Lucky Peach is dying. Long live Lucky Peach!

Let’s be honest. From the beginning, Lucky Peach was a glorified ‘zine.

…A GLORIFIED ‘ZINE!

Imagine if someone dedicated their lives to publishing an elaborate ‘zine¹ about your favorite topic² and somehow kept doing it for years. And then they had to stop.³ People: let’s pause for a second from our preoccupation with the crumbling of American democracy and give this thing a proper send-off.⁴

(1) It was much more than a ‘zine of course. It was often a dissertation, a biopic, a graphic novella, a great cookbook, and inside baseball all wrapped in one package that was delivered to your doorstep for the cost of a pizza. It was Andy Kaufman-esque meta-food writing, exuberantly unfolding in long-form irrationality and dirty napkins. 

(2) And it wasn’t just writing about food, but rather, Food. Of course I’m biased as someone who works in food, who’s written about food and who eats food (not to mention knowing several people who worked on Lucky Peach). But let’s put that aside for a second. I can’t think of a genre that needed to be expanded ripped a new one transcended more than food writing. I mean let’s really be honest, food writing is really hard. It’s usually “yum” in 500 words. Lucky Peach put a crowbar in the seams and cracked it open. The Big Lebowski is not really a bowling movie and cooking is not just about food. If you’re a cook/chef and people who you think are cool think that’s cool, at least a small part of that is because of Lucky Peach. Even if they never read it.  

(3) Since I know people who worked at Lucky Peach, I want to give them a shout out for being so dedicated. It never had to be so detailed and robust and creative, but the extent of that, the sheer length even, is testament to how much they care(d) and how much they gave. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but I hope everyone can all stay friends. 

(4) Okay so having gotten through some of my own commentary, I want to propose a proper sendoff. Let’s share our memories, GIFs, photos, essays, karaoke tributes or (your own ‘zine?) in honor of the #LPeffect. What did Lucky Peach mean to you. Let’s have the eulogies before the funeral so we can go out on a high note.

MSF Returns on 10/24/16: Can It Be That It Was All So Simple Then?

Eight years ago we tried something a little different. This was before Instagram and before Barack Obama was elected President. Actually, it was during an election season, and maybe that’s what’s gotten us a little nostalgic.

In October 2008, we sublet a Guatemalan snack truck to serve something called a "PB & J"(Crispy [P]ork [B]elly & marinated [J]icama on a buttery scallion pancake-ish flatbread). There was a moment where I was standing on the corner with a cooler of mise en place, anxiously waiting for Senor Gomez to bring his little food truck and that was really the end of the innocence. I saw another dude standing not too far away also waiting for something. He was my first customer and a line was forming.

Karen ran  from BART to join the fray that was the first night of Mission Street Food. She alternated between chatting with customers and running back to our apartment to bake cookies to sell to the line. We went home, started this blog, and  crashed. We did it again the next week and again the next. We moved into a run-down Chinese restaurant and did it again, while inviting guest cooks to join us. We liked to think that we were starting an indie chef movement. We ran 2 pop-ups each week and by the end, pulled off 140 unique menus. Karen called it the equivalent of planning a wedding twice a week.

After a couple of years, we started Mission Chinese Food and Commonwealth with our friends. We made some money for local charities. Karen co-wrote two books, I worked on various projects, and we had a baby.

Then we had the anxieties that come with parenthood. We worried about the food we were feeding our daughter and the kind of world we'd be leaving behind for her. We started learning about food politics, sustainability and regenerative farming. We started The Perennial. We became totally obsessed with how food can reverse climate change. It's our new hobby.

A lot has happened in the last eight years, but we still enjoy a good pop up. So on Monday, October 24th 2016 we're going all the way back to those fun-loving, halcyon days with Mission Street Food at The Perennial (a stone’s throw from Mission St. on 9th Street, so a kind of MSF). We'll have dishes you can't get anywhere else from Chris Ying, Caitlin Koether, Jordan Grosser, Ted Fleury and yours truly including some MSF classics (like PB&J) and a bunch of newbies too. Music by David Cabello and karaoke in the bar. A few more of our old compatriots have promised to help, too. Come along and feel some feelings with us. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right?

