chuck "what's up chuck" l.

9/13/2019

Excellent Mexican restaurant in an out of the way location. Food is authentic in a cozy family owned restaurant. Large portions.

11/13/2016

Delicious southern inspired comfort food expertly executed. Shrimp Diavolo and steak fried rice are delicious. With Vietnamese drip coffee? Why not?

10/24/2013

The annual Brews on the Bay celebration of local beer, held by the San Francisco Brewers Guild, has in 10 years risen to the short list of the most enjoyable only-in-San Francisco parties.
Held this year on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, Brews on the Bay combines some of the best aspects of San Francisco: the most pleasant mid-October weather; postcard-worthy vistas of the bay, the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, Alcatraz and downtown; some of the tastiest beer San Francisco breweries have to offer; and a large and mostly well-behaved throng happily rubbing elbows with the volunteers who keep the WWII Liberty Ship, the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, in tip-top seaworthy shape.
Music from the city's own bluegrass band, the rollicking Brothers Comatose, further elevated the event. Good beer, good people, great weather, an outstanding venue, and good-time music again proved an unbeatable combination.
A total of 16 breweries poured scores of beers for some 1,500 partiers and volunteers on the ship. Onboard for the first time were Cellarmaker, which opened its doors a couple of weeks ago on Folsom Street, and newcomers Pine Street and Headlands Brewing. Cellarmaker made a puckerish splash with its Petit Sour with Peach and a very respectable porter.
The Brothers Comatose were also making their maiden "voyage" on the historic vessel docked at Pier 45. "It's the first time we've ever played on a ship," observed guitarist and vocalist Ben Morrison, just as the ship rocked a bit from the wake of a departing ferry boat. Morrison previously worked at Thirsty Bear Brewing.
Many beers stood out, but Almanac's new seasonal, Golden Gate Gose, was in a class by itself. Keep an eye out for that one. Also outstanding was Social Kitchen's New World Lager, made with New Zealand hops.
Special congratulations go out to the San Francisco Brewers Guild and Executive Director Brian Stechschulte and the volunteers, who seem to top themselves every year; the security personnel that maintained order under sometimes trying circumstances; and the volunteers from the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, who didn't seem in the least put out sharing their amazing ship with all of us beer lovers.

9/17/2012

Beer Dinners Return to Social Kitchen

Good news for beer and food lovers in the Sunset District and all over the Bay Area. The beer dinners that former Brewmaster Rich Higgins initiated at Social Kitchen have returned under the guidance of Chef Chris Wong and new Brewmaster Kim Sturdavant. Even better news is that Social Kitchen's owners seem to have complete faith in this dynamic and talented duo, and it seems to be paying off. The brewpub was bustling even on a Tuesday night.
If craft beer is going to rise to the next level, it will be through intelligent pairing with fine food, similar to the way gourmets have learned to accentuate the flavors of food through wine. When it works well, the food and beverage elevate one another to heights that neither would have achieved on its own.
Even though Sturdavant and Wong have only been working together for a few months, they seem to have already developed a symbiotic empathy, and each seems to be nudging the other to raise his game.
The appetizer course kicking off the Brewmaster's Dinner, titled "An End of Summer Celebration," featured brochettes of yellow peach, pork belly and mission fig with apricot gastrique paired with Sturdavant's German-style SKB Pilsner.
Most breweries and brewpubs stay away from making pilsners, largely because they take a long time to make because unlike ales, they need to be lagered (German for "storing"). Proper German or Czech pilsners bear no resemblance to the insipid mass-produced beverages from industrial brewers. And imported lagers are often subject to spoilage in transit or "skunking" due to improper storage. Pilsners are meant to be drunk fresh. Pilsners are also a challenge for brewers, since any mistake will be readily apparent and will render the beer undrinkable.  
We in the Bay Area are fortunate to have access to excellent lagers from Moonlight Brewing and Trumer, and Sturdavant's SKB Pilsner deserves a place in that heady company. I'd visit Social Kitchen just to drink the pilsner.
The pairing with the brochettes worked out quite well. Chef Wong is a master with pork and slow cooking, and the combination of the salty pork belly and the sweet peach and fig worked nicely with the dry, crisp pilsner, fragrant with noble hops.
The first course paired Salmon Rillettes on brioche toast with Irving Street Pale Ale, an American-style pale ale that was simple yet satisfying. Sturdavant's beers demonstrate that an ale doesn't have to be big, bold and intimidating to be tasty.
The second course pitted rosemary roasted spareribs, slow cooked for several hours, against The Smell IPA. The Smell on its own is a formidable brew, loaded with hops, but Wong's spareribs overwhelmed the hop bitterness.
Perhaps the best pairing of the night was the dessert course, olive oil plum cake with Red Beauty plums, blackberry sauce and Framboise caramel, paired with Social Kitchen's Anniversary Oud Brune, a hoppy Belgian brown ale bottle-aged for four months.
As always, the service was friendly, professional and unobtrusive.
If all of this is making you hungry, you're in luck. Social Kitchen will be holding pairing dinners every month, and for $45, they might be one of the best dining bargains in town, considering the high quality of the food and the beer.
But you don't have to wait a whole month. Stop in for Social Kitchen's regular dinners or better yet, for its outstanding Sunday brunch. Wong's pork belly fried rice is quickly achieving legendary status in the Inner Sunset.
--30--

