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Around Town:

Following in the footsteps of San Francisco restaurant success stories Town Hall and Salt House comes the latest brainchild of Doug Washington and the Rosenthal Brothers: SOMA fish house Anchor & Hope (83 Minna at Second St.), which has gotten off to a perfect start since opening its doors a few weeks ago. The folks behind the scenes plan to keep it that way, as we found recently when we caught up with Washington and Mitchell Rosenthal.

"After Town Hall, the Eastern seaboard fish house concept took on a life of its own." Washington says. "We just set out right from the start to do it the way we always wanted to. We like that it's so well defined. For instance, our lobster roll is a true lobster roll; it's not some take on it. Nothing about Anchor & Hope is fusion. To be honest, it took some restraint. It's easy to let yourself get carried away, whether it's in the sign or the space or the menu."

Mitchell Rosenthal echoes this back-to-basics take: "When you keep the food really simple, there are basic things that make it great," he says. "That's what we've been focused on. Things like the fish batter for the fish and chips, which is so important; same with the temperature of the Fryolator. We're checking every day for that flaky, fluffy, crispy texture. We're tasting everything every day. When you cook dishes that are iconic, people have really strong opinions about them."

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San Francisco's latest addition to the world of upscale yet laid-back Italian dining comes in the form of Uva Enoteca (568 Haight at Steiner) in the Lower Haight, which, despite being open only a few weeks, is quickly gathering a roster of loyal regulars. "We've been full since we've been open; a lot of neighborhood people are coming back multiple times," says owner Boris Nemchenok, who explains the inspiration for his new restaurant thusly: "[New York City's] Inoteca was part of it. But we all love Italian culture in general; the wine, the food, the way the dining experience is at enotecas in general. For us, it's all about finding that middle ground between a restaurant and a wine bar. People can come in, have a bottle of wine, eat some cheese. It's a really casual environment, but we're still very serious about the food and wine experience. It's something we wanted to bring to San Francisco." Nemchenok's menu favorites include the caponata ($4.50) and the Umbrian salumi from Napa's own Fatted Calf ($8).

Packing more than 100 different dishes, many of them exotic Sichuan specialties, into at least five different menus, Zone 88 (2428 San Bruno at Silver) in the Portola District is quickly gaining citywide attention as a place where even the most finicky Chinese foodhounds can find that special something. SF Weekly's Robert Lauriston headed straight for the infamously spicy Sichuan hot pot ($9.95-$16.95), a cook-it-yourself dish good for large groups. The adventurous gourmand won't want to miss the dry fried pig intestine tossed with chiles, scallions, garlic, and ginger, or the similarly prepared spicy tea-smoked duck ($8.95). Check out Lauriston’s full rundown in the latest issue of SF Weekly, on newsstands today.

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Around Town:

Mission rock 'n' roll watering hole The Knockout (3223 Mission at Valencia) has been garnering attention from foodie quarters with its Wednesday night Godzuki Sushi Happy Hour. Ichi Catering's Erin Neeley and Tim Archuleta, formerly of Tokyo Go Go, sling fresh, simple specials to the friendly, local crowd. Take your pick from a variety of $3 rolls, $4 nigiri, and the highly sought-after fried yuzu chicken wings, and wash them all down with a few rounds of happy hour drinks, including Kirin on tap. "What we're doing is all really basic, and we tend to draw people who are into traditional sushi rather than all the crazy rolls that are popular," Archuleta explains. "I'm not busting out the blowtorch and smearing spicy mayonnaise on everything." The Ichi team also hawks its wares during a new Tuesday Raw Bar night at the Knockout: Stop in for oysters, sashimi, and shrimp cocktail. Both nights run 6:00-9:00 p.m.

This week, SF Weekly's Meredith Brody takes a culinary tour of one of San Francisco's richest dining neighborhoods: the two blocks of Larkin between Eddy and O'Farrell known as Little Saigon. Going well beyond the infamously delicious and inexpensive banh mi Vietnamese sandwiches made to order at Saigon Sandwiches (560 Larkin at Eddy), she tested the mettle of three other Vietnamese eateries, with mouth-watering results. Recommendations include the bo 7 mon, aka seven flavors beef ($16), at Pagolac (655 Larkin at Ellis), which combines fun, theater, and good eating; and the spicy banana-blossom baby clam salad ($7.95) at Mangosteen (601 Larkin at Eddy). Read Brody's full rundown in the latest issue of SF Weekly, on newsstands today.