RESERVATIONS HERE

The Making of a Charitable Food Movement

Mission Street Food began as a kind of accident, which gathered momentum as it evolved from a food truck into a pop-up and then Mission Chinese Food and now even an outpost in New York.

A few years later, we’re hoping that another half-baked idea can pick up steam and become something real and lasting, but this time the goal is not just a charitable restaurant but a full-fledged charitable food movement. We will need help to make it happen, just like last time, but we hope you will feel as excited by the potential as we do.

First a bit of background: a few months ago, we started talking with The Kitchen Sisters, who produce radio for KQED, about a big event they are curating at SFMOMA. The theme is “The Making Of…” and they’re bringing more than a hundred local artists and artisans to do what they love to do—from making hats to building furniture out of mushrooms—right in the middle of the museum. We wondered what we could do, and as we daydreamed, we came upon the idea of “The Making of a Charitable Food Movement,” which would be a participatory exhibit in which museumgoers would help us build a new food culture on the spot.

So here’s what we have planned: On Friday May 31st, as part of the “Making Of…” exhibit at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, hosted by acclaimed radio producers, The Kitchen Sisters, we’re putting together an event called “The Making of a Charitable Restaurant Movement.” The idea is to demonstrate a robust public interest in making food more meaningful by giving back.

More than forty of the city’s most respected restaurants will sell $50 gift certificates, of which $5 will fund meals for people in need; gift certificates will be available for purchase May 31 from 10am to 6pm at the museum and online.

At the museum, chefs from Bar Tartine, La Cocina, Mission Chinese Food, Stag Dining Group, Tacolicious and Wise Sons Deli will serve snacks for $5 apiece, of which $1 will be donated to The Food Bank. The event will also feature cooking demonstrations by Chad Robertson (Tartine Bakery), Thomas McNaughton (Flour + Water), Jason Fox (Commonwealth), Ryan Pollnow (Central Kitchen) and Jesse Koide (Mission Chinese Food).

For every dollar raised by this event, The Food Bank will be able to provide three meals for hungry people in the Bay Area—and the need has been rising in the last few years.

We’re launching a new entity, called ShareTable.org, which is a philanthropic platform created for this event, but if enough money is raised to feed 50,000 people, we will expand the endeavor into an ongoing accelerator helping restaurants to benefit their communities.

For us, this feels like a bit of a return to the old days of Mission Street Food, when we invited guest chefs to join us in the kitchen and asked customers to bear with our occasional mis-steps for the sake of giving back to our communities. We are even returning here, to our old blog, where we used to announce our latest scheme, from “Mexiterranean” night to “2011: A Seafood Odyssey.” Now we are asking for you to get involved again, whether that means eating charitable snacks at the museum on May 31, or buying gift certificates at the event or online, or just helping us spread the word to get ShareTable.org off the ground. This is, by definition, a community effort, and we hope you will join in.

* * *

Full list of participants: Ame, Atelier Crenn, Bar Agricole, Bar Tartine, Benu, BiRite Market, Boulevard, Café Des Amis, Camino, Central Kitchen, Coi, Commis, Commonwealth, Cotogna, Delfina, Fifth Floor, Flour + Water, Foreign Cinema, Frances, Jardiniere, Locanda, Marlowe, Michael Mina, Mission Bowling Club, Mission Chinese Food, Nopa, Park Tavern, Perbacco, Pizzeria Delfina, Prospect, Quince, Rich Table, RN74, Saison, Salumeria, Sons & Daughters, Spruce, State Bird Provisions, St. Vincent, Tacolicious, Tartine Bakery, Wise Sons Deli, Zuni Café.

