Mar Bravo

Mar Bravo was one of the culinary highlights of our trip to Nazare, Portugal, perhaps to the entire country. Nazare, on the northwest coast of Portugal, is decidedly quaint, with women still dressed in black wearing dirndl skirts, layers of frilly petticoats and shawls. The town was geared towards tourism and most restaurants reflected it, but by comparison, Mar Bravo looked sophisticated and its menu proved that it was.

 

No one can really serve bad shellfish unless they put much effort into it. Our starter was a plate of heads on prawns served with a garlic aioli. The plating was appetizing and the prawns very fresh and not overcooked. This was a good start to the meal.

 

Next came a simple green salad of leaf lettuce, shaved white onions, and cucumber slices, bathed in a creamy herb vinaigrette.

 

The ever present French fries were competently cooked and good enough to eat au natural, sans ketchup or aioli. We would have tried them with the aioli had we not slathered it all on the prawns.

 

The combination of pork and clams is  traditionally used in Portuguese cuisine. As the Italians use anchovies to achieve greater depth and complexity in sauces, I believe the Portuguese use clams for that same purpose. It works. This garlic laden pork loin was covered in a pan sauce that was enhanced and made more complex by the clam juice. The clams themselves were expertly cooked and  remained tender.

 

When we declined dessert, the waiter comped us with this cheesecake drizzled in caramel sauce. If Nazare is the destination, Mar Bravo should be the restaurant and perhaps the hotel.

 

Mar Bravo Hotel & Restaurant Website

 

Praça Sousa Oliveira 71
Nazaré Portugal
+351 262 569 160

Pesce

The welcoming, warm toned, wood clad walls seem to be about as close to a traditional Venetian cichetti bar as we will come with this venue. As I walked inside, it struck me that the restaurant was too modern, too spare, too polished, to give an authentic feel to the place, but that isn't what the owners had in mind for their restaurant. What they ran with instead was the small plate idea and a strong seafood representation on the menu. It was easy to find something that looked appealing to eat, and sitting at a table was a big plus; something not traditionally provided in a cichetti bar, unless it was an afterthought. Instead of an eat and run institution, Pesce is a comfortable restaurant where one can linger and savor the food. But don't look for really small plates, the sizes presented were much bigger than one would find in Venice and there was not a single menu item that was traditional.
 

My small meal consisted of two courses from the cichetti menu, the first cichetto was picked from the cold dishes offered on the menu and the second from the hot selections, even though my hot course was lukewarm at best, but that is definitely an authentic Italian approach.

 

 

The Carpaccio di Barbabietole was a lovely lite salad of roasted red beets, sliced paper thin and topped with a lemon dressed arugula salad that was sprinkled modestly with pecorino ricotta. The ricotta was so dense it was shaved onto the salad, and I suspect it was actually ricotta salata. Either way it had a mild creamy taste and worked well with the salad. I was wishing for more cheese, but the restraint kept the salad lite and a good first course selection. It was drizzled with extra virgin olive oil that had a slightly bitter taste, so the acidity level must have been more than the Italian standard of 1% or less.

The second course was also a salad, but this one named Polpo included grilled octopus. It worked well with the celery and potatoes, and was very tender. The thinly sliced octopus didn't have enough flavor for my needs, nor was it plentiful enough in proportion to the other ingredients. It arrived almost cold, but may have tasted better had it been served with more heat, even the heat of pepperoncino may have improved it some. Venetians are masters with spices and that tradition would have been welcomed had it been part of this particular dish.

Pesce Website

2227 Polk Street (between Green and Vallejo)
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 928-8025

Zapata

This unobtrusive Mexican grill in the middle of the Castro looks like any taqueria in town, small, colorful and nondescript, but don't let that fool you, the quesadillas, burritos, and tacos are more than the sum of their parts and there are many parts. The prices are competitive and provide good value. The service, is as good as you are because it's self serve; you decide, you order, you bus your tray to the table.

Burritos are generous in size and this particular order can be had for under $8. It's a prawn burrito, that is not always found in other establishments. Besides rice and beans there are many extras to choose from, so guacamole was added to this order. It made for a very satisfying lunch, with no need to order more to quell hunger pangs.

