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Restaurant Reviews by Julie Soller
From The Rough Guide to San Francisco
In San Francisco, more restaurants even moderately priced ones foster close relationships with individual growers and farmers than most anywhere else. The produce basically comes straight from the fields into the restaurant, resulting in fresh portions and, quite often, very high prices not unusually $50 and up a head for a full dinner with wine. At some bistro-style places, however, or even bars of high-end restaurants, you can do much better pricewise. To whet your appetite, starters include such dishes as cracker-crusted pizza with shrimp and arugula, seared ahi tuna salad with wontons and wasabi lime aioli, grilled goat's cheese wrapped in grape leaves, and gratin of crab and sea urchin...
Farallon
450 Post between Mason and Powell, 415/956-6969.
Sumptuously styled as an undersea grotto, Farallon serves small portions of creative seafood dishes. A splurge, but worth it - or just have a drink at the fanciful bar that continues the marine theme.
Rumpus
1 Tillman Place off Grant Ave., 415/421-2300.
Hip yet unpretentious bistro smack dab in the tourist-infested Union Square shopping district. Stick with the grilled selections; otherwise it's fairly hit or miss.Kirala
2100 Ward St. at Shattuck, Berkeley; 510/549-3486.
If you love sushi, this is a must. Come early, though, or risk a long line of locals waiting for some of Berkeley's best. It can get expensive, but highly worth it.
From The Rough Guide to CaliforniaCliff House
1090 Point Lobos Ave., SF; 415/386-3330.
Much maligned by some as a tourist trap, which the adjacent gift shop suggests, the Cliff House is nevertheless a San Francisco institution - charming, historic and offering unmatched views of the Pacific Ocean. Eat dinner elsewhere; come instead for a drink at sunset, or to sample some of their excellent desserts.House of Nanking
919 Kearney St. between Jackson and Columbus, SF; 415/421-1429.
Always packed, this hole-in-the-wall serves up some of the best, fastest and cheapest Chinese food downtown. You have to endure lining up outside, tiny tables, bumping elbows with yuppies, and being hurried out, but it's all part of the Nanking cult experience. Not to be missed.Tu Lan
8 Sixth St. at Market, SF; 415/626-0927.
If you can brave the seedy neighborhood, you can stuff your face with fresh Vietnamese food for $4. Open daytime only.
Copyright 1999 Rough Guides Ltd.To see more San Francisco restaurant reviews, view the entire text of the Rough Guide to San Francisco online.
