The Best Dishes Eater SF Editors Ate This Week: June 24

There’s certainly no shortage of excellent food to be found in San Francisco and the Bay Area — but there’s plenty worth skipping, too. Luckily for you, Eater editors dine out several times a week (or more) and we’re happy to share the standout dishes we encounter as we go.

Here’s the best of everything the Eater SF team has eaten recently. Check back weekly for more don’t-miss dishes.

Gokujo uni at Friends Only

Dianne de Guzman

In one of the more surreal moments of my food writing career, I was invited to try a new cultivated meat product from Australia-based Vow at San Francisco’s own Friends Only. The dinner signified the U.S. debut of Vow’s Forged Parfait, made of Japanese quail cells, currently only served in a handful of restaurants throughout Singapore. And while I won’t recommend a dish/product that isn’t quite available in the U.S. — I’m not that cruel — I will mention another bite from the dinner, the gokujo uni. It takes some restraint to know when to let an ingredient shine, and in this instance, the mounds of orange uni took the spotlight in this simple bite. I always lose my words when trying to describe uni in particular, as perhaps “creamy, melty uni” doesn’t quite reach the tenor I want in singing uni’s praise. Still, I haven’t had a bite of uni quite like this one in months, and it tells a story of an ingredient taken to its apex without much manipulation. Sushi and uni lovers, take note. Friends Only, 1501 California Street, San Francisco

— Dianne de Guzman, Eater SF deputy editor

Chilaquiles at Primavera

Becky Duffett

Listen, I’m fully aware this is not breaking news, but one more time for the people in the back avenues — there’s no finer plate of chilaquiles in San Francisco. My bestie is a regular at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, so she hits the Primavera stall every other week. Somehow, I fell out of the routine. It had been far too long. But I recently found myself shivering in the fog behind the Ferry Building on a Saturday morning, and it dawned on me — I could get the magical chilaquiles, made by the masa whisperers of Sonoma. Yes, there’s always a line. Yes, you need to bring cash. But you get to walk away clutching a warm tin full of handmade tortilla chips, tossed into a saucy situation, with refried beans, soft scrambled eggs, and a crumble of cotija. It had been a long and hard week, but the chilaquiles restored me. Primavera, Saturdays at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco

— Becky Duffett, freelance writer and former deputy editor of Eater SF

Chao suon at Bodega SF

Dianne de Guzman

The comfort of a rice porridge bowl knows no bounds, especially for those who grew up with a version of the dish, typically a soothing bite while on the mend from a cold. I didn’t grow up eating Vietnamese chao suon specifically, but Bodega SF’s still delivers those notes I want in my rice porridge: a silky, savory porridge with bites of tender meat. The meat, in this instance, is a healthy dose of spare ribs hiding in the porridge. Sliding the meat off the bone, I pushed it onto spoonfuls of porridge, savoring each bite. Mussels also added to the dish, incorporating a bite of seafood into the mix. A requisite side bowl of Chinese doughnut pieces comes with each bowl, the crispness playing well against the softness of the porridge. The chao suon is a new addition to the Bodega SF menu, as the restaurant adds brunch to its offerings. I can see the chao suon as a perfect morning recovery meal or a start to weekend activities. Bodega SF, 138 Mason Street, San Francisco

— Dianne de Guzman, Eater SF deputy editor