What would you add or subtract from the Chron Top 100 List?

Question

Over on MB's blog he posted about his work on the upcoming Chron Top 100 list to be published April 5th. He's soliciting input on that post, but I figure it might be fun to open up the discussion here. 

His blog post is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=26&entry_id=35795

Last year's Top 100 is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/food/top100/

So what restaurants do you think deserve to be added to the list?
And for each one you add, which would you eliminate?

Answer

Rubicon closed and Silks' chef left, so that's two down. He wants to cut a total of 20.

Bo's, Jai Yun, Swan Oyster Depot, and Vik's can go, since they don't serve cocktails or have good wine lists.

BarbersQ's an easy cull, the barbecue's really disappointing. The lard-fried chicken is worth the drive to Napa, but that's only one day a week.

Bauer's pretty much obliged to give the first opening to the Dining Room at the Ritz, since he dropped it from the top 100 by mistake based on the presumption that Ron Siegel and most of his team would leave to take over the Myth space.

He pretty much has to add Dry Creek Kitchen, Erna's Elderberry House, Madrona Manor, and the Restaurant at Meadowood, too, since they're the only 3.5-star places not already on the list.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/lauriston/

Answer

I'd add Fish in Sausalito and Corso in Berkeley. 

I don't recall either having particularly hot waiters
though so the chances of displacing Chow are maybe 
not so good.

Answer

I see Camino and The Moss Room added with Coco500 leaving.

Answer

It's time to make space for new blood in that Top 100 list, so I'd drop the following places because their food is not up to par: Betelnut, Cafe Majestic, Chow (Lafayette & SF), Cucina, Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Fonda, Jai Yun, Nick's Cove, O Chame, Pesce, Poleng Lounge, Pizzaiolo, Swan Oyster Depot, Shanghai 1930, Silks, Terzo, The Matterhorn Swiss Restaurant, and Vik's Chaat Corner.

Answer

I would add Gitane. As for Chow - I think they do a great job for delivery quality at that price point.. If this was a quality price ratio listing I'd give them high marks and add Small She Flat Breads in Mill Valley to the list. But for a straight top 100, don't think they belong on the same list as places like Coi.

Answer

Don't they basically have to add their top 10 openings for 2008? It's problematic, since you get places like Poleng in 2007 which was fresh but maybe in retrospect not in the same league as more consistent, higher end offerings.

They have gotten better about squeezing in the top Bargain Bites, not just La Taqueria. But it's not like they can afford to go re-review everything in the Bay Area in six weeks--it's drawn primarily from the previous year of reviews, plus a few new places (Zinnia, etc.).

Erna's has never been on the Chron list. Madrona's more likely because it was reviewed this past year.

Chow has hot waiters?

Answer

Bauer claims he tries "to assemble restaurants that reflect the region's diversity and includes a wide range of prices, cuisines and locations ... to create a list you can use for all of your dining needs."

If he seriously wanted to do that, he'd need to expand the list to 200 and include many of the places on the Bargain Bites list. 

In reality, last year he included only a token handful of less expensive places on the 2008 list: BarbersQ, Bo's, Chow, Swan Oyster Depot, Tartine Bakery (expensive for a cafe), and Vik's ... did I miss any?

No Mexican ((he dropped La Taqueria from last year's list), no Thai, no Ethiopian, no Korean, no Chinese or Vietnamese except the expense-account places.

Rationalizing some of that, he said, "some cuisines, such as Thai, are not represented. That's because the once-breakout Asian cuisine has been homogenized, with most places serving safe, interchangeable collections of dishes." True, but that's no excuse for ignoring Thai House Express. Moreover, the same is true about American, California, Italian, and Japanese places, which account for more than half his 100.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/lauriston/

Answer

Add: Bar Tartine and TWO.
Replacing: One Market, Range, Firefly, or Foreign Cinema

Not that there's anything wrong with the latter set, but the former
are at least the equal of all of them.

And Yoshi's really shouldn't be on the list. It's good. It's a great surprise
to find a decent meal at a music venue. But it's not top-100 great and
sortof seems like putting it on the list is pandering to redevelopment
interests.

Answer

Call me psychic, but I'm guessing Bistro Jeanty will be off the list. 

Because he is going for diversity and Matterhorn is the only Swiss game, it will stay there by default because it looks interesting on paper.

