Time for (the) Progress

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The famed half duck at Michelin-starred The Progress.
The famed half duck at Michelin-starred The Progress.

The duck is all that. But don’t sleep on the seaweed noodles, either.

Not at Michelin-starred The Progress.

It’s hard to believe that it’s now a dozen years since this restaurant opened in the Fillmore district, the follow-up to its game-changing big sister, Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions (right next door) that dared to take the idea of dim sum-style carts and apply it to global, tapas-style share plates.

Husband-and-wife chefs Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski then added The Anchovy Bar around the corner six years ago.

If the Fillmore has turned into their kingdom, then there’s no shortage of loyal subjects. When I arrived a few minutes before 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday at The Progress, there was already a lively crowd dining at The Anchovy Bar; and sizeable lines outside both State Bird Provisions and The Progress, filled with folks like myself who had a reservation and others hoping to snag a walk-in seat.

With Bay Area diners always flocking to the hot new thing, it says a lot that these places still command such eagerness and excitement.

It's right next door to sister-restaurant State Bird Provisions.
It’s right next door to sister-restaurant State Bird Provisions.
The dining room.
The dining room.

With their eclectic dishes that spotlight local ingredients and are just plain fun to share, Brioza and Krasinski have definitely hit on a winning formula.

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A Hero of A Sandwich

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A hearty sandwich full of textures and flavors that only uses 2 ounces of sausage per serving.
A hearty sandwich full of textures and flavors that only uses 2 ounces of sausage per serving.

You know those fancy sandwiches you line up for?

The ones that layer a delicious mix of ingredients that you might never have thought to put together on your own?

The kind with real spark that oh-so satisfies with every bite?

Well, this is that type of sando.

What’s more, it’s purposely made with less meat — but you wouldn’t necessarily know it.

“Philly-Style Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Subs with Portobello” is one of those trophy sandwiches that’s winning and winsome.

It’s from the cookbook, “Mostly Meatless” (2025), of which I received a review copy, by America’s Test Kitchen.

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A Thrilling Time at Michelin Two-Starred Birdsong

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The magnificent squab at Birdsong.
The magnificent squab at Birdsong.

I’m not really surprised when restaurants meet expectations.

But I sure am when they manage to exceed them.

San Francisco’s Michelin two-starred Birdsong achieved that.

What’s more, when I dined there with family last week, Chef-Owner Christopher Bleidorn wasn’t even in the house, a testament to just how strong and capable his team is.

I knew the restaurant, which opened in 2018, had its own dry-aging room for proteins and that it specialized in live-fire cooking. I also knew that Bleidorn came with quite the pedigree, having honed his skills at such Michelin heavyweights as Alinea in Chicago; and Benu, Atelier Crenn, and Saison, all in San Francisco.

What I wasn’t prepared for was how transportive the dining experience was, drawing you in with its elegance yet also a real primalness.

The entrance.
The entrance.
Choose chef's counter seating or tables just a few feet away from the open kitchen.
Choose chef’s counter seating or tables just a few feet away from the open kitchen.

Let’s face it: the Mission Street restaurant is located in a perpetually seedy part of downtown. But once seated inside the contemporary dining room done up in minimalist Scandinavian esthetics with its focal point a massive open kitchen, you feel a million miles away.

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A Visit to Rutherford’s Sequoia Grove Winery

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The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.
The namesake trees at Sequoia Grove Winery.

On a recent drive to the Napa Valley, I saw something I don’t remember ever seeing before: empty lands once blanketed in vineyards that had been recently plowed over.

With U.S. wine sales falling every year since the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020, it’s understandable why that may become an increasingly more common sight, unfortunately.

So, when I was invited in as a guest at Sequoia Grove Winery in Rutherford, I was heartened to find so many visitors — on a weekday no less — who were there enjoying tastings and purchasing bottles of wine to tote home.

Yes, they were more middle-aged, not the twenty-somethings that wine producers have been hoping to lure who have been increasingly shunning wine and even other alcoholic beverages.

Yet, this was a happy bunch, lounging at patio tables underneath a canopy outfitted with fans, so that even on an exceptionally warm day, as when I visited, it felt comfortable.

Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Winemaker Jesse Fox who followed an intriguing path to winemaking.
Large format bottles.
Large format bottles.

Then again, it’s hard not to have a lovely time at this winery, which gets its name from the soaring sequoias on the property that are more than a century old.

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The Comfort of Tomatoes and Eggs

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A homespun dish of eggs and tomatoes that reminds me of my dad.
A homespun dish of eggs and tomatoes that reminds me of my dad.

When I was a kid, my dad had a Sunday morning ritual of whipping up omelets for the family.

He’d pour beaten eggs into a hot pan and add canned stewed tomatoes, sometimes with a splash of soy sauce or oyster sauce, to make omelet after omelet for everyone.

Except that is, for me.

At the time, I turned up my nose at that combination, preferring my omelet instead filled with cheese. And loads of it.

Little did I realize until much later in life that my idea of an inferior omelet was actually a far superior one.

Tomatoes boast tons of umami. So, do eggs. And any Chinese condiment such as oyster sauce is a major source of that irresistible deep savory fifth taste we all crave, as well.

“Tomato Egg with Spring Onion” exemplifies that.

This dead-simple recipe is from “Jerremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen” (Octopus, 2025), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook was written by British-Chinese chef Jeremy Pang, founder of London’s School of Wok culinary school, who has appeared regularly on BBC television and radio culinary shows.

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