Yemeni-Moroccan-California Fusion in SF

While we were in San Francisco earlier this month, we had a terrific dinner at Saha (http://www.sahasf.com) - which offers a wonderful and unusual fusion of Yemeni Arabic, Moroccan, and California cuisines with French influences. In addition to Middle Eastern and North African dishes, Saha has many vegan dishes like shiitake mango ravioli, and many creative dishes like Salmon Baklava!

 

We had never had Yemeni cuisine, and I was anxious to try it. The experience was great. I wish we lived nearby. I would go there often

The atmosphere is warm and Middle Eastern.

Our waiter was a Moroccan named Hassan. He was very nice. He introduced us to Mohamed Aboghanem, the owner and chef. In our short conversation, Mohamed mentioned that Yemenis tend to use more cumin in their dishes; whereas Levantine Arabs tend to use more allspice.

Hassan began by bringing us some delicious, fresh-baked Moroccan bread with a dip of olive oil, sesame seeds and thyme.

My wife decided to have two appetizer dishes. She started with the traditional Arabic kibbeh. There are many versions of kibbeh - both cooked and raw. Saha serves a cooked version. It has an outer shell of cracked wheat (bulgur wheat) stuffed with ground beef, onions, pine nuts, and spices. It is served with a tomato sauce and leban (Middle Eastern Yoghurt). It was very tasty. (My mother used to make incredible kibbeh.)

I started with Lahem Sougar, a Yemeni dish. It involved grass-fed lamb sautéed with sumac, pine nuts, and olive oil, and served over Baba Ghanoush, with pita bread, olives, and harissa sauce. It was delicious, and cost $16.

My wife’s second appetizer dish was Bastilla, a Moroccan dish with chicken, almonds, onions, egg, parsley, and spices, wrapped in phyllo dough, baked with powdered sugar garnish and served over saffron sauce. It was wonderful and cost $12.

Bastilla

I had Helba, a Yemeni national dish made with okra, potatoes, fenugreek, rice and vegetable broth. Saha offers three versions - with only vegetables, with lamb and ground beef, and with wild salmon, ahi and scallops. I had the version with lamb & ground beef for $23. It was served with excellent pita bread. The Helba was fantastic. (Diners who have never had really fresh, genuine pita bread, rather than the mediocre supermarket versions are missing a real treat.)  

Our wine was a Nyers 2010 Vista Luna Borden Ranch Dry Creek Zinfandel for $41. It was very, very nice.

For dessert, my wife had crème brulée.

I had a Yemeni cake called Bisbusa, with syrup, strawberries, and pistacchio gelato for $6. It was very tasty.

One minor disappointment was that Saha did not serve Arabic coffee, so I had a cup of San Francisco Coffee Company coffee. Saha does serve Arabic tea.

Saha is located in the Hotel Carlton at 1075 Sutter St. Phone 415-345-9547. The night we were there, the restaurant was very busy, so I would strongly recommend reservations.

To get a really good appreciation of Saha, see the YouTube story at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlyZLGfJrQE

Nopa - More Fine, Fun Frisco Food

Tonight, my wife and I had dinner at Nopa (http://nopasf.com/), which had been recommended to s by our terrific niece who lives in the area. Nopa, which is located at 560 Divisadero, was packed when we arrived. I wasn't surprised because it wasn't easy to get a reservation.

The crowd was primarily young and very animated - obviously having a great time. We were seated on the second level, which was quieter. The second level overlooked the first.

Our server was Ryan. He was very knowledgeable, pleasant, and professional. He was from Minnesota. The menu was very creative, so it was very hard to choose. Almost everything that is made, like pasta and sausage, is made in house.

We were served an amuse bouche of a long green bean each with Molden sea salt, a gourmet sea salt from the UK.

Linda and I shared an appetizer of crostini, with a warm goat cheese spread, fresh plums, and watercress for $11. It was wonderful. There were lots of crostini and a nice ramekin of goat cheese. It was perfect for sharing.