The Ideal Restaurant?

I left the San Francisco Food Bank yesterday full of hope—we may be able to build a truly charitable restaurant, which would serve amazing food and turn all its profits toward feeding the hungry—but we need your vote to get started.

Here's my pitch:

For the last two years, Mission Chinese Food has been raising money for the Food Bank: more than $125,000 so far. But we could do even more. I’ve been sketching plans to serve food inside the Food Bank itself, in their warehouse, as a kind of a hybrid between restaurant and fundraiser. The warehouse is pretty exhilarating to behold with immense skylights and massive aisles of produce and 2,000-pound bags of rice being mobilized for distribution across the city. There’s a space in the middle that clears out around 6pm each day and could probably fit a kitchen on wheels and about 20 seats, and though it’s just a swath of concrete in a warehouse, I think it could be home to an extraordinary restaurant.

Apart from the dramatic setting and the idealistic nature of the establishment, I think it would also be able to transcend conventional restaurant economics and offer unparalleled value by way of non-profit partnership. Diners could make a donation beforehand to secure a reservation, then reap the benefits of subsidized food and labor, and the absence of tax and gratuity. Meanwhile, the Food Bank would use its savings on food, labor and overhead—all of which could generate over $1000 per night to feed those in need. It’s a win-win.

At this point, it’s still just a dream because there would be many hurdles—approval from the board of directors, legal permits, finding the right chef, and all the other challenges that every new restaurant faces. Nevertheless, We're applying for a small business grant from Mission: Small Business to try to make this dream a reality. We need your vote to make it to the next round of consideration.

If you are a supporter of Mission Street Food, Mission Burger, Mission Chinese Food, Commonwealth Restaurant and/or Mission Bowling Club, please log on to Mission: Small business and vote for us. Regrettably, the site requires you to log in and then to search "Mission Chinese Food." Note: this is a Mission Street Food project, and is not related to Mission Chinese Food, but the application process was clunky, not very clear and, as it turns out, uneditable. So please help us get this grant by searching for "Mission Chinese Food," and encourage your friends to do the same.

Thanks in advance,

Anthony Myint

What do you get if you cross Ping Pong with Bowling?

Or rather, what if the world's two greatest sports went on a date to an open-bar party?

Find out this weekend, when Mission Bowling Club will be previewing a few items from its forthcoming menu and American Tripps will be organizing Berlin-style ping pong at the Noise Pop Pop-Up Shop on Friday (2/10) and Saturday (2/11). At the Bold Italic (34 Page Street); festivities begin at 6pm. $5 cover.


Menu:

Friday 2/10

Mission Burger
granulated patty, caramelized onion, monterey jack, caper aioli

CA Spring Roll
fresh peas, radishes, cocoa butter, rice, nori,

Sopaipilla
roasted Cauliflower, pickled apple, edamame, eggplant

Buttermilk Pannacotta
chamomile brittle, spring herbs, mint oil


2/11

Jerk Pork Shoulder
smoked, with black beans, sour cream, plantain flatbread

Vegan Sandwich
chickpea, kale & shitake fritter, topped with fennel and spicy avocado

CA Spring Roll
fresh peas, radishes, cocoa butter, rice, nori

Babamisu
mascarpone stuffed baba with espresso bubbles

Food Politics

We wrote a book about food. It’s more about the taste of food than the politics of food, but the process made us think hard about our values, and we decided to donate a portion of our book sales to food activism. We still believe in the importance of consumer choices, like buying locally, but food policy in this country is so messed up that we need a more direct and systemic approach--especially now, when Congress is preparing to work on the 2012 Farm Bill, which will affect the way we eat as a nation for years to come. We need to put our money where our mouths are, literally.

Together with our publisher, McSweeney’s, we’ve worked out an arrangement to benefit Slow Food USA in their campaign to make the next Farm Bill feed our nation, and not just the bank accounts of agribusiness. For every pre-sale purchase of our book through the McSweeney’s online store, a $10 donation will go to Slow Food USA. Copies purchased later or from other booksellers will result in a smaller donation.

