By Emma Krasov. Photography by Yuri Krasov
San Francisco, California, is one of the most famous culinary enclaves in the world. You would be hard pressed to name a world cuisine that wouldn’t be somehow represented in the city and its environs. From tiny takeout places to designer eateries that serve chefs’ original creations, you’ll find any ethnic specialty, fusion, and novelty you crave or are curious to try for the first time in the San Francisco Bay Area restaurants.
Parche, Oakland
A fruitful collaboration of Chef/owner Paul Iglesias and Executive Chef Juan Hormiga in Oakland‘s Colombian restaurant Parche delivered this recently opened establishment to the height of popularity in a stunningly short time. Couples, families, and larger groups of friends or colleagues flock to the festive bar and dining hall decorated with Colombian folk textiles, art pieces, movie posters, and a swarm of yellow butterflies as a tribute to the Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
To reflect Colombia’s rich culinary heritage, its biodiversity and traditional family recipes that continue to bring joy to new generations, Parche kitchen uses some native ingredients, like lulo—an orange nightshade fruit with citrusy flavor that adds a beautiful green hue and a pronounced tartness to cocktails and soft drinks. Como un Lulo is one of the many craft cocktails on the restaurant menu, while Lulo Shandy with lime and Estrella Galicia 0%, and La Lulada with lime and sparkling water are both non-alcoholic, and brightly refreshing.
Among the starters, El Cartagenero stands out as a complex protein rich salad made of furikake crusted yellowfin tuna, smoked calamari, celery root, and hearts of palm purée, dressed with roasted Fresno peppers aioli and an amazing, poured tableside, red beet leche de tigre.
A lush, seasonal fruit salad Frutas a la Ines contains carved cantaloupe and honeydew melons compressed in aguardiente, pickled toybox tomatoes, papaya-lime vinaigrette, lulo-guava gel, avena granita, and basil oil.
A handmade corn cake, called Envuelto de Mazorca is wrapped in corn husk, and sprinkled with crema, “crumbs” of migas de hongo, and basil dust.
Of the main courses, Pesca Samaria brings to the table a pan fried catch of the day alongside toasted coconut rice, estilo titote, charred onions, citrus bean salad, and shrimp tuile topped with coconut beurre blanc and basil oil.
Tamal Tolimense is served in banana leaves that reveal corn-rice masa, morsels of rabbit and chicharron, pickled spicy berries, crispy chickpeas, aji, and carrot puree.
And the best is yet to come! Parche is well known for its delectable housemade sorbets created from tropical and seasonal California fruit, like mango, pineapple, tamarind, lulo, strawberry, cherry, and on and on. https://www.parcheoak.com/.
Portola Bistro, Portola Valley
The newest, just opened in an upscale neighborhood of Portola Valley French-Italian eatery with a comprehensive list of European and California wines and beers, Portola Bistro is suitable for casual dinners and larger corporate and family celebrations. Co-owners Chef Allen Isik and restaurateur Dino Tekdemir are known in the Bay Area for their recent success with a Greek inspired Barbayani Taverna in Los Altos.
Besides the light and roomy indoor dining space with floor to ceiling windows, the restaurant boasts a heated patio, and a well-designed welcoming bar. A centerpiece of the semi open kitchen is a wood-fired oven for baked to order homemade breads and pizzas. In addition to these crowd pleasers, the dinner menu features freshly made daily Deviled Eggs with truffle and parmesan chips, Bruschetta made with marinated seasonal tomatoes, Portobello Pizza, House Signature Pizza, Slow-Braised Lamb with mushroom pappardelle and parmesan cheese, Beef Bourguignon, and other delectable treats, including a heavenly classic Tiramisu for dessert.
“We’re thrilled to bring Portola Bistro to this beautiful community,” said Chef Allen Isik. “We’ve designed the space to feel like a home away from home, where guests can unwind over delicious food and great company. With a menu inspired by our favorite flavors from across Europe, combined with the vibrant, fresh ingredients California is known for, we’re excited to create a dining experience that is both unique and welcoming.” https://portolabistro.com/.
Wizards & Wands, San Francisco
With the fest of Halloween fast approaching it would be wise to come for a celebratory feast at Wizards & Wands, a recent edition to the San Francisco’s crowded bar scene. Dark, mischievous, and undeniably exciting, this place is more humorous than spooky, but surely fitting for the magic potions and weird bites served here—if you’re in a mood for some wizardry.
Creative cocktails, like Unicorn Blood (pea flower infused vodka, La Marca prosecco, bergamot, citrus, honey, shimmer), Polly Potion (bourbon, house green apple and Asian pear puree, yuzu, mint, egg white), and especially Smoke & Mirrors (rye, Maraska Green Walnut, turbinado sugar, tobacco, black walnut bitters, smoke) produce quite a visual effect with live fire, smoke, and mini fireworks when they arrive at the table.
The sorcerous libations are supplemented by curious things from the Cauldron Cookery menu: Dragon’s Breath (flaming hot Cheetos with liquid nitrogen), Deviled Dragon Eggs (guacamole, pickled jalapeno, cilantro), Darko’s Oyster Dip (housemade smoked oyster dip served with Kettle chips) and others, decorated with candy wings or chocolate frogs, and whimsically plated. https://www.opentable.com/r/wizards-and-wands-san-francisco.
NUSA, Emeryville Located inside a popular with lunching crowd and always busy Public Market Food Hall in Emeryville, NUSA Indonesian Bakery came to existence thanks to the partnership of chef/owner Jennifer Huang with La Cocina—a nonprofit business incubator, since 2005 focused on improving entrepreneurial opportunities for women, first of all immigrants and people of color. Chef Jennifer is always here—at NUSA’s kiosk with a little kitchen, and some tables and chairs in front of it—working on her classic Indonesian salads, skewers, meat-and-rice platters, and traditional pastries—true to her mission to introduce and broaden the appeal of Indonesian cuisine in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Some influences from Chinese, Indian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Middle-Eastern cultures can be traced in NUSA’s signature dishes, like Indonesian Fried Rice Nasi Goreng, Caramelized Spiced Beef Rendang, Chicken Sate Ayam, 1000 Layer Cake (Spekkoek), Pandan Mochi Layer, and Sweet Rice Pandan Custard. https://publicmarketemeryville.com/, https://www.lacocinasf.org/, https://nusasf.square.site/.
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