The San Francisco Bay Area’s ideal foods in 2020

In the San Francisco Bay’s waters, famously loaded with Dungeness crabs and halibut, are colleges of small anchovies that we almost never, if at any time, try to eat immediately. But in the fingers of the crew driving Anchovy Bar (and the Progress and Point out Bird Provisions), who cleanse and brine them nearly proper off the boat, the humble baitfish become succulent and aromatic with citrus. They pair really properly with the avocado and slices of toast that accompany them. The dish’s availability coincides with the fishing time, which spans April to November.

Whilst his day job slowed down for the duration of the pandemic, culinary guide Charles Chen devoted his extra time to refining his very own variation of the burnt Basque cheesecake: 1 that captured the milk-forward taste of Japanese desserts. The last products is a triumph, comprehensive of caramel notes from the browned top rated and as silky in texture as a perfectly-ripened Brie. At the moment, the cake is manufactured by Chen in compact batches, which he sells by pop-up functions and by means of different dining places across the Bay Location.

The 1st time I went to this cozy Italian spot in Rockridge, I was overwhelmed with the wide range of handmade pasta on the menu. Randomly, I chose the casoncelli, a dish modeled after chef Michele Belotti’s mother’s rendition. Formed like individually wrapped gumballs, the toothsome pasta is crammed with a sophisticated mixture of remedied and cooked meats and Grana Padano cheese, a mix greatly increased by a powerful, organic strike of sage. Pancetta contributes sweetness and a faint smokiness beef adds bulk and the melty body fat in the prosciutto and ground pork shoulder retains the mixture tasting moist and high-class. Selecting this was like hitting the jackpot on my initial slot machine pull.

Topped with a luscious, drippy and downright suggestive fig, this constrained-edition pastry from the Richmond District’s Breadbelly bakery superbly captured the plenitude of late summer’s fruits: heat and daylight reworked into sheer sweetness. The candystripe fig from K&J Orchards was nestled in a bed of honey-flavored pastry cream and surrounded by flaky pastry studded with sesame seeds. The seeds’ toasty, somewhat savory taste was a sublime counterpoint to the sweetness of the other substances. Out there for just a couple of short weeks in August and September, the pastry was a little something really distinctive in the bakery’s currently outstanding roster of seasonal specials.

Shengjianbao — a cousin to the more common, h2o balloon-like xiaolongbao — are hard to get ideal. Stuffed with meat and broth, then steamed and fried, the dumplings provide a good deal of strategies for the approach to go mistaken. But many thanks to Lily Wong’s auteurist hands, the variation available at Hayes Valley’s Dumpling Home are loaded with a good deal of properly-seasoned soup and sculpted with an curvaceous, vase-like framework. Their golden brown bottoms are a satisfaction to crunch into, while warn your tablemates in advance so they never get squirted in the facial area with incredibly hot broth: Ingesting these is a complete practical experience. Earlier, the dumplings were only out there for in-human being dining, but the dish is now accessible for takeout.

At Flour + Water’s pandemic-period aspect job, which sells food kits and far more everyday fare than the supper-concentrated flagship, I was impressed most of all by the hoagies, which are as big as any burrito you can get in the Mission. With the exception of the fried hen sandwich, which comes on a smaller sized-dimensions roll, the hoagies — served on foot-extended rolls — are certainly very good for two foods, making this a incredibly inexpensive lunch item. The eggplant parm is an exemplar of this sandwich style, with business and crisp bread plenty of dampness from a grassy kale-pepita pesto, marinara and garlic butter and an audible inside crunch from items of fried eggplant.

Sure, the smoked brisket at Horn Barbecue in West Oakland is a superstar value ready in line for, with the way it melts like butter onto a slice of bread, but can we communicate about the potato casserole you can get as a aspect? The tacky potato casserole, motivated by operator Matt Horn’s grandmother’s recipe, is thick with cheddar cheese, butter and cream of rooster soup, with a sprinkle of environmentally friendly onions to give the luscious mass an astringent counterpoint. It is the sort of consolation foods you very long for when you want to be soothed the variety of matter you could simply take in by the spoonful though looking at “Genuine Housewives” in your pajamas.

