{"id":32195,"date":"2025-10-31T17:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/32195\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T17:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:59:15","slug":"the-best-dishes-eater-san-franciscos-editors-ate-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/32195\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Dishes Eater San Francisco\u2019s Editors Ate in October"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s certainly no shortage of excellent food to be found in San Francisco and the Bay Area \u2014 but there\u2019s plenty worth skipping, too. Luckily for you, Eater editors dine out several times a week (or more) and we\u2019re happy to share the standout dishes<\/a> we encounter as we go.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Dianne de Guzman<\/p>\n

After a standout meal like the one I recently experienced at Oken<\/a> in Oakland, it\u2019s 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 \u2014 much like what happens every month with Best Dishes \u2014 I\u2019d 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 \u2014 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 \u2026 well, you get it. Just go at the next opportunity. Oken<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dianne de Guzman, regional editor, Northern California\/Pacific Northwest<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Jules\u2019s ice cream program is no joke. Paolo Bicchieri<\/p>\n

Burnt date and black sesame ice cream at Jules<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a pizza man, he\u2019s a BEC man, but, to me, Jules<\/a>\u2019s Max Blachman-Gentile is an ice cream man. Since before opening his It Girl pizza parlor in the Lower Haight he\u2019s 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 \u2014 industry language for at least 14 percent butterfat and a lack of overrun, a density and lack of airiness akin to Ben & Jerry\u2019s \u2014 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<\/a>, and lord knows we\u2019ve seen a lot of those lately. Thankfully Blachman-Gentile is the ice cream man doling out smiles alongside those scoops. Jules<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Paolo Bicchieri, audience editor, Northern California\/Pacific Northwest<\/p>\n

Tortilla with chanterelles at Here Before<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Dianne de Guzman<\/p>\n

When I turned up at the most recent Here Before<\/a> pop-up at Broc Cellars<\/a> in Berkeley, I tried thinking back to when I last had a Spanish tortilla. But after biting into chef Walker Stern\u2019s version, I immediately decided that whenever that moment was, I\u2019ve definitely been missing out for years. It\u2019s 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 \u2014 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\u2019ll be thinking about for awhile. It shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that this dish is excellent<\/a> \u2014 he does work at French omelet-famous wine bar Verjus<\/a> in San Francisco, after all \u2014 but it\u2019s 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\u2019ll likely be scouring menus for this dish, maybe attempting a homemade version, until I get to the next Here Before event. Follow Here Before<\/a> on Instagram for their next pop-up.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dianne de Guzman, regional editor, Northern California\/Pacific Northwest<\/p>\n

Stuffed squid \u201ckousa\u201d at Ilna<\/p>\n

\"Stuffed<\/a><\/p>\n

The stuffed squid at Ilna is a surprising delight. Paolo Bicchieri<\/p>\n

When I think of squid dishes in San Francisco, I now have to think of the stuffed squid at Ilna<\/a>. Who doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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\u2019s handiwork \u2014 cut from time at Rich Table, Coi, and running the show at Moongate Lounge \u2014 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\u2019s future looks bright. These punchy cephalopods are the hat trick announcing his victory. Ilna<\/a>, popping up at Buddy at 3115 22nd Street, is open 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Paolo Bicchieri, audience editor, Northern California\/Pacific Northwest<\/p>\n