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  Salmon Rillettes

  Salmon Rillettes
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  The Smell IPA

  The Smell IPA
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  Pork spareribs paired with The Smell IPA

  Pork spareribs paired with The Smell IPA
• See all photos from chuck l. for Social Kitchen & Brewery

8/8/2010

Super Duper's burgers are more reminiscent of In 'N Out Burger than Burger Bar, but that's not necessarily a negative. They're ample and not too greasy, and the fries are skinny and crispy. The servers are efficient and friendly, and would rather call your order by name than by a number. A Niman Ranch burger will set you back $3.75 and a cheeseburger is $4.25 (add $2 each for a double). Fries are $2.25 and milkshakes and ice cream are also available.
Super Duper Burger also has something you'll never find at In 'N Out: a couple of well-selected beer taps. Granted, the beer variety isn't as extensive as Burger Bar's, but the light, refreshing North Coast Scrimshaw pilsner and the piney Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic are more than adequate. You can eat inside the cozy restaurant or, on a sunny day, sit at an outdoor table.
Whether you're in a blue state or red state, conservative or liberal, evangelical or atheist, burgers are as American as the 4th of July, diners and barbecues, and it's no wonder they are such a great match with American ales and lagers. Unlike mass-market American beers, which only add cold and wet, American craft beers like Scrimshaw and Racer 5 offset the savory umami flavors in the burger.

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  Scrimshaw outside Super Duper Burger on Market Street

  Scrimshaw outside Super Duper Burger on Market Street
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  Super Duper Burger taps.

  Super Duper Burger taps.
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  North Coast Scrimshaw pilsner with a cheeseburger at Super Duper Burger

