Buttermilk Fried Chicken - Town Hall, SF

There’s a reason that Town Hall has had buttermilk fried chicken as a menu staple since their inception. It is just awesome. It’s the best fried chicken you may have in the last year, or perhaps your lifetime. It is simply that good. Perfect batter crunch, and sweetly tender inside, the fried chicken comes with smashed potatoes slurred with a fantastic country bacon gravy. (A colleague who had it reckoned it was the best country gravy she’d ever tasted.) The veggies are seasonal: either collard greens or, here, a chop of summer squash and tomatoes. At mid-year, Town Hall’s buttermilk fried chicken is the best fried chicken of 2009, and gets our highest grade (awesome).

Buttermilk Fried Chicken (detail), Town Hall SF

The Grade: Awesome

The Damage: $22

The Skinny: Town Hall

342 Howard Street, San Francisco CA
Phone: (415) 908-3900
Website: http://www.townhallsf.com/

Buttermilk Fried Chicken (bacar, SF)

Caveat emptor: the buttermilk fried chicken at bacar was part of a special July 4th weekend dinner that also included ribs, cole slaw, and a honey-drizzled slab of cornbread (see pic below).

But the fried chicken skin was so light and crispy and the chicken so  perfectly juicy, that I really hope they consider adding it to the menu as a more regular item. Slightly piquant, the batter was really great.

The waiter came by to say the fried chicken had soaked in buttermilk for 12 hours. Nothing like buttermilk to break down meat, making it incredibly tender. This is among the best fried chickens I’ve had in 2009, and gets my highest grade (awesome).

The Grade: Awesome

The Damage: $18

The Inside Tip: Order wines cautiously. Bacar’s wines by the glass tend to be expensive. Keep the wine list at your table so you’re not surprised at the bill.

The Skinny: bacar

448 Brannan St., San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 904-4100
Website: http://www.bacarsf.com/

Buttermilk Fried Chicken (with BBQ ribs, slaw, cornbread)

Squab (pigeon) is a funky fowl that’s favored by the French. On an episode of last season’s “Top Chef” where contestants had to cook for culinary masters, Jacques Pepin confessed his passion for squab and how it resonated with pleasant boyhood memories of growing up in France. Certainly when squab is done well, it’s a nice, tasty bird, and we have to assume Pepin’s had his share of great squab. It’s just not the sort of dish you see much in the US.  Squab’s not the kind of meat that sits politely atop anything; it looks awkward, no matter what you do. It looks like a little dead bird. Which, you know, it is.

But Chef Dennis Leary of Canteen recently pulled off the rare squab masterpiece. It’s a half squab roasted in an apricot-cumin glaze. The crisp skin was slightly smoky and sweet, and the bird rightfully juicy inside. An Indian mound of lentils beneath brought some earthiness to the earthy-toned squab meat, and a swirl of vinegar syrup rounded the plate for an additional palate tease. Visually, he couldn’t escape the dead bird on a plate fate of squab, but the tones of brown on the plate made for a clever, edible, monochromatic sculpture.

The squab was roasted to perfection, and the variance of flavors provided continual surprises. A nice birdy treat from King Leary. 

The Grade: Excellent

The Damage: $11.50

The Inside Tip #1: Canteen’s website is updated with their daily menu.

The Inside Tip #2: Canteen’s not on OpenTable.com; you have to leave message for reservation, so reserve well in advance.

The Skinny: Canteen

817 Sutter Street (at Jones)
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: (415) 928-8870
Website: www.sfcanteen.com

Spit-Roasted Goat - Cafe Rouge, Berkeley CA

Goat is not a big culinary deal (yet) for most Americans who aren’t born into those cultures who can masterfully cook goat (e.g., Greek, Argentinian). So goat is a bit of a treat, albeit a daring one, when I find it.  Cafe Rouge in Berkeley is an unassuming little bistro-style restaurant, but it offers an extensive list of house-made charcuterie items in a shop adjacent to the restaurant. And the restaurant’s approach to meat: spit-roasting in wood-fired oven. So I dared for the goat.

