After a round-robin of German restaurants in San Francisco–heavy eating–Walzwerk laid down the best jager schnitzel I’ve had to date. The schnitzel is perfectly seasoned in great batter, and the portions are Teutonic, titanic, huge. The spaetzle, a critical element on a schnitzel plate, is simply great. And the creamy mushroom-onion gravy is fantastic. Amazingly, it’s just $15 at dinner, a terrific value.
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Leary’s take on pork schnitzel is simple and fairly classic. Two large portions of pork loin have been pounded out to a medium thickness, and the lightly breaded covering honors the pork without overwhelming it. A creamy English mustard sauce is the moat to the little food castle of pork schnitzel, crowned with a poached egg, red cabbage, and a wild dollop of sour cream. Chez Maman, San Francisco A friend was enthused to take me to get steak frites at Chez Maman, the legendary Potrero Hill grill and one of San Francisco’s tiniest restaurants. Because capacity is maybe 14 or so people, there’s always a wait and the warm kitchen sizzles heighten the anticipation. Supposedly, many people warrant [...] Chile Colorado Of all the Mexican meat dishes that I love, any Chile Colorado done well would always catapult to the top of the list. Not many places do it well, but the chile Colorado at Casa Vega is simply excellent. The red “Colorado” sauce is generally tomatoes, green chiles, jalapeno. chopped onions and celery, beef [...] Chicken Mole – Casa Vega, Studio City CA I’ve had chicken mole at many places, and Case Vega makes a pretty darn good mole. The rice & beans topped with cheese is pretty standard; tastes like most any Mexican restaurant’s rice and beans. Well, the beans are above average, actually. But the mole, one of Casa [...] New York Steak – Garcon, San Francisco Grilled New York Steak, Garcon, SF CA Garcon is sadly overlooked as a favored French bistro in San Francisco. But they should be more known because owner Jerome Rivoire and his crew at Garcon serve up some pretty great food. The grilled New York steak is one example. Appropriately [...] This is probably superstar chef Richard Reddington’s version of a burger & fries. The New York steak tartine, rare and thick-sliced, is mesmerizing in its tenderness, flavor, and juiciness. A bit of aioli and balsamic onions make the small open-faced bites of beef and bread drool-making. The onion rings are perfect, but thankfully the breath-charging haloes sit atop a hill of local greens for some earthiness and textural relief. Ribs – Braised Beef Shortrib The braised beef shortribs at Redd in Yountville is a terrific beef plate. This beef shortrib is smartly braised, and each bite tingles the palate, which dismounts with a sharp, tangy surprise via the delicate horseradish crust. The rich rib gravy is dark [...] The Spot: Redd, Yountville CA With all the great restaurants in Northern California’s wine country, it’s hard for visitors to discern which are hype and which are worth the ‘I’m in wine country on vacation so I won’t squawk at the bill’ type of pleasure that all the restaurants here should provide. Thankfully, I [...] The Dish: Lechon Asada (Pulled Pork Sandwich) This is one awesome pulled pork sandwich, one of many great dishes at Fresca, a Peruvian restaurant with two locations in the city of San Francisco. Juicy, tender, pulled pork meat and a symphony of spices are layered between a Dutch Crunch roll to give a delightful mouthful of [...] | ||||||