However, that list really needs to reflect the true Bay area dining scene and it is badly skewered. Seriously one Vietnamese restaurant and it is upscale, Californiazied at that. Come on, let's throw Saigon Sandwich on that list and give the tourists an experience. 

There not even a category for Mexican and the entire Latin American scene is represented by Fonda? What about Poc Chuc ...it would be nice to keep a worthy little business by mentioning it in a list so the slaves to that list would walk in ... and maybe open eyes that Mexican is more than burritos. 

Didn't the Chronicle drop covering South Bay Places? Which would take Plumed Horse off the list ... and Manressa if they want to stick to their guns about it. 

My guess is Va di Vi is just there so that area isn't neglected and sadly that might be the best of the area in terms of upscale. 

Hasn't Bay Wolfe's day come and gone? 

I'd replace One Market with 1500 Hyde. Better and not a chain. 

Flora ... seriously? 

Does Town Hall need to be on that list? 

Greens? Cafe Gratitude would be better ... and kill a number of list requirements since it is located in the North and East Bay as well. 

I'd put Woodhouse in the seafood category and remove Hog Island. 

No Canteen? What about that Italian joint that susaninsf and other hounds like so much La something that begins with C. 

As much as I like Murray Circle, I hope it doesn't make the list due to constant reports of service issues. They need to get it together. It is long past time and the mismangement is ruining it for some excellent talent in the kitchen. 

I agree though with the idea of a top 200 list. Or open it up Top 100 SF only and Top 100 in the rest of the Bay Area. 

As a 100 list it is too ambitious and squeezes out some good restaurants and even cuisines and puts some average at best categories in there. 

With the bad economy it would be nice to expand the list and throw a little business to very good restaurants that might fall under the radar ... then again, with this economy, maybe the list in 2010 won't be so hard to put together ... finding 100 might be a challenge

Answer

i would drop greens in a heartbeat. cafe majestic is on the bubble.

Answer

On this rainy Sunday I had a bit of time to look at this issue at some length.

These are the restaurants I think will be dropped from the top 100:

Bistro Jeanty
Buckeye Roadhouse
Cav
Coco500
Firefly
Foreign Cinema
Greens
Hog Island Oyster Co.
Jai Yun
Kaygetsu
Matterhorn Swiss
Nick's Cove
O Izakaya
Pesce
Swan Oyster Depot
Tartine Bakery
Town Hall

These will be added:
Auberge du Soliel
Beretta
Camino
Chez Papa Restro
Chez T.J.
Cortez
Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton
Gitane
Jack Falstaff
Madrona Manor
Moss Room 
Murray Circle
Nettie's Crab Shack
Restaurant at Meadowood
Willi's Wine Bar (Santa Rosa)
Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar (Healdsburg) (probably not, but should be added)

Answer

1300 On Fillmore...both for the food and the atmosphere

Answer

Replace an A with a Z. A Cote is tired after my last experience there last week. Nothing stellar after about 5 different plates. Replace with Zuzu in Napa. It used to be on the list and fell off a few years back. Always a new surprise on the menu and better than when they first opened.

Answer

Looks like Laiola is out:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/18/DD5K15R4T4.DTL

Answer

I truly hope that Camino in Oakland will NOT be included.I think I read that is on the James Beard award list - nominated that is.

Answer

beretta needs to be added for sure. and how kiss seafood is not on the japanese section of the list is beyond me as well.

Answer

The list is up:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/food/top100/2009cuisine

My usual compilation of who's out and who's in:

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2009/04/michael_bauer_watch_the_chrons.php

Answer

Just got the print edition. Gary Danko is still on the list. Terzo is gone.

Answer

Here are updated in and out lists I compiled from the info on the Web site. 22 out, 21 in. Picco and Pizzeria Picco have two places on this year's list vs. one shared last year so that brings the total to 100. I'm going to get a print edition and see how it differs.