At Intu-on Kornnawong’s Isaan Thai pop-up, the chef serves up irresistible and small bites like this shrimp toast, which I get each time I go. A mousse of shrimp and pork excess fat coats a thick, fluffy slice of Japanese milk bread, which is then fried and topped with cilantro and pickled red peppers for a vivid pop of acid. Kornnawong takes advantage of acid like a refrain takes advantage of its sopranos, wielding the superior notes to pull an usually major dish up, up and up.

Tofu nuggets, very long a punchline for the anti-vegetarian group, have been overdue for an picture rehabilitation, and Oakland’s Lion Dance Cafe has performed it. At their Singaporean-Italian vegan cafe, C-Y Chia and Shane Stanbridge’s acquire on the nugget, built from regional Hodo tofu, is massively labor-intensive. They freeze the tofu to give it a coarser, firmer texture then they brine it to infuse it with a lot more taste. The nuggets arrive breaded, fried and garnished with Thai basil and fried curry leaves, whose experienced, roasted aroma is the first point that hits you when you open up the takeout box. I daresay they are leagues better than any hen nuggets I have ever had.

Tucked absent in a aspect space at this neighborhood butcher store and sector in Bernal Heights is this small pop-up that specializes in breakfast tacos. It’s the smaller particulars here that add up to a wonderful photograph: handmade and pliant flour tortillas from La Palma significant-quality bacon, steak and chorizo (a no-brainer, many thanks to the butcher store future door) flavorful handmade tofu “chorizo” and thoughtful variants in toppings, like corn salsa and fluffy, browned potatoes, that make just about every taco sense unique and really worth ordering. Seize a single of each individual and toss down a blanket at close by Holly Park to make the most of your Saturday morning.

There aren’t that several spots in the Bay Area the place you can get pav bhaji, the popular Maharashtrian rapidly food. Which is odd due to the fact the blend of flavorsome mashed veggies, refreshing chopped onion and cilantro, and smooth toasted rolls is a authentic crowd-pleaser. Fortunately, the rendition served at Pav Bhaji Hut is bang-on, with shiny Parker Property-adjacent bread rolls, a curry topped with a pat of wealthy Indian butter, and a depth of taste that arrives only from very long, affected person cooking. For anything a lot more over-the-leading with gooey, tacky character, consider the rigorous spicy cheese variant.

When round pies are the basis of this tiny pizzeria in Windsor, a limited number of square pan pies are available each day. The thick, feather-gentle crusts take on a crackly complete in the pan and have a shocking lightness from generous fermentation. The Mush-a-roni, which won pizzaiola Leah Scurto initially location at the 2018 U.S. Pizza Cup, has a very simple composition that will fulfill just about any one: A foundation of purple sauce with pepperoni and sliced mushrooms is garnished with salty shaved Parmesan and julienned basil. The flipside to the simplicity is that, with no bold toppings or gimmicks to hide powering, everything need to be executed with the utmost care. In that way, the pizza is a revealing showcase of how very seriously Scurto and her team take the craft of pizzamaking.

A nod to the famous restaurant in Hanoi that specializes in this grilled fish dish, the cha ca la vong at Thien Very long is an fantastic rendition of a classic. Catfish fillets are seasoned with turmeric and, in pre-pandemic times, despatched out to your table with onions and fresh new dill atop a sizzling grill. On the facet are springy rice vermicelli noodles, contemporary herbs, lettuces and rice paper, which is technically optional, however a need to-purchase. Creating the perfect bite includes making a minimal rice paper wrap from just-grilled fish and a couple pinches of herbs, which you then dip in a pungent sauce produced with super-fermented shrimp, mam tom. Smelling sizzling dill and onions all all-around me in Thien Long’s eating home is one particular of the items I overlook the most about pre-pandemic eating. The restaurant is serving the dish for takeout.