Linda's entrée was a Moroccan vegetable tagine with roasted almonds and lemon yoguhrt for $18. It was delicious.

My entrée was housemade pappardelle with spicy fennel sausage, delicata squach, and a cream sauce with parmesan for $19. It was fantastic.

For dessert, we shared Jonathan apple crisp with calvados ice cream for $8. It was delicious.

One interesting-sounding dessert was Johnny cake with roasted corn ice cream and bacon brittle for $8.

With dessert, I had a 2-cup pot of coffee that was made from a blend of three African coffees - one Ugandan coffee and two Ethiopian coffees - Yirgacheff and Sidamo. It was terrific.

Our wine was a southern Rhône red - 2009 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage for $50. It was very nice.

The total cost of this delightful dinner was $121.47.

When we left the restaurant about 11:15 pm, it was still three-quarters full and customers were still coming in.

Delicious Japanese Ramen - Katana-Ya

One Japanese dish I love is ramen. These are not the tiny, short noodles found on U.S. supermarket shelves. Rather these are long noodles served in large bowls with a variety of ingredients. I had ramen in many small ramen shops throughout Japan during the 4 years I lived there. I always loved it. It was best in winter, when the hot soup warmed body and soul.

Ramen in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramen) is served in different broths. The major types are miso, soy (shouyu), salt (shio), and tonkotsu (not tonkatsu).

Toppings in the ramen can include things like pork slices, seaweed, onions, corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, boiled eggs, etc.

There are many Japanese restaurants in San Francisco that serve Ramen. My wonderful niece, who lives in the area, recommended Katana-ya, which means something like, "Sword Shop."

The night before last, I followed her recommendation, and went to the restaurant at 430 Geary St., about a block and a half from Union Square. My wife, who was tired from our long trip to San Francisco, decided not to join me.

When I walked up to Katana-ya, there were a number of young people, mostly Asian-Americans, waiting outside for tables.

I walked up to a stand just outside the front door, where there was a waiting list. One of the people next to the stand said I should write my name on the list. I did that. Next to the names on the list was a column for the number of people in the party. All of the other names on the list had parties of two or more. That was fortunate for me, my name was the next one called.

I was put at the sushi bar. I ordered a bowl of Corn-butter Ramen for $9.50 and a 16 oz. Sapporo draft beer. The ramen was in a huge bowl as it is served in Japan. The ingredients included long ramen noodles, green onions, two slices of tender pork, corn, butter, greens, and several other ingredients. It was fantastic! The total cost came to $15.73.

At least three of the servers spoke Japanese, so when two of them asked me at different times how the ramen was, I told them in Japanese that it was wonderful.

ご馳走様でした大変おいしかったです！

Breakfast at Sears Fine Food, San Francisco

This morning, my wife and I had breakfast at Sears Fine Food (http://www.searsfinefood.com/), which is located at 439 Powell St., about a block and a half from our hotel. I chose this restaurant because of many excellent reviews on Yelp.com.
The restaurant, which was founded in 1938, has an extensive breakfast menu. Breakfast is served until 3 pm, and overlaps with lunch service, which begins at 11 am.

The restaurant, which is very large, was almost full. Fortunately, we were seated right away.

Linda started with a regular coffee for $2.45. She found it very flavorful. I had a double mocha for $4.70. It was rich and delicious.

Linda had scrambled eggs with hash browns and sourdough toast for $8.95. The dish was tasty. She also had a large glass of orange juice for $4.25. She would rather have had a small glass, but only large glasses were on the menu.

My meal was fantastic. I had the restaurant's famous Swedish pancackes - a plate of 18 small, thin pancakes for $9.95. I added lingonberries to put on top for $2.25. I had a side of country sausage for $3.50. I loved the pancakes and sausage.

Even though the restaurant was crowded, the service was efficient and friendly.

