Search Results for: Mission District

A Taste of Senia — One of the Most Anticipated Restaurants in Honolulu

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Chefs ChrisKajioka, Mimi Mendoza and Anthony Rush of the soon-to-open Senia restaurant.

Chefs Chris Kajioka, Mimi Mendoza and Anthony Rush of the soon-to-open Senia restaurant.

 

Senia is arguably one of the most hotly anticipated restaurants to open in Honolulu this year.

And I had the opportunity to get a divine preview taste — in San Francisco, of all places.

Transporting a taste of the islands to the city by the Bay makes perfect sense when you realize that Co-Executive Chef Chris Kajioka has strong ties to the Bay Area. He worked at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco under the tutelage of Ron Siegel, as well as at Thomas Keller’s Per Se. He also cooked at San Francisco’s Aziza, and helped open its sister restaurant, Mourad.

It was at Per Se that he met his British-born Co-Executive Chef Anthony Rush, who also had worked at the French Laundry. Not to mention, Senia’s pastry chef, Mimi Mendoza, just left that position at Chez T.J. in Mountain View. Moreover, one of Senia’s main investors lives in San Francisco.

Hearts of palm draped over Maui venison tartare.

Hearts of palm draped over Maui venison tartare.

So while Senia is being constructed in Honolulu’s Chinatown, right next door to the popular Pig & The Lady, the chefs took the time to host an invitation-only pop-up dinner at the Naked Kitchen in the Mission District. The private event space is inside a Victorian whose first floor has been transformed into a souped-up professional kitchen with long tables spanning through the dining room and living room.

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Mexican Food Like You’ve Never Experienced — At Californios

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The fanciful Yerba Buena Fruit Cup at Californios.

The fanciful Yerba Buena Fruit Cup at Californios.

 

If your idea of Mexican food is nothing but bulging burritos and bargain-basement tacos at a sombrero-saturated cantina, prepare to have your mind blown by Californios.

At this nearly year-old Mission District restaurant in San Francisco, Chef-Owner Val M. Cantu and his wife, maitre d’ Carolyn Cantu, serve up a contemporary single prix fixe each evening of, yes, Mexican cuisine. Oh, there are beans. There is menudo. And agua fresca. But reinvented with startling finesse like you’ve never seen.

Together with the new much-lauded Cala in San Francisco, which I’ve not yet visited, Californios is changing perceptions by broadening our definition of Mexican food in a most exciting way.

The open kitchen provides a dramatic centerpiece for this dark, enveloping little restaurant.

The open kitchen provides a dramatic centerpiece for this dark, enveloping little restaurant.

Art, wine, and culinary books fill a nearby bookcase.

Art, wine, and culinary books fill a nearby bookcase.

A few weeks ago, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant. It’s a very intimate space of only about 22 seats that was designed by Carolyn Cantu. You step inside and it’s as if the restaurant envelopes you immediately in a cloak of secrecy. The street windows are tinted deep gray, the walls are paneled darkly, and the lighting inside is very dim — like that of a movie theater. Your eyes are drawn to the brightest spot — the open kitchen fronted by a chef’s counter, where three chefs, including Val Cantu, work the line. The effect is very romantic even with the classic rock music in the background. The look calls to mind a moody Edward Hopper painting, though it’s not a diner that’s glorified here, but a unique restaurant for the ages.

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Join the Food Gal For a Cookbook Signing at Litquake

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If you like to read and if you like to eat — I mean, who doesn’t? — you won’t want to miss all the fun at Litquake’s “Eat, Drink, and Be Literary” event, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Z Space in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Especially because yours truly along with photographer extraordinaire Craig Lee will be on hand to sign copies of our cookbook, “San Francisco Chef’s Table” (Lyons Press).

Craig and I will be doing our signing at San Francisco’s premier literary festival from 1:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. that day. For added incentive, I’m bringing cookies baked from a recipe from the book that will be doled out until they run out.

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We’ll be in great company, too. Others participating in the signings and panels include:

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Hawker Fare Comes to San Francisco

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Blistered green beans at Hawker Fare in San Francisco.

Blistered green beans at Hawker Fare in San Francisco.

 

With Chef Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok blazing a trail coast to coast, and San Francisco restaurateur Pim Techamuanvivit acquiring ever growing praise for her Kin Khao, Thai is just about the hottest cuisine around right now.

Now comes James Syhabout, Oakland’s only Michelin-starred chef, to add his stamp with Hawker Fare in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Syhabout’s original Hawker Fare has been going strong in Oakland, along with his more ambitious Commis. But this outpost, which opened about a month ago, is his first foray across the bridge.

When I asked him if he felt he was competing with the other celebrated Thai restaurants that have come to the forefront lately, he replied, “I’m competing with myself. I’m cooking a lot of dishes that I’ve never made before, based on things my family cooked in Thailand.”

Colorful mats as wall art.

Colorful mats as wall art.

Posters set the mood.

Posters set the mood.

The dining room abuzz at night.

The dining room abuzz at night.

Recently, I had a chance to taste some of those dishes when I was invited to a media dinner.

The restaurant is done up as if you were eating at a night market in Thailand. Walls are decorated with bright-colored floor mats tables covered with slick oil-cloths printed with flowers and fruit, and the ceiling strung with strands of lights. All that’s missing is the humidity and the torrent of scooters.

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