Had a rash (in a good way) of some fine SF eating. We had dinner last week at The Richmond, a small, chef-run dinner spot in guess where, the Richmond. On Balboa, near 7th, we met cousins for a 6 PM dinner and had no probem finding a parking space, although we hit lots of traffic getting there. Plus #1. A delicious amuse bouche of creamy leek soup left a nice mouth feel and opened the senses up for more. Plus #2. Shared appetizers of beet salad and ahi carpaccio were fresh and delicious and served with La Brea baquette and 3 kinds of butter. Bread was quickly replaced. Plus #3. Menu changes with what's fresh. Plus #4. Entrees included a chicken scallopini with chicken ravioli and a fresh Pacific cod with calamari. Entrees are all under $20 and just the right size. Plus#5. Service was excellent as were desserts, including an ethereal panna cotta. Plus#6. And a superb wine list, very reasonably priced. I want to come back and sit at the bar with a nice glass of red and order a burger with fries for $9.95!
We returned to Nopa Thanksgiving weekend and were thankful we did. Nopa is one of our favorite SF restaurants, reliably excellent and the service is always great. We know the owner- chef, but it's so great not to have to fake our enthusiasm for this restaurant. When we made our reservation we asked for a quiet table as it's noisy in there, but a few tables are under a balcony so you can hear your tablemates. Sheila calls it the senior section. We started with mussels (all open and very plump Penn Cove), flatbread with butternut squash, baked egg with tomato gratin, and litle fried fish. All superb. If you like pork, you must order their pork chop, consistently perfect, the best in the Bay Area. The lamb shank was also good but pales next to the pork; the swordfish was done perfectly. Warm chocolate cookies with sweet milk made a homey dessert and a thing I love about Nopa is you can get hot chocalate after dinner. I'm not a coffee drinker so it's quite a thrill having a rich, dark cup of cocoa. Vahlrona too! The wine list is superb, almost too long. Our server talked us into 2 great but for us pricey wines, an incredible white, Mathiessen sauvignon blanc-ribolla cialla-semillon, and an excellent red, a 1999 rioja from Lopez de Heredia. Both worth it and key parts of a great meal.
And now, presenting a fabulous breakfast, at Brenda's French Soul Food on Polk near Eddy. Small and mighty, Brenda's serves the best biscuit I have ever had and it came with a really fine hangtown fry(eggs, oysters, bacon), a daily special. The weakest part was a large serving of potato hash, but that would have been a star at another restaurant. Sheila had Bananas Fosters French Toast, another special, each under $10 (prices are great too), and it was wonderfully buttery and carmelly. I didn't try their beignets and hope to soon, although I may not be able to resist that incredible biscuit. A trip to the restroom takes you through the little kitchen, by Brenda cooking and past the biscuit and beignet stations. What a find!
And lastly, a good, cheap dinner in the Mission: Limon Peruvian Rotisserie, a sister to Limon which recently reopened on Valencia. This one's in a small corner buildng on So. Van Ness and 21st. The free-range rotisserie chicken is cooked perfectly and you know, there's nothing like a good roast chicken. A whole chicken is $16.95 including 2 large sides (we opted for excellent fried potatoes and sweet potatoes) and 2 dipping sauces. Our group of 4 also split a ceviche mixto, with prawns, halibut, and calamari (delicious) and an unusual but tasty ensalada de vegetales, cooked seasonal veggies in an orange/Dijon dressing. Also enjoyed the mango mojitos made with sake. We skipped dessert there and walked to Bi-Rite Ice Cream on 18th for my first taste of their famous ice creams. Wow! Salted caramel and brown sugar with ginger swirl both immediately entered my pantheon of great ice cream.
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