"Like many of you, dear readers, the burden of making difficult reservations often falls upon us. As our friends’ resident food junkies, it’s generally assumed that we can solve any restaurant problem. Birthday dinner for four, all girls, this Friday? On it. Anniversary dinner with a few hours’ warning? Been there. But the most nefarious plan is for a big group on Saturday. SF’s dining scene is so overrun that it often seems anywhere worth going can’t handle more than four people, unless you book months in advance. So it was with some trepidation that we found a reservation for 10 people at Fog City on a Saturday. We’d been before and had a good time, but how could they possibly be able to accommodate that many people? What was the catch? Turns out there was no catch. Fog City comes through big time. For starters, we have to give credit to anyone willing to throw their hat in the roast chicken ring, given Zuni’s longtime dominance, and the version here is in that class (perhaps even better in some respects). The cocktails are both creative and delicious—an annoyingly uncommon combination. The restaurant itself looks like a diner from the future. Most of the walls are glass, and the illuminated bar is cool, because illuminated bars are cool. Fog City enters the pantheon of great places you can get into. We are so very thankful. Food Rundown Oysters Pre-prepared with mignonette, but dang good. We would say this is a good way to start, but they were brought to our table after the appetizers, which was odd. Deviled Eggs Mustardy, good. Furikake Fries Solid fries, but not quite at the level we were hoping for. The Japanese spices didn’t really kick in. Broccoli Di Ciccio One of the best vegetable dishes we’ve had in a while—the flame-grilling takes this to another level. Get it. Brussels Sprouts Another great charred vegetable. Whoever is manning the fire pit knows what they’re doing. Grilled & Raw Kale Primer: we have eaten a lot of kale salads. Whoever had the idea to serve raw kale should have to live off this stuff for the rest of their life. In other words, this was by far our least favorite thing. Save the raw kale for the vegans. Trout Well-cooked fish, not remarkable. Ribs Some say that ribs should be “fall-off-the-bone,” but most BBQ nerds dispute this, arguing that over-tender ribs are overcooked. These ribs were, in fact, falling off the bone, but the spices and smokiness made them delicious. Perhaps there’s something to that whole tenderness thing. More please. Lamb Skewers A great Mediterranean wrap filling, served with some nice lettuce wrappers. We’d like to be able to buy these for a to-go lunch. Wood-Fired Whole Chicken As noted above, SF is a tough town for chickens. This one is in the top tier. The key is the juice—somehow, these guys manage to preserve an incredible amount of moisture inside each piece of meat. It might be our favorite in town. Not saying that lightly. The “B’ Bomb” Have no idea what the name means, but this combines the two most popular desserts—french crullers and frozen custard. It’s frigging awesome. We’d like to pour the egg yolk caramel sauce on top of our French Toast for life." - Max Child
