TARTINE MANUFACTORY >

Tartine Manufactory is the perfect place to bring out-of-towners, whether they’re from Seoul or Sioux Falls. (And loaves of bread make for great souvenirs, of course.) Like a thesis statement, the 5,000-square-foot restaurant encapsulates much of what makes Bay Area food special, from its challenging wine list to the neardeification of its bread-baking craft, with racks full of loaves and the enormous German-made oven displayed in the dining room. So much of what we love about modern Bay Area cooking today comes down to transparency: an active appreciation for labor and craft that refuses to stay tucked away in a basement or back room. One visit isn’t enough: With a dinner menu that shifts monthly, it’s worth coming back just to try whatever else they’re putting on that perfect bread.

The other cool thing: One of the city’s best drink programs resides at Tartine Manufactory. In addition to the produceheavy cocktail list (created by Los Angeles bartender Julian Cox), the Tartine wine selection is a vibrant snapshot of what’s exciting in wine today, mixing classics like Domaine Eden with natural-wine heroes like Frank Cornelissen. It still gets the input of recently departed wine director Vinny Eng, who sees wine lists as a way to elevate the voices of marginalized groups. Order: At brunch, coddled eggs and trout roe with grilled bread and za’atar ($16), pain au jambon ($6.25) and emmer porridge ($12). At dinner, steak tartare with sunchoke chips ($16), smorrebrod ($9-$12), and anything with duck.

595 Alabama St, San Francisco. 415-757-0007 or www. tartinemanufactory.com. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Reservations and credit cards accepted.

— S.H., E.M.