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5 New Bay Area Restaurants Worth Visiting: November 2021
From Halal Israeli takeout to a great Korean grocer
The Bay Area has no shortage of restaurants — with more coming on the scene every month. Though parts of the region have quite a long ways to recover from the pandemic (i.e. downtown SF), there are examples of this slice of NorCal is coming back. And the burgeoning gastronomic landscape is evidence of just that.
From kosher Israeli takeout to a new Korean grocer, these five restaurants are worth dining at now.
Family Name (SoMa)
Family Name just opened late September 2021 inside City Beer Store by the store’s owners, Craig and Beth Wathen — already a destination in its own right with that superb beer-on-tap selection and shop. This new California bistro does right by their drink selection with 18 beer taps as of my last visit, including three sours from Belgium, SF, and OR, like the fascinating Little Beast Animal Family Foeder-aged Sour Farmhouse Ale.
The wine list is what you want a casual neighborhood restaurant: savvy, current but comfortable (e.g. a clean, crushable 2021 Deliquente “Tuff Nutt” Bianco Pet Nat from Australia).
But let’s talk food from chef Max Bauer (who cooked at Heirloom Cafe, Ichi Sushi, Blue Plate). Smoky deviled eggs brined in beetroot are rightly a house favorite, as are dissolve-in-your-mouth garlic noodles, though I couldn’t help but wish for a lot more garlic (same goes for the nuoc cham tahini on roasted delicata squash).
The sleeper hit is roasted and fresh persimmon over ricotta on crostata, accented by toasted walnuts, pomegranate molasses, and tomato water vinaigrette. It’s more creative than the typical trendy toasts and tasted like California winter. The “wow” dish came in a turmeric-spiced bouillabaisse of marinated black cod (I can taste the Ichi influence here) with mussels, scallops and roasted fennel. It stole the show. Aromatic makrut lime leaf in a Valrhona chocolate brownie topped with five spice caramel and toasted marshmallow makes for a whimsical, gratifying finish.
