Best of Northside Food & Wine 2008
By Susan Dyer Reynolds

I’ve spent this year as I spend every year – eating my way through the Northside and beyond. I always keep my trusty notepad to jot down things I love for our annual “Best of Food & Wine” issue. And for 2008, the winners are …

Best ways to start a meal

Beef tartare and roasted marrowbones: Epic Roasthouse
369 The Embarcadero (at Folsom), 415-369-9955, www.epicroasthousesf.com
I can never choose which of my favorite Epic appetizers to have with my view of the sun setting over the Bay Bridge, so I have to order both – one cold and one hot. The tartare is prepared tableside with a raw quail egg and traditional garnishes of parsley, aioli, capers, and red onions; the marrowbones are split lengthwise, giving you ample access to the unctuous fat inside, and served with a sweet tomato jam and garlic toast to spread it on.

Sawakani: Sushi on North Beach
745 Columbus Avenue (at Greenwich), 415-788-8050, www.northbeachsushi.com
Katsu creates beautiful, seasonal sushi and sashimi at a reasonable price and his specials board always has unique items. I can never resist starting with the sawakani – a platter of fried whole Japanese freshwater crabs the size of quarters that are as addictive as potato chips.

Pasta strudel: Albona
545 Francisco Street (at Taylor), 415-441-1040, www.albonarestaurant.com
The pasta strudel is a perfect example of why Albona is still packed night after night after 20 years: jelly roll-shaped fresh pasta filled with thin slices of baked prosciutto and Lappi (a semisoft, semisweet cheese from Finland), baked bubbling hot in a casserole with toasted bread crumbs and a creamy bechamel tomato sauce.

Burrata: the Franciscan,Bobo’s and A16
Pier 43½ (at The Embarcadero),
www.franciscanrestaurant.com 1450 Lombard Street (at Franklin), 415-441-8880, www.boboquivaris.com 2355 Chestnut Street (at Divisadero), A16sf.com
You can find burrata at quite a few topnotch restaurants these days, but these three spots serve it simply (and the way I love it) – drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with coarse sea salt. A bonus at the Franciscan and Bobo’s: They make it fresh every day.

Oysters Rockefeller: Alfred’s
659 Merchant Street (at Kearny), 415-781-7058, www.alfredssteakhouse.com
Alfred’s is as close to the great old days of San Francisco as you can get, and the menu features a topnotch rendition of this classic starter with oysters, creamed spinach and Pernod broiled in the half shell. The oysters on many versions elsewhere are overcooked and dry, but Alfred’s gets it right by cooking them just until they’re done so they remain plump and juicy. They’re a great deal at $2.45 each (with a minimum order of four).

Boudin blanc: Spruce
3640 Sacramento Street (at Spruce); 415-931-5100, www.sprucesf.com
This creamy, luscious house-made sausage manages to be rich yet light (because of the milk and bread in the mixture) – it’s grilled to achieve a caramelized exterior that crunches with each bite.

Lune: Perbacco
230 California Street (near Battery), 415-955-0663, www.perbaccosf.com
I can never resist an order of Chef Staffan Terje’s house-made half-moon shaped egg pasta filled with butternut squash, sauteed with brown butter and topped with nutty Castelmagno cheese.

Best lunch buffets

The Helmand
2424 Van Ness Ave. (at Union), 415-362-0641, www.helmandpalace.com
Fans of Helmand restaurant will be thrilled to know it did not close permanently after a boulder rocked through their back door during the Telegraph Hill landslide in February, 2007, but rather reincarnated with a slightly new name in a new space on Van Ness. The only Afghani restaurant in the City (and run by Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai’s brother), the distinctive cuisine has elements reminiscent of Indian and Middle Eastern food. It features aromatic dishes like mantwo (dumplings filled with sauteed onions and beef topped with carrot sauce and yellow split peas), and the house specialty, kaddo borawni (baby pumpkin, deep fried, baked, and served with a pleasantly pungent yogurt-garlic sauce). Lunch is the perfect time to sample the menu with The Helmand’s $10 all-you-can-eat buffet.

