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San Francisco and Northern California
publication date: Dec 29, 2006
Northern California is the epicentre of food and wine pairing so it’s pretty hard to find a restaurant that doesn’t have a crack at it. Here are a few places that I’ve been to or have been recommended to me that you might not know about, together with such obvious places of gastronomic pilgrimage as The French Laundry and Gary Danko.
Do comment below or on the forum about your experience of any of these places - and let me know of others you’ve been to that do a good job of matching food and wine - or other drinks San Francisco 1550 Hyde Cafe and Wine Bar Hyde St at Pacific (Nob Hill) 415 775 1550 (after 1pm) http://home.earthlink.net/~zootster/index.html Inexpensive but charming wine bar with fresh. seasonal, typically Californian cuisine. You can order a $15 wine pairing with the three course prix fixe menu and there are plenty of wines by the glass. A 16 2355 Chestnut Street (Marina) 415 771 2216 www.a16sf.com Hugely hip neighbourhood Italian specialising in the food and wine of Campania in Italy. 40 wines by the glass, wine flights and regular wine dinners. Bacar 448 Brannan (SoMa) 415 904 4100 www.bacarsf.com One of two well established wine venues in the city (the other being Eos) owned by wine director Debbie Zachareas and Arnold Eric Wong. Of the 1300 strong winelist 65 are available by the two- and five-ounce pour, by 250ml or 500ml decanter, and in flights and they hold lots of imaginative wine events involving discounted deals on wine Cav Wine Bar and Kitchen 1666 Market St. (Hayes Valley) 415 437 1770 www.cavwinebar.com Limited but nicely thought out menu of small ‘bites’ and plates “given a contemporary twist to allow each dish to pair with a broader selection of wines” Many wines are available by the 2.5 oz or 5 oz glass. They also run wine classes and wine tastings Gary Danko 800 North Point at Hyde Street (Fisherman's Wharf) 415 749 2060 www.garydanko.com One of San Francisco’s best restaurants offers a sensibly short seasonal tasting menu paired with imaginatively chosen wines - and sakes. Champagne is a speciality - they list bottles from over 100 houses. Typical matches:
Westin St Francis, 335 Powell Street 415 397 9222 www.michaelmina.net Particularly good selection of wines by the glass available in both ‘taste’ and ‘glass’ size including such stellar bottlings as Tollot-Beaut Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2001. The fixed price menus are innovative too as are the add-on Tableside Classics which include signature dishes such as a caviar cart, lobster pot pie and whole fried chicken for two. There are also tasting menus with accompanying wines devised by top sommelier Rajat Parr. Rubicon 558 Sacramento Street 415 434 4100 www.sfrubicon.com Master Sommelier Larry Stone may have moved on but Rubicon is still considered to boast an outstanding list and wine program (even though the website is irritatingly out of date) Sushi-Ran 107 Caledonia street, Sausalito 415 332 3620 www.sushiran.com This top end Michelin-starred Japanese fusion restaurant specialises in pairing their dishes with both sake and wine, favouring German riesling, Alsace gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir from Sonoma and Willamette Valley with their raw fish dishes. Vino Venue 686 Mission Street 415 341 1930 www.vinovenue.net Vino Venue is an highly original wine bar cum wine shop where you can buy a ‘tasting card’ which you insert into one of the automated wine tasting stations, select a wine and receive a one ounce pour. A great place to try all kinds of great wines says my informant. More feedback please Northern California Calistoga BarVino Mount View Hotel and Spa, 1457 Lincoln Avenue 707 942 9900 www.bar-vino.com Recently opened and recommended by a wine industry friend who tells me that BarVino offers an attractive range of ‘tapas-style’ small plates to pair with an eclectic selection of fairly priced wines. Healdsburg Cyrus 29 North St (at Healdsburg Ave), 707 433 3311. www.cyrusrestaurant.com "If you want to find the next superstar chef, look no further than Douglas Keane” writes the San Francisco Chronicle’s legendary restaurant critic Michael Bauer who awarded it his top rating of four stars. This is exciting food (there’s a champagne and caviar menu) delivered in a very customer-friendly way. You choose the number of courses you want for a fixed price (at the time of writing 3 courses for $68, 4 for $80 and 5 for $92 then choose the number of courses you’d like them to pair for you from three courses at $ 42 to seven at $ 89 . Dry Creek Kitchen Hotel Healdsburg 317 Healdsburg Avenue 707 431-0330 www.charliepalmer.com/dry_creek/ Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen might be regarded as just another celebrity chef restaurant but they have made a commitment to the region with an all-Sonoma wine list and have some great wine-related events including an annual ‘Pigs and Pinot’ celebration. They also offer a ‘Sonoma neighbor’ 3 course menu from Monday to Thursday, paired with local wines for a very reasonable $45 Typical pairings
Napa Bounty Hunter 975 1st St 707 255 0622 http://bountyhunterwine.com “Mark Pope has single-handedly made downtown Napa fun with this great wine bar” says my Napa mole. There are wine flights, 40 wines by the glass and some 400 by the bottle. Food is homey and the beer can chicken not to be missed! St Helena Martini House 1245 Spring Street @ Oak, 707 963 2233 www.martinihouse.com Not, as you might imagine a bar but an atmospheric wine country restaurant jointly owned by one of San Francisco’s leading restaurant designers Pat Kuleto and chef Todd Humphries (ex Campton Place). Humphries’ speciality is wild food especially mushrooms. He offers a choice of tasting menus matched with wines. They also have an impressive stock of older vintages Typical pairings:
900 Meadowood Lane 800 458 8080 www.meadowood.com The Restaurant at Meadowood-just re-opened with a new chef and concept. This over-looked gem has one of the Valley’s most extensive all-Napa lists. Wine pairings are available for each course and the restaurant also offers a nightly seven-course Chef's Menu along with artisan cheeses and desserts. Rutherford La Toque 1140 Rutherford Cross Road 707 963 9770 www.latoque.com Chef Ken Franks has been offering wine pairings for years at his popular Napa Valley restaurant but his approach is a particularly good one. There’s a wine pairing menu of suggested wines to choose from for each dish of his tasting menu (at $62 for 4 glasses). They also offer a range of truffle menus each year which are paired with some impressively mature vintages Typical pairings:
Yountville The French Laundry 6640 Washington Street 707 944 2380 www.frenchlaundry.com What is there left to say about Thomas Keller’s fabulous French Laundry - except the little known possibility of being able to bring your own wine (as seems to be the case with many wine country restaurants) and a reminder that bookings need to be made two months in advance. Their sommeliers, they say, are ‘trained to anticipate the guests’ needs and recommend classic or adventuresome wine pairings’ As indeed they should in any restaurant of this calibre. 
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