There’s certainly no shortage of excellent food to be found in San Francisco and the Bay Area — but there’s plenty worth skipping, too. Luckily for you, Eater editors dine out several times a week (or more) and we’re happy to share the standout dishes we encounter as we go.
Dianne de Guzman
After a standout meal like the one I recently experienced at Oken in Oakland, it’s hard to pick just one highlight. Chef Albert Ok weaves together Korean, Japanese, and other Asian influences deftly, making for a meal that just smacks. But if I were forced to — much like what happens every month with Best Dishes — I’d say the hwe dup bap was a definite highlight. As one who delights in a raw fish-rice-vegetable moment, this hit my top benchmark. Koshihikari rice stood as the foundation, with shredded lettuces to build up the dish, layered in with ocean trout, shiso and perilla leaves, plus a hit of sesame oil and crumbles of nori on top. Arriving at the table inside a golden metal bowl, a sidecar of salmon roe is also brought out — a thoughtful touch that keeps the orbs intact during the mixing process and allows for light (or heavy) touches of roe after plating. Happily eating my way through bites of hwe dup bap, it made for a lovely Friday night to catch up with a friend inside this cozy triangle-shaped restaurant, shoulder to shoulder with other diners at the communal table. If the chilled somen is on the menu, I heartily recommend that, as well as the yukhwe onigiri, and the … well, you get it. Just go at the next opportunity. Oken, 6200 Claremont Avenue, Oakland, is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
— Dianne de Guzman, regional editor, Northern California/Pacific Northwest
Jules’s ice cream program is no joke. Paolo Bicchieri
Burnt date and black sesame ice cream at Jules
He’s a pizza man, he’s a BEC man, but, to me, Jules’s Max Blachman-Gentile is an ice cream man. Since before opening his It Girl pizza parlor in the Lower Haight he’s been riffing on flavors with his Musso Pola freezer-mixer. The burnt date and black sesame ice cream may be his first signature. The richness and depth brought by both dates and sesame each combine in this super premium-esque ice cream — industry language for at least 14 percent butterfat and a lack of overrun, a density and lack of airiness akin to Ben & Jerry’s — to deliver a hugely rich scoop. The dark chocolate date syrup magic shell provides a playful snap. Ice cream is a standby for tough times, and lord knows we’ve seen a lot of those lately. Thankfully Blachman-Gentile is the ice cream man doling out smiles alongside those scoops. Jules, 237 Fillmore Street, is open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
— Paolo Bicchieri, audience editor, Northern California/Pacific Northwest
Tortilla with chanterelles at Here Before
Dianne de Guzman
When I turned up at the most recent Here Before pop-up at Broc Cellars in Berkeley, I tried thinking back to when I last had a Spanish tortilla. But after biting into chef Walker Stern’s version, I immediately decided that whenever that moment was, I’ve definitely been missing out for years. It’s tough to describe what made this seemingly simple dish soar; parts-wise, the potato had a nice soft bite to it, the eggs filling out every non-potato crevice and perfectly cooked, not rubbery and overdone — a miracle, if you saw Stern cooking several dishes to order that day. Punctuated by buttons of chanterelle mushrooms, it was a nice, light, Sunday lunchtime meal that I’ll be thinking about for awhile. It shouldn’t be a surprise that this dish is excellent — he does work at French omelet-famous wine bar Verjus in San Francisco, after all — but it’s nice to see his own cooking out in the wild, along with partner Devon Nevola running front of house. After this Spanish tortilla, knowing me, I’ll likely be scouring menus for this dish, maybe attempting a homemade version, until I get to the next Here Before event. Follow Here Before on Instagram for their next pop-up.
— Dianne de Guzman, regional editor, Northern California/Pacific Northwest
Stuffed squid “kousa” at Ilna
The stuffed squid at Ilna is a surprising delight. Paolo Bicchieri
When I think of squid dishes in San Francisco, I now have to think of the stuffed squid at Ilna. Who doesn’t enjoy fried calamari, a spurt of lemon, or ika nigiri at one of the cities many excellent sushi bars? But this meaty, enormous trio, a nautical cerberus of saucy pepita-crowned sea creatures, is muscular. It’s a riff on the Lebanese kousa, a stuffed squash, here stuffed with duck fried rice. Cutting through one is like cutting through a sausage. The microgreens and oily dates on top serve as textural balancing acts, joining the seeds as snap to the squid. Maz Naba’s handiwork — cut from time at Rich Table, Coi, and running the show at Moongate Lounge — is on full display across the menu, but maybe nowhere more so than with this dish. The smoked Aleppo labneh surrounding the squid puts in work, creamifying things in impressive fashion. Ilna calls Buddy the Bar its temporary home, the upscale hang a good judge of whichever pop-ups are next up in the local dynasty. Naba’s future looks bright. These punchy cephalopods are the hat trick announcing his victory. Ilna, popping up at Buddy at 3115 22nd Street, is open 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
— Paolo Bicchieri, audience editor, Northern California/Pacific Northwest