San Francisco Food Blog

Guillermo Lara, chef and co-owner of Novato-based catering company LaVier Cuisine, has created the breakfast you didn't know you desperately needed in your life.

His puffy mini pancakes ($4), stuffed with strawberries and baked up like little brioche balls, are skewered with smoked sausage, dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with maple syrup and plated with watermelon slices, the latter of which make surprisingly excellent syrup vehicles.

Tamara Palmer

Puffy pancake skewers, where have you been all our lives?

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Meet your new best breakfast buddy at the frankly rather awesome Stonestown Farmers Market (3251 20th Ave. at Winston) on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Be warned: LaVier often sells out of these and other tempting breakfast and lunch items before closing time.

Spork (1058 Valencia) is normally open for dinner only, but today it began experimenting with Sunday brunch. It's a cute little spot that used to be a dreaded KFC, the fast-food chain which introduced the spork to America, so chef/owner Bruce Binn chose his restaurant name as a tribute to that particular innovation in silverware.

elraigon.com

Spring is here, and the city's farmers markets are brimming with fecund, fragrant, Technicolor abondanza: needle-thin asparagus fresh from the Delta; stalks of Pescadero rhubarb and Half Moon Bay snap peas; a dazzling array of Watsonville basil; loquats and fava beans and haricots vert from the Central Valley; the cantaloupe, avocados and Valencia oranges of the south; Sebastopol currants and Santa Rosa zucchini fresh as a Wine Country sunrise.

So what does one do with all this sustainably farmed opulence? Start things off with a couple of avocados that give just a little when you press into their skins. Mash them up with a seeded, chopped up tomato, half a chopped onion, two canned green chilies (also chopped up), the juice of half a lime, some minced cilantro and salt to your taste for the best guacamole around. Serve with chips and cerveza on the fire escape just about the time the sun disappears behind the treetops.

El Raigon, the Argentine steak house in North Beach, serves the tastiest asparagus in town. The kitchen procures the greenest, slenderest A. officianalis available, bastes the stalks with a subtly tangy marinade and grills them over the same glowing wood and charcoal that enhances their bife de chorizo. The result is a glistening pyramid of crisp, lightly charred flora sweet and fragrant with woodsmoke and its own uniquely pungent essence. Prepare them yourself on the barbecue with a simple olive oil-based marinade that won't detract from the vegetable's fresh, pure flavor.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (2499 San Bruno) in the Portola neighborhood has been greeting San Francisco residents with their first meal of the day for 30 years. It's the type of spot you might have no idea exists if you don't live nearby, but is worth a journey from other points in the city.

The other day, while eating at Outerlands (4001 Judah), the curiously named Trouble Coffee stood out on the menu. As it turns out, not only is Trouble Coffee and Coconut Club (4033 Judah) on the same block, it's been open for a year and a half, selling one (and only one) incredibly unique breakfast of thickly sliced homemade cinnamon toast, coffee and a whole young coconut.

It's called Build Your Own Damn House ($7) and is an adventure in playing with your personal chemistry; the coconut water mellows the jitters and extends the duration of the caffeine buzz from the coffee, while the sugar in the toast draws an instant smile. All that's missing, really, is a little acid, but fortunately BYODH goes great with their new shot of sweet-tart fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice ($2.50), which for some reason they ask you to call Yoko. Oh no.

James Sanders

From Incanto's mailing list:

We are pleased to announce that this Sunday, February 8, we will begin offering a weekly Sunday Brunch at Incanto.

The menu will showcase the best of Incanto and will prominently feature Boccalone meats including all of Boccalone's fresh sausages, guanciale, pancetta, and sanguinaccio.

This Sunday's menu will include a black truffle mortadella panino with potato-leek salad, house-milled whole wheat polenta with poached farm egg, and a brunch version of our legendary handkerchief pasta.  We will also feature Incanto's award-winning Italian wine program and a not-to-be-missed Roman Bloody Maria.

Hours of service will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Reservations accepted only for parties of 6 or more persons -- we encourage you to stop by and pay us a visit!

Just For You Bakery and Cafe in Dogpatch has the best beignets this side of New Orleans' famous Café du Monde. The restaurant has the good sense not to try and San Franciscofy the idea with lavender essence or Niman Ranch beef or something, opting for a traditionally plain take on the French doughnut. Served underneath a veritable snowstorm of powdered sugar, these fluffy pillows are heaven on a plate. —Tamara Palmer