Sunday, July 27, 2008

Zagat SF




I had never been one to trust ZAGAT ratings.

Countless times I've been to restaurants that didn't make it with the food, only to step outside (for a smoke. Hah! I kid) and see a ZAGAT-rated posting at the door. Come to think of it the posting may say something along the lines of, "This no-nonsense mom and pop Korean Tofu House has been in the business for 15 years, serving hot pots to hungry NYU freshmen. The food is comforting, if not a tad bit spicy. Don't expect first class service though. If you order peanuts from the bleachers during baseball games, you'll have no problem getting your server's attention." As accurate as that may be, who the hell reads stuff off restaurant windows anyway??! Branding is branding. If you allow a bad restaurant to slap your logo on its door, I'm going to assume you're advocating it.

Regardless (of my rants) the ZAGAT 2008 booklet is the perfect source for developing a must-visit SF restaurant list before hopping on the plane. I was surprise at how many places I've covered over the past 3 years, and even more surprised at how many I haven't. Here's the list of unexplored territories I can't wait to dive into.

Acquerello
Ame
Boulevard
Brother's
Cafe Jacqueline
Clementine
Coi
Delfina
Epic Roasthouse
Farallon
Fleur de Lys
Gary Danko
Katia's Russian Tea Room
Kiss Sushi
La Folie
Lovejoy's Tea Room
Mama's
Masa's
Nick's Crispy Tacos
Oyaji
Quince
Ritz-Carlton Dining Room
Salt House
Swan Oyster Depot
Tommaso's
Town Hall
Zuni Cafe

I made reservations at Zuni and Epic Roasthouse for when Livie visits. And another one at Quince to celebrate the bf and my anniversary. Everything else is still up for the taking. Call me if you wanna do dinner, brunch or lunch! Any time, and I'll check my calendar :) And if you have any suggestions, feel free to toss them my way.

2 comments:

agrasshopper said...

Sayaka, yoshi, all our crazy jap friends & I are guilty of going to Oyaji. It's da bomb. everything there.
Mama's right next to your place and how can you miss it?
Farallon is okay I guess. Nick's taco is yums. and Brother's, you gotta go, but be wary that you'll leave smelling like a bbq stove. Funny, there's a Korean bbq here call Mother's. I suspect they're of the same family.......lalalalalaa

Danielle Bumblebee said...

u're so funny.. i couldn't stop laughing out loud despite being alone (and outside tending to this garage sale).. mother's.. same family.. lol