Reservations are needed for NOPA

My current favorite in SF is Nico. French. Only 1 menu and you can either have 3 or 5 courses from the day's selections. The 5 course is a much better "deal". It's way out on Sacramento in the antiques/designer/shopping area - you'll probably need a cab to take you there & back. We've dined there twice. It recently received a very nice review & high rating from the SF Chronicle restaurant reviewer - so reservations may be difficult to get.

http://nicosf.com/

Stu Dudley

Just ate at <b>Sous Beurre</b> on 24th St. within two storefronts of Potrero.

Here's what we ate, all shared, with the listed prices:

Mixed Green Salad (excellent vinaigrette) $9
Asparagus dish (copious) $23
Grilled salmon-trout for two $48
Angel Cake with blood orange sauce $8
one bottle of Savoie white wine $36
Total $124

Total credit card bill: $124.

Aside from being excellent food, and plentiful – the salmon was a 10 in. whole fish – I appreciate the fact that listed prices include all taxes and tips. The restaurant has been open for three weeks, and it was full on a Tuesday night.

The quibbles: main dishes have vegetables mainly as decoration. Bread is extra. The restaurant was between seasons so we could not get their fixed price menu – which would have been more expensive, but with presumably more dishes.

@Stu: Nico sounds wonderful. We always go to L'Ardoise in Duboce Triangle (so close to where we usually stay in the Castro!) when we're up in the City, and it's always very good, but this will go on our list for our next visit. It looks to be about 15 minutes by cab up in Pacific Heights from Castro & Market-- does that sound right?

@Marvelous: You could get hundreds of suggestions for "special" dining in San Francisco, and they'd all be different and all great. It's a foodie town. Having said that, I will gently suggest that although the sushi and Japanese cuisine up in SF is great, you'll actually find even better options of that cuisine in the greater LA area.

As far as Chinese, it's a bit of a toss-up in my eyes; LA's scene is famously vibrant and vast and "happening"-- but hey, in SF you not only have Chinatown, you have Yank Sing for dim sum, which is an institution for good reason. The food is just good.

Yank Sing: Proudly feeding the San Francisco brunch crowd into food comas since 1958.

North Beach Italian-- well, you can't swing a guanciale without hitting a North Beach eatery serving up tasty Italian food. Just get up there and follow your nose.

You're just going to love it up there, and you won't starve. Take my word for it. And they have pretty good museums up there as well (CA Academy of Sciences and de Young are well worth the time). Now you're making me wish we could go there next weekend...!! :(

>>15 minutes by cab up in Pacific Heights from Castro & Market-- does that sound right?<<

Yep

I've looked over the menu many times at l'Ardoise, and have never decided to go there becacuse the menu items have always seemed quite "ordinary" to me. Nothing new or original, or something I can't/won't do at home. Just the opposite at Nico.

Stu Dudley

Tadich Grill--the seafood cioppino-yumm!

Rjw: thanks, I was wondering if I should go for sushi in la instead. Lol- I'm not so much worried about starving as I am using all my money on food. Following my nose tends to cause me trouble that way! Thanks for the north beach suggestion- I looked the area up and now I'm drooling a little! I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the dim sum or the italian!

@Stu: Agreed. I think of l'Ardoise as a "comfort-food" type of place. Since I'm typically up in SF on vacation and won't have access to a kitchen, I like shaking up our menu choices-- some more adventurous, others more familiar. Sure, I can make coq au vin at home, but sometimes I just want some. Preferably within walking distance.... But Nice is on our "Must Try" short list.

Hey, Foreign Cinema still gets a lot of hype-- is it truly any good? We're tempted to finally give it a shot on our next trip up, but....

@marv: The food scene in SF is fantastic and exciting. It's also operating at a higher "aspirational" level than the scene in the LA area.

What I mean is: The high-end eateries in SF are seriously good, with a clientèle that "gets" what they're doing, and they want to achieve a position in the lofty heights of professional cooking where they can get Michelin stars, James Beard awards, etc.

In LA, there are a handful of high-end restaurants with those high aspirations. But I'd say that most high-end restaurants in LA aspire to have a Kardashian post a selfie with a picture of their chopped salad and/or pitch a fit over Paris Hilton being allowed in while they're dining (heavily covered by TMZ and <b>In Style</b>). Food is secondary in those places. The most exciting, most satisfying and most delicious food in LA is served in lower-tier establishments. You also get certain ethnic cuisines served at a higher level of accomplishment in parts of LA: certain Chinese regional cuisines, Japanese (in general), Korean, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese (well, the Slanted Door in SF is still incredible), Indian, and Mexican.