  North Coast Scrimshaw pilsner with a cheeseburger at Super Duper Burger

8/3/2010

Epicenter Café has something for almost every denizen of SOMA. Nomadic nerds can park their laptop with a free wi-fi connection. People who crave some of the best coffee in the city can sip perfectly made espressos, cappuccinos and macchiatos properly served in thick ceramic cups. And for a light meal, Epicenter offers wine and food, like homemade hummus and soups, empanadas and other tasty bites. The café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even beer lovers will find joy at this cozy café on Harrison, around the corner from Whole Foods.
The emphasis at Epicenter is clearly on the coffee: "We take our coffee seriously and hope to show you just how great it can be." Coffeeratings.com, which evaluates gourmet coffee houses in San Francisco, says Epicenter serves the second-best espresso in San Francisco, just behind Blue Bottle. Coffeeratings compares espressos from all over the city, and I can attest that Epicenter pulls a great shot (I chose a macchiato rather than the straight espresso that Coffeeratings evaluates, and it was delicious). Great coffee starts with quality beans, and Epicenter's coffee is sourced from one of the best providers in the Bay Area, Barefoot Coffee Roasters in Santa Clara. The baristas are friendly, skillful and artistic, and according to Coffeeratings, have no qualms about tossing a shot that doesn't meet their high standards. Even in a neighborhood like SOMA, which is virtually soaked in coffee, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better espresso than Epicenter's
Like tasting beer and wine, coffee tasting has come a long way in the past few years, and Coffeeratings does a good job keeping up with the evolving San Francisco coffee scene. Tasting coffee (called "cupping") has a lot in common with tasting wine and beer, and according to Greg Sherwin at Coffeeratings, coffee has more than 1,500 aromatic and flavor components, compared with about 200 for wine. More than 1,000 flavor elements have been identified in beer; they're categorized on a beer flavor wheel.
Happy hour (Monday-Friday from 5-8 p.m.) is a good opportunity to sample some of the many flavors Epicenter Café has to offer. Although the sunny café doesn't have any beers on tap, it has some intriguing brews in bottles. On a recent visit, I sampled the house-made hummus, with pita and slices of cucumber and tomato, matched with two very simpatico beers: Allagash White, a Belgian-style wit, and North Coast Pranqster, a strong Belgian pale ale. Although both of these beers are made in the U.S., they are very tasty and faithful versions of the Belgian styles. The hazy, golden Pranqster is complex and spicy and tastes a little of coriander, with a slightly sweet finish. It's also fairly potent, at 7.6% abv, so you might save it for the end of the day. Allagash White, cloudy and pale yellow, is also subtly spicy with coriander and has a hint of lemon. Both were well-matched with the fresh hummus and veggies. A perfectly made macchiato was the ideal punctuation on a light late lunch.
There's no lack of coffee houses in the South of Market, but Epicenter Café is a standout for its superb coffee and its selection of light dishes and good bottled beer.

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  Schneider & Sohn Aventinus

  Schneider & Sohn Aventinus
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  Macchiato

  Macchiato
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  Hummus plate with Allagash White

  Hummus plate with Allagash White

8/2/2010

Anchor & Hope on Minna recently featured Festina Peche on draft, and I decided to pair it with the restaurant's delicious fish tacos: two small corn tortillas topped with crispy lightly fried fish and a spicy salsa. Anchor & Hope served the Festina Peche in a wine glass, but I think Dogfish Head's effervescent Berliner Weiss is a better match with the tacos than a still white wine or even champagne. The tart Festina Peche resonated with the salsa and was like an extra squeeze of lemon on the delicate fish.
Anchor & Hope, which opened in 2008, is the third restaurant by brothers Mitchell and Steven Rosenthal and their partner, Doug Washington, following Town Hall (2003) and Salt House (2006). Anchor & Hope is a popular destination for downtown office workers during lunch and dinner, and for its excellent happy hour specials, like a chef's selection of oysters for $1 each, fish tacos and shrimp fritters, as well as beer and wine specials.
Despite the stainless steel that gives the restaurant an urban ambience, the bright room has a lot of warmth, which was enhanced by Tom McDermott playing New Orleans style on the piano that Anchor & Hope brought in for the occasion. McDermott was recently featured on HBO's post-Katrina series Treme.
Enjoying the fish tacos with the fresh Festina Peche while listening to McDermott play Professor Longhair on the piano was like taking a mini vacation from bustling downtown San Francisco. I for one hope the piano, and music in general, becomes a regular fixture at this downtown oasis.

