Wyndham Wisdom

San Francisco Feasts

Even in this foodie's paradise, some of the best bites can be had at budget prices. Sweet!

San Francisco has always been something of a gourmet ghetto, a culinary universe unto itself. Here Alice Waters is worshipped, farm-fresh materials rule and artisanal spirits fuel the cocktail scene. Most San Franciscans appreciate the warmth of a neighborhood restaurant more than high-concept food or splashy design. So while fancy restaurants elsewhere are sinking, this city's chefs are happily applying their talents to modest personal spots that deliver big flavor--and terrific ingredients--without breaking the bank. Here's our pick of seven restaurants that pack value and flavor, including a self-serve museum café, a spot that serves the world's greatest coffee and another where greenmarket ingredients are given an Indian twist.

BRENDA'S FRENCH SOUL FOOD
After working at some of the city's top kitchens, Brenda Buenviaje decided that what she wanted was an unpretentious place of her own. Her petite diner-like restaurant pays homage to her New Orleans roots with jazz on the jukebox and a lusty Creole-inflected menu. There are awesome fried-oyster Po Boys for lunch, but it's the breakfast items--served till 3 p.m.--that keep the place packed. Think celestial pineapple upside-down pancakes, soft runny grits (more like polenta, really) with tomatoey shrimp, big doughy crawfish beignets and sweet waitresses who keep refilling your cup with Community coffee, the Crescent City's signature roast. 652 Polk St.; 415-345-8100; breakfast for two, $28*

THE SENTINEL
Office workers and foodies alike line up at this cheery downtown nook to sample designer sandwiches by Dennis Leary (who also owns the tiny and terrific Canteen). The small menu changes seasonally; highlights have included a masterful roasted asparagus and mushroom sandwich with Parmesan mayonnaise, and slow-roasted pork with a fig and balsamic vinegar paste stuffed into a crusty bun. Leary outdoes himself with his corned beef sandwich: slices of savory meat piled into fabulous flatbread along with Austrian gruyère and tangy house-pickled cabbage. At breakfast time, the place smells of freshly baked brioche. 35 New Montgomery St.; 415-284-9960; lunch for two, $30

BERETTA
With its convivial vibe, communal tables and smart friendly service, this Mission District hotspot is the kind of neighborhood place every city should have. The menu favors unfussy Italian food sourced locally. But Beretta also indulges the city's current obsession with creative artisanal cocktails and thin-crust pizzas (try the one with baccalà, potatoes and capers). There's also an extensive roster of irresistible antipasti--even the olives here are special--and soulful daily specials like a spoon-tender braised pork hock with polenta and cavolo nero cabbage, which chef (and co-owner) Ruggero Gadaldi cooks with something approaching love. 1199 Valencia St.; 415-695-1199; dinner for two, $60

ACADEMY CAFÉ
Homegrown superchefs Charles Phan and Loretta Keller had an instant hit when they opened a pair of eateries inside the new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The Moss Room is fancier (though not too expensive), but the self-serve Academy Café is a wonderland of affordable fare made from eclectic organic ingredients. One station serves succulent Beelers pork carnitas folded into corn tortillas; another offers the vibrant Vietnamese dishes that made Phan famous, like fragrant pho soup. Even the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a treat, reinvented with quince jam and chunky almond paste. 55 Music Concourse Dr.; 415-876-6121; lunch for two, $30

COI
Daniel Patterson has earned local love and national laurels for the high-wire tasting menus at this elegantly understated spot in North Beach. Want a taste without committing to the $125 prix fixe? Any tasting-menu dish--plus more, on a separate streamlined menu--can be ordered à la carte at the swanky front lounge. Even if you're just there for a casual bite (say, a stew of organic chicken, wheatberry and matsutake mushrooms), you might be seduced into trying at least one dish from the fine-dining menu. If so, make it the stunner called Oysters Under Glass: plump mollusks beneath a transparent veil of yuzu gelée. 373 Broadway; 415-393-9000; dinner in the lounge for two, $70

BLUE BOTTLE CAFÉ
Coffee made with micro-roasted organic artisanal beans from esoteric plantations has become a Bay Area cult, and this airy industrial-chic café near Market Street is currently the city's top caffeine temple. The design-centric space serves terrific espresso drinks, but connoisseurs insist on the sublimely fragrant brewed coffee made in a $20,000 halogen-powered Japanese siphon. With the joe come haute-rustic pastries and shockingly perfect poached eggs (organic, of course) served on fluffy Acme Bread toast. It's the sort of dish that has helped cement San Francisco's reputation as America's breakfast capital. 66 Mint St.; 415-495-3394; breakfast for two, $28

DOSA ON FILLMORE
South Indian spice met greenmarket produce at the original Dosa in the Mission District. To feed their expanding fan base, Dosa's owners recently opened this sleeker, loungier outpost in Japantown. Expect the same killer cocktails and authentic cuisine, perfectly presented. Considering the attention to detail and ingredients, the $39 four-course prix fixe is fabulous value. Or you can go à la carte, starting with plump, multi-spiced South Indian crab cakes followed by dosa--a huge, lacy, rice-and-lentil crepe filled with masala potatoes. To finish, order the Kerala fish moilee with coriander, cumin and coconut sauce. 1700 Fillmore St.; 415-441-3672; dinner for two, $80

*Meal prices cover a meal for two, not including drinks, tax or tip.

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