The account isn’t new, but something about San Francisco certainly got Smith’s stomach growling. Prior to February, @samserved had but one post, a wistful remembrance (opens in new tab) of a sandwich from a Middle Eastern chain in Copenhagen.
On Feb. 9, Smith enthused over poke (opens in new tab) at Hook Fish in the Outer Sunset. On Monday, they gushed about chowder (opens in new tab) at Sam’s in Tiburon. They waxed exuberant on Wednesday for Mission Chinese Food’s tiger salad and fiery kung pao pastrami, (opens in new tab) but bemoaned that a dish that spicy is inadvisable ahead of a performance. “I’m going to shit myself on stage if I eat any more of that,” they said.
At Molinari’s, a North Beach institution, Smith ordered (opens in new tab) the Molinari Special, an Italian combo on sea-salt focaccia. Owner Nicola Mastrelli, a fan of Smith, says the musician was down-to-earth, inquiring about the history of the 130-year-old deli. “I was trying to keep it together,” Mastrelli said of Smith’s visit Wednesday.
Over in Noe Valley, at the homey New American restaurant Firefly, Smith dropped in at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18, a mere three hours before curtain. “When we heard they were coming in, we were in disbelief and all started panicking,” chef-owner Haley Sausner said. “But that all dissipated the moment they arrived.”
Smith ordered fried chicken — and posted an influencer-like shot with mouth agape (opens in new tab), about to consume a drumstick whole — as well as furikake-crusted ocean trout, Gulf shrimp and cheddar grits, and griddled daikon radish cakes, which are apparently one of Smith’s favorite foods. “They even have a tattoo of them that they were more than happy to show me,” Sausner added.
Smith’s commentary is almost uniformly positive, although some of the references might be difficult for Americans to parse. One one pic, they wrote in all caps (opens in new tab), “I Pat Butchered that,” a reference to a slap-happy ex-beauty queen character on the long-running U.K. soap “EastEnders” who remains a queer icon despite being killed off years ago.
Smith is detailing more than new restaurant discoveries. Asian condiments have gotten some love, too. The singer appears to be a newly minted fan of Laoganma chile oil, posting a video with a red-lidded jar balanced on their head (opens in new tab). “I have it with most meals right now,” Smith said. “If someone tells me it’s bad for me, I’m going to scream.”
Unsurprisingly, Bay Area commenters are chiming in to rep nearby restaurants such as Prubechu and Ramenwell and encouraging the chicken-loving Smith to visit the Inner Sunset’s San Tung for its ever-popular wings. The singer tried, but every table was occupied, they said in one video.