7/28/2010

As most people know by now, beer loves burgers, pizza and barbecue. But several San Francisco restaurants are emphasizing that beer is also quite enamored of seafood. Northern French and, of course, Belgians, are well-versed in the joy of classic seafood/beer pairings like moules frites (mussels with fries) with Belgian ales.
Wine has traditionally been the fermented beverage of choice to complement fish and seafood in fine dining, but with the recent emergence of a full palate of craft beer, more restaurants are offering lagers and ales as an alternative to champagne, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, German rieslings, chardonnays and pinot grigio with seafood.
For a taste of the classic Belgian dish moules frites, head over to bustling Belden Place, where a handful of bistros wage a friendly but spirited competition for outdoor diners. The blocked-off Belden Street has a touristy, ersatz European feel, with outdoor tables crowned with Chimay umbrellas. Although I'm a big proponent of al fresco dining, downtown San Francisco is usually too chilly after dark for that sort of indulgence, even with heat lamps.
Plouf's appeal is in re-creating a French bistro atmosphere and the specialty is clearly the moules frites, offered in a $25 prix fixe menu along with soup or salad and dessert and prepared in six different sauces, including shallots, garlic, cream, pastis, chili flakes and fine herbs (pastis).
My mussels arrived in a large iron bowl redolent of the popular anise-scented French liqueur pastis. One of the characteristics of star anise, with which pastis is flavored, is limone, a cyclic termine with a strong scent of oranges. Another element is limonene, a flavor also present in the rind of lemons. Star anise also gives off the floral qualities of linalool, a naturally occurring terpene alcohol chemical found in many flowers and spice plants. The most noticeable flavor characteristic, however, is anethole, an aromatic compound that contributes flavors of anise, fennel and liquorice. Pastis also exhibits the flavor of liquorice root, and as a liqueur, contains sugar.
Those diverse flavors, along with the mussels, garlic, parsley and other herbs, call for a beverage whose flavor components can harmonize with the fragrant complexity of the pastis sauce. Plouf, unfortunately, has a lot more wine options than beer choices, with only three brews on tap. Luckily, one of them, Chimay White (also known as Cinq Cents), a golden Belgian triple, adequately fit the bill, with a flavor profile that enhanced and amplified the Moules Pastis.
Belgian tripels - a relatively young style in the centuries-old Belgian brewing tradition -- are highly carbonated and high in alcohol, which is generally well-hidden (Chimay White is 8% abv). They also have a fair amount of spicy hops, which are also quite subtle. The Beer Judge Certification Guidelines describe Belgian tripels as a "marriage of spicy, fruity and alcohol flavors supported by a soft malt character. Low to moderate phenols are peppery in character. Esters are reminiscent of citrus fruit such as orange or sometimes lemon. A low to moderate spicy hop character is usually found. Alcohols are soft, spicy, often a bit sweet and low in intensity."
Enjoyed in concert, the mussels and aromatic broth (with sourdough bread for dipping) combined with the spicy, citrusy Chimay to exceed the sum of their individual components. The ale seemed to accent the fruity qualities of the pastis sauce while subtly subduing the liquorice component, and the carbonation is a palate cleanser.
Plouf serves a good bowl of mussels on a reasonably priced prix fixe, and the shoestring frites were fine, albeit a little salty. Plouf does not, however, rise to the level of San Francisco's best Belgian-style restaurants like La Trappe. If Plouf is serious about creating more adventurous culinary epiphanies with its signature moules frites and exposing its patrons to a true Belgian experience, it needs to raise its beer game.
Chimay White is a great all-purpose Belgian ale with food, but connoisseurs of Belgian and Parisian cuisine expect a greater array of beer choices. How about offering the Westmalle Trappist, said to be the first of Belgian tripel style, Maredsous 10, or even an American version like Allagash Tripel Reserve? Other Belgian styles would also be welcome - dubbels and guezes, for example -- and would bring out even more subtle flavors in the various mussel dishes. Not having such readily available Belgian pale ales as Duvel or Orval on the list is a conspicuous oversight.
Don't sit on your mussels, Plouf, rise to the occasion so that the assortment of Belgian beer matches up with your estimable array of moules frites. Serving those frites in a paper cone would also be more attractive than just plopping them down on a little plate. Presentation means a lot when you're going for culinary and cultural ambiance.

