Hungry Frenchman

Anchor Steam brewery, San Francisco

Last week, we went to a private tour of the Anchor Steam brewery, in San Francisco, in Potrero Hills. I've never visited a brewery before. And yet, this has to be done one day. Especially the Anchor Steam one. It was a magic moment. Clearly one of the best thing to do in San Francisco if you like beer.

And maybe also if you don't. Because that brewery is not just about beer. It's a real testimony to perfection, tradition and passion. Of course, you get to taste the product ;) (many times!), but there's something much more interesting and fascinating in that building: pride.

Tataki Sushi Bar, San Francisco

Yesterday dinner, we went to Tataki Sushi Bar, on California Street in the lower Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. It's just a few seconds walk from where we live and we had never tried it!

Tataki is tiny and very well decorated. We had no problem to sit at the bar (which is our favorite spot as you all know by now!) and we started reviewing the menu.

First of all, this place is all about sustainable food. I actually quite like that, especially since it was very discrete. I had read some reviews indicating that they don't stop explaining why sustainable is, why they're supporting it etc... Well, either this wasn't true, or they've changed something, but there was zero mention of sustainable food by anyone there. Just a card on the table to make us aware of the issue, which i found quite subtle.

Like any good sushi place, you can find the classic sashimi, nigiri sushi and rolls. But Tataki is very good for the funky stuff...

Fleur de Lys, San Francisco

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite a while, but for some reasons, never got really inspired. For her 30th birthday, I took my wife to Fleur de Lys, in San Francisco, on Sutter Street. I’ve heard so much about this place since i’ve landed in the city that I always wanted to try it. But my (bad) experience at la Folie, which received the same treatment as Fleur de Lys in terms of reviews, discouraged me for a long time to do it. Yet, i thought this is a place I must try.

Once I decided on Fleur de Lys (honestly, hungry french man must eat there at least once!), i went online to check things out. The reviews were quite good (as they usually are), and i got very intrigued by the chef, Hubert Keller. Born in France, he moved to San Francisco in 1982, and since then, got many awards.

According to Wikipedia, in 1988 Hubert Keller was ranked as one of the "10 best new chefs in American" by Food and Wine Magazine. In 1997 he won the James Bead foundation award for best chef in California. Fleur de Lys in San Francisco has been ranked as one of the top 40 restaurants in the United States in 2004, 2005, and 2006 by Gayot restaurant guide, and was awarded one Michelin star in 2006. Fleur de Lys has also been ranked as one of the top 25 restaurants in the United States by Food & Wine magazine.

Quite impressive all this... But what about the food at Fleur de Lys?