Scoma’s – Sausalito

$$$
This touristy restaurant sits right on the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. Their cozy patio allows you to soak in the sun while breathing in the fresh ocean air. Exactly what you want to be doing when on holiday. 

The food is also nice, full-on seafood. My husband started off with the Steamed Clams and I the Crab Cocktail. The fresh Manila clams were steamed in a broth of clam juice, garlic, onions and white wine, delicious. My Dungeness crab shaped like a scoop of ice cream, flaky and with a dollop of seafood sauce.

Staying on the crab side of things, I also got the crab cake served with a spicy remoulade. My husband ordered the Bay Shrimp Sandwich but ended up with the Crab Cake Burger (all my crab orders must have screwed them up). He ate it anyway, but left the most aweful-tasting potato salad that came with it aside.

Service was not great, which is the reason I only gave these guys one star. Food is good and fresh. And as mentioned above the patio and view are wonderful, and the only reason we decided to stay. Had we had to sit inside, we wouldn't have stuck around.

www.scomasausalito.com

Crab and Seafood Chowder – San Francisco

Yesterday was our best food day yet. It was beautiful, sunny and warm so we spent most of the morning walking along the water until we got to Pier 39. Then we got the freshest crab I've ever had, some creamy chowder served in a sourdough bowl and planted ourselves on a bench for the feast. 

Yummmm!

For dinner last night, we ate at another 4 star restaurant, but I was caught yet again sans camera! Because of that I decided I was going to skip blogging this place but it was so amazingly good and we had such fantastic service that I do have to make a mention of it – Zuni Café – go there. Thanks so much Paola for the recommendation! 

Frjtz – San Francisco

$

This cute restaurant is THE place to go when you're craving French fries. Not only do they offer garlic, spicy or white truffle fries in addition to their regular salty ones, they also have a ton of dipping mayos and ketchups that for a sauce lover like myself, make your jaw drop. Flavours include pesto mayo, curry ketchup, ginger-orange mayo, parmesan peppercorn white trash ranch, jalapeno ketchup, chipotle remoulade, strawberry mustard, miso mayo, spicy yogurt peanut, roasted pepper mayo, bbq, ponzu ketchup, creamy wasabi mayo, grilled eggplant mayo, smokey-honey mustard, kalamata olive ketchup, white truffle artichoke ketchup, balsamic mayo, tamarind-cashew ketchup, Morrocan lemon saffron aïoli, Thai chili ketchup and bacon mayo. Oh the choices!

In addition to the above, they also serve sandwiches, salads and soups. My husband and I ordered a large fry to share, amazing white truffle artichoke ketchup and mild grilled eggplant mayo. My husband went with the Basquiat hot sandwich – roasted chicken, pesto mayo, caramelized onions, melted swiss and avocado on focaccia. I went with the Michelangelo – roasted peppers, caramelized onions, pesto mayo, grilled eggplant and melted gorgonzola.

Great spot for a quick lunch and fry fix.

www.frjtzfries.com

Sears Fine Food – San Francisco

$

The best spot for breakfast when you're carrying the weight of a hangover. Actually, an excellent spot for breakfast any time! This old diner has been around since 1938 and it shows. They've perfected the first meal of the day with the Al's Special and even have staff that have been around for over 20 years. Untouched decor makes you feel as though you're stepping back in time. And I must say, it's pretty comforting.

Their world famous Swedish pancakes with warm maple syrup and country fresh whipped butter are what came in Al's special, served alongside fried eggs, crispy shredded potatoes and the best corn beef hash I've ever had. 

My husband got the same thing, minus the fluffy, golden pancakes but with a side of sausage.

Definitely a must when in San Fran.

www.searsfinefood.com

Foreign Cinema – San Francisco

$$$

Until last night, my husband and I were actually questioning the level of quality of San Francisco restaurants. I mean, when you're comparing to New York City and Montreal, the only other cities we visit with a high food expectation, and then of course living in Ottawa, a marvelous city for quality restaurants, the bar is set pretty high. Foreign Cinema brought San Francisco right up there with our other favourite food cities.

This gorgeous restaurant, with it's insanely high ceilings, warehouse-like windows and soft lighting is the perfect recipe for a wonderful evening out. Not to mention fantastic service and heavenly dishes. The only difficult thing about the evening was having to make a decision on what plate to order.

