How does one create a restaurant that is green and sustainable on every level and even helps reduce our carbon footprint? It only seems natural that such an ambitious movement should start in San Francisco with a new breed of restaurant called The Perennial. From there we move from the future to an oasis in the Tenderloin and a true shrine to gin. Meet Whitechapel and be transported to a Victorian-era distillery inside an abandoned London Underground station.
 
The Perennial
After two years in the making The Perennial opened earlier this year in the bustling Mid-Market corridor at 59 9th Street. Owners Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz (Mission Chinese Food, Commonwealth) have embraced the lofty goal of creating a restaurant that has minimal impact on the planet, adheres to sustainable practices for every component of food and beverage service—including sourcing meats and produce from growers who engage in carbon farming—to create a platform for others to follow that could ultimately reverse climate change. A 2,000 square-foot aquaponic greenhouse is underway in the East Bay that will provide the restaurant with most of its produce.

Photo by Kelly Puleio

Finding real Spanish cuisine in SF has always proved challenging. While there are several very good “Spanish-inspired” restaurants they typically do not embrace many of the classic and beloved dishes one finds while traveling through the regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Allow me to introduce you to Bellota (refers to the acorn diet of the “pata negra” pigs) a stunning new project from The Absinthe Restaurant Group. From there we will explore MOMA’s In Situ where chef Cory Lee (Benu, Monsieur Benjamin) painstakingly recreates famous chef dishes from around the globe.
 
Bellota
After three years of planning, research and design Bellota is now open in a historic building located at 888 Brannan Street in SOMA. The 170-seat, 5400 square foot space was designed by Sagan Piechota Architecture and features a level of design detail not seen in many restaurants. Upon entering guests are greeted by a massive glass wall displaying dozens of the highly prized Jamón Ibéricos as well as 2,500 bottles of Spanish wine. The bar and main dining room have tabletops and counters crafted from California bay laurel with Costa Brava blue leather chairs and booths. Moorish details abound throughout in the form of saffron-colored, tufted leather walls, stencils and brass table lamps.

Photo by James Stolich

​Given the complexity and disparity of the dishes this could be a challenging restaurant for diners were it not inside an art museum. It is a rare intellectual opportunity to try so many creative international dishes without stepping onto a plane. The kitchen is still ramping up so some countries such as Spain are not yet fully realized but will appear on the menu in the months to come. Perhaps the most beautiful and emblematic dish of the moment is The Forest. Created by Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco for his restaurant Mirazur in Menton, France the dish is homage to mushrooms and all things with an earthy texture. A bounty of wild mushrooms is served over a quinoa risotto with parsley “moss” and soft-boiled potatoes. In Situ is open daily from 11am until 4pm.

There is never a shortage of new restaurant openings—and closures for that matter—in our vibrant and ever-changing city. Who would think that some of the most expensive and pristine sushi would be found inside an unremarkable storefront in SOMA, or that some of the best and most authentically prepared Italian food can be found inside a hotel that caters to tourists?
 
Tratto
The Theater District has an exciting new Italian restaurant inside the Marker Hotel at 501 Geary Street. For nearly 18 years the iconic space was home to Grand Café and more recently the short-lived BDK/Hotel Monaco. The new concept comes from the restaurant-consulting firm the Puccini Group along with a freshly renovated interior with bright white walls, leather banquettes and an art installation from Amos Goldbaum featuring a series of large, landscape line drawings focused on the city skyline and the Tenderloin.

Photo by Patrick Chin

Another must-order dish for the table is the fritto misto with calamari, rock shrimp, fennel, lemon and Calabrian chili oil. As for entrees indulge in the iron skillet bone-in rib eye with crispy potatoes and King trumpets, all heavily inflected with the scent of rosemary. Be sure to try one or two specialty cocktails from beverage director Cynthia Tran. Tratto is open seven days a week for breakfast, dinner and weekend brunch.
 
​Omakase
Located in SOMA along the busy and non-descript Townsend street corridor across from the Zynga headquarters is a little known, hidden gem that has been serving some of the most pristine sushi in the city for the better part of a year. With just 14 seats around the yellow cedar bar Omakase makes for a very intimate experience. Owner Kash Feng (Live Sushi Bar, Live Sushi Bistro) brought on head chef Jackson Yu (Ukai in Japan, Live Sushi, Ebisu) and consulting chef Masaki Sasaki (previously of Maruya) to create a high-end Edomae-style sushi experience.
 