Taste of the Himalayas
2420 Lombard Street (at Scott), 415-674-9898
An actual Sherpa is one of the partners at this Zen hideaway on busy Lombard Street in the Marina. The Nepalese cuisine – an artful blend of Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan flavors and aromas is wonderful and prepared by the father of one of the owners who cooked in Nepal for years. The all-you-can-eat lunch buffet is under $10 and features a nice variety of fresh dishes. I love the dahl baat, the Nepalese staple dish of lentils and basmati rice. A basket of warm naan and equally warm service comes with it.

India Clay Oven
2436 Clement Street (at 25th), 415-751-0505
You’ll find a lot more than chicken tandoori here (though their version is excellent) – long tables lining the walls offer up steaming bowls of wonderful Indian dishes including chicken tikka masala and a variety of fish and vegetable fritters. The daily all-you-can-eat buffet is under $10.

Best place to blow a week’s pay

Masa’s
648 Bush Street (at Powell) in the Vintage Court Executive Hotel, 415-989-7154, www.masasrestaurant.com
French Laundry alum Gregory Short’s nine-course menu lasts three hours and ends up being 12 to 15 courses including the amuse-bouches and stunning dessert cart. Short’s style blends French technique with Bay Area seasonality tinged with subtle Japanese flavors. While the foodie police hate the term, this is fusion at its best. The menu changes frequently, but highlights may include chilled peekytoe crab at its sweet peak; sauteed New Zealand langoustine with a puree of sunchokes, and pan-roasted Meyer filet mignon with roasted butternut squash, chestnuts and truffles. Add 30-year veteran pastry chef John McKee, master sommelier Alan Murray, and general manager and maître d’hôtel, Adam Lovelace, to the team and you’ve got an evening of food, wine and service that will remain a stunning memory for years to come.

Best-kept secret

The Richmond Restaurant and Wine Bar
615 Balboa Street (at 7th), 415-379-8988, www.therichmondsf.com
During his years cooking in stellar kitchens, including a stint at Masa’s under Ron Siegel, chef and owner John Owyang honed his unique sense of taste and texture and love of organic and local products. He combines all three to create wonderful dishes like potato leek soup with Dungeness crab dumplings – slow-cooked soup filtered four times to produce one of the silkiest soups I’ve ever had, and topped with an airy crab-filled wonton perfect for dipping. Warm chervil butter oozes down the sides of plump, moist diver scallops into a pool of deconstructed clam chowder; wild soft-shell blue crab arrives on a bed or organic baby spinach with bacon and Russian dressing; and chicken roti comes with bread stuffing, prosciutto and summer vegetables. Even the premeal bread is a treat – a crisp sourdough baguette served with a trio of flavored butters: sea salt, kalamata olive and parsley-tarragon.

Best place for an elegant meal with the kids

Little Luella Sundays at Luella
1896 Hyde Street (at Green), 415-674-4343, www.luellasf.com
Ben de Vries’ own daughter, Gemma, inspired this decidedly grown-up menu (i.e., I would like to order from it, but I’m not under 10). Every Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m., parents can enjoy their very grown-up favorites like Ben’s decadent take on beef Wellington while the kids chow down on chicken potpie, macaroni and cheese, pizza, and my childhood favorite, fresh pasta with butter and Parmesan. They can wash it all down with a Shirley Temple (and parents can wash down their dishes with one of Luella’s well-chosen wines).

Ugly ducklings

“It’s what’s on the inside that counts,” my mother told me when I started getting popular in junior high and my head swelled to the size of a durian. Well, turns out that can be the case with places to eat, too.

