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Tracie Broom Managing Editor Food Editor at SF Station since 1999, Tracie Broom is a freelance writer, editor, copywriter and event planner in San Francisco. Catch her daily posts at SF Station's Bay Area food blog, The Yum Diary: http://www.yumdiary.com |
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 | At The Palace Steak House We'd all been eyeing the place for years. What goes on in that old-school little corner building at Mission and Cesar Chavez, where the promise of a full steak dinner with salad, baked potato and garlic bread beckons at only $8.95 per person?More |  | Brunch, Tapas, and $3 Bloody Marys I have a friend who refuses to make brunch plans. His staunch aversion to brunch is annoying, but he's right: long lines, noisy crowds and the interminable wait for a plate of prettied-up eggs will ruin a weekend day. But, what to do when Eggs Benedict calls, friends are in town and, well, you just have to go and get brunch somewhere? Especially in the Mission, it's hard to find serenity and a Bloody Mary that's less than 8 bucks. Enter Ramblas - that little tapas place on Valencia between 16th and 17th.More |  | Roosevelt Tamale Parlor. You've heard of it. You've thought about it. Well here's the address. Check it out next time you're up for a sweet little sit-down dinner on the cheap. It's a definite win-win dining situation at this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Mission's sunny southeast quadrant on 24th near Bryant, just a few doors down from the St. Francis ice cream fountain.More |  | San Francisco Dining in March 2002 Even as a five-year San Francisco resident, I don't suspect I'll ever completely wash that guilty young interloper feeling out of my hair, but at least membership in the club of laid-back appreciators of the neighborhood-based SF lifestyle has its benefits. Most of you, being the savvy, cold-chilling SF Station readers you are, will have already been to the neighborhood dining destinations I'm about to lay on you, but if not, here are the recent deets on some fine and fabulous low-key meals to be had in our fair city and beyond.More |  | When San Francisco restaurant industry veterans open a restaurant, the buzz is audible. Town Hall is new to the scene as of late Fall 2003, possessing a restaurateur pedigree that would make a foodie blush with curiosity. But is this posh, casual-chic hotspot worth the hype?More |  | Berkeley's new haute hangout dishes up pan-Asian cuisine in a grand old train station Groggy from last night's magical mystery tour through Xanadu's long list of bizarre lychee and mango cocktails, silvery sakes, and clever wine varietals, I am all too pleased to find my breakfast in a chilled to-go box fragrant with piles of citrus zest, fennel, and red jalapeno. Chairman Mao's Liberation Ribs ($9), marinated and fried to a fall-off-the-bone crispness, make as good a hangover treat as they do a steaming starter plate. One entree, however, I wish we hadn't completely scarfed up at dinner, because a few fat chopstickfuls would really hit the spot: tender, wok-seared Galanga beef.More |  | A Laid-Back Meeting Place Opens in the Mission You've probably noticed by now that Pintxos, that tapas place at Valencia and 16th, has been replaced with... surprise... another tapas place. This incarnation of small plate purveyorship is called Ramblas (after Barcelona's historic district), and its parentage is comprised of Ron Silberstein and Ragnhild Lorentzen of ThirstyBear Brewing Co., well respected by foodies and SOMA happy hour hordes alike for its hand-crafted beers and bistro-grade tapas menu. Ramblas looks to recreate ThirstyBear's elegant-casual beer-and-snacks appeal in a hip, modern space.More |  | Cozy Moroccan in the Richmond In 2001, Brothers Khalid and Mourad Lahlou phased out their wildly popular San Rafael operation, Kasbah, to open a comfortable neighborhood destination in San Francisco. Showcasing Mourad's Moroccan cuisine and the pastry skills of Kokkari alum Eric Hollis, Aziza features three mid-sized dining rooms with circular booths of various sizes, cushy, low banquette seating, banquet tables, and an 8 to 10-seat bar. Hand-carved tables from the Moroccan town of Essouira date back to the 1930s and 40s, offering a warm contrast to the rich Italian fabrics and Mediterranean blue and white-striped Moorish arches which define the space.More |  | Booth Dining at Bruno's Nightclub at a Compassionate Price Point Originally opened in 1940, Bruno's is a San Francisco landmark restaurant, lounge and live music club. Bruno's retro spirit starts at the building's facade, with the original sign and striped awning, and continues through the interior with high backed booths, multi-colored glass cylinder light fixtures, and a 10,000 gallon saltwater fish tank in the lounge. Live music is performed nightly in the Cork Club, considered one of San Francisco's premier "jazz pits" featuring both local and national acts.More |  | Stellar Food at an Interstellar Price Point Hilary Swank has her press shots taken in the lobby, and Nicholas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley order cocktails in the Redwood Room. Delroy Lindo celebrates his birthday dinner in the restaurant and Bono eats poached eggs with the owner after a night in the suddenly fashionable Spanish Suite. Like the city's new-money hipster and old-money investor populace, celebs are skipping The Mark Hopkins, Postrio and Farallon to bask in the sleek, hyperbolic safari design of what once was a dusty landmark decked in irritating pinks and greens.More |
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