mignon Steak Tartare (Lark Creek Steak)

The steak tartare at LCS is made of filet mignon, so you’re in the Pantheon of tartare right away. It’s dolled up with capers, chopped onion, fleur de sel and the prerequisite raw egg yolks. It’s meat at its purest and finest, with just a bit of seasoning. It’s rich, meaty, salty, a bit fatty, and absolutely fantastic. This is a meat lover’s dream.

meatmeister

Categories