More restaurants to check out...

More restaurants on the list to check out!

Starbelly

Flour & Water

Bar Crudo

Bix Restaurant

Can't decide just what it is about Bix that makes it such a winner, but winner it is!   I think it's a unique blend of romantic North Beach alleyway sophisticate, pleasing and attentive service, a lively restaurant design and atmosphere, and carefully conceived modern American cuisine.  The live piano and soloist put a nice creamy frosting on that moist cake.  A great spot for a post-downtown-workday happy hour cocktail too.  No wonder Bix is considered one of SF's top 100.  What do you think of a plate of savory seasonal porcini mushrooms followed by wood-planked Pacific Northwest salmon seasoned with black garlic!?   "How about a glass of pinot to go with that?"  But of course...

Gialina Pizzeria

Gialina is a favorite San Francisco pizzeria.  Second to Pizzetta 211 actually!  If you're craving a good pie, you can't beat either of these.

Foreign Cinema

Foreign Cinema is our favorite brunch in town and here's why: (a) a solid state "something different" menu to escape the same old, same old overcooked eggs, bacon and pancakes, (b) a gorgeous outdoor back patio with plenty of heat lamps if that pesky san francisco sun is hiding in the fog, (c) realistic serving portions and (d) pleasant, professional staff!  Be sure to order a pop-tart before they sell out.  Dinner is equally good, but Foreign Cinema brunch is definitely special.

Restaurants to Check!

Here is a list of restaurants we've recently heard about that we want to check out at some point:

Lolo

Maverick

Orson

Waterbar

Epic Roasthouse

SPQR

Monk's Kettle 

Mission Beach Cafe

Farina

Bar Bambino

Spork

Minako

Conduit

Kokkari Estiatorio

Salt House

Perbacco

Bouchon

More to include in the blog:

Slanted Door

Michael Minna

Greens Restaurant

Aqua

Gary Denko's

Boulevard

Zuni

Coi

Nopa

Located in the re-branded neighborhood of it's namesake, Nopa is a delicious treat for the classy urban hipster. We've only been a couple of times, but that's just due to the combination of Nopa's popularity and our own tendency to shirk off advance reservations. The meals are hearty and satisfying with a balanced selection of entrees. Be prepared to doggie bag about half of the flatbread appetizer if there's just two of you. And.. if you're not ashamed to say you are tired of local wine country menu selections, then you'll probably be happy to find Nopa's wine list is pretty "Euro."

Firefly

Ahhhh.. Firefly! This is our personal favorite restaurant in the city. We feel it captures the best of a small San Francisco neighborhood restaurant with excellent food, yummy wines, pleasant staff, warm atmosphere and reasonable prices. It's the kind of place you look forward to going whether you are celebrating a special moment, or just need to return to your "happy place" after a long day. Firefly captures the charm of childhood nostalgia paired with an adult's refined taste. A small but well appointed menu that offers a few staple dishes we have come to love, along with enough variation to keep you coming back. Firefly meals get your palate in sync with the season with things like root vegetable dishes in the winter and green beans and tomatoes in the summer. The menu usually has "one of everything" - a fish, steak, pork, chicken and vegetarian dish, each one as well prepared as the other, and each one with fulfilling sides. Be sure to leave room for the potstickers beforehand and the pot de creme afterward if it's on the menu. Desserts are particularly good here! And for those lighting and ambience snobs, Firefly couldn't be more than a flicker away from perfection.