The app (or premiere as they call it) I decided to go with was probably one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. La Frita: sesame whole quail, jalapeno and bell pepper rings, onions, balsamic mayo. Where to begin with this dish... the light crisp batter that coated the quail and rings just flaked in your mouth with every bite, it was amazing. Everyone at the table had food envy. Although my husband's house cured sardine toasts with shell bean purée and organic hazelnut-fig aillade came pretty close.

Of the three mains (or local features), I would have to say I wouldn't order mine again. Not because it wasn't delicious, but because the other two were so much better. I got the seafood risotto with Maine sea scallops, Dungeness crab, baby clams, fennel, prosecco. My husband's dish almost made me fall off my chair it was so good, five-spice roast duck breast, golden turnips, roasted chicories, green olive-rosemary tapenade. Scott went with the juicy Tunisian spiced chicken under a brick, basmati rice, spring onion raita, baby carrots.

The yummy wine recommended by our server was perfect with every dish – Rosso di Montalcino.

If you ever find yourself in San Fran, you must take the time to come here. They've even got a large heated patio with even more tables outdoors where they project old movies onto a stone wall, hence the name of the restaurant. Premieres range from $8 to $14 and local features from $20 to $27.

www.foreigncinema.com

Grand Café – San Francisco

$$$

Our second night in San Francisco was a fun one. After a long day of conferences, we ended it with a meal alongside new acquaintances – great conversation and company. The Grand Café was not a choice in our Black Book, rather a recommendation from the hotel concierge, and well, just easy that it was right around the corner from where we were.

This French restaurant is definitely GRAND, with it's extremely high ceilings, 156 tables and elegant decor. 

We started off with a bunch of appetizers to share. Artichauts Frits – fried baby artichokes with saffron bread sauce, Moules Marinière – Mediterranean mussels steamed in white wine, shallots, persillade and crème fraiche, and Assiette de Charcuterie – selection of house-cured meats. 

For my main I decided to go with the Tartare de Boeuf (normally an app) and got it with a side of salty fries. The tartare was made with waygu steak, endive salad and crostini. Not the typical tartare I've had in the past, this one was not very meaty in flavour, creamy if I can say that and quite mild.

My husband's dish was very nice, Carre d'Agneau à la Forestière – roasted Sonoma rack of lamb crusted with mixed herbs, vegetable tian, wild mushrooms and pearl onion sauce.

Everything was good, service was efficient but serious. Great spot for a group our size (6) and easy to get a table. Prices range from $8 to $19 for apps and $26 to $33 for mains.

www.grandcafe-sf.com

Luna Park – San Francisco

$$

We arrived in San Francisco 2 nights ago. I was so excited to get here that I figured there was no way the long traveling day would slow down my energy for an evening out. I was wrong. But we did make it out for dinner, a relatively short one since I was slowly falling asleep at the table by the end of it. My jet-lagged mind also forgot to bring the camera so I'm hoping text only for this post will suffice.

Down in the Mission area of town, on Valencia is this wonderful local restaurant. We chose this one from a review written in the Black Book for San Francisco. This gem of a book I swear has been written personally for us. We've always used it in our travels to New York City and have never had anything but the best time because of it. I trust it will be the same with the San Fran version. So far, we're off to a good start.

If we lived here this would probably be one of our local spots. It's not huge but is very open. I'm not used to seeing so much space around the tables. They've got cozy booths and a warm and inviting atmosphere. 

It was a toss-up but we finally decided on the Carnival Dogs to start. Assorted sausage-filled corn dogs, one lamb, chicken and pork served with a variety of mustards for dipping. So yummy, I absolutely loved this dish. Being a hot dog fan, this was very fun.

For my main I decided to go for the Painted Hills Braised Short Ribs with garlic mashed potatoes, ancho cress salad, fresh horseradish and natural jus. Delicious and so tender!

My husband went with the Grilled Atlantic Salmon with chorizo and scarlet runner bean sofrito, dandelion greens, and garlic croutons. Probably the most flavourful salmon dish I've ever had, mostly because of the chorizo. And the dandelion was cooked perfectly, not bitter at all. I've been used to juicing dandelion leaves recently so it was nice to eat it in it's entirety.

All-in-all, a very nice, easy place to go for dinner. Perfect for our first night in San Fran! Apps range from $8 to $12 and mains from $13 to $23.

www.lunaparksf.com