New Vietnamese Eatery, Cyrus Japan Fund-Raiser, Food Truck Fun & More
San Francisco Welcomes Bun Mee
While her friends were scarfing down burgers, Vietnam-born Denise Tran was enjoying banh mi, the bargain-priced sandwich of her homeland made with roast pork, tangy pickled veggies, and paté stuffed inside a fresh-baked baguette.
Now, she’s reincarnating that favorite sandwich with modern twists at her new Bun Mee cafe on upper Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, a short stroll from the Best Western Tomo in San Francisco.
The 16-seat restaurant, decorated with corrugated metal finishes and bicycle wheel chandeliers, specializes in Vietnamese street food, with most dishes priced at $5 to $7.
Choose from nine different banh mi, including a “Sloppy Bun” with curry ground pork, shaved onion and Thai basil; and the “Bun Mee Combo” of house-carved roast pork, paté de champagne, mortadella, house garlic aioli, shaved onion, pickled carrot and daikon, jalapenos and cilantro.
For more variety, the menu includes salads such as the “Mekong Shrimp” with grilled prawns, sliced mango, tofu, pickled daikon, and julienned cucumbers over mixed greens with blood orange vinaigrette; and “Momma Tran’s Crispy Egg Rolls” made with ground pork, crab, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles and lettuce. Then, quench your thirst with Vietnamese coffee, kaffir limeade, and strawberry lychee aqua fresca.
“From my own travels to Vietnam to spending hours cooking with Momma Tran, I am really excited to bring the Vietnamese street food experience to Pacific Heights and introduce guests to one of my favorite things to eat,†said Tran in a statement, who collaborated on the restaurant with her mother.
Celeb Chefs Come Together for a Japan Benefit
Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus has invited some of the biggest names in the Bay Area food scene to cook for a very worthy cause: the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, which is administered by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.
April 19, Keane will be joined by the likes of David Kinch of Manresa in Los Gatos, Corey Lee of Benu in San Francisco, James Syhabout of Commis in Oakland, Michael Cimarusti of Providence in Los Angeles, and Nicole Plue of Cyrus for a spectacular tasting menu.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. at Keane’s Shimo Modern Steak restaurant, where Chef Kolin Vazzoler will present sushi, champagne and sake. At 7 p.m., guests will walk over to Cyrus to enjoy this spectacular menu.
The dinner, limited to 50 people, is $450 per person (all-inclusive) with all proceeds benefiting the earthquake relief fund. For reservations, call (707) 433-3311. Special overnight rates are available for April 19 at the Hotel Healdsburg and h2hotel.
Get Ready for Trace in the W Hotel
OK, how cool does that artist’s rendering above look?
That’s what the new Trace restaurant in the W Hotel in downtown San Francisco will look like when it opens this summer. Trace, which will take the place of the XYZ restaurant, is so named because it will focus on traceable ingredients and cuisine with a conscience.
Executive Chef Paul Piscopo will continue at the helm of this new restaurant, and be joined by a bonafide forager, Alaun Grimald.
New Cookbook About Food Trucks
If you’ve gone crazy for all manner of food being doled out of food trucks these days, you’re sure to love the new book, “Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes From the Best Kitchens on Wheels” (Ten Speed Press) by food truck aficionado, Heather Shouse.
The book delves into how this trend all started, spotlights some of the zaniest trucks around the country, and even includes recipes to make your favorites at home.
Shouse will do a book-signing, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23, at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, complete with food for sale from the Roli Roti truck.
The next night, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 24, there will be an “informal” book party for Shouse at the Fabric 8 Gallery in San Francisco. A caravan of vendors will be on hand, including Magic Curry Kart, Pizza Hacker, and the Creme Brulee Cart.
Perfect for Passover
SusieCakes is giving matzo a makeover.
The bakery, with locations locally in San Francisco and Marin, will be selling a jazzed-up version of matzo that’s brown-sugar baked and drizzled with chocolate.
The Matzo Crunch will be available April 18-25 for $3.
Oh wow! So much good stuff! Got to get that book and try out Bun Mee!
All this food looks so good. Really like the passover idea. firstclassrecipes has some ideas.
glad to see chefs coming together to support japan!!
sweetlife
love the bun mee!!
I can’t wait to check out Trace! That picture looks so posh! I’ve been to XYZ a few time but was never blown away.
The banh mi looks really good and the food trcuks sound very interesting. Glad to hear that the chefs are coming together to support Japan.
This is one trend that I dearly wish would make it over to Australia! 🙂 I had a very quick day in LA last year and sadly we didn’t quite have time to visit one!
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i wish there was at least one food truck out my way. when i saw that food truck race on food tv i thought wow, i need to get to a city and fast. boston has some food trucks, but la has a ton.
that first photo is killer btw.
Wow this is really alot going on 🙂 I love the matzo makeover! Looks delicious~
The Bun Mee really looks like a mouthful of textures and flavors. Personally, I typically find myself having a hard time enjoying such a Banh Mi – cos it is too huge a mouthful to take and..due to raw onions. :O
I don’t know what I would love the most.. a food truck or a restaurant that looks like the one in the W hotel. I probably need to have both!!
Oh, and I take a banh mi too ! 🙂
Street food is usually so tasty and cheap, especially in Asian cities. The best thing about these food safaris is you walk off the calories as you eat! 🙂
I wish I could get bun mee down here someplace!
Kudos to the chefs. The people of Japan need so much help.
And the food truck cookbook looks like fun!
Fun post.
It’s funny, while I am in Europe, I revel in the traditional, very untrendy concept of food here and pshaw the whole trend and fad concept in the USA. But I do really miss all the culinary goings-ons in the States and wished I could spend more time traveling around and eating. All of this looks and sounds just fabulous!
Bun Mee looks like a great place for sandwiches. The idea of well seasoned meat and raw or pickled vegetables sounds like a flavor winner. I hope more cafes serve items like this.
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