MacKenzie and I had a fresh start with last year’s Top 100, which had taken a five-year nap. Not this year: We had to make the painful decisions of which restaurants to keep and which to cut.
Our aim with the Top 100 was to create a comprehensive list that captures the best of how the Bay Area eats, from the date-night spots and fancy tasting menus to the takeout windows and noodle shops. We evaluated every spot on its own merits, meaning the playing field is level for even the scrappiest joints competing against the most opulent destinations. Any restaurant can be a Top 100 contender, but in a region as dense with excellent restaurants as ours, 100 slots becomes a shockingly slim number to award. As new candidates arise, we compare them to the standing leaders of the genre.
With 25 additions, a quarter of last year’s list did not return. Some were removed after a lackluster return visit. Others simply closed. More complicated were instances of significant staff or ownership changes perilously close to, or after, our scouting deadline in December, meaning we could not guarantee the restaurant on the list would be the same as the one we evaluated.
In January, for example, Sequoia Diner, Oakland’s greatest diner, changed ownership. Former owner Andrew Vennari and his hands-on approach of making everything from scratch was foundational to the restaurant and its appeal. It’s uncertain, as of yet, how much will remain intact without him at the helm. (Some former staffers have already split with their own breakfast venture.) The highest ranked restaurant cut from last year’s Top 100, at No. 15, was Snail Bar, which underwent significant staff changes in February, as chef Andres Giraldo Florez moved to France and passed the reins to chef de cuisine Zachary Breaux. Of course, we’re looking forward to checking out both for next year’s Top 100.
Another high-ranking departure from last year is Café Jacqueline, at No. 26, which served its last gravity-mocking soufflé in late December. Also closed: Indian barbecue joint Wah Jee Wah in Hayward and taco queen Tacos Mama Cuca. Fortunately, Wah Jee Wah is set to reopen, while Mama Cuca has already returned, albeit too close to the cutoff to evaluate for this year’s list. (The loss of Mama Cuca, along with one other spot, unfortunately meant that there were no food trucks on this year’s list, although Top 100 newcomer Keeku Da Dhaba was a food truck until this past summer.)
Finally, to better emphasize what’s unique to the Bay Area, we established a ban on international chains. That eliminated dry-style ramen spot Kajiken in San Mateo, No. 35 on last year’s list. That also removed spots like Sichuanese joint Tai Er in San Mateo and Peruvian seafood temple La Mar in the city from contention. (Spots with multiple locations are fair game, so long as they’re homegrown, such as Fikscue and Tacos Oscar with their dual Oakland and San Francisco outposts.) Any chain that started in the Bay Area — whether their reach is local, statewide or national — could be in consideration, though we have not yet encountered a candidate worth including.
Soon, we’ll begin the evaluation process anew for next year’s list, with fresh eyes, more wisdom and reinvigorated appetites.