With mixed results. The waitress said the roasted goat plate would include goat leg or loin, but never came back to ask me which I wanted. Sadly, without being consulted, I was served up the leg: a tougher, stringier portion with less meat than the loin. The small accompanying goat bits on the plate (under the leg) were tender, medium-rare, and wonderful in the jus, and the roasted fennel beneath was terrific. So most of the plate could qualify as great. 

But a scrawny goat leg as the dish’s leading man diminished the experience. Perhaps if  both goat legs were on board, to justify the chew-through. The waitress did apologize, saying they only have 1 or 2 goats when they’re on the menu so they had to serve what they had available. But if only leg was available, that would have shifted my decision to another dish. Hopefully, a lesson learned.

Despite the faux pas, I really like the sweet atmosphere of Cafe Rouge and what executive chef/owner Marsha McBride is doing there. The service is very good; the wine list is diverse and reasonably priced; and their spit-roasted meats are really a shining moment that would keep me and many others coming back for more.

Now if only their butcher shop was open during dinner hours so I could take some charcuterie home….(hint)

The Grade: Very Good

The Damage: $18

The Inside Tip #1:

Reserve or request upstairs seating because downstairs gets extremely noisy and tables are also a bit close together. (It’s a bit warmer, but quieter.)

The Inside Tip #2:

When Cafe Rouge has softshell crab (seasonal), you MUST get it as your appetizer. They serve one of the best fried softshell crab dishes I’ve ever had…that includes Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York.  Perfect julienned beets, Russian dressing, crispy crab…too bad the season is so short.

The Skinny: Cafe Rouge

1782 – 4th Street, Berkeley CA 94170
Phone: (510) 525-1440
Website: http://www.caferouge.net/
Reserve your Cafe Rouge table directly now via Opentable.com.

Awesome Fried Softshell Crab - Cafe Rouge - Berkeley CA

Cornmeal Fried Oysters with Hobbs Bacon - Town Hall, SF

Anything with Hobbs’ Applewood Smoked Bacon would be a treat, and Hobbs’ is just fine all by its lonesome as well. But topping cornmeal-fried oysters with a fat little dice of Hobbs bacon and preserved lemon twist, all nestled in a verdant spinach-Herbsaint puree hidden in the oyster shell….wow. It’s a full bite with vibrancy of color and a pulsating set of flavors that really sets a meal off. Go Town Hall. Another stellar dish.

The Grade: Awesome

The Damage: $13 (four fried oysters)

The Skinny: Town Hall

342 Howard Street, San Francisco CA
Phone: (415) 908-3900
Website: http://www.townhallsf.com/ 

Cornmeal Fried Oysters at Town Hall, SF

Flatiron Steak at Oola, SF

A flatiron steak is usually compared to skirt or flank steak, but it’s actually a better cut that tends to be much more tender than either. When it’s properly done, it can be great. It’s a cut with nice marbling from the beef shoulder (chuck), and sometimes called “top blade,” a reference to its blade-like shape. The shape resembles a flatiron.  (For more about this cut, visit Certified Angus Beef and click on the “chuck” portion of the diagram halfway down the screen.) 

At $28, Oola’s flatiron steak is priced on par with more expensive steak cuts, but it is definitely the best flatiron steak I’ve eaten in 2009. Baring its flesh like a fashionable summer sunburn, the grilled slices skate up from a pond of peppercorn gravy: simply sumptuous morsels. The peppercorn sauce is wonderful, both rich and surprisingly light. The potato gratin is also great, and well-balanced with cheese that’s mild and doesn’t show up the beef. Again, Chef Ola Fendert takes something that is often traditionally heavy and lightens it without sacrificing any flavor. Some grilled asparagus spears add a jolt of crunch and color. 

The waitress kindly shared that Oola’s medium rare is a bit more rare than usual, which I’ve found to be how French and French-trained chefs interpret medium rare. I recommend the flatiron medium rare (as shown).

