In February, Todd Spanier, a.k.a. \u201cThe King of Mushrooms,\u201d made an appearance at Rockridge Market Hall\u2019s Truffle Fest. Under the same moniker, Spanier sells wild and farmed mushrooms to \u201cchefs, grocers and mushroom enthusiasts.\u201d One of his products is the most popular starter at Equal Parts, a new restaurant and bar in San Francisco\u2019s North Beach.<\/p>\n
The maitake mushroom tempura appetizer ($18) made its way to our table and just about every other one in my line of sight. Executive chef Melissa Perfit cooks the hen-of-the-woods\u2019 bodies whole. They\u2019re meaty and coated with a tempura batter that adds a hearty crunch. The dipping sauce, a whipped cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, adds a welcome note of creaminess to the fried ingredients.<\/p>\n
As a line cook at Michael Mina\u2019s RN74, Perfit first made a version of the dish there. She described it as a \u201cthrowback\u201d to that part of her two-decades-long cooking career in Bay Area kitchens. Even though she\u2019s previously opened other restaurants, the chef told me the Equal Parts\u2019 menu was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually the owners or my business partners\u2014they want what they want,\u201d she said. Because of the time she spent at Ayala and Popi\u2019s Oysterette, Perfit became well-known as a seafood chef. For this venture, business partners Victor Pichardo, Jacob Cortes and Richard Yu gave the chef more creative freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt dawned on me that I could take dishes that I missed\u2014whether I was a line cook, sous chef or chef de cuisine\u2014and bring back my favorites,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Perfit also worked for the late Charles Phan at Hard Water. She\u2019s paying homage to that restaurant\u2019s \u201cNew Orleans-style Southern food\u201d with dishes like fried chicken ($22) and a braised pork shank ($36). \u201cI brought the fried chicken back because it\u2019s gluten-free and it was one of Charles\u2019 recipes, and I feel like he would like me to have it on the menu,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pork shank is another nod to Hard Water. It\u2019s large enough to feed a table of four diners with healthy appetites. Perfit and her sous chef, Bethany Hunt, amended the original recipe. They substituted a butter-bean pur\u00e9e and a salsa verde for black-eyed peas. The portions are substantial on every plate. Even vegetable-forward dishes such as roasted beets and carrots ($16) or a little gem salad ($18)\u2014with a fantastic fines herbes cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche dressing\u2014are filling. Three appetizers was one appetizer too many. But when the salad landed at a nearby table, slathered as it was in dressing, I couldn\u2019t resist ordering it. To this day, I do not regret it.<\/p>\n
Before she arrives for her shift, the prep cooks have been making sauces, braising lamb ribs and pork shanks, and roasting octopus. In line with her reputation, Perfit\u2019s menu includes at least six seafood entr\u00e9es. She said the whole roasted branzino ($42) and a tombo tuna carpaccio ($21) are the most popular items listed within the \u201cFrom the Sea\u201d section. \u201cWe blow through the branzino like crazy,\u201d she said. It\u2019s made with brown butter, blood oranges and basil.<\/p>\n
Once she\u2019s on site, Perfit makes sure that the kitchen is stocked for the service that night. She also helps to set up the stations for the evening crew. The location of the kitchen at Equal Parts is hidden away in the back. On Friday and Saturday nights the chef likes to \u201crun food\u201d to the dining room. \u201cMost of the kitchens I\u2019ve worked in are open kitchens, so for me, this is new,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helps me interact with the guests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ate dinner at Equal Parts mid-week thinking it would be a quiet night out. But as we settled in for the evening the energy in the room kept building up and expanding. It started to feel less like a sit-down restaurant and more like a neighborhood block party. Not raucous and out-of-control,\u00a0 but people were definitely out to have a good time. It\u2019s the liveliest dining room I\u2019ve been to in many months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really hoping it continues on its trajectory of being busy and people being happy,\u201d Perfit said.\u00a0<\/p>\n