Winter 2023: The Best Dishes Eater San Francisco Editors Ate This Week - Eater SF
"Sometimes a meal at a family-owned restaurant is just what one needs to soothe the soul, and soothed was exactly how I felt after a meal at Tigon in El Cerrito. I was looking for an open lunch spot at a very-not-lunch hour of 2:30 p.m. and found myself heading to this Vietnamese restaurant, which is open all day. I was feeling indecisive and happened upon this very large rice plate that in essence doubled as a sample platter of Tigon’s offerings. When a server dropped in front of me, the sheer size of it nearly knocked me out: it included a heaping serving of rice, lemongrass chicken, marinated cuts of beef, four spring rolls, and two pieces of shrimp arranged in a very cute heart shape. What stood out the most on the plate was the shrimp cake, which was made with shrimp paste and water chestnuts, and wrapped in tofu skin. The shrimp had a lovely umami flavor with the water chestnuts giving the cake a satisfying soft crunch. The entire cake was fried, allowing the tofu skin to crisp up beautifully and giving it a crunchy exterior that gave way to the shrimp cake interior. Between this fried seafood bite, the lovely service, and thoughtful touches like the heart-shaped shrimp, it was a nice hug of a lunch that really made the entire experience worthwhile (as well as for some tasty leftovers later)." - Paolo Bicchieri
