I have moved to San Francisco from New York City, and am making my way through the dining scene. It’s exciting, and so far I find it notably different than New York (there’s good and bad to that). Overall, I want to focus on the great meals I have here so that whoever ends up coming to this city will know where to go for some delicious food!
As you see pictured above is a picture from Nopa, and word on the street is that this is THE place for brunch. I haven’t had the opportunity to go there yet for that meal, but if dinner was anything close, then I’m going to have another tasty meal ahead.
Starting out, we ordered fried broccoli di ciccio with sunchokes, spiced chickpeas and green olive aioli. I really enjoyed this dish since it was lightly fried and well seasoned. The spiced chickpeas gave the dish a good kick and sunchoke chips provided another layer of crispiness. The aioli tied it all together without overpowering the broccoli di ciccio. This was a big thumbs up for me.
The second appetizer we ordered was the poached egg served with Tasso ham, potatoes, bok choy rabe and chermoula. This dish was delicious; everything merged together harmoniously – aside from the obvious delicious combination of egg and ham, the potatoes nicely soaked up the yolk, the boy choy rabe provided a nice crispy green juxtaposed against the juicy fatty pieces of ham. Another thumbs up.
Pictured above as a main entree was their country pork chop with roasted asparagus, leeks, potatoes and mustard. It was a pretty sizable piece of meat, a bit fatty but overall cooked very well. I really enjoyed the dish. Similarly with how the other dishes were, I felt like all the ingredients were well-matched and nicely flavored.
Their wood grilled burger was one of the best I’ve had thus far here. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare, nicely toasted bun that held and soaked up the juices oozing out, and topped with a perfectly melted piece of cheddar cheese. The picked onions, lettuce and tomato were added and helped cut the fat texture. In my opinion, what more can you ask for?
We had to end the meal with dessert. Their lemon semifreddo was delicious, served with mascarpone, pistachio cookie, citrus honey compote and strawberries. It was good, and not too sweet. If anything, I wasn’t sure if I should have eaten this with a fork or spoon because it was a bit too frozen.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more delicious food in this city! If Nopa is any indication of the food here, I’m in for a great ride.
Nopa
560 Divisadero St (at Hayes)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 864-8643
Opentable Reservation Link