[ad_1]
In this weekly column, I’ll be sharing the best food I’ve eaten in the San Francisco Bay Area lately. While the list may include Instagram-only deals or seasonal tasting menu items, I’ll make sure to include things you might reasonably get now.
This week’s edition features a fragrant South Indian dish, fine tostada, and the best knafeh I’ve had in a long time. Check out my recommendations from last week here.
Chicken Chettinad in Tilak
At Tilak, an Indian restaurant in Bernal Heights, both the long menu of 40 items seems appealing; it is difficult to choose something to order. But something immediately caught my eye: Chicken Chettinad ($ 14), named after a historic trade hotspot in Tamil Nadu, India. Chettinad’s cuisine, a blend of Arabic, Southeast Asian, and other flavors for centuries, is a rarity in the Bay Area, with only about three restaurants specializing in it. So I jumped at the chance to try the cuisine of owner chef Tilak Gurung.
The dish is served with a rich coconut sauce and topped with toasted spices and aromatic flavors: cardamom, onion, cinnamon and pepper. The spicy red oil floats around the edges of the curry; whole spices pop into your mouth as you eat. The aroma is concentrated, but application with a scalpel prevents it from having a muddy or cacophonous taste. Try it with roti ($ 2), because you know you’ll want to dip the sauce with something.
Tilak. Open for indoor dining, take out and delivery. 5 pm-10pm Wednesday to Monday. 3501 Mission Street, San Francisco. 415-647-4037 or https://tilaksf.com
Nettle Tostada at Avery
Nettle Leaf and Trout Egg Tostadas at Avery in San Francisco Sun Ho / The Chronicle
The nine-course tasting menu ($ 118) at San Francisco’s Avery is one of the hidden gems of the city’s food scene. In this tiny restaurant on Fillmore Street, chef-owner Rodney Wages and his small team serve up exquisite and imaginative haute cuisine: tortellini as delicate as cat ears; a fermented pineapple drink with sauerkraut essence; Mini cranberry strudel toaster.
The whole Wages menu is sobering, but the dish I went to bed was a wild nettle tostada. Fried in a translucent tempura batter, a leaf of wild nettle seems to be preserved in glass. On top are pieces of smoked trout, accompanied by its oceanic eggs. The fermented ramps give the two-bite dish a punch adjacent to the pickles, and the cultured cream moistens the palate.
Avery. Open for indoor meals from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday to Sunday. 1552 Fillmore St., San Francisco. www.AVERYsf.com
Manakish baked and grill Kanafeh
I don’t often do random restaurant visits, but the promise of za’atar-sprinkled flatbreads drew me to Walnut Creek this week. Opened in late 2019, Manakish Oven and Grill is a Lebanese counter-service outlet focused on casual eating, with a menu of manakish, flatbread, with toppings like three-tipped shawarma, cheese and cauliflower. But it was the kanafeh ($ 7.50) that unexpectedly hooked me.
The sweet and savory cheese is covered with grated filo pastry and served with a simple syrup flavored with cardamom. It is cooked to order so that the cheese partially melts and the strands of bird’s nest dough are crisp, the textures stand out like a bowl of cereal, but inside out.
Manakish oven and grill. Open for take out, delivery and indoor and outdoor seating. 10.30am-8pm Sunday and Monday; 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; 10.30am-9.45pm Friday and Saturday. 2905 N. Main St., Walnut Creek. 925-949-8334 or manakishoven.com
Soleil Ho is the food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hooleil
[ad_2]
picture credit