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Around Town:
Magnolia Pub & Brewery (1398 Haight at Masonic) has brought in a new chef, Brandon Jew, and plans a revamp of its menu to push the boundaries of gastropub fare. Magnolia is going whole hog — literally — and plans to include more offal and charcuterie dishes, possibly including a fried headcheese sandwich. But don’t call it upscale, insists owner Dave McLean: “I hate to saddle the menu with a loaded word like ‘upscale.’ It all fits into a gastropub menu,” he says. “The word ‘pub’ comes from ‘public house,’ and I think that all these things — sustainability, using all the parts of the animal — it all goes back to kind of blue-collar comfort food. This is the original beer food. That’s the compelling vision behind this move.”

With a sophisticated, ambitious menu covering all the bases of traditional Japanese fare, O Izakaya (1625 Post at Laguna) in the Hotel Kabuki represents the latest flagship in the burgeoning San Francisco trend — along with fellow izakaya spot Oyaji — for small plates with very big flavors. SF Weekly’s Robert Lauriston is putting his money on the yakimono (grilled) portion of the menu, singling out the grilled pork belly ($4), the slightly sweet, crunchy-outside-creamy-inside golden-brown rice balls known as omochi ($3), and soba with mizuna and poached egg ($9). Check out his full review in this week’s issue, on newsstands today.

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Around Town:
Landing squarely alongside Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Club in the newly minted Fillmore Jazz Preservation District, 1300 on Fillmore (1300 Fillmore at Eddy) offers a provoking foil to Yoshi’s refined Japanese dishes: fully Frenchified American food with twists of Southern fried hospitality. As SF Weekly’s Meredith Brody writes this week, at its most successful 1300 achieves a “blending of down-home and uptown.” Highlights include sautéed wild mushrooms with autumn herbs and mascarpone yellow hominy grits ($9), and “smothered rabbit” with baby turnips, Parisian potatoes, and pearl red onions ($26).

Weekly Planner:
A free burger is nothing to scoff at, especially when it’s a scrumptious bar burger from Balboa Cafe (3199 Fillmore at Greenwich). Anyone with a weakness for burgers done right should be willing to pay in blood — and that’s exactly what will happen this Thursday, April 3. It may sound morbid, but it’s for a great cause: Just show up between 1 and 6 p.m., donate a pint of blood on the Blood Centers of the Pacific’s bloodmobile — it’ll be parked right outside — and claim your free chow. Donors must be 17 or older, healthy, and weigh at least 110 pounds. (Other restrictions may apply.) Make an appointment online at www.bloodheroes.com using the password “PlumpJack,” or call 346-5712. Walk-in donors are also welcome.

Date Night:
While a night of watching bawdy, raunchy, completely inappropriate cartoons amid an audience of equally bawdy, often-inappropriate cartoon fans may not make a great first date, it could spell perfection for a third or fourth rendezvous. And for the right couple, after the right number of drinks, it could be just the thing to shatter any remaining inhibitions. That’s why we recommend Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation ($10), showing Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 10 at the Victoria Theater (2961 16th St. at Mission) in the heart of the Mission. Whether you see the show before or after dinner, you’ll want a little something to smooth Spike and Mike’s rough edges — and that’s where Bar Bambino Cafe & Wine Bar (2931 16th St. at Mission) comes in. A mere stone’s throw from the theater, yet a world away from the ratty Mission District hubbub of its surroundings, Bar Bambino is chic and friendly, and its authentic Italian food rivals anything else you’ll find in town. It also offers more than 35 wines by the glass. Try the bruschette al ginepro — a lush spread of chicken liver and juniper berry ($8.50) — and the papardelle with sugo di coniglio, braised rabbit sauce ($14.50). Reservations are recommended.