Tai Chi
2031 Polk Street (at Broadway), 415-441-6758
Russian Hill dwellers know Tai Chi well for its fast, hot delivery of delicious, fresh Chinese food. While the ambiance isn’t much, it’s well worth a sit for the tempting General Tsuo’s chicken, Mongolian beef and lo han chat (bamboo shoots, fried bean curd, straw mushrooms, baby corn, tofu and baby greens in a spicy sauce).

What’s Up Dog
2211 Filbert Street (at Fillmore), 415-776-3647, www.whatsupdog.com
This tiny hot dog stand with a roof is the latest from the WUD team and features a dizzying array of franks and sausages including the signature all-beef eight-inch dog (you can also get an organic, grass-fed version) served over a dozen ways. I like my dogs straight up with mustard and sauerkraut, but if you like yours messy, the North Beach (fire-roasted tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, garlic and fresh basil) is a winner. Our designer, Sara, loves the Chicago style (mustard, onions, tomatoes, pickles, peppers, and my childhood favorite, celery salt), and the Southern dog (coleslaw and chili), and the New Orleans (muffaletta and New Orleans-style olive salad spread) are also tasty. If you don’t want beef or pork, try lemon chicken, vegetarian kielbasa or sweet Italian tofurky dogs.

Piccadilly Fish & Chips
1345 Polk Street (at Pine), 415-771-6477
Yes, they still use the old metal manual cash register and a calculator to tally your bill, and they still serve the best fish ’n chips in town at rock bottom prices. The flaky, white cod is cooked to order – dipped in batter and dropped into the oil before your eyes – and the proper thick-cut chips are double fried (partially cooked and then dipped in oil to brown just before serving). Two pieces of fish with chips, a drink and some super creamy house-made slaw will set you back around 10 bucks.

La Canasta
3006 Buchanan Street (at Union), 415-921-3003, lacanastasf.com
All of the family recipes served at La Canasta are made lovingly with fresh, high quality ingredients and no lard – it’s about as healthy as Mexican food can get and still taste good. I love refried beans, but my kickboxing trainer frowns when he sees them in my food diary. At La Canasta, I can have my beans guilt free with their “smashed” pinto beans, cooked over a long period of time until they have the same smooth consistency as their unhealthful counterparts. Try the carne asada fajitas burrito – slices of lean marinated steak that are tossed on the open-flame grill right when you place your order. Soft and crispy tacos, empanadas, nachos, tamales, and soups (especially the pozole rojo) are also great options at this tiny Cow Hollow takeout spot.

Shanghai Dumpling King
3319 Balboa Street (at 34th), 415-387-2088
This bare-bones neighborhood favorite features cheap dim sum, soups, clay pots, noodles, and main courses ranging from soy-braised fishtail to broccoli beef. The biggest draw is the namesake Shanghai dumplings – tender pasta purses filled with seasoned ground pork and a shot of hot broth. I like the soup dumplings quite a bit (though not as much as Yank Sing’s), but I love the “lion head” meatball casserole, consisting of three fluffy orange-sized meatballs filled with pork, garlic, green onions, and crunchy water chestnuts served in a clay pot. The enormous meatballs, along with Chinese cabbage and vermicelli noodles, swim in a light, simple broth for a dish that makes a hot and hearty meal for two.

Best sandwiches

Prime rib French dip: Houston’s
1800 Montgomery Street (at Kearny), 415- 392-9280, www.houstons.com
Once you have this French dip, you’ll never be able to eat another one of those stale rolls full of leathery, steamed, brownish stuff. At Houston’s, a generous pile of medium rare, daily-roasted prime rib is loaded into a soft, house-baked roll and served with a bowl of au jus to soak it in. I ask the server to leave off the mayo and bring me a side of creamed horseradish instead.

All-in-one: Giordano Bros.
303 Columbus Avenue (at Broadway), 415-397-2767, www.giordanobros.com
Who doesn’t like a pile of grilled meat topped with provolone, vinegary slaw and cut-to-order French fries tucked between two thick, soft slices of custom-baked bread from the Italian French Bakery? The secret is the oil and apple cider vinegar coleslaw – it adds a nice tanginess to the crispy fries. The bread is soft, but it never goes soggy, and the sandwiches are much lighter than you might expect. I love wonderful hot coppa, but the Italian sausage, lean pastrami and smoked turkey are great, too.

