2014 Top 12 San Francisco Bay Area Dishes

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The San Francisco Bay Area continues to house one of the world’s best collections of restaurants. The region is particularly strong on raw ingredients and culinary talent. I was lucky enough to make four trips to the area in 2014, spending quality time in San Francisco, Napa and Oakland. Learn about my 2014 Top 12 San Francisco Bay Area dishes.

5. Kin Khao Gaeng Som Sour Curry ($18)


Thai Food San Francisco

People may soon forget that Bangkok native Pim Techamuanvivit ever blogged considering the success of her restaurant on the perimeter of San Francisco’s Parc 55 hotel. The sharp, intimate space features the cooking of Michael Gaines, who helps deliver Pim’s vision for seasonal Thai food, which is already some of the Bay Area’s best. Curry proved to be a particular strength. No wonder, since Kin Khao’s menu preaches “house-made paste, fresh daily, entirely from scratch.” That’s a rarity in area Thai restaurants. The vibrancy showed in their Gaeng Som Sour Curry, a tart curry broth that avoided coconut milk altogether and delivered big flavor, and a massive omelette flecked with seasonal vegetables, which would probably taste just as good for breakfast as it did at dinner.

6. Le Soleil Garlic Roasted Dungeness Crab ($32 whole crab, $22 half crab)

Crab San Francisco

This French-influenced Vietnamese restaurant from chef Dennis Wong sits unassuming in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond. Neighboring spots on Clement Street may draw bigger crowds, but no other dishes within walking distance can match the flavor and grandeur of Le Soleil’s Garlic Roasted Dungeness Crab. The Crab arrives dismembered on a mountain of egg noodles, which Chef Wong pan-fries with garlic, browned butter, scallions, and delicious scrapings from the crab’s shell, including greenish-yellow innards, white fat and some fun ocean-tinged parts. The claws are cracked, which allows for easy access to the sweet tufts of crab meat. If this dish were a Christmas tree, the crab’s ornamental orange shell would no doubt be the star, serving as a beacon to briny angels.

7. Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Strawberry & Cream Cruffin ($4.50) [CLOSED]

Croissant San Francisco

This fashionable bakery from chef Ry Stephen and business partner Aaron Caddel in San Francisco’s TenderNob features white subway tile, “I Got Baked in San Francisco” in neon, Holmes Sweet Holmes on the ground by the door, and stylish takeout boxes with gold-on-white. Thankfully, their Cruffin wasn’t as gimmicky as it sounded, Instead, it’s a towering mushroom-shaped croissant baked in a muffin tin. Incarnations change as inspiration strikes, but during my visit, Stephen piped the flaky, sugar-dusted, coils with vanilla cream and strawberry jam. The result was addictive, but not overly rich, the kind of item that would be a hit at Wimbledon, and almost certainly in San Francisco.

8. Phnom Penh Cuisine Slaap Moarn Borg ($10.95)

Cambodian Food Oakland

Some dishes still have the ability to surprise. Case in point: chicken wings, a working class wonder that’s found a spot on seemingly every trendy menu. Phnom Penh House, a popular Cambodian restaurant from Linda Do and brother Ty Do, has been winging it with particular flair in Oakland’s Chinatown since 1986. Slaap Moarn Borg consists of boneless, crisp-skinned chicken wings stuffed with a juicy spiced blend of ground pork, bean threads, black mushrooms, with a crispy thatch of fried lemongrass coating the wings. The Do family plates the dish with a sweet chile sauce and a tangy pile of pickled cabbage and carrots, with enough punch to cut the richness of the meat in the poultry cornucopia.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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