List: 100 Things to Eat in San Francisco Before You Die

Thanks. I've e-mailed the list to my relatives in the Bay Area.

Unless I missed it, they left out abalone @ the North Beach restaurant.

What if you just have 100 of #68?

Number 1 on the list, the roast chicken with bread salad at Zuni Cafe, is something I've been wanting to try for the longest time. It's just the one hour wait time for it that makes me hesitate. Maybe this next trip if we are being leisurely about dinner; have a drink, appetizer and salad first.

curious, we booked a reservation through opentable.com if that would help you next time. If you have an iPhone, it's an application as well which makes it easy on the go.

The chicken is amazing.


I thought the mussels at Ploof were a worthy addition to the list.

I'm good with having 100 of #68 as well...

curiousgeo, I made a special trip to Zuni when I could sacrifice the hour for that chicken. I'm a nut for roasted chicken. Well guess what. It was just OK and certainly not among the top 5 roast chickens I've had in SF area!

I'm curious if the positions on the list were supposed to be numerically significant. In other words, is the Zuni chicken supposed to be the number 1 thing to have -- or if it's just a list in no particular order.

And while I've enjoyed oysters at the Swan Oyster Bar, I'd substitute having their crab Louis salad as the thing not to miss. I'm not sure that their oysters are anything special compared to many places -- after all, other than opening them, there is nothing special to their preparation at all.

It was just OK and certainly not among the top 5 roast chickens I've had in SF area

so NP, where were the others? (I have friends from NY who made the "pilgrimage" recently and came away agreeing with you - good, but not worth a trip across country!!)

Don't show this to Kal, if he sees Perbacco is #18 not #1 he will die!

A beautiful boy that you pick up on a bus going up California street....

Actually, that is how I met my ex-husband, Kelly Dean.

Thin

Burrata at A16
Cioppino at Tadich
Iron Skillet Roasted Mussels at Restaurant LuLU.

Meyer Lemons, anywhere, in any application.

Deb

{I was suprised to see how many we've done!}

"so NP, where were the others?"

Oh, putting me on the spot, hey?

Off hand, I first remember the chicken at Boulevard. It was a separate breast from a leg, the leg was boned and stuffed with some sort of wonderful sausage and it came with amazing potatoes.

And several times I've had the spectacular roasted chicken with almonds and lemon served on sauteed garlic spinach at Antica Trattoria. It's a favorite place of ours and my favorite dish there. Corner of Union Street and Polk. It's wonderful!

And I remember little about our only dining experience at Delfina except that it was ON Sept. 11, 2001! An eerie and quiet and off night there. But I DO remember the wonderfully juicy roasted chicken that tasted of a wood fire and came with some wonderful mashed potatoes and a ton of mushrooms.

And very close to Zuni is a small place I liked much better -- paul k, with a bit of mid-eastern flair. Their roasted chicken was called "Syrian" and had wonderful herbs and spices, was crisp yet moist and tender.

As I recall the chicken at Zuni was fine -- good even -- just nothing really special and I thought the breast was quite dry.

Cioppino at Tadich was my first thought!

it was stated at the beginning of the article that the list is not in any sort of order so just because it is #1 does not necessarily mean it is the best.
i'm surprised at how many i have tried on the list especially considering i do not eat mammals.
some of these are just to die for and a must to take visitors to.
my absolute favourite is #31 - pan con cocolate at laiola. sometimes i go into the city just to have this dessert.

NP, we're having dinner at Delfina a week from tomorrow. Maybe roast chicken?

Well, a long time has passed since 9/11/2001 so who knows if that is as good as I remember?

I'm willing to try!

NeoPatrick, your description of the roast chicken at Antica Trattoria sounds terrific. I've heard about the place but have never eaten there, looks like I'll have to add it to my San Francisco restaurant list. The roast chicken at Zuni Cafe is still a possibility though, as I've read so much about it.

curiousgeo, one of the reasons I love that place is that a few years ago we arrived for our rather late evening reservation, and the hostess was quite upset because no tables were available. It was just one of those nights when everyone kept sitting and sitting and not leaving even when they were finished. The hostess opened a bottle of wine, gave us a couple big glasses and we stood and chatted with her by the door (there is no bar to wait at). Soon she disappeared to the kitchen and brought out a plate of antipasta for us to enjoy with her while we were waiting.

