FOOD & DRINK
Out to Lunch in San Francisco
Why not try lunching at some of San Fran’s top tables when it’s easier to get a table and often more affordable? Here are the crème de la crème of the city’s midday meals.
It’s hard to think of a more pleasant place for lunch. Located in the Ferry Building at the end of Market Street and with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay, this restaurant will remind you what the panorama setting on your digicam was made for. The menu for the modern Vietnamese cuisine reads like a list of my favourite things: crispy imperial rolls, barbecued pork spareribs with honey hoisin sauce, and spicy squid, all dinner specialties that can also be devoured at lunch hour. The evening menu features a few more meat dishes, but the soul-soothing noodle bowls, like rice noodles with chicken, shrimp or pork, are only offered at noon.
This cozy two-floor eatery elevates comfort food to the sublime. A San Francisco landmark near the Civic Center, Zuni Café is known for signature dishes like oven-roasted whole Tuscan chicken and what’s considered the best burger in town. Although both standout selections are house staples, the burger is only available at lunch or after 10 p.m. Treats such as Caesar salad, cheese gnocchi and bread salad also satisfy the desire for unpretentious, good home cooking, while the oyster bar is a great way to kick off any meal. With prices significantly cheaper at lunch, aim for a meal midday – only be sure to schedule in a siesta afterwards.
A bistro by name and nature, this intimate brasserie, just south of Market Street, is the perfect place to break bread at lunch. The menu features Basque-inspired cuisine plus French classics, from duck confit and mussels to foie gras terrine and steak frites. All are available at lunch and dinner but are slightly less expensive at lunch. Lunch fare also features imaginative twists on French favourites. For instance, calamari is paired with jalapenos and chorizo, and the beef carpaccio is topped with Szechuan pepper dressing and crispy horseradish. Both are highly addictive.
Boasting two Michelin stars, this chic dining room has been a major player in San Francisco’s Financial District since it opened in 1991. Known for its elegant formal interior and monumental floral arrangements, it’s the perfect place for any celebratory occasion or just to grab a drink at the maple-top bar. (Chef Laurent Manrique’s gorgeous cuisine is more than a match for the well-heeled clientele.) At lunch, two prix fixe menus are available at less than half the cost of the seven-course dinner menu. Look out for signature appetizers such as the Moroccan-inspired ahi tuna tartare as well as for the foie gras and entrées like Maine scallops and monkfish.
In Napa Valley (just over an hour’s drive outside the city), devotees of chef Thomas Keller phone months in advance in hopes of scoring reservations for either lunch or dinner. Whether you feast during the day or at night, the tasting menus are identical and cost the same. Brilliant and whimsical fare, the grilled Sea of Japan octopus, cauliflower pannacotta and bacon-crusted New Bedford diver scallops are just a few choice items that grace patrons’ plates. And for dessert, will it be the bitter chocolate pavé or the chocolate royale with milk chocolate foam? (You can’t go wrong with either.)
(Calgary-based freelance writer Karen Ashbee wrote about California’s Orange County in the February 2007 issue of onAir.)
Getting there
Air Canada, in cooperation with Star AllianceTM member airline United Airlines, offers the most daily non-stop flights to San Francisco, with service from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. Take a trip! Plus, take advantage of our great deals on hotels and car rentals.
TOP PHOTO: JACK HOLLINGSWORTH / CORBIS
FRINGALE: JACQUES MUELLER
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