My co-conspiritor needed something lighter and decided on one of the many quesadillas  on offer. Like the burritos, you are able to add more ingredients to the quesadillas. Starting at $1 you may add guacamole, mushrooms or spinach. You may pay up to $3 extra for an item such as fish or grilled prawns. Guacamole was good enough, but the burrito was so good, grilled prawns would make an excellent choice. 

Menu Pages Link

4150 18th St (at Collingwood)
San Francisco CA 94114
Phone: (415) 861-4470

Espetus Currascaria

Of all the restaurants I've been to, Espetus must be the grandaddy of the Meat & Potato genre, although in this case it's more like meat and yucca root. Even so, when you arrive you'll be greeted by your waiter, said yucca, gourgeres, and potato croquettes. After your order has been taken and you have milled around the salad and hot side dish bar, take note of the gizmo on your table with the small wheel that is red on one side and green on the other; it will come in handy.

 

Massive amounts of meat must be consumed here each month. If you're a quantity eater you will find this restaurant very appealing. Don't be alarmed, be forewarned; shortly after settling in back at your table,  you will be approached by several young men dressed as gauchos cum servers, wielding large butcher knives in one hand, and  larger swords piercing through various types of animal flesh in the other. They will keep approaching you until you stop them. Like the Living Dead, if I may use the comparison, they just keep coming, but in this case you do not shoot them in the head. That's where the wheelie gizmo comes in. Quickly flip the wheel to red and the onslaught will end. You will have vanquished the approaching evil. It's not all red meat however. Along with the beef and lamb, they also serve pork,  house made sausages, chicken and even shrimp. If it can be grilled, Espetus can serve it.

Although I would not encourage you to bring a vegetarian or vegan to this restaurant, Espetus does offer grilled vegetables, and salads  to amuse the palate between meat courses. They also serve Feijoada, the classic Brazilian black bean and pork stew, as well as a fish stew called Moqueca de Peixe and paella.

Espetus Website

1686 Market St at Gough
San Francisco CA 94102
(415) 552-8792

Una Pizza Napoletana

Within the last few years I was watching a TV program on the food Network about pizza. They were counting down the 10 best pizza in the country and when they got to the last two I jotted down the names and locations of the Pizzerias that placed 1st and 2nd. The runner up was in Arizona and the very best, Una Pizza Napoletana was in New York City. I immediately sourced their address in the East Village and placed it into a travel folder. Since we love visiting NYC, it seemed entirely possible that I would one day be able to try this restaurant. I didn't have to wait very long, because it moved to San Francisco last year. Luckily the owner, Anthony Mangieri wanted to move to the West coast where he could get more use out of his mountain bike than he had in his native New Jersey or NYC.

Mr. Mangieri's approach to pizza is intense, single minded, and artful. Everyone writing about him discusses jazz, zen and inflexibility. From where I sit, he appears to be an artist, working on technique until it becomes second nature and he can literally feel when the pizza (or art piece) is completed. As a former production potter, I know this first hand; the more repetition, the more perfection. We, the dining public, benefit from his dedication, because his dough is remarkable. It takes 3 days to become leavened naturally from the yeast in the air. With our sour dough legacy, San Francisco seems the perfect place for this flour and water artist to indulge his passion. He sets up the dough for the night and when it's used up, he closes the doors. That can be early on some evenings, so our routine is to get there when the doors open and work our way into the first seating. That approach is almost as flawless as his pizze.

Pizza Margherita is one of the 5 or 6 pizze that is offered at the restaurant along with water, Neapolitan wines, and beer. No soup, salads, or desserts. Why, you might ask? Because Mr. Mangieri wants to concentrate on making the perfect pizza. With a limited menu, he can have a small staff, few ingredients  to stock, and low overhead; there is little room for waste. The bow on the railing dividing the oven from the tables was the Christmas decoration. This man must have the lowest overhead in the business; he doesn't even buy yeast! I also suspect he has the smallest garbage pickup in the city, no one leaves a crumb on their plate. I digress, let's talk about the pizza.

