#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.

#21 Pizza margherita at Pizzeria Delfina

Maybe it's because we recently ate at Tartine, part of that delicious block in the Mission, but last night, all I could think about having for dinner was pizza from Pizzeria Delfina. I think we've only had it once since we learned about the list, and we didn't order the margherita that time around.

We therefore set out to remedy this oversight, and last night we partook in the margherita pizza as well as the funghi pizza (a nightly special with hen of the woods mushrooms). The margherita was excellent as usual: flavorful sauce, creamy mozzarella, and thin-yet-substantial crust. The funghi was good too, but not ready to make it into the regular pizza rotation.

What sets Pizzeria Delfina apart, though, is not their stellar graphic design or enviable location (as a matter of fact, we ordered our take-out from the California location in Pacific Heights). The sides are, simply, amazing. Some of you know that in addition to the pizza, I lovelovelove the spicy cauliflower. The insalata tricolore, a salad with radicchio, Belgian endive, and arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette, is always perfect; I tried to replicate the salad once when A and her cousin C came over for dinner and a canning lesson, but for inexplicable reasons I haven't made it since.

Together, Delfina Pizzeria and Little Star provide two halves of one delicious San Francisco pizza whole. The thin-crust pizzas at Delfina are amazingly good, whether you stick with the reliable margherita or delve further into the menu.

#8 Morning bun at Tartine Bakery

Tartine is a delicious bakery. It is located at 18th and Guerrero in the Mission, on a "truly excellent food block" (as it was described to me by a colleague recommending good restaurants after I had lived in San Francisco for only a few months). Indeed, it's next door to Delfina (well, really next to Delfina Pizzeria), and just steps down the block from Bi-Rite (market and Creamery). The list recognizes the deliciousness of this block as well, requiring stops for #11 pork sugo with pappardelle at Delfina, #21 pizza margherita at Delfina Pizzeria, #25 loaf of bread straight out of the oven at Tartine, and #35 salted-caramel ice cream at Birite Creamery. Sounds like a whole day's worth of eating, doesn't it?

Here's what Tartine looks like from the outside (no sign, by the way, but usually easy enough to recognize by the line of people extending out the door).

I like to classify bakeries into two categories: scone or croissant. Scone bakeries are more rustic, less fussy, and more focused on wood-fired ovens and that sort of thing. Examples of excellent scone bakeries include Arizmendi (which is a worker-owned cooperative, typical for a scone bakery), Bakery Bar in Portland, and Wild Flour in Sonoma County. Croissant bakeries, on the other hand, are more refined and focus more on technique. Though Tartine has a currant scone on the menu, it is the epitome of a croissant bakery.

Which is why it's surprising that the thing to get from the list is apparently not a croissant! Instead, it's the morning bun. Topped with bitter orange, and flavored with caramelized sugar and cinnamon, the bun has a good combination of texture and flavor. B pointed out, when we sampled it yesterday morning, that there is a lot of butter in the bun. He took one bite, and then gave me the rest of the morning bun to eat. Funnily enough, since he likes the croissants more (we got a plain one and a chocolate one in addition to the bun), he never points out how much butter they likely have.

In the interests of full disclosure, we could easily figure out exactly how much butter the croissants have in them because my mom has the Tartine cookbook. And not only does she have the cookbook, but when she made croissants for the 80 guests we had at our post-wedding brunch, she used the Tartine recipe. B and I are therefore a little biased toward the croissants; in particular, we love the Scharffenberger pain au chocolat.

One final note: the quiche is fantastic at Tartine. They always have one veggie and one meat-based (usually with ham), but we almost always get the vegetarian version because of B's aversion to pork. They mix creme fraiche into the eggs, and have a flaky (would you be surprised if I added the adjective "buttery"?) crust. We had the quiche with Swiss chard and leek yesterday, which we very much enjoyed.

#64 Paper masala dosa at Dosa

A few nights ago, Brian and I went out for dinner and a movie. The ideal spot for this combo in San Francisco is the Sundance Kabuki theater in Japantown and Dosa, across the street on Fillmore. Let me explain.

Kabuki seems a little like the soup-Nazi the first time you go, because you have assigned seats (in a movie theater!). The more you go, however, the more you realize that it's awesome. You can buy tickets with reserved seats ahead of time online! Some theaters are 21 and up and you can drink alcohol while you watch the movie! You feel like you're somehow cool and indie because the theater is peripherally associated with Robert Redford and the film festival! And did I mention that you can pick out your seats ahead of time online?

At 7:30pm, we saw the new Coen brothers' film, A Serious Man, which Wikipedia helpfully calls a "drama/dark comedy." Not my favorite of their oeuvre, to be honest. When the movie was over, we walked across the street and had a late dinner at Dosa. The Dosa on Fillmore (they have another location in the Mission on Valencia) opened relatively recently, and is a beautifully decorated restaurant. It's almost too cool for me and B to hang out at, but the friendly service and the excellent food would make anyone feel at home.

We started with the dahi vada, a filled dumpling served cold with yogurt, mint, and tamarind sauces piped in the most exquisite pattern on top, as well as the idli sambar. (I just got a new South Indian cookbook from a friend of B's, and was sad to learn that, though idli has very few ingredients, I need a special-shaped steamer in order to make my own at home!) For main course, we moved on to finger food: channa served with an immense and delicious poori and, the course we'd been waiting for since we read about it on the list, the paper masala dosa.

Dosas come in many different flavors and fillings and spices and shapes. The paper masala dosa is a thinly rolled but very long cylinder (between 18 and 24 inches or so, i.e., quite impressive), empty on the inside but with the traditional spiced potato mixture served alongside in a bowl. Grab a piece of dosa, pick up some potato with it, dip in one of the three sauces (I like to dip into both the coconut and the sambar), eat, and repeat. Once again, we were too full for dessert (we even took some channa home with us), but Indian sweets are not usually my favorite anyway.

All this food, including two mango lassis, tax, and tip, came to $64. Affordable, chic, and located across the street from the movie theater. Like I said, a perfect date!

#4 Spicy crab and grits at Front Porch

We kept hearing good things about Front Porch, a staple in the Mission, but hadn't ever been there. A few months ago, we'd eaten with A&K and D&R at Good Frickin Chicken down the street on 29th, and had noticed Front Porch (which does in fact have a porch, complete with several rocking chairs). The rocking chair is a prominent theme at the restaurant, even animated on their website.

It's a pretty good logo, isn't it? Spurred on by the list, and by the recommendations of B's sister and B's work friend, we ate dinner there last night.

We started with the recommended dish from the list, which was supposed to be spicy CRAB and grits, but which was really spicy SHRIMP and grits. Maybe it was a seasonal change? I'm not sure, but they sure did taste good. We also had fried okra—you know how I feel about all things fried—which was good, but much improved with additional salt. We also had some delicious complimentary cornbread.

For dinner, we had the fried oyster po'boy (very good cornmeal-based batter) served with sweet potato fries, red-beans-and-rice-and-andouille-sausage, and fried chicken. Some people told me that the fried chicken should have been list-worthy, and I agree that it was exceptionally good: very moist on the inside, with a crispy, well-flavored crust on the outside. In case you hadn't gathered, the chef at Front Porch is well-versed in using the deep-fryer.

By now you're probably thinking that B and I are total pigs. We promise it wasn't just us downing all this food! We had a total of five people, and even then we were too full for dessert.

There'll just have to be a next time, I guess. Fry, fry again!