Philly cheesesteak: Jake’s
3301 Buchanan Street (at Lombard),
415-922-2211, www.jakessteaks.net
You can’t go wrong with sliced rib eye tossed on the grill with onions, topped with authentic Cheez Whiz and loaded into a freshly flown-in soft and squishy Amoroso’s roll, served alongside the requisite sweet and hot peppers. If you want it with Whiz, you have to order it like they order it in the City of Brotherly Love: “Whiz with, please!”

Best pizza

A16
2355 Chestnut Street (at Divisadero),
415-771-2216, A16sf.com
Before A16 opened its door in 2004, a true Neapolitan-style pizza would set you back the price of a plane ticket to Italy, because that’s about the only place you could find one. A16 enchanted diners with their thin, bubbly, chewy, charred-bottom crust and fresh, simple toppings. Since then, a whole host of other pizzerias with special pizza ovens have opened throughout the Bay Area and, while I’m never one to turn down a great thin-crust pie, I must confess that none have lived up to A16’s in my book. The Margherita is still my favorite – pools of olive oil glistening amid bright red tomatoes, fresh basil, Granda Padano, and big moons of silky fresh, just-melted mozzarella. To me, there’s nothing better on a foggy winter’s (or for that matter, summer’s) day than kicking back at A16 with a glass of Italian wine chosen by wine director Shelley Lindgren, a piping hot Margherita, and some friends. That’s why A16 wins our best pizza award for the third time.

Best dumpling

Shanghai soup dumpling: Yank Sing
Rincon Center, 101 Spear Street (at Mission), 415-957-9300
49 Stevenson Street (at First), 415-541-4949, www.yanksing.com
While I am pretty sure I’ve tried almost every one of the nearly 100 wonderful plates at Yank Sing, their signature Shanghai dumplings are one of the few things on earth I will never grow tired of. When you bite into the paper-thin, steamed dough filled with seasoned ground Berkshire pork, there is a surprising burst of rich, hot broth. Gently take one dumpling, rest it in your spoon, top it with the vinegary sauce, and enjoy (tip: let them cool for a bit or you’ll be pulling burned shreds from the roof of your mouth for a week).

Best use of raw fish
(that isn’t sushi or sashimi)

Arctic char: Bar Crudo
603 Bush Street (at Stockton), 415-956-0396, www.barcrudo.com
Arctic char is an ocean-going trout that resembles salmon – they get their rosy pink color and rich flavor from a diet of plankton. Chef Mike Selvera delivers cubes of char topped with creamy horseradish, tobiko and dill for a supremely simple, but memorable dish.

Best use of eggs

Chupacabra: Canteen
817 Sutter Street (at Jones), 415-928-8870, www.sfcanteen.com
The most sublime soft scrambled eggs crown a concoction of braised, spiced pork, black beans and salsa scattered with chunks
of perfectly ripe avocado and bell peppers.

Three great reasons to go to …
Anyone who claims to be a San Franciscan shouldn’t pooh-pooh the tourist traps – sure there’s some lousy food in Chinatown, Japantown and The Wharf, but there’s lousy food in every neighborhood. If you open your mind, there are some great dishes out there – you just have to know where to look.

Chinatown:

Utopia Cafe
139 Waverly Place (near Washington) 415-956-2902
Utopia serves up home-cooked Hong Kong-style cuisine. They specialize in clay pots, but not-to-miss-dishes include deep-fried small fish, sweet and sour pork, deep-fried bean cake, and Hong Kong-style beef chow fun. You can also order a “chef’s choice” dinner for 10 people for under $20. Utopia uses only fresh, seasonal ingredients, further setting it apart from many other spots in Chinatown.

