The restaurant issue
The restaurant issue
Bar Jabroni, Dalida, Early to Rise, best rooftops, Spring Restaurant Rush revisited, Flour + Water, Maison Nico, Olivier's Butchery, Four Kings, MORE
ABOUT FOUND • Restaurants
Where should you eat right now
At FOUND, we capture the restaurant scene via three primary lenses — short narrative pieces relaying our experiences dining in the field (First Person, FOUND Table), distilled lists of recommendations (The Nines), and interviews with the city’s movers, shakers, and industry insiders of taste (Routines).
FOUND is fascinated with what’s new, reporting regularly on just-opened spots before the rush. Just as interesting to us: those places that haven’t received their just acclaim, and old favorites that reward return visits. And while we will spend $500 per person for an extraordinary experience, we’re equally at home at an exemplary neighborhood bistro.
Across the breadth of our coverage, we’re as focused on the room and the vibe — the way the restaurant makes you feel — as we are the food. We’re also obsessed with the movements and trends shaping the dining scene, from the evolving reservations game (and challenges of getting a table) to the shifting parameters of what constitutes a power lunch. And finally, our coverage reaches beyond the city, into the suburbs and weekend getaway markets (i.e., “surrounds”).
Here now, for your late-August enjoyment, a sampler of FOUND pieces from the year in restaurants.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Spring Restaurant Rush
Notable openings from the spring of ’24
Alora (Embarcadero), Mediterranean from ROOH Progressive Indian team
Four Kings (Chinatown), Cantonese gastropub from Mister Jiu’s alums (intel here)
Z&Y Peking Duck (Chinatown), reservable Peking duck (w/caviar supplement)
Quince (Jackson Square), reopened contemporary fine dining classic (intel here)
Saluhall (Mid-Market), Ikea’s new vegan-centric food hall w/bakery from Noma co-founder Claus Meyer
7 Adams (The Fillmore), 5-course prix fixe from former Marlena husband-wife team
Bar Jabroni (Lower Height, above), lively wine bar from the Palm City crew w/ caviar-topped gnocchi (intel below)
Elena’s Mexican (West Portal), buttoned-up Cal-Mex from the Original Joe’s family (intel here)
Komaaj Mazze Bar (Bernal Heights), new Northern Iranian food and wine bar
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Neo-Victorian
I squeezed into the buzzy new Bar Jabroni on a drizzly Thursday night, hoping the hype had died down, or at least been temporarily dampened. No such luck. Grabbing a glass of cremant at the bar, I ran into a handful of food media types, a restaurant publicist, and my hair stylist — all within 10 minutes.
Hoagie fans have dearly loved Palm City Wines since 2020, and apparently everyone you’ve ever known is excited for the follow-up, Bar Jabroni, which opened in the Lower Haight in March. While Palm City is more of a wine shop with sandwiches, Bar Jabroni is a full-service experience, with its plates both small and large.
Since it’s owned by a couple of wine pros — husband Dennis Cantwell was Nopa’s wine director, while wife Monica Wong worked up front at A16 and Bar Agricole — that chilled house red “Vini Jabroni” from Mendocino is super fresh and crushable. For the food, they tapped Chef Robert Hernandez, previously at Octavia. He’s rising to the occasion with dishes like a flaky green garlic pancake dunked in whipped feta, kampachi crudo with serrano peppers and blackberries, and soft shell crabs with “everything” seasoning..
Bar Jabroni occupies a sweet corner space in the ground floor of a Victorian which has been repainted a wild canary yellow, in quintessential San Francisco style. The bar runs down the left, several high tops sit to the right, and of course, the most coveted seats are at the front, a couple of tables in the big windows. Don’t miss the fun art toward the back, including the Dude from The Big Lebowski, abiding in the bathroom.
If you can’t score a reservation, that’s fine — they take walk-ins, but there’s going to be a wait for a table. Lucky for you, there might be no better place right now to drink in the scene and a glass of wine. –Becky Duffett, 05/29/24
→ Bar Jabroni (Lower Haight) • 698 Haight St • Tues-Sat 5-11p • Reserve.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Making the dough
RYAN POLLNOW • co-executive chef & partner • Flour + Water Hospitality Group
Neighborhood you live in: Haight-Ashbury
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I rotate between the restaurants in our group (Flour + Water, Penny Roma, and Flour + Water Pizzeria). When it’s one of my Pizzeria days, I head to North Beach from my place near Golden Gate Park. The first thing I do after turning the lights on is turn on music, to set the tone for the day (today, I start with Bad Bunny, an artist the entire team agrees on). There's dough being mixed, and I'm tackling portioning and balling 500 pizza doughs for lunch and dinner service alongside our prep team. Deliveries are starting to arrive. Our CDC, Elliott, is working on the slice of the day.
