Son’s Addition a big plus for S.F. dining
Son’s Addition feels like a throwback to another era. That isn’t a knock.
No, I’m referring to a time when chefs were able to open small restaurants without outside investors and with food good enough to make national news.
Chef Nick Cobarruvias and his wife, Anna Sager Cobarruvias, have created on 24th Street in the Mission a restaurant that feels akin to small-scale places with big impact such as Delfina when it opened nearly 20 years ago, Frances when it opened nine years ago, and Rich Table, which debuted five years ago.
In each generation there are a few of these gems, but they appear less frequently today as rents and labor costs skyrocket. When I see places like Son’s Addition coming onto the scene, I have hope.
From the moment I walked in the door I had a feeling that this 49-seat restaurant was the culmination of a dream the chef needed to share. Not every dish on the menu works, and the noise can be deafening when the place is full, but there’s an authentic, caring spirit that pervades Son’s Addition.
The interior, much like the places mentioned above, is modest but nicely detailed with its polished concrete floors, metal and wood chairs and black iron chandeliers. There’s a bar counter in back for walk-ins and an open kitchen that adds to the convivial spirit.
Cobarruvias fell for cooking while working on a politicalscience degree at the University of Texas, and he spent about 15 years in San Francisco working with chefs such as Traci Des Jardins. A few years ago he moved to Los Angeles to open Luna Park and returned last year as chef de cuisine at Marlowe.
Marlowe chef Jennifer Puccio’s influence runs through the menu in such items as deviled eggs ($2.50), which are cut across their middle rather than lengthwise and embellished with bacon and kimchi; and chicken liver mousse ($10), which Cobarruvias spreads on toast and garnishes with persimmon mustard. He cuts the richness of roasted bone marrow ($15) with tomatillo and adds a pile of roasted garlic at one end, designed to be spread on the toast before adding the marrow.
He also features steak tartare ($11), a signature at Marlowe, but his version is covered with a lacy pile of herbs and seasoned with black garlic and the ingenious addition of lime. The tartare is served with house-made Yukon Gold potato chips.
When I called Cobarruvias to follow up after my visits, he said he considers Puccio one of his most important mentors. She was a sounding board as he constructed his menu and helped him organize some systems that go into creating a restaurant. In many cities this type of mentorship would be nonexistent, but it’s one of the best attributes of the food scene here, where chefs generously help each other out.
But Son’s Addition is not Marlowe. While the tenor of the food is similar, the results are different. Marlowe was one of the first in San Francisco to offer fried Brussels sprouts. Cobarruvias uses Brussels sprouts in a panzanella salad ($11) with baby beets, pistachio and goat cheese.
Even though the menu is limited — four Bites & Raw; eight small plates; and four main courses — a few dishes fit uncomfortably in the mix. Poached chicken ($13) with sheets of crispy skin fanned over coconut rice and fermented soy beans tastes fine but doesn’t seem to relate to much else on the menu. At first I felt similarly about the tuna and uni tostadas ($11), but similar threads are woven throughout the menu and the Mexican ingredients feel natural. The silver dollar-size tortillas are stacked with the seafood, charred avocado, radish, micro cilantro and a few rings of pickled red onions; everything comes together nicely in two or three bright, vivid bites.
The Mexican notes come from Cobarruvias’ family; his father is Mexican, and his French-Irish mother learned to cook from her mother-in-law. He said the Asian influences that flow through his cooking come from several trips to Southeast Asia, where he felt a connection, although to me the results seemed more tenuous.
Other dishes exhibit a more Northern California influence such as roasted Hen of the Woods mushrooms ($9) with pecorino cheese and balsamic. The combination was compellingly earthy, but it needed another element to keep it fresh — whether more herbs sprinkled on top or some accompanying toast.
The chef has a fresh take on crudo. Hamachi ($13) is lightly cured with achiote and refreshed with pineapple coconut water, mild Fresno chiles, peanuts, shaved fennel and fermented radishes. There’s a lot going on but it comes together flawlessly.
The four main courses include a very good pan-roasted black cod ($20) that sits atop a puree of celery root, half-moon slices of Delicata squash and what he calls kimchi romesco, which