And by the way, our book is called Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbable Restaurant and it will come out this summer. Here’s a description from McSweeney’s:

Mission Street Food is a restaurant. But it’s also a charitable organization, a taco truck, a burger stand, and a clubhouse for inventive cooks tucked inside an unassuming Chinese take-out place. In all its various incarnations, it upends traditional restaurant conventions, in search of moral and culinary satisfaction.



Like Mission Street Food itself, this book is more than one thing: it’s a cookbook featuring step-by-step photography and sly commentary, but it’s also the memoir of a madcap project that redefined the authors’ marriage and a city’s food scene. Along with stories and recipes, you’ll find an idealistic business plan, a cheeky manifesto, and thoughtful essays on issues ranging from food pantries to fried chicken. Plus, a comic.



Ultimately, Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas from an Improbable Restaurant presents an iconoclastic vision of cooking and eating in twenty-first century America.

***THIS IS A PREORDER. If you order now, your book will ship in late July, and a full $10 of your purchase will be donated to Slow Food USA.)***

New Hours at Mission Chinese Food

In an effort to maintain quality and consistency, the staff at Mission Chinese Food and Lung Shan have made a joint decision to adjust our operating hours. The new hours will go into effect starting Monday (January 10th).

Open 11:30am to 10:30pm
Closed Wednesday

We will also no longer take reservations, though we encourage you to call if your party is larger than 4 people so we can best accommodate you. There is no wait during off-peak hours and during peak hours the wait time is typically no more than 20 minutes.

We just don't have an English speaking reservationist or hostess and are sick of making people wait outside while other people are late for their reservation, then get mad at us when there's no table for them--which happens enough to necessitate a policy change.

Thanks for your support.


photo courtesy of Nathan Hazzard

Thanks

I was recently the winner of an award given by Eater.com for the “Empire Builder of the Year, San Francisco.” I know it's just an internet award, but I'd still like to take this opportunity to thank everyone with whom I’ve worked over the last couple years—guest chefs, cooks, servers and especially the staff of Mission Street Food whose good intentions were as important as mine. Copious thanks are due to investors and kickstarters in Commonwealth and general supporters of benevolent business.

Specific credit should go to Jason Fox, Ian Muntzert, Xelina Leyba and the Commonwealth team, and to Danny Bowien, the Mission Chinese Food staff and the owners of Lung Shan, though I am happy to accept on everyone's behalf as kind of the den mother/crazy uncle of the two operations.

Special thanks to my wife Karen Leibowitz without whose love, support and expertise, none of this would have been possible.

The Proverbial Dragon in the Room...or Webathon as Community Building/Art Installation

I recently received an envelope depicting a child with a disfigured face. It said something like, “donate and we’ll stop sending you images like these.” As noble as cleft palate surgeries are (literally enabling children to smile), that kind of guilt trip is unconscionable and just makes me want to ignore the problems in the world.

I’m fundraising to purchase a sixty-foot-long cloth dragon costume/chandelier. On the surface it’s highly frivolous, but the dragon represents the opposite tack: the solicitous equivalent to positive reinforcement. “Chip in a few bucks and you get to see this thing.” As our business increases, it was worth its price in charity. Even though the vast majority of worldly problems will have gone unaddressed, unlike the elephant in the room, we’ll have done something—created a mascot for optimism.

Like Christo’s The Gates in Central Park, this dragon can be a memorable gesture that enriches the texure of a city. Well okay a city block, but without using 10 million pounds of steel, 1 million square feet of nylon and 900 workers. As we approach the goal, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement for the tangible evidence of community building—sort of an urban barn-raising in the age of Twitter.

Besides, how often do you get a chance to buy a dragon?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/603393953/mission-chinese-food-dragon-remodeling-project

Help Mission Chinese Food buy a Chinese Dragon Chandelier!

