Category Archives: Restaurants

A Sri Lankan Tasting Menu to Savor at 1601 Bar & Kitchen

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Avocado stuffed with caviar and atop a cloud of coconut at 1601 Bar & Kitchen.
Avocado stuffed with caviar and atop a cloud of coconut at 1601 Bar & Kitchen.

One of the few Sri Lankan fine-dining restaurants around, 1601 Bar & Kitchen celebrated a decade in San Francisco this year.

As with many establishments, the last few have certainly been challenging for it, what with the pandemic and increasing grittiness of the city.

But owners, Chef Brian Fernando and his wife, Yuliya Pavlova, who runs front of house, persevered mightily. And in February, they reopened their doors fully to the public, offering a $150 per person tasting menu Thursday through Saturday now.

They have a loyal clientele, many of whom have supported the restaurant by booking group events regularly.

The bar area.
The bar area.
Artwork on the walls.
Artwork on the walls.

A couple weeks ago, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to enjoy the current tasting menu.

If you don’t know Sri Lankan food, this is a perfect place to experience it, as you will feel warmly cared for by the couple from the moment you step through the doors. A little reminiscent of Indian food, the food of this Indian Ocean island is centered on rice, curries, chilies, and spices. Coconut is used copiously.

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Moveable Feast Delivers Chef-Curated Dinner Parties to Your Door

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Chef Kim Alter's squash hummus with black bean salt and crudites that I enjoyed in the comfort of my own home.
Chef Kim Alter’s squash hummus with black bean salt and crudites that I enjoyed in the comfort of my own home.

This past weekend, Chef Kim Alter of San Francisco’s acclaimed Nightbird was the star attraction at my house.

OK, not her in the flesh per se. But her creativity was certainly on full display in half a dozen dishes we heartily enjoyed — without having to leave the house.

Welcome to Moveable Feast, a new nationwide subscription platform that delivers once-a-month dinner parties right to your door, curated by some of the most celebrated chefs from around the country, many of whom boast Michelin stars and James Beard Awards. It’s a meal kit with serious pedigree.

Each dinner requires only 30 minutes or less of assembling, plating and heating before it’s ready to be served. Detailed written instructions are included, as well as a QR code to access videos that show how each dish is presented. There’s even a fun playlist included for each dinner.

The dinner party fixings delivered right to your door.
The dinner party fixings delivered right to your door.

Each chef designs their own dinner party meal, which is then prepared in a commercial kitchen in Napa before being shipped out. Each dinner arrives to you on a Thursday or Friday, in time to enjoy on Saturday or Sunday.

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The Playful Autumn Tasting Menu At Be.Steak.A

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The "Snack Yard'' first course on the fall tasting menu at Be.Steak.A.
The “Snack Yard” first course on the fall tasting menu at Be.Steak.A.

Chef Patrick Capurro wants to take you on a journey, one that recalls the cozy flavors and brisk weather of autumn in Chicago as when he lived there.

At Be.Steak.A in the Pruneyard in Campbell, he does just that with his new fall tasting menu that’s full of pure whimsy and delight.

That’s what I found when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try it on a bustling Tuesday night.

Be.Steak.A, owned by Chef Jeffrey Stout, offers both a la carte dining and a seasonal tasting menu that’s $185 per person with an optional $130 wine pairing (six different pours). You can book the tasting menu when you make a reservation online or opt to order it when you get there, though, you risk the chance of it selling out for the night.

The dining room.
The dining room.

Walk through the restaurant doors and you’re greeted immediately with a beverage.

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Dining At Yokai, San Francisco’s New Hi-Fi Bar & Restaurant

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Grilled mackerel with pickled mustard seeds and honey-preserved ramps at Yokai.
Grilled mackerel with pickled mustard seeds and honey-preserved ramps at Yokai.

Chef Marc Zimmerman was majoring in music engineering in college in Indiana before he decided to scrap that for a career in cooking instead.

Now, however, he’s managed to combine both those passions into one: Yokai, his second San Francisco restaurant, which opened in September, just four blocks away from Gozu, his first that debuted in 2019.

Located in the SOMA neighborhood, Yokai is named for the Japanese word for “ghosts or spirits,” which is appropriate given its extensive bar program that spotlights Japanese and American spirits.

At the host stand.
At the host stand.

The music emphasis is apparent right when you step inside to find the host stand outfitted with two turntables and shelves of vinyl records. You can’t miss the large speakers behind the bar, too. But the music, while lively, is not intrusive, as I found when I dined as a guest of the restaurant last week, when jazz was very much the music of choice on that weeknight.

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Dining Outside At The Fabulous Bavel

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The glorious lamb neck shawarma and fixings at Bavel.
The glorious lamb neck shawarma and fixings at Bavel.

When husband-and-wife chef-owners Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis chose Bavel for the name of their celebrated Los Angeles restaurant, they did so because they cherished they way the likely mis-transcribed word, taken from the original Old Testament’s story of Babel, alluded to a time when everything was one.

These days, that may be but a wistful notion. But Bavel gives you a semblance of that hopefulness, as you step through its doors to the cacophony of diners of all walks and ages, clinking glasses, digging into big plates of grilled meats, and using their hands to enjoy puffy pita together with abandon.

The dining room.
The dining room.
The patio.
The patio.

And loud it is, as I found when I dined a couple weeks ago. The chic dining room with its ceiling of cascading leafy vines is especially raucous, and the comfortable front patio, where I dined, is only a few decibels less. It’s like being invited to a rollicking party at its height.

It definitely adds to the anticipation for the superb modern Middle Eastern specialties to come.

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