Far East Cafe
631 Grant Avenue (at Sacramento), 415-982-3245, www.fareastcafesf.com
When I was a kid, I loved going to Far East with my parents for the cozy private booths, and while I still like the booths, I also now appreciate the Cantonese and Szechwan cuisine. The landmark building hails from 1908 and Far East has been in business since 1920. The dragon gateway leads to antique palace chandeliers that light painted murals and carved screens brought from China over 100 years ago. The classics are done right, from meaty cabbage and pork pot stickers to my favorite chicken salad anywhere – lettuce and crisp rice noodles tossed with shredded white meat and sesame-inflected dressing. I also love the steamed chicken with scallions, deep-fried tofu with shrimp, and the house special: stuffed chicken with sweet rice.

Dol Ho
808 Pacific Avenue (at Stockton), 415-392-2828
Mostly Chinatown locals and a few folk in the know flock to Dol Ho for good, dirt-cheap dim sum. Traditional dumplings are fresh and tasty, and two people can leave feeling incredibly satiated for under $20, including tip and sodas. The shark fin, a dumpling with a pinched-fin-shaped top filled with pork, carrots, shrimp, mushrooms and garlic, is a not-to-miss-dish. Nothing fancy here (stark surroundings and no service to speak of), but the dim sum’s done right and the price is right, too.

Fisherman’s Wharf:

Crab Louie: Fishermen’s Grotto #9
Pier 45 (at The Embarcadero), 415-673-7025, www.fishermensgrotto.com
When I want to take in Golden Gate views over a classic crab Louie, I always head to the upstairs dining room at the Grotto – it’s the only place I’ve found where you have to dig through the crab to find the lettuce. Over half a pound of fresh-picked native crustacean (including meaty legs) is piled on a bed of crisp iceberg lettuce and garnished with hard-boiled egg, tomato, black olives, and beets cut into little stars. My ritual begins with a squeeze of fresh lemon over the crabmeat followed by a generous drizzle of the rich and thick, sweet and tangy dressing. This was my father’s favorite restaurant – I’ve been going since I was a kid and, though my dad passed away in June, I continue to visit regularly.

Whole roasted crab: The Franciscan
Pier 43½ (at The Embarcadero), www.franciscanrestaurant.com
Don’t ask what’s in the garlic sauce because they won’t tell – suffice it to say it’s garlicky, buttery and chin-dribbling good. Each whole grab is over two pounds; half an order is a pound, and an order for two hungry people is three-plus pounds. The Crab Feast – six succulent pounds – is perfect for a group.

Cioppino: Scoma’s
Pier 47 (at Al Scoma Way), 415-771-4383, www.scomas.com
Cioppino has been a San Francisco tradition since the Gold Rush, but its origin can be traced back to the Italian fishing villages that many of the fishermen came from. Cacciuco, a fish stew from the Tuscan port of Livorno, and Ligurian ciuppin, a fish soup served over crusty bread, were the most likely inspirations for our San Francisco cioppino. Fishermen on the wharf added our native crustacean, Dungeness crab. Scoma’s, also a San Francisco original, serves a messy, satisfying bowl of rich tomato broth filled with shrimp, clams, scallops, fresh fish from their very own boat, and a half-pound of cracked-in-the-shell crab (for people who don’t like to work at their meals, there’s a “lazy man” version with the crab out of the shell altogether).

Japantown:

Unagi wappa meshi: Maki
1825 Post Street (at Webster) in Japan Center (2nd floor), 415-921-5215
Packed with mostly Japanese diners, Maki is one of the few restaurants in the U.S. to serve wappa meshi – seasoned rice, seasonal vegetables and meat or fish steamed in a traditional pine lunch box. The simplicity of the ingredients for the unagi wappa meshi – barbecued freshwater eel, English peas and a little square of sweet egg omelet atop rice infused with the pine from the box – defies the complexity of textures, flavors and aromas within.

