The Top 100: From fine dining to casual fare
So many high-quality restaurants have opened in recent years that it feels as if we’re in the golden age of dining. The downside: It can take a lot of gold to eat out these days.
Last year I complained about the $30 main course; this year that’s quickly become a standard, and even at some neighborhood restaurants, the $40 dish is showing up on the menu.
Yet part of what sets the Bay Area apart is that despite the price creep, it is still quite possible to eat great food at all price points. To offer relief from the $100 dinner, this year I’ve included some less-expensive options, places I go on my own dime. After all, even if we can afford it, we don’t want to go to
The morning lineup of pastries at B Patisserie in San Francisco.
the French Laundry every night.
The places I’ve included have as much integrity as restaurants like Benu and Boulevard. B Patisserie and its cousin, B on the Go, serve what are among the best pastries and sandwiches in the Bay Area. Then there’s La Taqueria, where the carnitas burrito has not been surpassed in 40 years. Souvla offers amazing rotisserie meats wrapped in flatbread; and Vik’s Chaat can’t be beat for its take on Indian street food. To me these are all destinations — places I’d happily travel to.
Whether they cost $10 or $500 a person, I’ve visited each of these restaurants at least three times — and in most cases, many more. Each year I revisit the restaurants on the previous year’s list and then add contenders from my weekly reviews and updates.
It pains me a little more every year to remove some restaurants that are still on top but had to be nixed to make room for others. This year, the 22nd year of the guide, I added 22 new restaurants, the most since 2005 when 25 were added. All told, I’m buoyed by the realization that there’s a direct correlation between the difficulty I have in making decisions and the continually rising quality of the dining scene.
I hope you find these restaurants as worthy as I do. Either way, I look forward to your feedback.