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By Emma Krasov, photography by Yuri Krasov
Dark wood panels, sleek granite counter top around the openbar, elegant dining room furniture, crystal fixtures and red velvet curtains inthe lounge area put recently opened
Shanghai restaurant in San Francisco anotch above the many casual eateries of the hip Mission Dolores neighborhood.
The obvious sophistication of the place doesn’t stop withthe décor. Shanghai menu, conceived by the proprietor
Francis Tsai, a native ofShanghai, and the executive chef
Leo Gan, who worked as the opening chef forShanghai 1930, is brimming with Chinese delicacies equally intriguing in avariety of tastes and presentations.
An appetizer combination of our six-course tasting menu fortwo came on a large rectangular plate with smaller square bowls containingbites of traditionally offered fish, tofu, veggie, and meat surrounding the BlastingPrawn cocktail – with prawns grilled in mild honey nectar.
The fish was a sweet-tasting sole filet smokedin oolong tea. The tofu was called Vegetarian Duck, and tasted just like aroasted crackling skin of a soy-sauce duck. The veggie came as a crispy hot andsour cabbage, and the meat was presented by Drunken Chicken simmered in Shaoxingwine.
Lemongrass Hopper cocktail, one of many created by thebeverage director Michael Petri, seemed a great match for the flavor-forwardappetizers, and was made with vodka, mango, Midori, lemon, soda, andlemongrass.
Our second course was my favorite Xiao Long Bao, a.k.a.Shanghai soup dumplings. They are very delicate, filled with pork and broth,and should be sprinkled with Shanghai black vinegar to reveal their ultimatecomforting effect. These dumplings I eat with a spoon, making a little bite atthe top first, so no delicious broth would escape from the steamed dough purse.
For the third course, we had Fish Broth – a dense gelatinoussoup of julienned white fish with sweet flesh mixed in with slightly beaten eggwhite. Another comforting dish for a chilly San-Francisco evening!The fourth course of the tasting menu was actually threecourses.
Chicken Flamb̩ Рwith cubes ofwhite breast meat braised in sweet vinegar sauce. Whole red and green grapes, chunksof pineapple, strawberries and kiwi graced this very special take on sweet andsour chicken.
Fish on the Vine –a deep fried fish fillet with a red winereduction. This one came decorated with a real vine with shiny green leaves. Napa Cabbage – a small head of cabbage braised in a realcream sauce and sprinkled with bacon crumble.
Warm and satisfying, this dishmade a great addition to protein-filled plates of more “serious” players.
The fifth course was poetically called, Two Colden Faces,and presented a nest of crispy noodles over prawns, mushrooms, and three-colorbell peppers in light sweet sauce.
Our sixth course was rather simple – a plate of sweetenedpan-fried sticky rice with dried berries and a twig of fresh mint, but after alavish meal we just had at spectacular Shanghai no other dessert would do.
My dessert cocktail, made by the bartender Kent Lisk, wascalled Anna’s Perfect Pink, and contained gin, hibiscus, pisco, coconut, lemon,goji liquor, and orange flower water. I could’ve easily called it, Emma’sperfect pink!
Manager Stephen Lee, present all throughout the night whenwe dined, took care of all the patrons in the dining room, making sure theservice was on par with the ambience and the food at Shanghai. As can beexpected of the restaurant of this level, Shanghai cuisine is prepared with seasonal,locally sourced and mostly organic ingredients. The full bar at Shanghai, besides classic, contemporary andoriginal cocktails and the international wine list, offers a late night HappyHour service with bites menu Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 p.m. to midnight.Shanghai is located at 2029 Market Street, San Francisco. Dinneris served Tuesday through Sunday from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., a dim sum brunch onSaturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and a late night small platemenu. A specialty of the house is private dining and special functions withtraditional Shanghai dishes. Reservations: (415) 701-8866 or SeatMe.com. Moreinfo at: www.shanghai-rest.com.
