Like the year prior, 2021 has tested us all (on so many levels). So suffice to say that we’re all deserving of a treat-yo’-self gastronomic outing before the year comes to an end.
With that in mind: These five notable newcomers cover the gamut, from fine dining pop-ups to Peninsula food halls housing Michelin-starred chefs. In addition to our standout restaurants reviewed in full this month — Le Fantastique, La Bande, Besharam, Bluestem Brasserie plus the top 12 new restaurants of 2021 — these five new restaurants are worth dining at now.
Anomaly
After multiple pop-up locations, including the current joy of an experience in the lofty Serpentine Dogpatch, Anomaly — from chef Mike Lanham (who came from the likes of Spruce, Auberge du Soleil, Solbar) — is opening its first brick and mortar in 2022. The current Serpentine menu, at roughly $100, is a deal for as exquisite a menu as you’ll find for $150+ per person elsewhere. Feeling like a sibling of Saison/Joshua Skenes’ iconic uni on liquid toast, a starter supplement of cold Siberian caviar over hot French toast has a butter mochi-esque chew, warm and cool, umami and briny alternately. In a similar spirit, hot and cold carrot soup with liquid nitrogen sumac snow elevates soup and brings home extremes.
“An Egg: Sort of” is already an Anomaly signature, understandably so, as a fluffy round of whipped potato dotted with crispy skin bits and yolk jam. Highlights include petrale sole in a silky Champagne sauce with finger limes and celtuce, to celeriac and crispy cabbage in black truffle cheese, brown butter sunflower seeds and green apple, paired with a lean yet fruity 2017 Alta Mora Etna Rosso. Unexpected surprises include a bread course of proper smoked pao de queijo Brazilian tapioca rolls with a shot of mandarin mint soda, or among the mignardises, irresistible peanut butter fudge I wish I could stock up on. Consider Anomaly and chef Lanham one to enjoy and watch, both now and in its future home.
// 2495 3rd Street, https://anomalysf.com
State Street Market
The chill little Peninsula downtown recently got a destination-worthy food hall, one small enough to feel communal, large enough to make a moveable feast out of. State Street Market officially opened September 2021 with vendors rolling out and key ones coming in 2022, including El Alto from SF chef legend Traci Des Jardins, a new Cowgirl Creamery, and Cal-Indian Little Blue Door from the nation’s only two Michelin-starred Indian chef, Srijith Gopinathan of SF’s Campton Place and Palo Alto’s Ettan. State Street’s center bar serves straightforward but crushable cocktails (think classic Mules, Americanos, etc.) on a menu from San Francisco bar legend, Enrique Sanchez, who nods to his native Peru — and SF, where the drink was invented — in a falernum and Yellow Chartreuse-laced Pisco Punch.
All are reasons to mark this on next year’s hit list, but there are current standouts worth visiting now, namely modern Korean-Taiwanese food at Bǎo Bèi from Meichih and Michael Kim (of Palo Alto’s closed Michelin-starred, Korean fine dining Maum). I miss Maum but would go anywhere the Kims are cooking. Bǎo Bèi did not disappoint. The menu will continue to expand, alongside drinks like SF Korean brewer Dokkaebier beers, Hana Makgeoli and Hwanggeum Bori Soju. There are, indeed, bao buns, like a crowd-pleasing pork belly, but my favorite is the fried shrimp cake bao, overflowing with Taiwanese cabbage slaw, black vinegar aioli and pickled jalapenos. I could not resist Dan Dan Mian noodles laden with crumbled Berkshire Pork, peanut sauce, bean sprouts, fried garlic, cilantro, scallions, chili oil, peanuts and a sous vide egg — like a modern version of Sichuan classic dan dan noodles with a Xian peanut-y spirit.
Ostro, another notable vendor, is a raw oyster bar serving local and West Coast oysters alongside ceviches, like Asian-tinged King salmon in soy, ginger, sesame, scallions, scooped up with wonton chips, to Mexican-influenced local rockfish, bright with lime, chipotle, avocado, cilantro and tortilla chips. All is even better sipping 2020 La Cana Albarino from Spain’s Rias Baixas region.
For dessert, aged soy bu ding wows as a “pudding” that will win over salted caramel fans, layered in Korean aged soy, Taiwanese black sugar syrup and roasted rice whipped cream.
// 170 State Street, Los Altos; www.statestreetmarket.com
The Madrigal
Opened December 4, 2021, from Hi Neighbor Hospitality (Trestle, The Vault Steakhouse, The Vault Garden), The Madrigal feels like what the space should have always been. Formerly Corridor, the lofty, curved room, with balcony dining area overlooking the centerpiece bar, kitchen and curved banquettes, now sports impressive floor tiling and chandeliers with a retro, midcentury vibe. Joe Humphrey’s addictive dishes make it a gourmet bar food spot. Think fermented black garlic bread in nasturtium honey butter, Liberty duck confit smashburgers or dissolve-in-your-mouth California sweet onion rings dipped in pickled fennel tartar sauce.
Mike McCardle’s cocktails center the alluring space. The French Fit stands out as a silky-bitter combination of Yellow Chartreuse, Suze Gentian Liqueur, tequila and Cocchi Americano. This drink-forward stop is just what pre- and post-symphony, opera, ballet, SFJazz and Orpheum theater needed — but is also worth a chic night out on its own. Oh, and save room for that cinnamon roll sundae.
// 100 Van Ness Avenue, www.themadrigalsf.com
Barrio Chino
Barrio Chino opened September 2021 from Pete Mrabe of Chubby Noodle and Don Pisto’s. Mrabe has faced his share of controversy in recent years, but his spots turn out crowd-pleasing food with playful flair. Barrio Chino’s Chinese food with Mexican influence is a welcome casual eatery or takeout/delivery newcomer for tender, sweet-savory sesame beef, ginger-redolent General Tso’s chicken or rare Singapore chili Gulf prawns, vivid in serrano and habanero peppers with garlic and lime. Fried rice comes in a few forms, the standout being Mexican red rice laced with egg, scallions and a happy addition of hot sausage.
// 2030 Lombard Street, www.barriochinosf.com
Vico Cavone
In a city rife with regional and modern Italian excellence, Vico Cavone isn’t exactly going to rock any boats. But the new (December 2021), all-day casual restaurant feels like a typical Naples eatery. Opened by Alessandro Raimondi, Sanaa Hams and Giancarlo Esposito, it’s Naples’ transplant Raimondi’s first restaurant, a sweet ode to his father who passed awy when he was 11. Heavy on pizza and pasta, the wood-burning oven-centered cafe recalls a standard neighborhood restaurant in Italia. While pasta dishes like tomato-mozzarella-basil gnocchi or sides like cold zucchine alla scapece soaked in white wine vinegar, garlic and mint are gratifying, Esposito is a pizzaiolo. This means solid Neapolitan pizzas center the menu. I venture to say the reason to come (or order out) is his mortadella pizza, a dreamy treat of mortadella and burrata over pistachio cream. In a town swimming in standout pizzas of varying styles, this particular pizza you won’t find anywhere else.
// 4248 18th Street, http://vicocavone.com