The Grade: Excellent

The Damage: $28

The Inside Tip: 

Don’t order a flatiron steak past medium or you will lose the juicy flavors; go for rare to medium-rare.

The Skinny: Oola Restaurant & Bar

860 Folsom Street (between 4th St & 5th St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 995-2061
Website: http://www.oola-sf.com/

Make reservations at Oola directly via OpenTable.com

BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs - OOLA, SF

There’s a lot of hype around Oola restaurant’s BBQ baby back ribs, and they did not disappoint. Crisp and charred on the exterior, they do that fall-off-the-bone thing once you grab onto them. Call that the rib version of seduction. The barbecue sauce is sweet and tangy with a slow-rolling peppery smoke that catches up on the finish. Ginger, soy sauce, cilantro, pepper, brown sugar…they’re all in there.  The problem is, if you order 3 (appetizer portion), you’ll wish you ordered the full 6 plate. The side slaw of red cabbage and apple is tasty but somewhat mild and creamy for my taste. The dramatic punch of the ribs craves a stronger counterpart. 

Some baby back ribs and a cocktail or a glass of wine make a perfect little meal. But if you have the motivation to make Oola’s BBQ baby back ribs yourself, Food & Wine magazine published Oola’s crispy ribs recipe in 2006. It’s almost the Fourth of July…go for it.

The Grade: Excellent

The Damage: $14 half /$26 full

The Skinny: Oola Restaurant & Bar

860 Folsom Street (between 4th St & 5th St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 995-2061

Website: http://www.oola-sf.com/

Louisiana Fried Chicken + Dirty Rice

Sometimes your body needs fried chicken. It’s not a passing urge; it’s a downright need. Your body says, “Give me fried chicken or I will do something crazy. Fried chicken, now. FRIED CHICKEN!!” 

There are a bunch of chicken chains more famous, and you can’t speak out for consistent quality across each franchise of a chain, but I must say that Louisiana Fried Chicken is killer. Super-crisp skin and drip-on-your-fingers juicy chicken. Get a two-piece or three-piece with a small side (instead of the combo with side, which is more expensive). Dirty, dirty, dirty rice. I want to wag my finger at you like Stephen Colbert, but I’ve already eaten you. 

Did I say how kick ass the chicken is, for a chicken chain?  And it’s about the only thing near AT&T Park you can get for this price before a Giants game. Skip those heinous raw garlic fries at the stadium; get your Louisiana Fried Chicken on, you orange and black screamers. Home runs here.

The Grade: Awesome 

(highest grade)

The Damage: around $6 for 2-piece chicken only with small side

Otherwise your mileage may vary.

The Skinny: Louisiana Fried Chicken

90 Locations, including Cambodia!!!
But let’s be practical:

761 Third Street, San Francisco CA
Phone: I doubt they’d answer it if I gave it to you.
Website: http://www.louisianafriedchicken.com/ (It’s annoying and not nearly as compelling as this review)

Every so often, one needs the nurturing of chicken. Odd that a nervous, annoying little fowl could render such comfort, but it’s one of the mysteries of life. For some, it’s a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup (goy), or motzah ball soup with chicken stock (oy). For me, it’s a great roasted, baked, or fried chicken. 

And the Moroccan spiced chicken at Spruce is one of the best chicken dishes I’ve had in 2009. Slightly sweet, dreamily aromatic, and skin-crisp, the bird reveals its juicy interior with a soft slice. With couscous, almonds, and dates, it veers toward the sweet without going wandering-mad in the desert. A generously portioned plate and another potential perennial favorite from Chef Mark Sullivan at Spruce. A stellar bird dish; high recommendation. 

The Grade: Excellent

The Damage: $26

The Skinny: Spruce

3640 Sacramento Street, San Francisco CA
Phone: (415) 931-5100
Website: http://www.sprucesf.com/
Hours: Lunch M – F 11:30am – 2:30pm; Dinner nightly 5 – 10pm
Chef: Mark Sullivan 

Make a reservation at Spruce via Open Table