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  Creme brulee

  Creme brulee
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  Potato leek soup and Pyramid Hefeweizen

  Potato leek soup and Pyramid Hefeweizen
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  Mussels Pastis and Chimay White

  Mussels Pastis and Chimay White

7/5/2010

If there's one thing that's consistent about the Castro, it's that the neighborhood is in constant flux. Every time you turn around, it seems, one restaurant is closing and another one is popping up to take its place.
One recent example is Bisou French Bistro on Market Street, which replaced Panam in April. Panam's previous owner, Mickael Azoulay, stayed on as a partner at Bisou, so the new restaurant was able to retain the old liquor license.
Bisou is a little kiss of a restaurant that serves bistro-style fare for lunch like Croque monsieur, Croque madame and some other sandwiches; personal pizzas; a fancy burger; some salads; mussels; and onion soup. Dinners, including a $26 prix fixe, are more elaborate.
Beverage emphasis at Bisou is on mixed drinks and on dozens of wines from Europe, California and South America. But simple bistro fare is also a good match with European-style beer, especially Belgian wits and German pilsners and wheat beers, which are well-balanced and specifically designed to complement food. (Hoppy American beers like pale ales and IPAs might easily overwhelm the flavors rather than complement them.)
The beer selection at Bisou appears to be a work in progress. There are no taps, so selection is in bottles only. Certainly fresh local beer is best served and consumed as soon as possible from a tap. But imported beers, especially from Belgium and Germany, are fine from bottles if they're properly cared for - and in the case of yeasty Belgian ales in particular, sometimes better.
Although the selection of beers at Bisou isn't extensive, it's adequate for a nice bistro lunch. Options include a Blanche de Bruxelles witbier and a Saison Dupont farmhouse ale, both from Belgium, and a Paulener pilsner from Germany. White beers like Belgian wits and German wheat beers, as well as saisons and pilsners, are amazingly food friendly. They accentuate the flavors of the food and bring out some of the more subtle nuances without overwhelming the food with bitter hops. A Belgian wit like Blanche de Bruxelles, subtly spiced with orange peel and coriander, can coax unexpected flavors even from a simple burger: the fruitiness of the apple-smoked bacon, the earthiness of the Morbier cheese, the juiciness of the good quality meat, the silky smooth Choron sauce. The skinny, crispy fries that accompanied the nicely cooked burger were also delightful with the Belgian wit, as the beer cuts the salt and brings out the sweetness of the potatoes.
The beer list also includes a Hopf Helle Weisse German hefeweizen, a Reutberger Export dunkel lager and a Scaldis Belgian ale - good choices all. Also on the list were a Dixie Jazz beer and a Wells Banana Bread Beer from England. The banana beer sounded intriguing, and although it smelled like banana, the dominant flavor was that of an average hoppy ale, with a hint of banana. I'd suggest sticking with the European imports.
Pairing food and beer doesn't have to be hard work or overly complicated. Great wheat beers from Belgium and Germany bring out the best of a burger, burrito, pizza or sandwich. Bisou shows that even simple food can be elevated when combined with the right beer.

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  Bisou from inside

  Bisou from inside
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  Burger with Blanche de Bruxelles