I'm in charge of making family meal — today's is mapo tofu, so we'll use our pizza sausage in the base. I'll throw our first round of meatballs into the oven, put rice on the stove, and set a timer for both. It's now 10:30 a.m., an hour ’til opening, so we're conducting our line check (checking quantities and tastes of the mise en place at each station) and throwing our first tester pie into the oven. We're happy with the tester, but the dough didn't get quite as much rise as we want, so we'll change the proof setting to ensure that it's ready for our first guests.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Our weekly manager meeting is from 3-4 p.m. this afternoon, and I've got a chef's financial training for my sous chef right before. We're on the eighth round of testing for our GF pizza dough — so far we've been semi-happy with the results, but want to make sure it has the same quality and integrity as our standard dough program, so we'll continue testing. My partner Sophie is tasting at Golden Sardine so I sneak out of the pizzeria at 8 p.m. to meet her for a glass of wine before popping over to Hilda & Jesse for dinner. We take the dog for a walk and fall asleep to reruns of Top Chef.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
This weekend I'm stoked to check out Four Kings in Chinatown, a new hot new Cantonese restaurant run by some talented Mister Jiu's alumni. We'll hit Moongate Lounge for a drink (and who are we kidding, probably a snack) before dinner. I've got the weekend off so I'll sleep in and hit Breadbelly on the way out of the city to go hiking up north around Mt. Tam.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I'm looking forward to getting back to the bocce court at Golden Gate Park across the street from my house. My friends and I always put together an epic spread of snacks and plenty of sparkling wine.
Any weekend getaways?
This weekend I'm going to Tahoe for some end of the season snowboarding, and plan to check out Tangerine, a new restaurant in Truckee run by one of our former Flour + Water chefs and owned by one of my business partners in FWHG. On the way up I'm obviously getting In-N-Out. I'll snowboard at Palisades and come back late Sunday night, order Burmese food, and fall asleep to more Top Chef reruns.
What was your last great vacation?
Last October I took a trip to Alto Adige and the Veneto and spent time hiking around the Dolomites, discovering the lesser-known pastas of the region. I was so inspired by the food that we hosted an 'Alpine Wine Dinner' at Penny Roma this April to share some of my favorite dishes from that trip.
Alpinn, El Brite de Larieto, and Finstewirt from the surrounding areas were all restaurant highlights for me. Alpinn showcased creative modern Alpine cuisine with absolutely breathtaking views. El Brite de Larieto is agroturismo at its best — farmstead cheeses produced on site and simple, rustic fare that changes daily. Finstewirt had a classic elegant setting with refined (but traditional) cooking techniques and presentations. One of my favorite discoveries from that trip was My Arbor, what they call a 'wellness hotel'. I was living my best Alpine life, using their sauna twice a day. 05/08/24
Photo: Kristen Loken
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
The curious case of Dalida
If future generations want to learn about San Francisco dining trends circa 2024, they should type “Dalida” into the holodeck and take a look around.
The year-old Presidio restaurant serves Eastern Mediterranean food, with menu section headers like “Ocean,” “Garden,” and “Land,” along with illustrations of a goddess riding two giant fish-like water skis and a fox wielding a kebab like a sword. Cocktails are ingredient-heavy and served in ornate glassware, and the dining room is decked out in emerald green banquettes, floral wallpaper, and flattering natural light. But there’s one major detail that sets Dalida apart from the rest of the trendy restaurant pack: The kitchen serves some of the most exciting food in San Francisco right now.
Dalida is the brainchild of Sayat and Laura Ozyilmaz, a husband-and-wife duo who worked in some of the best restaurants in San Francisco, New York, and San Sebastián before striking out on their own. (Laura was recently seen on Top Chef: Wisconsin, where she won the first Quickfire Challenge by serving a hop-infused rice pudding in the basement of the Miller High Life factory.)
On a recent Saturday night, the Dalida dining room was about half-full 10 minutes after opening, with a mix of 30-something gourmands and older couples on dates. I was one of the only people sitting at the chef’s counter facing the open kitchen, where Laura was inspecting ingredients and making the rounds to various stations. My server had to check to see if the $75 “Chef’s Menu” (full table participation required) could, in fact, be served to one guest (hi). But upon returning, she smiled and said, “Let the games begin.”
The first course, “Breaking Bread,” was a big, puffy flatbread served with hummus, muhammara, and other terrific mezze. A greenmarket fattoush salad and a plate of lightly cured salmon were next, both psychedelic in their layering of textures, colors, and flavors. A trio of single bites followed: crispy vegetable kibbe, a mussel stuffed with rice, and a nixtamalized butternut squash cube filled with goat cheese. A healthy half-hour later, a plate of fermented cabbage with an earthy ragu arrived, as well as an equally funky lamb kebab with more flatbread. Dessert was tres leches cake with a side dish of chocolate ice cream infused with orchid powder.
Every dish was good and some were sublime. But the meal was unevenly paced and the portions were so hearty that I found myself struggling to finish dishes on the back half of the menu. I’ll probably order à la carte on my next visit to Dalida, but I hope the Ozyilmazes continue to refine the Chef’s Menu, because it’s not far from delivering San Francisco’s next great tasting menu. –Greg Morabito, 05/15/24
→ Dalida (Presidio) • 101 Montgomery St, Suite 100 • lunch Wed-Fri 1130a-2p, dinner Wed-Sun 5-9p, brunch Sat-Sun 1030a-2p • Reserve.
