AL’s Place Debuts New Omnivorous Tasting Menu | Eater SF

"When it opened in the Mission in 2015, AL’s Place quickly earned national accolades for its inventive focus on produce. I observed that chef Aaron London, whose restaurant is Michelin-starred, was never strictly vegetarian but put vegetables at the center of the plate, often relegating meat to side-dish status. Over the years the kitchen has widened its viewpoint: much of the menu remains vegetable-focused, but there are far more animal proteins—meat and fish—on the menu than before. Despite that shift, the restaurant’s popular family-style tasting menu, which is ordered by 65 percent of guests, hadn’t kept pace until this month, when AL’s Place debuted a new omnivorous family-style tasting menu. Now groups receive a selection of dishes from every section of the menu, including the larger meat-focused section (labeled "limited availability" because the kitchen makes fewer of those dishes each night); vegetarian groups can still request a plant-based tasting menu instead. London felt the set menu was no longer showcasing the best of what AL’s Place could do, and the new option lets groups who want meat be accommodated without ordering a la carte. The restaurant serves Northern California regional cuisine rooted in the produce and seafood of the Bay Area." - Janelle Bitker