OUT
A Cote (Oakland)
Bar Crudo
Bistro Jeanty (Yountville)
Bo's Barbecue (Lafayette)
Cafe Majestic (closed)
Cav
Cucina (San Anselmo)
Ducca
Gary Danko (not in the online list; reportedly on the list in the print edition)
Jai Yun
Junnoon (Palo Alto)
Laiola
O Izakaya
Oliveto (Oakland)
Plumed Horse (Saratoga)
Poleng Lounge
Rubicon (closed)
Shanghai 1930
Silks
Slow Club
Tartine Bakery
Terzo

IN
Bar Jules
Beretta
Bottega Napa Valley (Yountville)
Camino (Oakland)
Chez Papa Resto
Corso Trattoria
Cortez
Gialina
Gitane
House of Prime Rib
Jack Falstaff
Madrona Manor (Healdsburg)
Marzano (Oakland)
Moss Room
Murray Circle (Sausalito)
Nettie's Crab Shack
Nopalito
Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena)
Sea Salt
The Dining Room at the Ritz (left off last year's list by mistake)
Willi's Wine Bar (Santa Rosa)

Answer

Dropping Oliveto seems like a really bad call to me.

By Bauer's own star ratings, it's better than 18 of the 21 places he added to this year's list. Its prices are lower than those at Acquerello, the only other Italian place he gives 3.5 stars.

For the four other 3.5-star places that didn't make the list, I can see some rationale. Erna's Elderberry House is not in the Bay Area. Chez Panisse is on the list, so maybe Chez Panisse Cafe doesn't need to be on there, too. Silks and Dry Creek Kitchen (Healdsburg) got new chefs de cuisine late last year, and Bauer hasn't published updates since. And none of those places were on last year's list, either.

Answer

Two stars and on the list:

Vik's - one of the two remaining token cheap places along with Chow
Swan Oyster Depot - niche place, a perennial
House of Prime Rib - this I don't get. Bauer knocked it off the list in 2007 after a 2-star review. He's had reasonably warm words for the place since, but no full re-review, so it's a shock to see it back. (Never been, so I have no real opinion about how good the place is.)

2.5 stars, expensive and on the list:

Town Hall - still clinging on
Bar Jules - a surprise. Bauer gave it a decent but not great review last year (complaining about portion sizes, which from him is usually the kiss of death in terms of making the 100).

A horrible year for Asian food on the list, down from 17 to 12, with no new additions. 3 Chinese (Jai Yun and Shanghai 1930 cut), 4 Japanese counting O Chame (O Izakaya cut), 1 Southeast Asian = Slanted Door, 3 Indian (Junnoon cut), 1 "Asian" = Betelnut (Poleng Lounge got the chop). I thought Heaven's Dog might've had half a chance (cocktails, cocktails, cocktails...)

Answer

I'm kind of surprised Aqua is still on the list -- I find it to be somewhat old and tired nowadays...

Answer

They keep revising the "By Cuisine" list. They've got The Matterhorn under Swiss and Aziza under Moroccan, and deleted the German and African headings.

Picco / Pizzeria Picco are now under a California-Italian heading, which would as reasonably apply to at least half the restaurants under Italian.

Answer

Drop Betelnut, add Lers Ros.

Drop Ton Kiang, add Great China.

Drop Marzano, add Oliveto.

Drop Bar Bambino, add the Oakland branch of Cesar.

Drop Va de Vi, add A Cote.

Drop BarbersQ, add Ohgane. (Though BarbersQ is still worth the Sunday drive to Napa for lard-fried chicken.)

Answer

This year's list is out. 

New: Adesso, Baker & Banker, Chapeau, Etoile, Flour + Water, Frances, Frascati, Limon, Neela's, Nombe, Osteria Stellina, Press, RN74, Sante, Scopa, Solbar, Tipsy Pig, and Wexler's. In addition Babacco was included in the Perbacco entry and Boot and Shoe Service in the one for Pizzaiolo.

Gone: Aqua, BarBersQ, Bistro Aix, Buckeye Roadhouse, Cortez, Fonda, Gitane, Jack Falstaff, Kokkari, Martini House, Marzano, Matterhorn, Moss Room, Nettie's Crab Shack, Nick's Cove, Sea Salt, Ton Kiang, and Ubuntu.

Answer

The main beef I have with the list is that it doesn't seem to cover the whole bay area on an equal footing. He tends to put a couple of peninsula and south bay restaurants on the list to qualify his survey as bay area wide. However, those choices are pretty thin and ignore a lot of quality choices. I understand that the list is in part designed to map to the chronicle's reader base. But it does seem a little misleading as a top 100 in the bay area list.

Answer

I'll never undersand how Bauer can consider Swan and Hog Island "top" restaurants, and consistently ignore Tadich and Sam's Grill. The food at Swan and Hog is delicious, but top restaurants? c'mon.

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