Dining & Shopping

Greetings! My name is Kerry Alan. For the last decade I've worked in Bay Area homes as a personal chef serving my own brand of cuisine to folks just like you.While it definitely takes a creative mind, a mastery of cooking techniques and an ability to tolerate repetitious tasks, the real stars are the local ingredients and brilliant chefs we have here who harmoniously compose them onto our plates.

SAN FRANCISCO
The City of San Francisco has some of the most decorated, intriguing and varied restaurants you could ever dream up. The grand elegance of Boulevard, Campton Place,and Jardinière are some of the restaurants that personify the City's tradition of artistic excellence.Cutting edge eateries such as The Slanted Door and Farallon dazzle patrons with the "How Did They Pull That Off?" factor, while Aqua, Rubicon, Greens and The Fifth Floor simply pluck their ingredients from the analogical California tree and do their absolute best with them.

HERE COMES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
You'll find that when you walk around town that the city is broken up into a culinary mosaic of neighborhoods and styles. Forget barhopping...try spending an afternoon bobbing and weaving through dim sum shops in Chinatown.Who really does boast the best Sesame Ball with Red Bean Paste? That's for you to decide. Can you order a full lunch worth of dumplings when neither the menu nor the employees speak your language? You'll be surprised how well you do. Where the rest of the city's ethnic food is concerned, Japan town has excellent sushi house and ramen laced food malls while the Mission District is perfumed with hundreds of noble Taquerias and Bakeries. The Richmond District makes you crave piroshkies with its Old World Russian and Polish fare. North Beach, despite its obvious tourist traps, still manages several outstanding delis, sit down restaurants and bakeries with authentic Tuscan and Sicilian flavors.

While not the most glamorous neighborhood in San Francisco, the western half of the Tenderloin District has ceded from the dodgier east side and has begun calling itself Little Saigon named for it's countless Pho houses. Pronounced Fuh, Pho is a Vietnamese beef noodle soup bursting with fresh herbs and spicy goodness. Raw meats and eggs are cracked into the nearly boiling broth and are allowed to cook right before your eyes for an unpretentious and authentic dining experience. Another type of Vietnamese offering,found largely in the Sunset District, are Vietnamese Roasted Crab and Garlic Noodles, extremely popular with the locals. Korean BBQ, Thai food, Indian and the sublime offerings of Ethiopian cuisine are also peppered through the city.I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, but if you go to an Ethiopian restaurant,don't expect to use cutlery.

FLAVOR IS IN THE AIR
More specifically, Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis. You've probably heard of San Francisco's stellar sourdough bread.What you may not know is there is a specific strain of bacteria in the air that's found only in this part of the country that aids the indirect fermentation of sourdough starters. While sourdough can rise anywhere given the proper conditions, Sanfranciscensis is known for imparting the most pleasant sour taste to its bread. Boudin Bakery, the oldest SF sourdough bakery is still on the rise, producing bread from the offspring of their original starter, dating back to 1849. Boudin bread is not only sold in their stores on Fisherman's Wharf, but also by independent street vendors who hollow out the bread and use it to house piping hot bowls of New England Clam Chowder.
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