Nightcap:
It’s rare to find dancing and food together, but SOMA nightspot Bossa Nova (139 Eighth St. at Minna) has managed the feat with characteristic Brazilian passion with its new weekly Bossa Nights party. Slap on your dancing shoes and a bib for this Sunday shindig, which boasts live performers and guest DJs with plenty of goodies for the wallflowers: $8 doses of Brazil’s national drink, caipirinha, to wash down bites of feijoada, a stew of black beans and all kinds of tasty pork and beef tidbits. The party kicks off at 4:00 p.m. every Sunday.

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Around Town:
Sprouting in the newly revamped Mint Plaza comes Chez Papa Resto (414 Jessie at Mint), offspring of the successful Potrero Hill bistro Chez Papa. After delays pushed back the opening date several times, general manager Tonino Drovandi confirms that Monday, March 31, is opening day. “The menu’s still evolving,” he says. “The reason we’re not opening until the 31st is because we’re doing some extensive tastings this week, really dialing in on the new menu.” As for personal favorites, Drovandi dropped descriptions of two delicious-sounding dishes: “We do little grilled lamb chops with ratatouille and lavender salts. And one of our staple dishes at Chez Papa is the lamb daube; it’s a meat stew with lamb braised in red wine. Really nice.”

As SF Weekly’s Meredith Brody very wisely says, “There’s more than one way to fill a couple of slices of bread.” With that in mind, she scoured the city last week in search of the most perfect sandwiches, and reports back triumphant. Between the graciousness of the staff and the simple elegance of the sandwiches, North Beach’s Petite Deli (752 Columbus at Filbert) is a great stop: Try the Young’s chicken sandwich ($6). Ike’s Place (3506 16th St. at Sanchez) is another amazing spot to grab lunch, as much for its huge, messy sandwiches as for its extensive vegetarian and vegan options. For Brody’s full dose of sandwichology, be sure to check the new issue of the SF Weekly, on newsstands today.

Weekly Planner:
This Thursday, March 27, Wine Enthusiast magazine hosts the second annual Toast of the Town San Francisco at the War Memorial Opera House (401 Van Ness at McAllister) — an event that promises far more wine, food, and music than any human being could possibly consume in a single evening. More than 500 domestic and international wines and spirits will be on hand, with food pairings from 30 of the Bay Area’s finest restaurants, including local favorites Chez Panisse, Tartine Bakery, Fifth Floor, and Plumpjack Cafe. Local jazz quartet Loosewig will hold down the beat, and a silent auction offers the chance for delectable take-home goodies, with proceeds benefiting the San Francisco Food Bank. Tickets run $95 for the tasting, $185 for the VIP treatment.

Date Night:
Salty and sweet is a taste combination as old as time. This Friday, March 28, the Hip Tastes Salty and Sweet Tasting at Sugar Cafe (679 Sutter at Taylor) gives this inseparable pair a moment to shine with a showcase of concoctions from the likes of Elizabeth Falkner (Citizen Cake and Orson), single-origin chocolates from European chocolatier Hotel Chocolat, Rocky Road inspirations from Droga, and — taking up the slack on the salty side — selections from Estrellita’s Snacks and Botanas Felicitas. To wash it all down, there’ll be a variety of wines chosen for their fit with sweet and salty. 7:00-10:00 p.m., $30.

Night Cap:
While Bay Area wine lovers have a veritable nonstop pipeline of tastings and special events to keep their glasses full, partakers of the harder stuff may feel a bit left out. Well, not this week. Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, the Ninth Annual Whiskies of the World Expo drops anchor in San Francisco with more single malt whiskies, bourbons, and specialty spirits than you can shake a stogie at. The two-day boozefest kicks off Friday night at the Le Meridien Hotel (333 Battery at Clay), where you can brush up on your education with seminars and classes at the Whisky University ($61.50 per course). On Saturday, hop aboard the San Francisco Belle, docked at Pier 3 (Embarcadero and Washington), and put your learning to the ultimate test: the tasting extravaganza ($110 per person).

Coming Soon:
It's time again to make the rounds of new joints, starting with something sweet in SoMa. Self-serve purveyor Icebee (829 Mission at Fourth St.) is the latest addition to San Francisco’s burgeoning frozen-yogurt game. In the Castro, the space formerly occupied by Ararat Mediterranean has quickly sprouted the new Italian osteria Poesia (4072 18th St. at Castro), where southern Italian favorites prevail.