There is also some seriously good food being made in the casual eateries of SF, so I'm not slamming them at all. But LA doesn't have more than a couple of restaurants that <i>might</i> get Michelin stars-- and it doesn't seem to matter to must of us.

As far as Italian vs. dim sum-- get excited about both. You may want to lose a few pounds before you head out here. Not because you need a "beach body", but because you will probably gain a few pounds. Happily, in SF you can walk places and work your meals off. In LA you'll need to make time to do the power walking...!

" Go to britex fabrics "

and check out Mendel's in the Haight (1556 Haight Street), THE best fabric shop (and art/craft store and hardware store :-)

http://www.mendels.com/home.php
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mendels-san-francisco

Stu- concerning Nico's menu: what is the difference between between 5 course and 5 course pairing? It can't be drinks with only a 10 dollar difference.

And would a cab or driving and parking be a better choice? I'll have a car, but it looks like in most cases parking fees make it more practical not to drive.

Thanks!

I totally forgot about my one Guilty Pleasure in SF, a restaurant I enjoy unabashedly and openly despite its location in (horrors!) Fisherman's Wharf:

Scoma's.

The scene is-- what? Maybe 60s San Francisco Pierside Seafood Joint. I picture a roomful of Smart Set folks in three-piece suits and Pucci shifts, everyone smoking and sipping on rusty nails and (very dry) martinis while the whole broiled lobsters and heaping bowls of cioppino come flying out of the kitchen, served by the very same waiters who are working there today. Service is attentive, you're right on the water, and best of all, the food is actually quite good and honest (nothing pretentious). It's also the first restaurant my husband and I went to for a meal together in SF, so I hold it near and dear in my heart.

Hipsters probably go to Scoma's ironically. I don't. It's simply good, and that's enough for me. The fact that it's stumbling distance to Ghirardelli Square is absolutely unrelated, although I do fulfill my serious chocolate jones by visiting there. Before and after meals.

I may need help....

Rjw- lol, with that image in my head, I will have to check it out now. Although I was determined to steer clear of ghirardellis:) I may have a problem too...

@Marv: I'm a big proponent of not driving in SF, so I would spring for a cab. If we were actually in the City right now, we might be also looking at bus routes to and from the place (bus and rail are typically how we get around in the City when we go there), but cab or Uber won't be too expensive, so....

LA-- totally different situation, too big, too spread-out. I drive places. Unless I know I will be drinking a lot, in which case I will figure out either (a) transport to and from the place or (b) some way to while away time while I sober up. I drive a lot every day, so this is a much less-attractive way to spend my leisure time now (it doesn't help that I'm 50 and I'm getting too old to spend my life driving to the latest Scene-and-Be-Seen place up in WeHo or Hollywood).

We just got back from some "city adventures" this morning. Actually, I had to take my wife into the City for the City Guides tour she leads - and we drove from Castro & Market to a block from Nico. Twelve minutes.

Very easy parking (and free) a Nico - but you'll likely park 1-2 blocks west of the restaurant on Sacramento. Nice tree-lined street with some exclusive shops along Sacramento - and a theater.

menu:
-3 courses $45
if you want wine paring - add $35

- 5 courses $55
if you want wine paring - add $45

Every time we've dined there, we (and friends with us) have always wondered "why wouldn't anyone order the 5 course menu?"

Stu Dudley

@Stu: That is a very reasonable price for 5 courses and wine pairings. Especially when you have an imaginative sommelier. Nico is sounding better and better!

That does sound amazing! Think that goes on my list:) would you recommend reservations for Nico?

Also- any really excellent food trucks or fish stands you'd recommend? I love places like that or counter service places for lunch, since I rarely drink at lunch anyway.

>>would you recommend reservations for Nico?<<

Of course!!!!!

It was recently reviewed by our SF Chron food critic & got very favorable reviews. They take reservations 6 weeks in advance.

I plan to make reservations for my Birthday dinner at 12:10 am exactly 6 weeks before my birthday. Six weeks from today, they already have some "limitations" on times available.

Stu Dudley

That last link wasn't very informative.

There are so many good ideas for restaurants here, and I'll add one that I think is different and delicious.

It's vegan Mexican, in the Mission, and has a great reputation. It's communal seating which worked for my party of 6 with a reservation.

Gracias Madre: http://gracias-madre.com/

I'm a vegetarian, so really appreciate having all the choices.

Yeah...I figured he was advertising or something so I didn't respond.

Thanks for the the rec!! Not much decent vegan/veg where I live so that's always a treat!