San Francisco Part II: Rich Table

I have found a new favorite restaurant! While in San Francisco, I was lucky enough to snag a reservation at Rich Table.  Husband wife duo Evan and Sarah Rich opened this spot in 2012 in Hayes Valley. In  only one year, they were finalists for the James Beard Award for best new restaurant. The space is warm and inviting as well as unassuming. They pride themselves on being a place where you can casually get an amazing meal without the pretense of a fancy restaurant. We were given a great window seat near the bar and I got excited as we planned our menu choices with some help from the waiter. The menu features several sizes of dishes from bites to mid size plate to large more entree size offerings. We took the opportunity to try several things from each category. Each dish that arrived became my new favorite.

To start we sampled the dried porcini doughnuts. They were light and fluffy savory and doughy with a creamy dipping sauce that I couldn't get enough of.

 

This was quickly followed with sardines served inside of crispy house made potato chips. I learned to love all things little fish while in France and Spain and this was no exception. This was an amazing flavor with the salty and the softness of the fish paired with the crunch of the chip. It was visually interesting as well, definitely not something you would try at home. 

 

 

We marched ahead to the more entree like offerings including the chicken cannelloni. This was such a fresh take on what I often think of as a heavy dish. The flavors were offset by the crisp sweet peas and the salty crunchy chicken skin bits topping the plate. 

 

Our final entree was a lighter take on the popular pork belly. This dish featured asparagus (the monster flavorful kind that you can only seem to find in Northern CA) and mushrooms. The asparagus balanced the richness of the pork and made an irresistible bite.

 

We finished our dinner with the coconut pana cotta. This was served with a fresh lime meringue and coconut crumbles. The perfect ending to a perfect meal.