Chicken Fried Palace Is a San Francisco Love Letter to Southern Diner Food | Eater SF

"A modern Mission District diner from chef Seth Stowaway and Memphis partner Cole Jeanes, this spot champions chicken-fried steaks and diner classics filtered through a Bay Area melting-pot lens, drawing on Stowaway’s central Texas roots. The menu leans into foundational staples like buttermilk biscuits, pork chops, and a rib-eye steak-and-eggs, plus chicken-fried steak, chicken, smoked trout, and mushrooms—each made with a gluten-free dredge—and three gravies: the Classic (a white gravy with sausage and lots of pepper), the Bay (oyster sauce with Fresno chiles and basil), and the Memphis (mustard- and honey-based, served with Kool-Aid pickles). Sourcing includes Corvus Farm chicken, Stemple Creek Ranch beef, and Riverdog Farm pork. There are patty melts, cornmeal pancakes, and playful twists such as a salt cod pancake with pimento cheese, and a blooming onion given the “grocery store sushi” treatment with eel sauce, Kewpie mayo, and chile crisp. Desserts are a centerpiece from pastry chef Gabrielle Pabonan—think sticky rolls, caramelized banana pudding, a Matilda chocolate cake, and opening-day pies (apple and quince, sweet potato, custard with meringue, and classic pecan)—plus scoops from Mitchell’s. Drinks span accessible cocktails and nonalcoholic options by Nora Furst, including boozy and non-boozy milkshakes, coconut slushies, and sweet tea. In the former Wesburger space, the room is brightened with gold wallpaper, salmon-pink booths, terrazzo bar tops, and playful bathrooms with pink toilets and wild wallpaper, aiming for a special yet sentimental modern-diner feel. Debuting November 22, it’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m." - Dianne de Guzman