Iann Ivy

No, you're not just drunk. It really is good when it's fresh.

SFoodie's countdown of our favorite 50 things to eat and drink, 2012 edition

​At 2 a.m., belly full of Jack Daniels and hair reeking of stale cigarette smoke, you're not so concerned that sustenance is organic, vegan, or pedigreed. No, at two o'clock you need a gut bomb. Something that seems delicious in the moment yet has magical medicinal qualities to help you rise the next afternoon in a slightly less muddled, less excruciating state. At 2 a.m., you need Bob's apple fritter.

To be frank, this thing will sink you. Comprised of globs of dough braided with too much, too sweet glaze and a gummy, fruity concoction, Bob's apple fritter tastes absolutely nothing like a real apple. And it shouldn't. But at 2 a.m., odds are good that your savior has been recently plucked from a vat of bubbling oil, rendering the fritter extravagantly melty and the glaze lustrous. It all goes down easier than that last shot of Cuervo you just gulped.

At a proper morning hour the apple fritter is a death wish to start your day. But at 2 a.m., under Bob's filthy fluorescent lights and paired with a noncompostable cup of Farmer Brothers coffee? It's perfect.

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Gil Riego, Jr

​Remember those Virginia Slims ads with women frolicking beneath the proclamation, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby!"? That's pretty much how beer geeks feel these days. Once the sovereign domain of wine, the city's finest restaurants now carry fine craft beers, and many SF chefs and beverage program directors are working with local breweries to create unique, proprietary brews:More >>

Sarah Henkin, CUESA's market chef in charge of coordinating their Market to Table and Lunch and Learn programs, as well as other culinary events, is moving on to a new restaurant-shop. The venture, Square Meals, shares a combined space with Batter Bakery at 2127 Polk.

They had a soft brunch opening last weekend and opened permanently on Monday. Henkin herself starts cooking there next Monday, Dec. 12. The other cooks currently holding down the fort are Alison Clement, who's also the owner, and Jared Bene, formerly of Maverick and Citizen's Band.

As for the food? Henkin says, "think delicious and mostly healthy food for take-away, eat-in, or delivery." There's a weekly rotating menu of about 20 items with daily hot lunch and dinner specials. Salads, grain dishes, main dishes like meatloaf, lasagna, marinated/grilled steak, roasted chicken, and fresh fish.

Wild game week returns to the The Big 4 restaurant in the Huntington Hotel (1075 California at Taylor) from Tuesday, May 12, through Saturday, May 16. The dishes on this year's menu range from such relatively normal meats as rabbit, quail, boar, antelope, buffalo, and elk to serious exotica such as "Nigerian salt prawn," Brazilian pacu, sika deer (originally native to Japan), and Himalayan yak.

An appetizer and entree will set you back $55-65, and desserts from the regular menu are $9-10. The restaurant is open from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and you can make reservations online or by calling 771-1140.

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By Matthew Stafford

Last week I took it upon myself to show a visitor around San Francisco. The visitor in question, a New Zealander, was on the initial leg of a year-long circumnavigation of the globe, and as a native San Franciscan I wanted her to get home several months from now and say to herself, "Well, the canals of Venice were very nice, and that Great Wall was pretty impressive, but they couldn't compare to that focaccia place in North Beach."

To that end I endeavored to show her everything worth seeing and eating in the northeastern corner of the city (District 3 to you politicos) in the space of 16 hours. We didn't hit all the hot spots, but God knows we tried.

We began with a 9 a.m. breakfast of omelets and fresh berries at Sears Fine Foods (439 Powell St.) - she wouldn't get the dollar-sized pancakes despite my admonitions - then off to the Financial District to check out a few art deco office lobbies and the Maxfield Parrish mural at the Palace's Pied Piper Lounge (2 New Montgomery St.).

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Expatriates of England and Ireland living in San Francisco tend to know about Piccadilly Fish & Chips, which provides a taste of the homeland on these shores. But those who don't frequent Polk Street might have otherwise overlooked it. That's not a good idea unless you don't enjoy a deliciously light and crisp fry-up.

After deciding how many pieces you want, you should ask for a second scoop of their tartar sauce, which is exceptional and really highlights how many inferior versions are passed off in other places. The other secret to tastiness has to be in the use of what looks like a Cadillac of fryers, imported from Wales and adorned with beautiful glass.

I keep meaning to try the shrimp and crab, especially the latter now that the commercial season has kicked back into gear, but it's hard to get past that good fish. Piccadilly Fish & Chips is located at 1348 Polk (at Pine); 771-6477. —Tamara Palmer

(Photo via: houseofprimerib.net)

For those of us who have trouble making up our minds, especially when it comes to your basic restaurant menu, the House of Prime Rib (1906 Van Ness Ave., 885-4605) is a godsend. The only decision you have to make when you sit down at one of the establishment's plush banquettes is: baked potato or mashed potatoes, and the smallish prime rib, the medium-sized prime rib or the big old bone-in prime rib. After that all you have to do is sit back, sip your cocktail and let the evening unfold.

First there's the house salad, a tableside extravaganza in which the bowl of greens and chopped beets is spun on a bed of ice while a spiky-creamy dressing is poured on top. It comes with a loaf of warm, slightly sour bread that you slice yourself. Next up is the baked potato, split and filled by your waiter with sour cream and nice smoky bacon bits. The spud arrives at your place setting simultaneous with the prime rib, a thick, luscious, tender and buttery example of carnivore-friendly protein, roasted in rock salt to seal in the juices and carved just before serving at shiny wheeled carts situated throughout the dining room. Verdant creamed spinach and a big Dutch pancake-y version of Yorkshire pudding fill out the platter nicely.

One of the best things about the House of Prime Rib is that if you clean your plate like a good boy or girl, the waiter will ask you if you'd like seconds. It would be rude to say no. —Matthew Stafford