If we may assume that Picasso saw himself in his Boy Leadinga Horse – a solitary figure with no possessions, moving across an arid planeunder the blind sky, following a road only known to him, ruling a beautifulbeast – it probably won’t be a far stretch to imagine that William S. Paley,who bought the painting on the spot when it was offered to him in a skiinghotel lobby in Switzerland in 1936, also felt a definite affinity toward thesubject matter. In 1905, when the painting was created, Picasso was justentering the Parisian world of modern art, where Henri Matisse’s scandalousfame challenged him, Fernande Olivier’s big heart embraced him, and GertrudeStein’s friendship supported him, helping him realize that his Blue Period wasover, and that the future held plenty of roses for the boy and his art (horse).Paley, a son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, rose to power inAmerica as a broadcasting titan of the 20th century, the founder ofColumbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and made his name known in the world ofmodern art as a trustee and then chairman of the Board of The Museum of ModernArt, New York.He donated Picasso’s Boy Leading a Horse to the Museum, aswell as many other masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne, Henri deToulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Andre Derain, Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard, andothers from his private collection. Paley’s manner of collecting in the 1930s reflected hisindividualist spirit and his appreciation for the new art, mostly characterizedby irreverent bold colors and brushstrokes, bohemian subject matter, and theprevailing mood of pushing the boundaries of public acceptance. Characteristically, the affluent collector limited hisacquisitions in the 1950s, when the market for modernism became safe, inflated,and overcrowded by late-bloomer fans of previously dubious artists. It’s a well –documented fact that Paley was first mostlyimpressed by Cezanne, buying his Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat from the artists’son, and thus starting the private collection geared toward his personal tasteand kept in his primary residence where he could cohabit with the art he loved.
Among the Cezanne paintings from Paley collection, presentedat the current de Young exhibition, there is Milk Can and Apples, a still lifethat reads like a mountainous landscape with descending horizon line, fruitscattered like boulders around the snowy peaks of a crumpled napkin, and wallpaperflowers coming out of their natural environment. It’s paintings like this – intimate in scale, denselysaturated with life (still or otherwise) that made the overall mood of Paleycollection so intriguingly pervasive, reaching out to a contemporary viewerwith the immediacy of here and now. Renoir’s Strawberries, Matisse’s Odalisque with aTambourine, Toulouse-Lautrec’s Mme Lili Grenier, and Manet’s Two Roses on aTablecloth are just a few of the significant modernist artworks the collector felt so strongly about and keptso close to his heart and sight throughout his life.
Gauguin’s The Seed of the Areoi holds a special place in theexhibition. The painting that has a long and controversial history all its own,reflects the artist’s fascination with the Tahitian landscape that he said“dazzled and blinded” him, as well as with the special beauty of the islanderwomen, the legends of the land and the lifestyle of the tribe the artistbelieved was informed of a higher truth, or the better world. If William Paley’s dream world came true in his collectionof modern art, all the art lovers in the world benefit from it today, and withthe traveling show originated by MOMA, The William S. Paley Collection: A Tastefor Modernism is currently reaching the Western frontier at the de YoungMuseum, San Francisco. The show runs through December 30 at de Young Museum, GoldenGate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, California. Call formore information: 415-750-3600 or visit www.deyoungmuseum.org. Images courtesy FAMSF.
Since I discovered a newly opened Shabuway – Japanese hot pot dining experience in San Francisco – everytime someone is musing about where to go for a casual relaxing dinner sharedwith friends, my hand jumps up without hesitation, “I know! Shabuway!” 
I love everything about this place – the minimalist classy décorbased on red, white, and black of Japanese lacquers and calligraphy; the exceedinglyattentive service – efficient and friendly in a calm unhurried way. Most importantly– the shabu-shabu “fast” food concept, based on self-reliance and sharing, witha bubbling hot pot in the middle of the table and platefuls of aged meats and freshvegetables to be dipped in boiling broth and consumed in a circle of people withwhom you want to spend this quality time on a foggy San-Francisco night. 
