If refined four-star cuisine is the yin to rustic Italian cooking’s yang, then Mission District resident Lauren Kiino is perfectly balanced. Kiino—Delfina’s chef de cuisine for eight years—moved on in 2007 to stage at French Laundry and Daniel Patterson’s Coi. Patterson and Kiino hit it off—enough to open three restaurants together. Il Cane Rosso joined the Ferry Building last year and the duo’s upcoming restaurants are in Oakland: Plum, which will be small and modern, debuts this summer and Bracina, a larger, California restaurant, has a TBD opening date in Jack London Square.
“At Nihon [Whisky] Lounge, I go for a glass of Scapa. It’s a great way to finish up the night.”
“The waffle at Blue Bottle is a true Belgian-style waffle with a special sugar that looks like pretzel salt and tons of butter in the batter. The recipe is [former Rubicon chef] Stuart Brioza’s.”
“After Korean barbecue, I go to Kowloon Tong Dessert Cafe and get little dumplings filled with sweet bean and served with warm peanut soup. It’s great on a cold night.”
“I love to stir-fry with Hodo Soy Beanery’s yuba. It’s got a great springy texture to it and real flavor.” Available at Blue Fog Market.
“Mariquita Farm’s ‘mystery box’ is $25, comes every two weeks, and they put more esoteric things in there than they would in their usual CSA. You don’t know what you’re going to get, but it’s beautiful stuff.”
Check out our picks for the Best of the City 2010: Eat + Drink.