Quail confit: Bushi-Tei
1638 Post Street (at Laguna), 415-440-4959, www.bushi-tei.com
Bushi-Tei is one of the most beautiful, serene restaurants in the City, with dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto Post Street and wood-paneled walls salvaged from an 1800s home in Japan. The long communal table, the room’s focal point, juts from a center support beam in dramatic fashion. The food matches the drama, especially with the quail confit – boneless quail draped with Serrano ham with a quail egg served in a little black pot with fig, almonds and aged balsamic. Chef Seiji “Waka” Wakabayashi’s artful omakase, where he selects the components of a five-course meal, is an experience not to be missed.

Tokyo ramen: Suzu
1825 Post Street (at Webster) in Japan Center (1st floor), 415-359-1858
Just inside the Japan Center, next to the wonderful Katsura Garden flower shop, is an unassuming little noodle shop where you will find broths bursting with flavor, and fresh-made noodles with the slightly chewy, but silky texture that I’ve been looking for. “Tokyo” ramen, their most popular, features intense, but not-too-salty pork and chicken broth with bamboo shoot, green onion, soft boiled egg, and slices of pork. They’re a bit skimpy on the pork; however, for a dollar or two more you can ask for extra slices.

Comfort foods I crave

Chicken potpie: Big 4
1075 California Street (at Taylor) in the Huntington Hotel, 415-474-5400, www.huntingtonhotel.com
Executive chef Gloria Ciccarone-Nehls is known for her spectacular work with wild game (her annual Wild Game Week is one of the most coveted tickets in town for adventurous food lovers), but her signature chicken potpie lands her on my list of comfort-food favorites every year. The rich, savory gravy is full of succulent chicken and crisp vegetables and topped with a flaky, golden, piping hot crust – there isn’t a better one in San Francisco.

Crab angel hair lasagna: Crab House
Pier 39 (at The Embarcadero) 415-434-2722, www.crabhouse39.com
As with most dishes on this list, I like a little comfort with my calories – the Crab House angel hair lasagna is a square of baked angel hair, Dungeness crab, and rich bechamel sauce topped with brown, bubbly Parmesan cheese and more bechamel sauce. It’s another dish that makes my list every year because I’ve continued to crave it since I first had it five years ago.

Venus’ jewel box: Vivande
2125 Fillmore Street (at California), 415-346-4430, www.vivande.com
The scrigno di venere (or Venus’ jewel box) is a beggar’s purse resembling a giant dim sum dumpling. A sheet of billowy pasta is nestled in a bed of creamy besciamella (bechamel) sauce and filled with spinach tagliolini, parmesan cheese, peas, imported rosemary ham (cooked ham that has been coated in fresh rosemary leaves) and more besciamella. Trust me, it’s worth the calories.

Fried chicken: Hard Knox Cafe
2448 Clement Street (at 25th), 415-752-3770, www.hardknoxcafe.com
If Hard Knox doesn’t sum up everything great about the American dream in one fell swoop, I don’t know what does: A Vietnamese-American owner who learned to cook soul food in Texas makes some of the City’s best fried chicken. A recent visit to the new Hard Knox in the outer Richmond proved that the service and sides are still mediocre, but the three-piece chicken platter remains worth the trip – piping hot with a thin, crispy batter that enveloped moist, juicy meat.

The entire menu: 1300 on Fillmore
1300 Fillmore Street (at Eddy), 415-771-7100, www.1300fillmore.com
The first time I set eyes on David Lawrence’s menu, I wanted to order every dish – that doesn’t happen very often to someone who eats out six nights a week. Barbecue shrimp ’n creamy grits, warm poached egg salad, oyster bisque topped with fried okra, black skillet fried chicken, bourbon-braised pork belly topped with cracklings, crispy sweetbreads with cast iron cornbread … these are the kind of comfort foods that dance in my dirtiest culinary dreams.