The meats at Shabuway are all purchased in pallets from topproducers like Niman Ranch, and are aged, trimmed, frozen at extremely low temperatures,and sliced at the in-house refrigeration facilities. Diners choose Prime Angus,American Kobe beef, American Kobe Lean beef, Niman Ranch lamb, Berkshire Kurobutapork, or a combination of the above from the menu. 
The broth for the hotpot comes in two varieties – traditional seaweed or newly-invented spicy miso –or both – in the same pot with a median divider. Side orders include udon orramen noodles, tofu, and vegetables, like Napa cabbage, bok choy, spinach, asparagus,broccoli, kabocha squash, carrots, and enoki and shimeji mushrooms.Although both seaweed and spicy miso broths lend subtleflavors to the meat and vegetables, no shabu-shabu bite should go without adipping sauce, and the restaurant provides two – Ponzu (citrus and soy) agedwith dried shiitake mushrooms, bonito flakes, and kelp seaweed, and Gomadare (sesame)blended with 17 other herbs and spices. The sauces and the condiments of choppedgreen onion, garlic, and chili paste with grated daikon enhance the taste ofthe meats to ultimate umami. There are currently five other Bay Area Shabuway locations, in San Jose, San Mateo, Mountain View, Union Cityand Santa Clara – a great testament to the success of the proprietor Eiichi Mochizuki, a native of Japan.
The restaurant serves hot and cold sake, beer, and softdrinks, and offers kid's menu. Shabuway in San Francisco is located at 5120 Geary Boulevard.Open Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:00p.m., on Saturday from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 noonto 9:00 p.m. Call (415) 668-6080 or visit www.shabuway.com.
A series of serendipitous events preceded my participationin the 10th Anniversary luncheon at Piperade – chef/owner GeraldHirigoyen’s outstanding Basque restaurant in San Francisco. Back in the 1990s, when we still lived in Chicago, on ourfirst visit to the City by the Bay my dear husband took me to the “best Frenchrestaurant in town” recommended by a knowledgeable friend – and that wasFringale. I still remember the creamiest sauterne-pouched foie gras and thetender pan-fried skate wing served on a bed of piperade – tomato, bell pepper,and onion sauce. Inspired, I bought a book, “Bistro, The Best of CasualFrench Cooking” written by the then Fringale chef, Gerald Hirigoyen.
An array of appetizers included absolutely decadent calamari“A la Plancha” lightly grilled with fennel, olives, capers, lemon, andcoriander; bright-red piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese, pistachios,and golden raisins; Chef’s signature terrine of Basque sheep’s milk cheese,ham, and sherry; and a festive plate of seasonal figs with haricots vert andwalnuts. Basque wine Txomin Etxaniz, Getariako Txakolina, Gipuzkoa 2009accompanied the starters.
Chef’s favorite, whole sea bass, prepared with fried garlicvinaigrette, came second, garnished with squash and mushrooms, and complimentedby Allende, Viura, Rioja 2008. Then the most succulent rack of lamb made its appearancewith intriguing sides of merguez sausage, roasted fennel, fingerling potatoesand cumin-date relish, paired with Herri Mina, Cabernet Franc, Trouleguy 2007. 
An old Basque version of Grenache – Arrels de Clos Pissarra,Garnatxa, Clos Oblidat, Montsant 2006 accompanied a plate of the Pyreneescheeses.Finally, a lavish dessert tray presented the signatureorange blossom beignets, milk chocolate and hazelnut “Biarritz Rocher” creamyround tarts, and sumptuous gateau Basque with cherry preserve, all perfectlymatched with the sweet Clos Uroulat, Jurancon 2009 with subtle residual sugar. The ambience of Lauburu with reclaimed wood decor, exposedbrick, a glass-fronted wall mounted wine display, wood beam ceiling with tracklighting, a decorative mirror, and wood panel flooring is simultaneouslyelegant and bohemian – intimate and inviting. A patio access offers somecityscape views.
Lauburu is located at 1015 Battery Street, San Francisco,and is available for private functions by advance reservation. Piperade, at thesame address, is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00p.m. and for dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and onFriday and Saturday until 10:30 p.m. For more information and reservations call(415) 391-2555 or visit www.piperade.com .