This is going to be awesome.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/603393953/mission-chinese-food-dragon-remodeling-project

More on Mission Chinese Food

If you don't know who Peter Chang is read this Oxford American article:

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/articles/2010/feb/24/todd-kliman-chases-perfect-chef/

There's also this thing about Mission Chinese Food.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/amyint/2010/08/30/hot-topic/#comment-16

MCF Details

The most up-to-date menu is now available at our new website: http://www.missionchinesefood.com/.

We're now open every day (11am-10:30pm M-Sat, noon-10pm Sun).

You can order delivery, pick up some take-out, or eat in. No longer accepting reservations--there's plenty of space now.

See you soon!

Side note: you can also find us two doors down at Commonwealth--and online at http://commonwealthsf.com/. Open Tuesday through Sunday, Commonwealth is our fine-dining charitable restaurant.

MSF Presents: Mission Chinese Food

"The circle is now complete."

Starting on July 5th, Mission Street Food will become Mission Chinese Food.

Actually, we'll be serving Americanized Oriental Food* and it will be available at Lung Shan Restaurant 7 days a week for eat-in and take-out, as well as for delivery. The menu will consist of 10-12 items priced in the $7-$10 range, and will include Danny Bowien's soon-to-be world-famous Ma-Po Tofu, as well as one of Mission Street Food's new classics, the Chinito. Overall, our goal for the cuisine is to approach our favorite genre as eaters (cheap ethnic food) and try to elevate it while keeping it affordable--basically two Asian American line cooks' interpretations.

Seventy-five cents from each item will be donated to the SF Food Bank.

Stay tuned for more details, and come check us out next month.



* Though we'll focus on Chinese food, we're leaving ourselves the freedom to incorporate other Asian flavor profiles. Our use of the term "oriental" is not meant to be offensive. The word is derived from a root meaning "eastern," which represents a Eurocentric orientation to Asia, and it was most often used in a bygone era when Europeans viewed the regions east of the Mediterranean as exotic lands full of "romance and intrigue." For us, as Asian-American cooks, using this loaded term is an indictment of the Eurocentricity of fine dining, but it's also meant to desensitize the term in that transcending-racism-by-not-interpreting-every-single-thing-as-racist way. You know, like the "queers" did.

Saturday June 5th: LAST MSF! - Greatest Hits

For our last night well be revisiting some of your favorites and ours, going as far back as the antojitos cart and the first night at Lung Shan. After Saturday we'll be closed indefinitely--giving myself and some of our staff a little time off before focusing on Commonwealth. Danny Bowien and I will also be spearheading a new venture in the wake of Mission Burger, which we'll announce shortly (so stay tuned).

I speak on behalf of the entire staff when I say it's been a pleasure serving you and getting to know you. Thanks for your enthusiasm, patience and support. We intend to eventually start MSF up again in some capacity and hope to see you again then, but for now, come by for one last PB & J or MSF Rice, or come try your first Chinito or Squid & Marrow - the new classics.

But most of all, thank you for the memories.

MENU:

Fresh Mozzarella, Olive Soil, Avocado, Cherry Tomato, Shiso - $7

USDA Prime Ribeye Tostada - seared and served rare with caper aioli, radish and watercress - $9

Monterey Bay Squid, Marrow, Tamarind Pork, Castelvetrano Olive, Fried Chickpeas - $8

Peking Chinito - Chinese Donut wrapped in Rice Noodle and stuffed with Duck, Crispy Skin, Cucumber, Cilantro, Spicy Hoisin - $7.5

King Trumpet Mushrooms, Charred Scallion Sour Cream and Garlic Confit with Potato Wedges - $7

Ono Kauswe - Burmese Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup, Spicy Chicken, Egg, shallot, Cilantro, Chili Flake - $7.5

PB & J - Berkshire Kurobuta Pork Belly with Marinated Jicama, Cilantro Aioli and red jalapeno - $6.5

