Beautiful pictures from Bay Area restaurants. How many do you recognize, how many of them were new in 2005 and which one of them, sadly, closed down recently?
We were going to award the Best New Restaurant award of 2005, to Jack Falstaff which opened exactly a year ago, and which we reviewed here on SFist after our third visit. Although by no means does JF offer a perfect restaurant experience, we found it to have a little spark, a little je ne sais quoi, a little magic something that we just couldn't resist the allure of. Unfortunately, we read just a few days ago that the chef, Jack Ormsby, on whom we had a rather large crush, has left the Plumpjack group, for good.
This sudden news throws our award ceremony into a state of disarray . We can't bestow the crown on Jack F's head since we are now in the dark about what its future might hold. No problem, local food bloggers to the rescue. We asked them instead to give us a list of new restaurants that they can't wait to return to in 2006...
We are big fans of Catherine, from Food Musings who eats out often and always makes us hungry with her well written reviews. You can bet she is always the first one to try somewhere new. Myth, which opened late enough in 04 to be counted as new, is a choice with which we and those following most definitely concur with. Americano, YaYa Cuisine, Luella and Coco500 all top her list of recent favourite additions to the SF dining scene too.
Like fellow SFist Ced, Catherine, Jen from Life Begins at 30 and Amy from Cooking With fame are fans of Canteen and we have to agree with them. Amy also has good things to say about Pastores in Bernal Heights, Tajine in the Tenderloin and Pho Vietnam on Polk St.
Have you read The Restaurant Whore? She is full of ripe language and opinionated views about dining out. Ame is her most recent rave and like others before her, she cites Myth as incredible. According to the Whore, Coco500 is churning out great food, save for the bread and, like SF Gourmet, she strongly recommends a trip up to Cyrus in Healdsburg.
Medicine Eatstation is the new restaurant that Jen has been to more than any other. She really likes Medicine for it's simplicity and the fact that it has added something entirely new to the San Francisco restaurant scene. She describes the flavors of everything at Medicine as distinct, bright, and clean. Impeccable tempura and a delicious coconut cup dessert. That's where we are all going to be heading in January - at least for as long as our healthy new years resolutions-to-be last.
Let's head South to Alice from Epicurean Debauchery who calls this the Year of New South Bay Izakayas. She's visited Gochi in Cupertino and Yume-ya in Sunnyvale and really liked them both.
North of the Golden Gate Bridge Bunrabs have been liking Simmer, a teeny new neighborhood eatery in Corte Madera. Not only do they source top quality ingredients, the service is attentive and friendly and they can't wait to go for Sunday brunch (beginning this month.)The bunrabs also like Picco for small plates of fresh fish, mini burgers and risotto.
The bunrabs hop excitedly over to the East Bay to tell us that Pizzaiolo in Oakland makes an outstanding pie, but really, done't those bunnies know? It's a done deal, we already published the Fisties for Best Pizza two weeks ago!
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I wish there was a place which served the 16 course menu pictured above. I had somewhat of the same issue with the fancy fisty and Campton Place, with the chef leaving pretty soon (which I learned after writing the post). I guess it was a fisty for past accomplishment, not future performance.
Nice round up! And delicious looking photos. Perhaps SFist should also include a nod to favorite restaurants that disapeared this year?
Ced - I managed to make it to Campton Place finally for lunch last week.
Amy - aarrrrgh! you are suggesting more work for me to do. Sadest loss of the year 2005 for lots of people I work with was Tomoe in San Rafael.
And apparently Oola stopped serving their ribs. Sad news indeed - on of my favourite eadibles in the Cuty - but placated slightly by the fact that the recipe for them appears in the current issue of Food & Wine. (They are deep fried so not much chance I will actually be making them any time soon).