"A night at Bodega SF is full of surprises—the good kind, unlike accidentally sitting on a melted Ghirardelli chocolate square on the cable car. At this swanky Northern Vietnamese restaurant, savory turmeric pancakes are punched up with caviar, papaya salad is topped with crumbled beef jerky, and cocktails are infused with pandan and yuzu. After a long afternoon of doing Union Square things, like taking family photos by the Christmas tree or shopping, a meal while seated in a cushy leather booth is the perfect cap to the day." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez