Tag Archives: Michelin restaurant San Francisco

Party On At Lazy Bear

Posted on by Leave a comment
Chef David Barzelay putting the finishing touches on a dish at his Lazy Bear in San Francisco.
Chef David Barzelay putting the finishing touches on a dish at his Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

Chef David Barzelay can get by on little sleep. Sometimes only two to four hours per night.

But that’s a good thing when one is essentially throwing a dinner party five nights a week.

His Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco touts itself as a “modern American dinner party in the Mission District.”

There is definitely an air of that, as I experienced when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant recently. Dinner is $199 to $221, and must be reserved and paid for ahead of time in the form on online tickets. Wine or non-alcoholic pairings are extra.

You feel a little like you’ve been invited to a surreptitious dinner party, especially because the dark-fronted building doesn’t have a typical sign — just a small one painted with a black and red buffalo plaid pattern.

Walk inside and you’re escorted up the stairs to the dimly-lighted, cozy lounge, where your jackets will be whisked away, and you’ll be handed crystal glasses of pear-rum punch from a real punch bowl. Yes, when’s the last time you experienced that?

The upstairs lounge.
The upstairs lounge.
Smokey the Bear -- and a host of other bears -- are prominent throughout.
Smokey the Bear — and a host of other bears — are prominent throughout.
The bar on the first floor right when you walk in.
The bar on the first floor right when you walk in.

Lazy Bear immediately transports you to another time and place with its Boy Scout-hunting lodge meets mid-century modern decor.

Read more

Reveling In Modern Cal-Indian Cuisine at Campton Place

Posted on by One comment

Campton Place restaurant's famed Spice Pot dish.

Campton Place restaurant’s famed Spice Pot dish.

 

Naan formed into rolls as fluffy as classic Parker House ones and hiding a center of ricotta. Cauliflower florets garnished with ethereal turmeric foam. And familiar-tasting cumin-scented potatoes and peas, but uncannily presented in a flower pot spewing wisps of dry ice.

That’s the unique, incredibly elegant cuisine served at Michelin-starred Campton Place in San Francisco by Chef Srijith Gopinathan. French techniques are applied to traditional Indian flavors with inspired Bay Area flourishes to create food that evokes time and place.

That’s what I found when I was invited in as a guest a few weeks ago. It had been a few years since I last dined at the restaurant. The food has grown more personal with Gopinathan really showcasing his native India and adopted city of San Francisco in memorable ways.

The dining room.

The dining room.

Just a few steps from Union Square.

Just a few steps from Union Square.

My husband and I checked into our complimentary room at the Taj Campton Place Hotel. 

Read more