The total for our breakfast came to $39.11 - more then we would have paid at home, but then this is downtown San Francisco.

San Francisco's Restaurant Gary Danko - An Unforgettable Experience

There are restaurants, Restaurants, RESTAURANTS, and RESTAURANTS. Restaurant Gary Danko is a RESTAURANT. Last night, my wife and I enjoyed a superb dinner there.

Restaurant Gary Danko (RGD) is located at 800 North Point St. at the intersection with Hyde St. It is a short distance from Fisherman's Wharf. RGD only takes reservations by phone. The phone nr. is 415-749-2060. Reservations should be made long in advance. The restaurant was full the whole time we were there, and we saw diners arriving at least as late as 10:30.

We arrived at the restaurant at 9:10 - 20 minutes before our reeservation time. However, we were seated within 3-4 minutes.

Our server, Darrin, was terrific. He was efficient, friendly, and extremely knowedgeable about the cuisine. I was very impressed when I heard him spend several minutes describing in great detail to diners at the next table the many offerings on the cheese cart.

RGD only offers prix-fixe menus. The three-course menu is $69, the four-course menu is $87, and the five-course menu is $102. There is also a five-course tasting menu for $102 and wine pairing for $60.

The menu at RGD is superbly creative. I had a very difficult time choosing. The menu can be seen at http://www.garydanko.com/flash/GaryDanko.html.

We both decided to do the three-course prix-fixe meal.

We started with an amuse bouche, a gift from the chef. It was an incredibly delicious tomato-fennel soup with roasted red pepper, diced onion, leeks, garlic, and basil.

The bread were were served throughout the meal was wonderful. I agreed with my wife's view that we could have made a meal of a bowl of the amuse bouche soup, the bread, and wine.

Our first course was an appetizer:

My wife had Risotto with Lobster, Rock Shrimp, Shimeji Mushrooms, Peas, Corn and Roasted Tomatoes. It was fantastic.

I had Lobster Salad with Asian Pear, Mango, Avocado, Cashews and Lime Cilantro Rémoulade. It was also superb.

Our second course was an entrée:

My wife had Herb Crusted Lamb Loin with Tian of Summer Vegetables and Polenta. It was delicious.

I had a wonderful Juniper Crusted Bison with King Trumpet Mushrooms, Glazed Cipollini Onions and Herb Spaetzle.

Our third course was dessert:

My wife had Roasted Fig Tart with Almond Frangipane and Raspberry Ice Cream. It was nice, but not what she expected. She thought the figs would be incorporated into the tart. Instead, three figs and several raspberries were on top of the almond frangipane.

I had the Crème Fraiche Cheesecake with Caramelized Pecans, Summer Berries and Strawberry Sorbet. It was mouth watering.

Our wine was a southern Rhône red - 2007 Perrin & Fils "Les Christins," made from 80% grenache and 20% syrah for $60. It was very nice.

Our wine sommelier was, Deanna, who was very knowledgeable and charming. She has been a sommelier for 9 years.

The restaurant says that its wine list contains over 1,200 selections from 15 countries, with vintages spanning three centuries. The wine list is available at http://www.garydanko.com/site/winelist.html. It has earned aWine Spectator Grand Award.

As an anniversary present, Darrin served us:
- A lemon icebox cake - sorbet with cream
- nine fantastic little artisinal sweets

Finally, Darrin brought us a parting gift of two wrapped Gary Danko breakfast cakes. We had the breakfast cakes as a snack this afternoon. They were very tasty - like a banana bread.

The service was impeccable except for one small hiccup. It took a while for our dessert to arrive. However, a member of the staff advised us immediately after our entree plates were cleared that the dessert would be slow to arrive.

It was interesting to observe how the staff worked with one another as an efficient and professional team.
The restaurant had a cab waiting for us as we walked out the front door. (Darrin had asked us earlier if we had driven or come by cab.)