While over the past eight or so years I’ve become better known for my column “Reynolds Rap” and for my musings on Twitter (now X), I started out as a food writer — actually, an old-fashioned restaurant critic, where I went to eateries three times anonymously with a reservation and a credit card in the name “Jasmine Toro-Fossa” — my pit bull’s name, followed by Italian words for “bull” and “pit.” I say old fashioned because, with the advent of the Internet, no one really needs a restaurant critic anymore. Even the San Francisco Chronicle, where longtime critic Michael Bauer scared the bejesus out of waiters and chefs alike, recently hired someone with her photo openly displayed (she told KCBS it was to “level the playing field”).
I must confess I never read full reviews these days, but I do like to keep up on openings, closings, and, in particular, fantastic dishes. While there is no lack of opinions on websites like Yelp, what is missing are writers with enough panache to describe and explain what they ate. Yelper reviews usually go something like this: “I tried the [lists six dishes] and they were all really good,” or, they quibble about prices [“I don’t expect a taqueria burrito to cost $12.99”] and never mention whether the food was worth it. So, in this column I will use my years of experience as a food and recipe writer, chef profiler, restaurant critic, and co-host of the food and restaurant-oriented Ryan Scott Show on KGO Radio to offer my favorite dishes — from a $20 French dip to a Vietnamese plate worthy of two meals for under $10 — while introducing you to some of my favorite food makers, trendsetters, OGs, and underdogs.
Here are four dishes I have been craving and eating for decades in San Francisco, and they still hit the spot:
Taraval Okazu Ya: Sizzling Chilean sea bass platter
A friend who lived in Parkside introduced me to Okazu Ya in 1992, and I’ve been visiting the family-operated Japanese restaurant ever since. In the old days it was a tiny hole-in-the-wall where the windows steamed up because of the star attraction — sizzling seafood platters. They’ve expanded into a second storefront, but the food is just as stellar and has remained one of the best deals in the city. The chefs bring in seasonal seafood from Japan, and they make one of my favorite snow crab salad California hand rolls, but my must-have dish is the sizzling Chilean sea bass, lightly dusted in rice flour and pan-fried until golden on a cast-iron skillet. The fish, which has a crispy exterior and flaky, juicy interior, is served over steaming bean sprouts, carrots, and peas on a bed of caramelized onions. The handwritten specials board tells you what seafood is available that day, and all are in the $20 range including rice, miso soup, and ice cream (the sea bass is slightly more expensive but worth it).
Taraval Okazu Ya: 1735 Taraval Street (between 27th and 28th), 415-759-6850, Monday and Wednesday–Friday 4–9 p.m., Saturday–Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
El Farolito: Chile relleño burrito
El Farolito has expanded quite a bit since I started visiting the location in the Mission District, on Mission Street between 23rd and 24th Streets three decades ago. The area has gone downhill over the past several years, with street vendors and overflowing trashcans taking up the sidewalks out front, but this is still my favorite location. Parking can be rough, seating is tight with just a few tables along the wall by that sketchy front entrance, and it is cash only — but it’s worth it. In the “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it category” is the chile relleño burrito. Step one: Make a classic chile relleño — a tender poblano pepper stuffed with jack cheese, coated with egg batter and fried until fluffy. Step two: roll it inside a burrito filled with beans, rice, and salsa. Yes, it’s rich. Yes, it’s wrong on so many levels. Yes, it’s craveable and worth the calories. Last time I was there this giant tortilla filled with goodness clocked in at around $10.
El Farolito: 2779 Mission Street (between 23rd and 24th Streets; my favorite location), 415-824-7877, Daily 10 a.m.–1:45 a.m.
North Beach Pizza: Thin crust green bell pepper and green onion
The first flat I rented (and later bought from the landlord) was on Shrader Street between Beulah and Waller Streets, so when we wanted to pick up a pizza or have it delivered piping hot, this was our go-to location. I’ve tried the other San Francisco North Beach Pizza locations, including the one in North Beach a few weeks ago, but for some reason the tiny Stanyan Street store has the best pizza — at least according to my tastebuds. It may not be a fancy wood-fired, certified Neapolitan-style pie with a charred, puffed cornicione (edge), but it’s close to the pizzas I loved at the little mom and pop shops in New York City. The thin crust is just thin and crispy enough, and you have to hold the slice up with two hands, or fold it, from the weight of the more-than-generous melty, gooey mozzarella cheese. Friends say I’m “pizza weird” but I like just two toppings on my pie: green bell peppers and green onions. North Beach Pizza slices the pieces just right, so they cook evenly and get soft, which I prefer. The tomato sauce also suits my Italian-American palate, more tangy than sweet. The 16-inch large (12 slices) will set you back around $35, but these are big, filling triangles.
North Beach Pizza: 800 Stanyan Street (between Beulah and Waller Streets; my favorite location), 415-751-2300, Sunday–Wednesday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Thursday–Saturday 10 a.m.–11 p.m.
Shanghai House: Vegetarian Goose
Another spot I’ve been frequenting for decades, Shanghai House, won’t win any awards for décor or service. It’s small with sticky tables and staff is friendly but curt. None of that matters to me because the food is delicious. Don’t worry about the Yelp reviews (3.5 stars for a Chinese restaurant shouldn’t scare you away, because typical American diners often don’t have a clue what they’re eating or how it should be served). Shanghainese cuisine is best known for the now ubiquitous but still delicious xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, and Shanghai House has some of the best in town. I usually order them along with a common Shanghainese appetizer, vegetarian goose, which is usually served cold and was never a favorite despite my love of all things tofu. At Shanghai House, however, the “goose” is served warm as a roulade of paper-thin tofu skin layers, also known as yuba (made from the thin film that forms on top of boiling soy milk). The layers are stuffed with mushrooms and drizzled with a sweet-and-sour sauce. The earthiness of the mushrooms mingled with the sweet yet vinegary sauce along with the tender bean curd enveloped in a warm, satisfyingly crunchy skin makes this my all-time favorite bean curd-based dish.
Shanghai House: 3641 Balboa Street (between 37th and 38th), 415-831-9288, Monday–Friday 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 5–8:30 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–8:30 p.m.