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Around Town:
With spring menus beginning to pop up at restaurants, it’s a great time to visit some of your favorite spots to see what the chefs have got up their sleeves. Case in point: Ame (689 Mission at Third St., in the St. Regis Hotel), whose new menu is chock-full of surprises. The brainchild of Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani (of Terra fame), Ame has been snapping up critical acclaim since it opened in 2005, with a recent booster shot of national recognition in the form of a gushing Wall Street Journal column. But enough about the press — it’s food we want, and executive chef Greg Dunmore is happy to oblige. “We’re really proud of our new green-tea soba noodle dish,” he says. “It’s got sea urchin sauce, pickled wasabi leaves, and purple shiso.” He raves about an abalone dish: “We’re the only place in town doing it. We’ve got these baby abalones from Hawaii. They’re just beautiful. We’re sautéing them with shimeji mushrooms, asparagus, and sansho pepper sauce.”

With its enormous, adventurous, Japanese-drenched menu and an elegantly dramatic Zen-like interior to match — not to mention its dual role as a world-famous jazz venue — Yoshi’s SF (1330 Fillmore at Eddy) is larger than life, and shows no signs of flagging. SF Weekly’s Meredith Brody returned from a reconnaissance mission with hefty praise for Yoshi’s spin on the classic battera box-pressed sushi, presented with saba, gari shoga, and shaved bonito ($15). The shiso shrimp tempura ($15) and a selection of nine-vegetable tempura ($14) also garnered a big thumbs up. But dessert is the true star of the meal. Don’t miss the key lime mochi cake with yuzu lime curd, homemade marshmallows, roasted pineapple, and coconut sorbet ($8).

Weekly Planner:
To many Chinese-food hounds across the Bay Area, dinner at San Francisco’s somewhat elusive Shanghai-styleJai Yun (680 Clay at Kearny) is nothing less than an adventure (it’s prix-fixe, with no printed menu), a challenge (it’s open three hours a day, by reservation only), and a notch on the belt, because it’s almost universally heralded for its refined, one-of-a-kind dishes. Monday, March 24, presents a unique opportunity to dine there — or come back for more — at the Chinese Banquet at Jai Yun Restaurant hosted by the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) and featuring New York Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, an exploration of the Chinese-American experience told through food. The banquet starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $110 per person, $200 per couple. BYOB, no corkage fee. For reservations, call Book Passage at 927-0960, ext. 239 (ask for the AIWF discount).

Date Night:
For all you secular heathens out there who don’t know, Sunday, March 23, is Easter. Besides all the good church-going and egg-hunting activities, there are plenty of places in town to celebrate that other religious ceremony: Easter brunch. A few notables include the inaugural gospel brunch at Farmerbrown’s (25 Mason at Market), which promises an all-you-can-eat buffet and live entertainment. For something a little more extravagant, Bushi-Tei (1638 Post at Laguna) is offering an expanded brunch menu, including a poached quail egg and smoked-chicken salad as well as a cocotte of organic egg, spinach, and mushroom duxelle with creamy potato. Follow all that with a honey-custard cake. Eat, drink, and repent!

Night Cap:
This Tuesday, March 25, the master mixologists at the Alembic Bar (1725 Haight at Cole) are hitting the bottle for round two of their successful Savoy Cocktail Night, held the last Tuesday of every month. Based on the famous 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, the idea is for customers to do their damnedest to confound Alembic barkeeps by requesting any of the book’s 750 recipes, from classic to downright strange. Meanwhile, the bartenders have been hard at work re-creating these drinks behind the scenes, so give it your best shot.

Coming Soon:
It's time again to make the rounds of new joints, starting in the Inner Richmond at the newly revamped French eatery Clementine (126 Clement at Second Ave.). Next, we’re off to the Castro’s addition to French bistro cuisine, L’Ardoise (151 Noe at Henry). Rounding out our French threesome (not that kind, perv) is Nob Hill’s Le Club (1250 Jones at Clay), where opulent decor, classic dishes, and cocktails are the name of the game.

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