And since then, although we only get there once every year or two, she always remembers us and that evening. It's a friendly place. Last fall when we were there, she took a baby from the arms of a regular customer and carried it around the restaurant showing it off to diners who were interested, while the couple could enjoy their dinner. That kind of place.

Sluuuumi misti at Perbaccoooooooooo's.

I got my job cut out for me since I've only hit maybe 3 on the list.

Surprised the lazy man's cioppino from Scoma's isn't on there.
I predict the fried chicken from 1300 on Fillmore will be on the list next time.

I'm glad I didn't see this list before my trip to San Francisco last month. I wouldn't have had time for any of the things we actually did. But now I feel like I have to go back.

And Patrick, I see that it says the things are listed in no particular order.

The mussels at Plouf should definitely be added to the list. Also Hong Kong milk tea from Out the Door (two locations--Westfield Shopping Center on Market and Ferry Building Market Place).

Whoo-hoo! Love the Preview option!

betsy,
slanted door is at the ferry building - moved from it's original location in the mission.
out the door is the lower end option at the westfield center.

Ah. I can answer that it part -- There IS an Out the Door in the ferry building as well. I assumed it was a branch of, or owned by The Slanted Door. NO? It looked like some of the same basic dishes and ingredients -- I just assumed it was The Slanted Doors take out counter. Am I wrong?

Out the Door is the casual/take-out side of Slanted Door, and yes, there are two, one in Westfield Center and one in the Ferry Bldg.

abranz, if you're looking for it, it's faces the long corridor, back to back with Slanted Door.

my mistake....?
the take out counter at the 'slanted door' in the ferry buildng is referred to as out the door.
whereas 'out the door' at the westfield center is a regular sit down restaurant also having a take out counter.

That's true that the one at Westfield Center is more than just take-out, but it doesn't have the same menu as Slanted Door.

"SCENE:
Riding high on the success of the Slanted Door, chef Charles Phan has opened two informal joints, both called Out the Door, serving casual Vietnamese food. The Ferry Building outpost is really just a counter and a few stools around the corner from his primary restaurant; this second location, a larger sit-down space in the Westfield SF Centre’s food court, is mall dining at its finest.

EATS:
The Out the Door menu reads like the Slanted Door’s greatest hits: The green papaya salad is perfect for a light lunch, imperial rolls arrive crisp and piping hot and the lemongrass tofu, a generous portion of fried and pressed tofu accompanied by soft steamed rice, is a vegetarian’s dream.

MUST ORDER: Daikon Rice Cakes"

Interesting list, 7x7 magazine is somewhat geared to a trendy, aging hipster, yuppie demographic, so the list is a mix of trendy and old classics.

An Italian Sandwich at Molinari's.
An Draft Anchor Steam at Vesuvio.

It's been years but is Tommy's Joynt just off Van Ness still there. I used to think their beef stew was superb and also liked their (huge) pastrami sandwiches.

What a great list!
Oh, my heavens - Miette!

starrs, Miette is in the Ferry Building, right across the street from where I work. The other day that had four different varieties of macaron -- too bad I just started Weight Watchers!

Just looked quick but I didn't see anything from Arizmendi Bakery - I live many miles away but dream about their pizza, cheese scone and sourdough baguettes

Topping for others planning a trip.

I DID make it to Miette! Fabulous.

I really wanted to do #52. Fried brussels sprouts at SPQR

I really wanted to do #52. Fried brussels sprouts at SPQR

You didn't? Too bad, they're to die for

How nice to have this thread topped again. On our last visit in March, we didn't get to try the famous Zuni Cafe roast chicken. However, my wife and I did make it over to Antica Trattoria, a place NeoPatrick highly recommended at Polk and Union Street.

We met up with a friend who lives in the Bay Area and had a very nice dinner there. It is a popular, lively neighborhood restaurant, every table was taken on a weekday evening. We ordered several dishes that we all shared family style. The wait staff was very accommodating, changing our plates and utensils with each course, providing excellent service.

We started with an appetizer of cold asparagus, followed by the fresh linguini with Dungeness crab, a Chilean sea bass in a light tomato sauce, the roasted chicken with spinach and almonds, and finally a nice raspberry tart with lemon custard. A very tasty, reasonably priced meal and a new place to return to on our next visit.