The Margherita is poetry in motion. It's simplicity astounds and mesmerizes the palate. Tomato sauce, Mozzerella, fresh basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, along with a bit of sea salt and of course, the dough, are all it takes to be a completely satisfying meal, in the expert hands of this American born pizzaiolo. The dough is crisp on the bottom, due to the wood fired oven, but light and chewy on the top. It's the best I have ever tasted either here or in Italy. It is flawless.

The Pizza Bianca is very good with the introduction of fresh garlic and the deletion of tomato sauce. As usual the crust was remarkable and the taste outstanding. Time to confess, I did bring my own porcini salt to the restaurant one evening and I loved it on this pizza, but I hope Mr. Mangieri never reads this or I may just get barred from his restaurant. There is no Soup Nazi vibe here, but I still don't believe my defilement of the Pizza Bianca would be appreciated. Now I wonder if anyone else has slipped red pepper flakes into their pockets, to smuggle into the restaurant.

 

Here's the Apollonia, named after Anthony's daughter. I believe it's served only on weekends, but a quick look at their menu should tell the tale. Think of it as the Bianca with egg, salami (looks like cotto salami, cooked) and black pepper flakes. Makes me want to experiment with a Carbonara pizza at home. In summation, I hope the perfect pizza is never achieved to Anthony Mangieri's satisfaction, because I fear he will take off on that mountain bike of his and never look back. I admire his ambition and the fact that he could make more money by adding menu items, but declines to do so because "it's not right".

Una Pizza Napoletana Website

210 11th St. at Howard
San Francisco CA
(415) 861-3444
Open: Wed.-Sat. 5 p.m. (until the dough runs out)

Boulangerie-Patisserie Banette

You can be some things to all people, or all things to some people, or even just some things to some people, but you can never be all things to all people. No wonder the French had a revolution, and perhaps it started when lines started blurring between boulangeries and patisseries. Even Marie Antoinette was confused suggesting that cake was a suitable substitute for daily bread. A boulangerie is a bread bakery while a patisserie is a pastry and cake bakery, but more and more you see hybrids on the streets of Paris and we're not talking automobiles. Some of us need more consistency in life, clearly defined parameters, but we won't find them in Parisian bakeries. Boulangerie Patisserie Banette is a good example of the new hybrid bakeries. Located on the Contrescarpe it is where I picked up croissants an pain du chocolat while staying at Hotel Des Grandes Ecoles.

 

Banette goes one step further to blur the lines because it offers sandwiches and salads, clearly the realm of the cafe in Parisian culture. Is it the European Union that is responsible for this blurring of definition? As one who has traveled quite a bit over the years, I have noticed a big change in individual European countries since the Union began. You can find macarons in Italian bakeries, pizza in French bakeries and Guinness just about everywhere. There is no longer a bargain country, because as soon as the currency converted, inflation in the lesser expensive countries filled in the gap.

    

No matter what you call it Banette does have some strong points, croissants and pain au chocolat are two of them. Their pain au chocolate were so good and so low in price, that I made a point to buy a plastic container, so they could be transported home on our last day in Paris. It worked out beautifully and co-workers at the office were delighted with the surprise. During our return to Paris this year, my plastic container will be in tow. I admit, the 6 euro lunches where you select a sandwich, a drink and a dessert looked like a real bargain too.

  

The pastry can't be faulted, but the Banette selection was not as extensive as in many other shops. In all honesty, the shop wasn't large enough for a bigger selection. Maybe they're not trying to be all things to all people, but with a small chain bakery such as this one, they may be attempting to reach all people. There is a big controversy about the use of industrialized frozen bread in France and Banette is a part of it because their brand is associated with the frozen bread and what some consider the beginning of the end for the classic baguette. The frozen product is much cheaper to make and sells at lower prices. Unfair competition, yes.

   

Speaking of blurred lines, do you see doughnuts? I've seen a few Italian doughnuts in my day, but didn't realize the French made them.  And cookies like those in the photo below, are they French? The financier and cannele  are definitely traditional French pastries, but somehow the brownies look out of place, even though the Coca Cola on the signboards does not. It's definitely a crazy mixed up world.

 

French Bread Information from About-France 

Banette Website

Rue Mouffetard at Rue Thouin 75005 Paris France