  Burger with Blanche de Bruxelles

6/28/2010

The Alembic is more than just a bar or restaurant, it's a mad scientist laboratory for food and drinks, with the customers along for the ride as willing accomplices.
Conventional wisdom generally dictates a lowest-common-denominator approach to pub drinks and food: a menu loaded with fried, spicy and salty food that appeals to a lot of people and keeps them drinking familiar beverages without too much thought. The Alembic throws conventional wisdom out the window. Rather than pull customers along the predictable path, Alembic challenges them with a palate pleasing palette of flavors that customers may mix to fit their mood.
The Alembic, the Upper Haight sibling of Magnolia, is a little hard to pin down to a category. It's known mostly for inspired interpretations of mixed drinks made with top-notch ingredients. The traditional "Canon" portion of the drinks menu features time-honored cocktails like a Sazarac (with 6-year rye whiskey and Peychaud's bitters) and an Old Fashioned, stripped of the garbage with which the noble old warhorse is often weighed down. Even more popular are Alembic's "New School" cocktail creations, such as The Vow of Silence and Promissory Note. It goes without saying that Alembic's spirits are first rate, and the board above the bar abounds with remarkable whiskeys, gins, rums and tequilas.
But cocktails and spirits are hardly the whole story. The beers on tap and in bottles are also well chosen for their distinctive flavors, like Moonlight's Left for Dead, a sour mash ale; Damnation, a strong Belgian-style pale ale from Russian River Brewing; Bear Republic's Red Rocket Ale; Marin's Point Reyes Porter; Firestone Walker's Solace, an American Pale Wheat Ale; and the most recent installation of the Fritz Maytag/Ken Grossman 30th Anniversary series, this one a bock. Bottles are also carefully chosen for their capacity to harmonize with food and are thoughtfully organized under their dominant flavor profiles: Bright and Crisp, All Hopped Up, Toasty and Malty, Stiff and Sweet, Deep and Mean.
Clearly, the implied suggestion at Alembic is for the customer to be his or her own food mixologist, creating flavor sensations by matching food and drink. Snacks and starters are chosen to titillate the palate rather than numb it with grease, salt or heat. So instead of poppers, salted beer nuts, fries and onion rings, you'll find pickled quail eggs, honey cumin glazed nuts, jerk spiced duck hearts and Shishito peppers with house-cured salt. Entrees and desserts are also constructed to show off a breadth of flavors rather than a single dominant taste.
On a recent visit, for instance, I ordered a Croque Madame, a delightful breakfast sandwich welcome at any time of the day. Russian River's Damnation struck all the right notes, harmonizing with the individual components -- Serrano ham, gruyere, béchamel and toast, topped with a lightly cooked organic egg and pea tendrils -- with just enough yeastiness, carbonation and sweetness to balance the complex sandwich. Each bite was a little epiphany.
Even more enticing combinations beckon throughout the menu, which includes dinner entrees like Wagyu beef tongue sliders, crispy pork belly and scallops, pressed duck confit, bone marrow and black cod. Prix fix dinners are also on offer ($35), along with suggested beverage pairings. Desserts present yet another opportunity for magic, matching Eagle rare chocolate pudding, caramelized brioche, warm chocolate chip cookies and tarragon poached strawberries with beers like Le Chouffe and Hook Norton Double Stout, or a lovingly crafted cocktail, whiskey, tequila or liqueur
Alembic refers to a distillation device, and in the case of the restaurant, this is metaphorically accurate. Alembic is an engine that distills an unexpected outcome from ordinary ingredients. Alembic is a bold concept and one that would fail without discriminating customers who are adventurous and secure enough to break free of the predictable in the pursuit of something extraordinary (under the careful guidance of knowledgeable servers, if necessary). Alembic is to be applauded for the breadth and depth of its beverages and the creativity of its kitchen, but mostly for its faith in its customers, who are willing participants in Alembic's ambitious culinary alchemy. We hope that Alembic is a foretaste of a future where our dazzling local food bounty reaches unusual heights combined with the full palate of fermented beverages now at our disposal.

The Alembic
1725 Haight St
(between Cole St & Shrader St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
Neighborhood: Haight-Ashbury
(415) 666-0822
alembicbar.com

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  Russian River Damnation

  Russian River Damnation
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  Artisan cheeses

  Artisan cheeses
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  Croque Madame with Russian River Damnation Belgian pale ale

  Croque Madame with Russian River Damnation Belgian pale ale