Cream cheese stuffed French toast: Judy’s Cafe
2268 Chestnut Street (at Scott), 415-922-4588
Judy’s serves huge portions of satisfying food made with fresh, seasonal ingredients, and they were doing it long before it was cool. The French toast is made from farm-style egg bread stuffed with cream cheese, sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with bananas. They always have plenty of fresh fruit on hand (one of their signatures), so you can also get your French toast smothered with strawberries when they’re in season.

Best reasons to get across town

Omakase: Sebo
517 Hayes Street (at Octavia), 415-864-2122
The minimalist menu at Sebo immediately passed my maki test: less than 10 rolls and none named after states, insects or mythical creatures. The best way to take in this Hayes Valley gem is to put yourselves in the hands of co-owners and chefs Danny Dunham and Michael Black, and sushi guru Fukashi Adachi for one of the best omakase meals I’ve had in years. The team dazzles diners with dishes like “foie gras de mer” – ankimo seared in butter and garlic and topped with uni served over warm sushi rice. It was so good that we asked for a second serving as our dessert, and left wondering why everyone with access to monkfish liver isn’t preparing it this way. Leave yourselves in their hands and make sure you aren’t in a rush – you’ll want to sip some sake and enjoy the show as inventive, delicious creations spring from their minds to their hands to your tastebuds.

Pupusas: The New Spot
632 20th Street (at Illinois), 415-558-0556
Our own GraceAnn Walden and Tablehopper Marcia Gagliardi are big fans of the $2 pupusas at this quaint Dogpatch spot. You can find pupusas – thick, handmade corn tortillas – in the Mission, filled with pork, refried beans, cheese, or a combination of all three; but co-owner Julia Rivera says she listened to friends who encouraged her to use fillings such as cactus, spinach, mushrooms, and goat cheese. Pupusas are deceptively simple (in other words, don’t try this at home), and The New Spot’s tasty concoctions are definitely worthy of a trip across town.

“Una cena rustica”: Bambino’s
945 Cole Street (at Carl), 415-731-1343, www.bambinosristorante.com
Tuesday nights, Cole Valley’s Bambino’s features rustic Italian dinners sure to chase the chill away on a winter’s night. It’s also a great deal – a cup of soup, dinner salad and an entree for $13.50, as well as a selection of wines by the bottle for the same price. Enjoy hearty fare like sausage and lentils, pot roast cooked in Chianti, and talapia with beans and tomatoes. The menu changes weekly and reservations are not accepted (though they gladly accept them the other six nights).

Seafood feast: Bonanza Restaurant
16 Toland Street (at Evans), 415-647-2227
Bonanza is one of those great family restaurants that you sadly come across too infrequently these days, with a rotation of regulars sitting at the bar and folks from nearby businesses enjoying homey, satisfying food. (Where else can you get Salisbury steak like your mom made?) About every three months or so, Bonanza puts on its famous seafood feast – either Dungeness crab or Maine lobster with freshly baked sourdough bread, salad, corn on the cob, and all-you-can-eat mussels and clams in a light cioppino broth for $35 per person.

Dollar oyster Tuesdays: Woodhouse Fish Co.
2073 Market Street (at Church), 415-437-2722, www.woodhousefish.com
For a lobster roll as close as you can come to New England – sweet, tender meat lightly dressed with mayo on a buttery toasted flat-sided sweet bun – and fried whole-belly Ipswich clams flown in fresh from Maine, there’s no better place in the Bay Area than the Woodhouse Fish Co. When they’re in season, you can even get soft-shell clams that, if you can get past their ugliness, are, as my Sicilian fisherman grandfather used to say, “caramella del mare,” or candy of the sea. I also love that they have littleneck clams on the half shell served with a proper cocktail sauce, but if you’re an oyster lover, Tuesdays are for you: $1 oysters (and $4 pints of beer) from 4 until 9:30 p.m. v

Email: susan@northsidesf.com