Category Archives: Great Finds

Dining — To The Hilt — At Mourad

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The magnificient basteeya at Mourad.
The magnificent basteeya at Mourad.

Whenever visitors from out of town query me about where to eat, one restaurant in particular always merits a high recommendation.

And that is Mourad in San Francisco.

Because chances are wherever they hail from, they do not have a restaurant in their vicinity that serves modern Moroccan cuisine. At least not anything as elevated and imaginative yet still stirringly soulful as this.

So, when I recently gathered to catch up with family in San Francisco last weekend and discovered they had never eaten here, I knew it was high-time they were introduced to Chef-Owner Mourad Lahlou’s singular cooking.

The kitchen at Mourad.
The kitchen at Mourad.
With Chef Mourad Lahlou.
With Chef Mourad Lahlou.

We perused the menu, ordered, and paid our tab — but had no idea that Lahlou would end up sending out nearly three-fourths of the menu to our table on the house. To say that we each needed a wheelbarrow to cart us out afterward would be putting it mildly. It proved a feast in every sense and for every sense.

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The Marvelous Spirals At Marvel Cake

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The famed spiral croissants at Marvel Cake bakery.
The famed spiral croissants at Marvel Cake bakery.

It seems that just about everyone has wound themselves into a tight tizzy over spiral croissants.

Ever since the original “Supreme” was launched in New York City at Lafayette Grand Cafe & Bakery, the lines have grown legendary for the tightly coiled laminated pastries that have a hidden filling and a fanciful drizzle of glaze on top.

So, it’s no surprise that when Campbell’s Marvel Cake started turning out a similar version called the “Spiral Croissant,” it started drawing fans near and wide, with queues the norm.

I’m happy to report, though, when I took a chance last Tuesday and showed up five minutes before the bakery opened at 10 a.m., there was no line at all. Hallelujah!

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Dining At Copra

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Curry leaf-rubbed, slow-cooked octopus at Copra in San Francisco.
Curry leaf-rubbed, slow-cooked octopus at Copra in San Francisco.

When it comes to upscale modern Indian cuisine, Chef Sri Gopinathan and business partner, restaurateur Ayesha Thapar, seem to have the magic touch.

Their first restaurant, Ettan in downtown Palo Alto, opened just before the pandemic hit. It not only managed to survive that turmoil but come out of it flourishing.

In February, the duo debuted Copra, just blocks from Japantown in San Francisco. Taking its name from the word for the dried flesh of a coconut, Copra showcases Southern Indian coastal cuisine, the type that Gopinathan, who held two Michelin stars at San Francisco’s Campton Place Restaurant, grew up eating. You’ll find surprising dishes here such as octopus and bone marrow that you’d be hard pressed to see on any other Indian menu around (well, except at sister restaurant Ettan, that is, where octopus does appear).

If my visit last week is any indication, Copra is hitting it out of the park. The restaurant was jamming and jammed — and this was on a Wednesday night.

Expect it to be even more so now that the Michelin Guide California just announced this week that Copra is one of 19 new establishments that will be in the 2023 guide to be released later this year.

The eye-catching dining room.
The eye-catching dining room.

Like Ettan, Copra is a looker. Whereas Ettan drips with chandeliers and vivid marine blue tones, Copra is done up with earth tones, enough plants (artificial) to resemble a greenhouse, and more macrame than you’ve probably ever seen in one place at one time.

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The Oven Does All the Work For Slow-Cooked Beef Ribs in Korean BBQ Sauce

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English-cut beef ribs go Korean-style in this easy recipe in which your oven does all the work.
English-cut beef ribs go Korean-style in this easy recipe in which your oven does all the work.

Consider this devilishly good dish the savory equivalent of a “dump cake.”

Instead of a boxed cake mix dumped over canned fruit in a pan, “Slow-Cooked Beef Ribs in Korean BBQ Sauce” is basically beefy ribs plopped into a pan with a robust mix of minced garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and Korean fermented pepper paste known as gochujang.

There’s no need to sear the beef ribs beforehand, either. Just lay them in the sauce in the pan, slide into the oven, and practically forget about it for the next 6 hours.

The beef will emerge so tender that it falls off the bone, and the meat juices will have melded into the sauce, making it even more delectable.

This super simple recipe is from “RecipeTin Eats Dinner” (Countryman Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

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Dining At One Fish

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Reel in the warm cornbread with cultured cream and smoked trout roe at One Fish.
Reel in the warm cornbread with cultured cream and smoked trout roe at One Fish.

Last week, I went fishing — and got One Fish.

Plus a superlative meal.

One Fish Raw Bar opened in 2021 in downtown Campbell next-door to Manresa Bread, and what a find it is. Chef-Owner Trent Lidgey opened his small, fine-dining raw bar after stints as sous chef at San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn, chef de cuisine at The Lexington House in Los Gatos, and most notably, sous chef at Uni Restaurant, a modern izakaya in Boston where he oversaw the sashimi program.

In downtown Campbell.
In downtown Campbell.

The vibe is relaxed and the food meant to be shared tapas-style. There’s a small patio in front with outdoor dining available, as well as seating inside at tables and high-counter seats. There are also seats right at the chef’s counter, reserved for guests partaking of the $185-per-person 11-course sashimi tasting menu. A final option is the 5-course family-style meal ($95-per-person for the standard; $135-per-person for the premium).

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