madbaker | 7x7 2011 retrospective

I'm not quite calling it done for the year - we're going to House o'Prime Rib for my birthday. Partly for 7x7 but mostly because both the wife and I always wanted to go there when driving up Van Ness as kids. Anyway, I've tried 88 of the 100, many this year but some previously. I have to say that it's been interesting trying different things and I've used the list as an excuse to go to places I might not otherwise have known about or tried.

But mostly, my response has been "Meh."

Too many of the entries generate a "Best of San Francisco food? Really?" They feel like a mandatory "must hit this price point/neighborhood/ethnicity" check box. So, here are the ones I would actually go back for. (Not that I necessarily will, but I would with unlimited time/money/calorie budgets.)

Ma Po Tofu, Mission Chinese Food: spicy and surprisingly memorable in a sea of Chinese food.

Roast Chicken with Bread Salad, Zuni Cafe: I haven't had it in a couple years but it's still a benchmark.

Thousand year old quail egg, Benu: The place so deserved the additional Michelin star it got this year. The best meal we've had since we ate at Masa.

Spicy baby octopus stew, La Ciccia Restaurant: I'd eaten there several times before and enjoyed it, but if it wasn't local it wouldn't have been a returner. This dish, however, changes that.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Bi-Rite Creamery: mmmmm. I love the contrast and their version is not too sweet.

Rotisserie Chicken, Limon Peruvian Rotisserie: Different from Zuni's but faboo. Especially with the dipping sauces.

Belgian Waffle, Blue Bottle Café: Light and airy, not too sweet but quite rich. Goes very well with a small pot of coffee, and even worth the inevitable wait and hipster clientele.

Dim Sum, Ton Kiang Hakka Cuisine: One of our favorite SF dim sum places.

Pig Parts, Incanto Restaurant: I like the place. I want to try their nose-to-tail dinner some time.

Omakase, Sebo: the best sushi I've had on this coast.

Pickled egg with a Manhattan, Comstock Saloon: '20s-40s style cocktails without most of the pretension found in some similar bars.

Cracked Whole Roasted Dungeness Crab, Swan Oyster Depot: Fresh dungeness crab is one of the true pleasures of living here. Swan's is pretentiously unpretentious, but they serve the crab as $deity intended: simple and showcasing the flavor.

Others that would have made the list, but:
Buckwheat Crepe with French Cider, Ti Couz Creperie: excellent Normandie-style crepes, but went out of business this year.

Irish Coffee, Buena Vista Cafe: They changed their whiskey blend, changed their glasses to a Chinese supplier, and tried to bogart the supply of existing glasses while strong-arming other places in town. Sleazy and I don't want to go back there. (Although I have yet to find a place that does it as well. Sigh.)

What I'm reading: Larry Correia, Monster Hunter Alpha