Each year, more than 15 million visitors explore San Francisco’s northern waterfront—from the Ferry Plaza to Ghirardelli Square. With innovative new additions and enhancements popping up along the two-mile stretch, there are endless opportunities to fall in love, all over again, with the Bay-kissing side of the City by the Bay.
Photo by Joel Williams
By Kati Schmidt
Published: June, 2010
Revolutionary Plates at Pier 5
In April 2010, SubCulture Dining’s “Dissident Chef” Russell Jackson opened Lafitte, bringing his revolutionary and evolutionary style to the historic Pier 5. The restaurant draws its name from legendary and notorious pirate Jean Baptiste Lafitte, who operated a smuggling operation off the coast of Louisiana in the first part of the 19th century.
While trained in classical French and Italian cuisine, Jackson’s kitchen experience ranges from burger and pizza joints to regional Mexican, contemporary American and Japanese cuisines.
Addressing foodies’ revolt against anything “same ol’,” Jackson’s daily-changing menus promise to be “subject to change due to Mother Nature’s whims and the Chef’s Insanity.” This translates into menu offerings such as When Pork Worlds Collide, a combination of Berkshire sausage, Mangalitsa loin and Iberico belly; arugula flower flan; a mash-up of East Coast mackerel, pork belly with lobster jus and potato gallette; and other creations that promise to tempt even the most adventurous diners to explore what’s next.
With indoor as well as tented, Bay-facing outdoor seating, a full bar featuring inventive cocktails and limited-production wines, it is time to join the revolution at Lafitte. Open daily for dinner (served until “late” on weekdays and “later” on weekends), weekdays for lunch and weekends for brunch, reservations and daily menus are available at www.lafittesf.com.
The American Idol of Milk Chocolate at Pier 17
Located at Pier 17, TCHO, the only chocolate factory in San Francisco, is open daily for public tasting—and is calling on a few good palettes to help expand its sweet empire.
When TCHO first started, it reached out to the community to help formulate recipes by its beta testing program. This program produced small batches of dark chocolate in its lab, put them in paper bags stamped with version numbers, and asked tasters to rate its efforts. Current and future fans (all it takes is one bite) of TCHO are encouraged to help formulate its newest chocolate venture, through beta tasting 2.0: Milk edition.
“It’s the American Idol of chocolate-making,” said TCHO’s Larry Del Santo.
Beta packs, sold for $5, feature two two-ounce bars to sample, along with an online code and website instructions for tasters to rate their favorite. Tweaks to the recipe will be made, with slightly different versions released each week, to help TCHO reach the same level of perfection it achieved with its dark chocolate versions.
Founded by a former NASA technologist and a chocolatier, the company uses a “flavor wheel” to help fine tune each of its creations, as well as provide samplers with a road map to seeking out their own true flavors. Stop by TCHO, open daily from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., or visit their website and online store, at www.tcho.com.
Underwater Icons at the Embarcadero and Beach Street
Saying that San Francisco is home to icons is a no-brainer. There are the obvious architectural icons: the Golden Gate Bridge, Transamerica Building and Alcatraz. Then there human icons, spanning from Herb Caen to Fisherman’s Wharf’s own World Famous Bushman and so on. Clearly, we have a wide range of people, places and pastimes to brag about.
When asked to describe the underwater icons of San Francisco Bay, however, even the savviest locals are hard-pressed to name-drop further than Dungeness crab. Arming locals and visitors alike with deeper insight into the largest estuary on the Pacific west coast is Aquarium of the Bay, a unique nature center that recently completed its transition to nonprofit status, bringing a renewed focus on the marine animals that live in San Francisco Bay. The Aquarium is now affiliated with the Bay Institute, deepening its commitment to protecting and inspiring conservation of San Francisco Bay and all marine environments.
Rather than risk hypothermia and face the disappointing lack of visibility by diving in San Francisco Bay, you can stroll on dry land through the Aquarium’s iconic, crystal clear tunnels, filled with fresh-filtered Bay water. There, you can have face-to-fin experiences with animals ranging from the mighty Sevengill Shark—San Francisco Bay’s largest predator, at lengths up to 14-feet long and weighing more than 400 pounds—to the colorful Garibaldi, California’s State Marine fish, and more than 20,000 others.
The Aquarium recently launched a new membership program and is kicking off a series of special events in June, including a sustainable seafood discussion and screening of The End of the Line on June 23, and the opening of Sherman’s Lagoon: Finning Isn’t Funny on June 26, complete with cartoon drawing presentations lead by cartoonist Jim Toomey. Start exploring at www.aquariumofthebay.org.
The New Napa, Now at The Cannery
Rather than facing a coin-flip to select a designated driver, check out the newly uncorked, weekly San Francisco Wine Market in Del Monte Square, next to The Cannery in Fisherman’s Wharf.
“The SF Wine Market is a local forum to connect wine enthusiasts of all levels with local and boutique wineries on a much more personal level in a farmer’s market setting”, said Bryan Kane, market coordinator. “Now people from neighborhoods throughout San Francisco have a unique market to enjoy every Sunday afternoon,” said Kevin Carroll, executive director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District.
With the one-time purchase of a $20 reusable and eco-friendly six-pack wine carrier, shoppers have the opportunity to sniff, swirl and savor wine samples each week the entire season from purveyors at the market itself, along with tasting rooms in the Del Monte Square and San Francisco’s Wine Walk on the Wharf. Tasting rooms include Buena Vista Carneros, Cellar 360, Wattle Creek, Wines of California, and Winery Collective. The market lineup will change each week, but has included wineries such as August West Winery, Sol Rouge Vineyard and Valdez Family Winery.
The market is open each Sunday from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Learn more at www.sfwinemarket.com.
The SF Wine Market in Del Monte Square serves local and boutique wine samples in a farmer’s market setting. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Wine Market
“Dissident Chef” Russell Jackson opened Lafitte in April at Pier 4.The outdoor dinning area offers stunning Bay views. Photo by AG Photography
