As the rainy weather sets in, we're in need of some major comfort food. Head to these fabulous eateries for cozy dishes like Austrian-style sausages and truffle-laden chicken. Bon appetit!
Plaj’s roasted chicken in Burgundy truffles and fried egg
Plaj remains not only SF’s best Scandinavian restaurant but one of the best in the country, thanks to chef-owners Roberth and Andrea Sundell. Roberth’s native Sweden plays strong in inventive Scandinavian dishes with California flair and ingredients (don’t miss his stellar soups or herring dishes). A succulent roasted chicken arrives luxuriously smothered in rutabaga, Swedish Tegel cheese, a fried egg and shaved Burgundy truffles.
Stones Throw’s 72-hour braised beef shortrib
Stones Throw's new chef de cuisine David Zboray (Mourad, Old Bus Tavern) is filling the restaurant with new winter dishes like a chicory-quince-pomegranate salad and (our personal favorite) a meaty 72-hour braised beef shortrib over horseradish chermoula, heartily partnered with beet spaetzle and preserved mushrooms.
Hakkasan’s roasted silver cod in Champagne honey sauce
Sleek and sexy, Hakkasan is a local destination for upscale Chinese food and cocktails. The SF location of the international chain continues to reinvent itself, experimenting with different flavors like, in a recent Golden Week menu, tortilla truffle dim sum. Roasted silver cod is a regular menu of silky cod, subtly sweet and elegant in a Champagne and Chinese honey sauce.
Thistle Meats’ Käsekrainer sausages
Travis Day (Commonwealth, The Fatted Calf) took over Thistle Meats in downtown Petaluma this spring, transforming it into the kind of excellent butcher shop we all wish we had in our neighborhood, sourcing only ethically raised meats from local farms. They host rotating dinners in a cozy 13-seat dining room or you can stop and grab sandwiches, house charcuterie, whole animal cuts to cook at home and some of the most flavor-rich soups and bone broths anywhere. Day’s sausages are killer, especially a Käsekrainer Austrian-style pork sausage oozing Emmentaler cheese.
Campton Place’s Maine lobster in coastal curry sauce
If you haven't tried chef Srijith Gopinathan’s innovative Cal-Indian cuisine at Campton Place, this is the season to do so. (He did just win Chef of the Year win at the Saucy Awards, after all). Pure decadence comes in the form of Chef Sri's Maine lobster, served with cauliflower and green mango swimming in a lush Kerala coastal curry sauce.