MSF Rice - Duck Confit, Duck Cracklins, Seared Cauliflower and Shitake Mushroom - $8

VSF Rice - Fried Tofu, Seared Cauliflower and Shitake Mushroom - $7

Lung Shan's Vegan Delight - shitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup - $5.5

Brownie with Brillat Savarin French Triple Creme Cheese - $6

photo courtesy of John at burritojustice.com

June 3rd: Final Thursday - Danny Bowien Wedding Extravaganza

This Thursday is the second-to-last MSF and our final Thursday dinner service. We're honoring the occasion by celebrating the upcoming wedding between Danny Bowien and Youngmi Mayer. Danny is pulling out all the stops with a wedding banquet menu replete with extravagances, and a portion of the proceeds will go towards the wedding festivities. So if you're a fan of love, seafood or milk fed veal tartare then please join us. We'll be open late for any industry visitors who want to stop by after service for Danny, Youngmi or MSF.

MENU:

Aperitif – prickly pear soda with sake granita - $5

Beau Soleil Oysters (2), spiced nori, grapefruit vinegar - $5

Cherrystone Clams on the half shell (2), green apple, white shoyu, hackleback caviar - $6

*Bigfin Squid Salad, blistered tomato, Chinese celery, chrysanthemum, squid ink gelee - $9

*California Aji “Negitoro,” lardo, wild leeks, citron, warm bean curd, field caviar - $9

Milk Fed Veal Tartare sea urchin, boquerones, huitalacoche, wheatgrass consommé - $13

Warm Egg Custard – duck confit, sturgeon, matsutake dashi, fresh peppercorn leaves- $9

Octopus a la Plancha – smoked yogurt, black olive, young turnips, peas, ras el hanout - $9

Crispy Pork Jowl, Steamed Mussels, fresh lettuces and herbs - $13

Passionfruit sorbet - $3

Saturday May 29th- California Cuisine: A Case Study

As an epilogue to our recent homage series, this Saturday we'll be examining California Cuisine by preparing food in the style of some notable area restaurants which represent two approximate schools of thought: innovation and simplicity. Included will be dishes in the style of Ubuntu, Zuni Cafe, The French Laundry, Delfina, Manresa, Nopa, Commis and Chez Panisse.

MENU:

Chilled Pea Consomme, with White Chocolate and Macadamia Nuts - $6

Caesar Salad - $7

"Oysters & Pearls" - Oysters, Tapioca, Caviar - $12

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce - $8

A Spring Tidal Pool with Octopus, Sea Urchin and Abalone - $15

Vegetable Tagine - $9

Pork Jowl, Slow Egg, Potato, Black Garlic, Alliums - $12

An Assortment of Fresh Fruit from the Market - $6

Thursday May 27th: Homage Series Recap

For the past 10 weeks we've been paying homage to world class chefs and have enjoyed presenting some great dishes inspired by their food. This Thursday we conclude the series by recapping some of our favorites from the series including dishes in the styles of Rene Redzepi, Michel Bras, Pascal Barbot, Inaki Aizpitarte and QuiQue DaCosta.

The Best of the Best!

MENU:

sea urchin, frozen cream, dill, cucumber - $8

roasted beet, goat cheese, olive soil - $7

foie gras and miso soup with assorted legumes - $9

bison tartare, tarragon, wood sorrel - $10

gargouillou - an assortment of raw and cooked vegetables, prepared appropriately - $8

skate, mussel emulsion, vegetable stems - $12

a basic understanding of lamb - roasted leg and crispy belly with lamb gelee, assorted seeds and grains - $14

yogurt parfait, celery, peas, chervil, mint oil - $5

olive oil cake, crème fraiche ice cream, strawberry, balsamic vinegar - $7

* * *

Notes:

Mission Burger will close on Saturday May 29th

Mission Street Food will close on Saturday June 5th with plans to re-open in a different format later this summer.

