Yes, there are certainly many, many neighborhoods other than the Mission District to eat — but it just so happens that several of this month’s most intriguing newcomers have landed there. Soon you’ll have to set us up with a permanent hammock on Valencia.
Al's Place
Aaron London, best known for his plant-based cooking at the now defunct Ubuntu in Napa, will open his first restaurant on Friday in San Francisco. We’re looking forward to trying Al’s Place (1499 Valencia) because London’s reputation for refinement precedes him (the Michelin guys even said so), and we also dig his “meat on the side” ethos. Here at this 45-seat restaurant you’re going to mostly get seafood and vegetable-based items, with the truly carnivorous stuff as side orders. Early teases include black cod crusted with black lime and roasted black lime powder with winter citrus and sunchoke curry with side dishes like hanger steak with crab shell butter and sherry vinegar.
Hella Vegan Eats
The awesome ladies of food truck/pop-up Hella Vegan Eats (creators of the potsticker burrito) are taking over Monday nights at Oakland’s new retro spot Analog (412 14th Street) with a changing menu of bites from 6-10 p.m. It all starts tonight (February 2), when they’ll be making their own alkaline noodles for a “Little Ramen Shop of Horrors.”
Hawker Fare
James Syhabout debuted his Oakland Thai gem Hawker Fare (680 Valencia) in San Francisco last week, taking over a voluminous space that used to be Amber Dhara. Eater SF took some pictures of the pretty interior, which eschews the original location’s hip-hop vibe for something more tropical and Thai, and scored the first menu, which tops out around $16 and has even more options than the East Bay outpost. Get ready to eat with your hands and encounter menu descriptives like “funky.” Syhabout will soon be debuting an upstairs bar called Holy Mountain as well. For now, the drink menu includes family style bottle service for Johnny Walker Black Label, Appleton V/X Rum, and Mekhong Thai Whiskey, which he says is actually a rum as well.
Sous Beurre Kitchen
Another pop-up-to-permanent success story is Sous Beurre Kitchen (2704 24th Street). Inside Scoop SF scored an an early iteration of the menu to come, which will offer the choice of a tasting menu ($85) or ordering individual items ($6-25). Sample items include a confit pheasant leg with vadouvan sausage, cassoulet beans, and watercress, whole roasted Cornish game hen, and a Dungeness crab bouillabaisse with true cod and butter clams. Prices include service, so there will be no tips. Chef Michael Mauschbaugh hasn’t set an exact opening date yet but it should be soon pending final inspections.
Aster
Food obsessives have been waiting for former Outerlands chef Brett Cooper to open Aster (1001 Guerrero), which he’s doing in partnership with the Daniel Patterson Group. And it may finally happen this month; follow the Aster Twitter feed for updates and peek at Cooper’s Instagram to look at some of the ideas he’s working on for the menu (it seems like he’s having a lot of fun with duck right now). Cooper is hosting the last of a series of pop-up preview dinners at Patterson’s Coi tonight (February 2) and February 9; reservations are unavailable for them on OpenTable but you can always call to check for last minute availability (415-549-7476).
Top photo by Molly DeCoudreaux, photo above by Brett Cooper/Instagram