Guide to fine, fun or fascinating San Francisco dining

Nation's Restaurant News, August 26, 2002

San Francisco's 10 members of the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame

Aqua

252 California St., (415) 956-9662. This 1999 inductee helped set the standard for contemporary fine-dining seafood restaurants on the West Coast and continues to draw shell and fin aficionados of all types to the financial district. The dining room is as lively as executive chef-co-owner Michael Mina's food is acclaimed. Mina's partner, Charles Condy, likens the level of energy to "a party." Web site: www.aqua-sf.com.

Boulevard

1 Mission St., (415) 543-6084. A class of 2000 inductee and a perennial Zagat list-topper for most popular restaurant, Boulevard demonstrates the power of collaboration. The energy and diversity of chef-owner Nancy Oakes' popular Franco-American cuisine is matched and complemented by the multifaceted personality of the decor created by her partner, designer Pat Kuleto. Web site: http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com.

Campton Place Restaurant

340 Stockton Pl., (415) 955-5555. Inducted in 1988, Campton Place helped put New American cuisine on the map in the late 1980s and early 1990s under chefs Bradley Ogden and Jan Bimbaum. A recent remodel has put a new face on the dining room, which now showcases the foods of chef Laurent Manrique, a native of Gascony, France. Formerly of Peacock Alley in New York, among other restaurants, Manrique has pushed the menu in a decidedly international direction since his arrival in 1999. Web site: http://www.camptonplace.com.

Fleur de Lys

777 Suffer St., (415) 673-7779. An electrical fire in 2001 sparked an 11-month, $4-million renovation of this highly acclaimed restaurant. Fleur de Lys reopened earlier this month, and while the signature tent-like canopy has been retained in the dining room, much of the physical plant has changed. Not altered is the refined contemporary French cooking of chef-owner Hubert Keller or the graciousness for which he, his wife and business manager, Chantal, and partner Maurice Rouas are known. The decades-old Nob Hill site was inducted in 1992. Web site: http://www.fleurdelyssf.com.

La Folie

2316 Polk St., (415) 776-5577. Named "the folly" because owners Roland and Jamie Passot were crazy enough in the late 1980s to open yet another restaurant in San Francisco, this 1998 inductee serves Roland Passot's contemporary French cuisine. The craze for the Passots' brand of hospitality has spread and the couple now operates three bistro-style Left Bank restaurants with partner Edward N. Levine in nearby Larkspur, Menlo Park and Pleasant Hill. Web site: http://www.lafolie.com

Masa's

648 Bush St., (415) 989-7154. This 1988 inductee had some critical ups and downs following the departure of long-time chef Julian Serrano in 1998, but has regained a four-star rating among reviewers since Ron Siegel's appointment as executive chef. Siegel, who gained fame by defeating a "master" on Japan's popular "Iron Chef' television show, moved over from nearby Charles Nob Hill in late 2000 and carries on with Masa's tradition of presenting contemporary French fare. A recent decor makeover by designer Orlando Diaz Azcuy remedied what many critics and customers had long considered the restaurant's only major shortcoming: a pedestrian dining room. Web site: http://masas.citysearch.com.

Postrio

545 Post St., (415) 776-8328. Put trend-selling chef Wolfgang Puck together with the management team assembled by the late hotel and restaurant entrepreneur Bill Kimpton, then throw in a design by Pat Kuleto, and the result is this stylish, 13-year-old downtown restaurant. Co-chefs and brothers Steven and Mitchell Rosenthal have built on the solid foundation established by original chefs Anne and David Gingrass, turning out California cuisine with Asian and Mediterranean influences. Inducted in 1997, Postrio features on its wails works by some of the leaders in modern art, including Robert Rauschenburg. Web site: http://www.postrio.com.

Stars

555 Golden Gate Ave., (415) 861-7827. Star chef and founder Jeremiah Tower is long gone and the "American Brasserie" that gilded his reputation was rebuilt last year by new owner Andrew Yap. Executive chef Amaryll Schwertner serves up an eclectic menu influenced by California's bounty of produce and wide-open culinary tradition, as well as the cooking traditions of the Mediterranean and other regions of the world. A 1991 inductee. Web site: http://www.starsrestaurant.com.

Tadich Grill

240 California St., (415) 391-1849. Although California's Gold Rush slowed somewhat after 1849, this evergreen dining hall has existed since that year, inspiring imitators ever since. This is the real McCoy--a classic, wood-and-tile-trimmed San Francisco seafood grill room. Tadich Grill has been operated for generations by the Buich family, which early on recognized the benefits of using mesquite charcoal to sear in flavors. Inducted in 1986.

Tommy Toy's Cuisine Chinoise

655 Montgomery St., (415) 397-4888. Antique ceramics, fans and numerous other grand Chinese touches surround customers at restaurateur Tommy Toy's high-end French-Asian downtown restaurant. Inducted in 1990, Tommy Toy's elegant environment and attentive service helped to endear fusion cuisine to the expense-account crowd and older diners accustomed to traditional Continental presentations. Web site: http://www.tommytoys.com.