There is no set menu. Guests choose between two pricing options of $150 or $200 a person (not including sake pairing). The latter typically includes two appetizers, two pieces sashimi, one yakimono or grilled dish and twelve pieces of nigiri, all personally selected by the chef. Dishes change daily and fish is flown in three times a week from Japan’s Tsukiji Fish Market. Servers dressed in traditional kimonos carefully explain the menu and attentively pour sake into handmade Japanese pewter cups, designed to keep the liquid cool. On any given day guests will have the opportunity to taste rare and often hard-to-procure fish such as live conch with botan ebi or tiny Japanese spiny lobster served with abalone. A nigiri serving might include a piece of barracuda, expertly scored, seared with a blowtorch and served barely warm. Omakase—located at 665 Townsend Street—is open Monday through Saturday for dinner.

Photo by John Storey

It has been seven years since Wolfgang Puck shuttered his iconic restaurant Postrio inside the Prescott Hotel at 545 Post Street. Now rebranded as Hotel Zeppelin the former restaurant—once a frequent destination for celebrity diners and power figures like Sean Penn, Elizabeth Taylor, Willie Brown, David Letterman and the list goes on—has a new lease on life in the form of Rambler. Conceived by the Hat Trick Hospitality team Adam Snyder, Hugo Gamboa, and Andy Wasserman (owners of Sabrosa, Redford, and The Brixton) Rambler carries on the spirit of conviviality and social energy in a sleek and posh redesigned space.

Start off with one of the signature cocktails and the rotating selection of oysters on the half shell. Or just dive into the decadent clams casino (bacon, celery root, bread crumbs, parsley) or the baked Hammersley oysters with leeks, spinach and tarragon cream. Smaller plates include a very good charred little gem and broccoli salad with an anchovy and manchego vinaigrette and a comforting yet elegant chanterelle toast with a poached egg.

The menu is fairly extensive and has enough to please most palates with the likes of a lamb sausage tagliatelle, ling cod with clams, olives and shelling beans and even a fun braised rabbit pot pie to assuage the chill of winter. An array of pizzas will also be available. The decadent pork chop (pictured above) is not to be missed! Rambler is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Click here to read my interview with the Hat Trick Hospitality Trio in the Nob Hill Gazette.

The holidays have long come and gone and yet as San Franciscans we do like to celebrate continuously, particularly in establishments that have provided us with good memories over the years. Every one can rejoice that long-time SF restaurant Elite Café at 2049 Fillmore St. has reopened. New owners Andy Chun and Jan Wiginton (Schroeder’s, Press Club) quietly took over the 35-year old establishment last March and have been working to update and relaunch one of Fillmore Street’s most popular dining destinations and watering holes.

Photos by John Storey

​BCV Architects—who also handled the restoration of historic Schroeder’s—worked on the refresh of the 78-seat art deco space. The mahogany booths that were badly weathered have been spruced up with a fresh blue-gray paint job and the floor has been redone with penny tiles to closer approximate how it was in the 1920s. Some may lament the loss of the original long wooden bar that has been replaced with Carrara marble but these are new times and this is a more modern take on the original. The tabletops are marble and art deco inspired pendants now adorn the 20-foot-high ceiling.
 
Chef Chris Borges, a New Orleans native, has kept the menu true to Cajun and Creole flavors with NOLA classics such as duck gumbo and crawfish etouffée. A not to miss starter is the fried okra with vadouvan and cucumber raita. Consider pairing with bar manager Kevin Deidrich’s creative spin on a Sazerac made with Cognac. One very nice thing about the menu is that many of the items are available as half orders, enabling diners to try more dishes. One could go for the NOLA sampler and try the stewed okra, the chicken jambalaya and the red beans and rice. A not to miss classic is the Mary’s buttermilk fried chicken with house pickles. And of course there are the deviled eggs! Elite Café is open nightly for dinner and serves brunch on weekends.