#26 A classic gin martini at Bourbon and Branch

A week ago tonight, we ventured downtown to the heart of the Tenderloin to celebrate K's birthday. Bourbon and Branch (or B&B, as it's affectionately known by many) is a modern-day speakeasy, complete with a bouncer requiring a password if you have a reservation. (Our password was "rum dum.") Additionally, the only sign outside is something about the San Francisco Temperance League, which could be authentic (and thus hilarious and apropos) or kitschy and extremely inauthentic.

The menu is a veritable book, so most of the guests either went with the classic gin martini from the list, or asked the waitress to pick something with a liquor they like. For reasons I don't quite understand (the waitress even told us that they cure their own olives), the bar does not offer a dirty martini. They are extremely precise about their ingredients, which the prices, averaging around $11, reflect.

Because I'm addicted to the list, I opted for the classic gin martini. I'm not much of a hard liquor drinker, let alone a martini drinker, but this one, served with a thick slice of lemon peel and sweet vermouth, was pretty tasty. Not tasty enough for this lightweight to finish, but enjoyable nonetheless!

The period ambience is very nice if you have a reservation (red velvet wallpaper, pressed-tin ceilings), though they hustled us out of our spot upstairs overlooking the bar at 11pm on the dot and then told us that the reservation-free "library" was too full to accommodate our party.

Definitely a spot to return to for their interesting, unique drinks, as long as you have a reservation!

#51 Maccaronara with ricotta salata at A16

Two nights ago, B and I went to A16 with my dad, who was in town (briefly) for a conference. We'd only been to A16 once before, but really enjoyed our meal (the burrata on crostini was particularly memorable). We hadn't headed back because 1) it's in the Marina, where parking is difficult even on a weeknight, and 2) well, actually, I don't know what the second reason was! The impetus this time around was that my dad has been wanting to try the restaurant for a while.

Parking proved to be difficult as usual, even at 6:30pm on a Monday night. We balls-ily walked in without a reservation, and were told it would be about an hour and fifteen minutes! We agreed to wait once the hostess told us she could take our phone number to call when the table was ready. That sort of trick gives A16 a very appealing neighborhood-restaurant feel, which is surprising considering the national acclaim it and its former chef Nate Appleman have garnered. To top it off, the seventy-five minutes ended up being only forty minutes, which we whiled away at the Apple Store down the street before being called back to the restaurant.

We started off the meal with the pizza capricciosa; that is, we let the pizzaiolo determine our toppings completely. I was sure that with no stated restrictions we would end up with a pork product on our pizza, but to our surprise, we were served a lovely four cheese topped with fresh wild arugula. Six slices, three diners: you do the math.

I, of course, had the maccaronara (large size) for my main course. Maccaronara is a thick-ish pasta, served here with tomato ragu, a few large leaves of basil, and the aforementioned grated ricotta salata. It was quite good overall, and I appreciated the size of the portion. Often, restaurants seem to think that if they work so hard to make their own pasta, they shouldn't waste a whole bunch on an individual diner; my position is that the homemade pasta is so much more delicious than the standard that one should be served a larger-than-standard portion! The pastas at flour+water in the Mission were possibly more delicious, but certainly much smaller.

For his main course, B selected the five meatball special (apparently we had arrived at the restaurant on their traditional Meatball Monday). I think my meatballs are slightly better in flavor, but the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture of these was unbeatable. My dad had swordfish with a pine nut/basil relish that was also delish. We finished off the meal by sharing a farro pudding that sounded and tasted intriguing; the problem was that it was more intriguing than delicious.

We enjoyed our meal so much that we'll try not to make it so long between visits to A16. We'll also have to head to #52 Fried Brussels sprouts at SPQR, A16's cousin in Japantown.

#20 Chicken pot pie at Liberty Cafe

Though it comes in at #20, the chicken pot pie at Liberty Cafe is, in some sense, number one. This is not only because it is delicious (more on that in a minute), but also because it is so justifiably famous that this chicken pot pie was how I heard about the list! As some of you remember, I was chatting with my attending about restaurants in San Francisco when he told me that he had eaten at Liberty Cafe the night before and enjoyed their succulent pot pie. One thing led to another, and, well, you're right now reading some of the after-effects of that one conversation.

Until last night, B and I had never been to Liberty Cafe. For that matter, B and I (and two other of our dining companions) had never been to Cortland Street in Bernal Heights. We have clearly been missing out until now, as this neighborhoody main drag is lined with restaurants, bookstores, bars, and charming shops.

As we were going to be a party of six, I called Liberty Cafe a few days ahead for reservations; you can therefore imagine my surprise when we arrived and they had no record of our reservation. Though it meant that we had to wait for an extra half-hour to be seated (the restaurant is tiny), the staff were incredibly accommodating about the mistake. We were all offered glasses of wine, and dessert was comped too! We also happened to have chosen an evening with a two-pot-pies-for-$20 special, which we liberally took advantage of. Four of our party had the pot pies (three chicken and one vegetarian), B had skirt steak, and E had fresh pasta with meat sauce (a daily special).

The pot pie was very, very good. Served piping hot, it arrived at the table emanating a buttery aroma from the delicious puff pastry sealing in the pot pie. A few taps of the spoon later, I was deep into the chicken filling, a hearty mix of potatoes, peas, and carrots in a brown sauce. My one complaint was that the filling was slightly more peppery than I would have made it myself. Nonetheless, delicious.

According to R, Liberty also has great brunch. The good food and exceptional service guarntee that we'll be back to try that, and to explore the rest of downtown Bernal.