RESTAURANTS & BARS • The Nines
Rooftops
El Techo (Mission), margaritas and fried pork shoulder tacos in the heart of La Mission
Chotto Matte (Union Square), indoor/outdoor Union Square digs for Nikkei cuisine and pisco sours
Cavaña (Mission Bay), diverse Latin American flavors and drinks with three different patios and weekend dancing
Rise Over Run (Mid-Market), Danny Louie’s Thai-inspired cocktails and an unmissable fried chicken & biscuits in a birdcage
Good Good Culture Club (Mission), breezy Mission digs for chef Ravi Kapur’s Southeast Asian fusion
Kaiyo Rooftop (China Basin), Japanese and Peruvian bites with highballs and more near Oracle Park
Charmaine’s (Mid-Market), uncompromised Mid-Market views, fire pit nooks and a reserve liquor list for the more adventurous
Fiorella (Inner Sunset), oasis amid the 9th Ave fog with famed burrata pizza
Shelby’s (SoMa), elevated cocktails and tapas perched adjacent to Moscone
Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundsf.com.
RESTAURANTS • First Word
Artisanal brunch
NoPa newcomer Early to Rise is the perfect place to bring people who love brunch — and might even win over a few who wouldn’t usually be caught dead ordering eggs Benedict and mimosas at 10:30a on Sunday. The trick? Chef/owner Andrew McCormack and his team apply an artisan sensibility, casting the often-maligned weekend meal in a new light.
McCormack spent years working fine dining in New York and San Francisco before launching Early to Rise as a roving pop-up. Eight years later, he’s settled into a permanent space, on a bucolic corner of McCallister and Baker Streets. The airy dining room is designed for maximum weekend flow, with a long counter for solo diners and couples, rows of banquettes for four-to-six tops, and a few tables for larger parties.
On a recent Saturday at noon, the restaurant was full of young families and bloody-Mary-sipping weekend warriors, but it didn’t take long to snag a seat at the back counter. In addition to a few starters like donuts, bagels, and tangerine pudding, the menu includes six main courses, all traditional brunch dishes except for the “samusa potato pancake.” The most important detail on the menu is listed at the bottom: “Early to Rise proudly makes all of our charcuterie, preserves, hot sauces, bagels, and other breads by hand.”
Every component of the “Up & at ‘Em” combo was perfectly cooked, from custardy scrambled eggs to fluffy buttermilk pancakes. But the bacon stole the show, striking a perfect four-quadrant balance: sweet and savory, chewy and crisp. I’d be surprised if there was better bacon anywhere in San Francisco. On the vegetarian side of things, that samusa pancake was heavily spiced, garnished with squiggles of lime yogurt and tamarind — a real flavor bomb, nicely offset by an earthy roasted carrot salad. Order it for the table.
Midway through the meal, McCormack stopped by to check in and explain that the samusa pancake was actually a nod to one of his favorite dishes at Clement Street icon Burma Superstar. He also dropped by every other table around me for a brief, mid-meal chat. This practice is likely a carryover from the chef’s days in fine dining. It’s a nice flourish, but moreover, drives home the chef-driven nature of this new operation as not-just-another-brunch-spot.
One month in, Early to Rise still feels slightly under the radar. But if the concept of hyper-artisanal brunch sounds appealing, visit sooner than not. The crowds are coming. –Greg Morabito, 05/01/24
→ Early to Rise (NoPa) • 1801 McAllister St • Mon-Fri 8a-2p, Sat-Sun 8a-3p • No reservations.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Pâté all day
NICOLAS DELAROQUE • chef and owner • Maison Nico
Neighborhood you live in: Sausalito
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Wednesday mornings at Maison Nico are bustling. Our pastry team is pulling out the viennoiserie from the oven, our savory team is arriving to start their day, and our front of house team is setting up to open the shop. It's Wednesday, so everyone needs a mid-week coffee and croissant pick-me-up!
What’s on the agenda for today?
At the moment, we’re prepping for our quarterly Pâté Club at the end of the month. Each month we put together a special package for club members including pâté en croûte, traditional pâté terrines, typically a house made confiture or seasonal pickles, and some accompaniment from our pastry department. It's a fun way to discover and share new pâtés before they’re in the shop.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Not tonight, but we had dinner earlier this week at the modern Thai restaurant Nari in Japantown, and highly recommend a visit.
How about a little leisure or culture?
We typically find some time to ski in the winter months. Our family went to Whistler this year and had a great time. The snow wasn't perfect, but it's such a nice place to visit that it makes it fun no matter what. Right now, I'm training for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. The training gets me out on the bike, in the bay, and all over the area for the runs. I go out early in the morning so it's pretty peaceful.
Any weekend getaways?
Our typical weekend getaway is up to Sonoma. It's a quick drive, but feels completely different, and in the summer, it's a warm reprieve.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Olivier's Butchery in the Dogpatch. Olivier is a true French butcher, both in technique and temperament. His products are all responsibly and intentionally sourced, and it’s some of the best meat you can find in the Bay Area. We use his products at Maison Nico and at home. 06/19/24