Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
6
Rich Table
$$$
CALIFORNIAN
Licking plates is the obvious move after finishing chilled apricot soup with pancetta or rab-
bit cannelloni with nasturtium cream. Married co-chefs and owners Sarah and Evan Rich
invent playful, exquisite California food such as the Dirty Hippie: silky goat-buttermilk
pannacotta
topped with nutty sunflower seeds and hemp - a dish as offbeat and entrancing
as Hippie Hill drum circles.
(
415-355-9085;
http://richtablesf.com
; 199 Gough St; meals $30-40;
5:30-10pm Sun-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri & Sat;
5, 6, 21, 47, 49, 71,
Van Ness)
7
Jardinière
$$$
Opera arias can't compare to the high notes hit by James Beard Award- winner,
Iron Chef
and
Top Chef
Master Traci des Jardins, who lavishes housemade tagliatelle with bone mar-
row and tops velvety scallops with satiny sea urchin. Go Mondays, when $49 scores three
market-inspired, decadent courses with wine pairings, or enjoy post-SF Opera meals in the
bar downstairs.
(
CALIFORNIAN
415-861-5555;
www.jardiniere.com
; 300 Grove St; mains $19-37;
5-10:30pm Tue-Sat, to
10pm Sun & Mon;
5, 21, 47, 49,
Van Ness)
Top Tip
Street Smarts
Most first-time visitors are surprised to find that merely by crossing touristy Powell St or busy Van Ness Ave, they
enter the down-and-out Tenderloin. Keep your street smarts about you in the area bounded by Powell, Geary to the
north, Mission St to the south and Polk St to the west. When possible, avoid these sketchy blocks, take public
transit or cabs through the area, or walk briskly along Geary or Market Sts to reach specific destinations.