Saturday May 22nd: Guest Chef Bridget Batson

This Saturday we are excited to host Bridget Batson, executive chef of Gitane. A San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef in 2001, Bridget graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education and has worked at Hawthorne Lane/TWO, Pizzeria Delfina, and Boston’s Blue Room and Hamersley’s Bistro.

Bridget has generously pledged a portion of her proceeds to Commonwealth, a progressive American restaurant with a charitable agenda, opening this summer.

MENU:

Scallop Crudo, txakoli, green apple, seaweed - $9

Monterey Bay sardines with spiced potato croquettes, preserved Meyer lemon $ 8

*Turnip Veloute, chicken quenelle, hazelnut, parsley - $7

Chicken Liver Confit, sweet herb salad, rye crumble, pickled ramps - $8

*Braised Carrot, pickled carrot, carrot pesto, fried chickpeas - $7

Poached Atlantic Skate, jamon broth, cherrystone clams, spinach, XO sauce - $12

Braised Sonoma Lamb cheeks w/ spring garlic, fava beans, artichoke puree $ 12

Lung Shan's Vegan Delight: shitake and oyster mushroom dumplings in miso soup - $5.5

Bellwether farms sheep's milk panna cotta with roasted cherries, cocoa nibs, sea salt $ 8

Thursday May 20th: Homage Series Auguste Escoffier

This Thursday we continue our homage series with Auguste Escoffier, the grandfather of Western cuisine. Escoffier was the first chef to emphasize seasonality, lighten sauces, preserve through canning, de-glaze, and use veal stock or fumet. He's also credited with the modernization of the menu and the development of professional kitchen systems. As co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton empire, Escoffier is responsible for elevating the hospitality industry to new heights, but he also undertook philanthropic endeavors including the organization of programs to feed the hungry, and programs to financially assist retired chefs. His ideas and codification of French cuisine are acknowledged as the foundation of modern cooking in Europe and around the world.

We hope you'll enjoy a menu of Escoffier classics, which we are as proud to serve as we are humbled by the challenge of presenting them correctly.

MENU:

Potage Montespan - Asparagus, Tapioca, Peas - $6

Salade Americane - Tomatoes, Potatoes, and Celery - $6

Oeufs Chasseur - Eggs with Chicken Liver and Mushroom Sauce - $8

Sole Veronique - Poached Dover Sole, Peeled Grapes, Fumet Glaze - $11

Poulet en Vessie - Game Hen and Black Summer Truffles steamed in Pig Bladder, with Spring Vegetables - $16

Rognon de Veau Robert - Seared Veal Kidney with Mustard Sauce - $8

Tournedos Rossini - Medallion of Filet Mignon with Seared Foie Gras, Madeira Demi Glace and Brioche - $16

Bombe Ceylan - Coffee and Rum Bombe - $6

Saturday May 15th: Guest Chef Ian Muntzert

This Saturday we're pleased to have Ian Muntzert as guest chef. Ian has worked at Coi, Zuni Cafe, Nopa, Pizzeria Delfina, Yoshi's, and Bar Tartine and his menu reflects that breadth of experience with myriad techniques and flavor profiles. Ian will also be the chef de cuisine at Commonwealth, set to open later this summer.

MENU:

Scallop crudo, coconut coulis, shaved turnips, ginger tapioca, squid ink granita - $10

Ragout of spring vegetables, goat milk veil, pine, gobo - $8

Poached egg, potato, tamarind, alliums, sheep's milk yogurt - $7

Foie Gras torchon, umeboshi, kinome, puffed rice - $12

Pork belly, rock shrimp, dashi, garlic, crunchy vegetable salad - $12

Manilla Clams, chorizo, ramps, fennel, cilantro, pea tendrils - $8

Hangar Steak, nira, enoki, wheatgrass - $11

Cherries, tarragon, chocolate crisp, dulce de leche ice cream - $6