A fine dining spot in Bernal Heights.

On Cortland Street in Bernal Heights. Click the picture for details. 24mm.

The staff was uncertain as to the age of the building, but my guess is that it probably dates from the 1930s. The Café has been here since 1979. The interior is severity redefined, no glitz, and there are maybe a dozen small tables. None of that detracts from the food which is excellent.

While I had to give the waiter a bit of a prod to get on with it, that would not stop me returning. The cooking is excellent.

Lunch. iPhone 4S. Blur no charge.

The Atlantic shrimp, suffused with iodine (Pacific shrimp have none) were served over a bed of fettucine in a garlicky oil sauce, and the portion size was just right. The Peroni beer was actually on tap, a rarity, and the whole thing ran $27 with tip. The place also has a long-time bakery whose selections you can see by clicking the first image.

A severe interior. 24mm.

Fine dining.

As this peripatetic photographer is wont to do, I determined to try one of the finer restaurants in Hayes Valley on yesterday’s outing.

Click the picture for the map.

While it’s been around over thirty years, the Hayes Street Grill dates from more modest days when Hayes Valley was an open crack house and prostitution center, a far cry from today with its chic boutiques and upmarket restaurants. Close to the Performing Arts Center, it’s no surprise that this now rather fancy restaurant has autographed photographs of famous musicians lining the walls of its clean and simple interior. This is white tablecloth and proper utensil dining, so dressing down will not get you the best service. I sat next to a couple of classical music impresarios and we had a nice chat, as they were much taken with the D700. Fans of rock should go elsewhere. There is no Musak and the tone is overall hushed and successful.

Lunch. Click the picture for the menu.

The soft shell crab ‘BLT’, coleslaw, fries and beer came to $33 with tip. A delicious meal. Not cheap, but in keeping with the general environment of what is now a lovely neighborhood. What, you ask, caused this wild, profligate burst of spending for this cheapskate, for whom lunch usually means significant change from $20? Simple. The mess in Europe has made making money in the markets very easy, and that’s my day job. All I ask is firm direction – up or down makes no difference – and the politicos mismanaging the mess that is Europe have made direction very clear. Thank you, Bundesbank.

For the criminal justice set.

Should you ever find yourself at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco, probably not a good thing, you could do worse than repair for lunch to Caffe Roma across the road, at 7th and Bryant Streets. The sandwiches, served on various Italian breads, are fresh and delicious and there’s a good selection of salads. If you are a coffee maven they roast their own here.

The interior is clean and spacious and you will likely find a mix of attorneys, process servers, bail bondsmen (they’re the ones with the gold chains and bulging suits) and working girls inside:

I had the Torino sandwich, served with chips, and a glass of water for all of $7.50. Half the sandwich is all you need, so you get dinner included in the bargain!

Click for the full menu.

Caffe Roma. Favored hangout of cops and the shyster set.

All snapped on the D700 with the 20mm f/3.5 Ai-S MF Nikkor, using my custom lens profile.

Top class Italian.

489 Third Street, San Francisco.

La Briciola makes its home at 489 Third Street in San Francisco, an unprepossessing exterior hiding an exquisite, high taste interior testifying to the best of northern Italian Tuscan food.

I feasted on the risotto with a fragrant Moretti Rosso and cannot speak highly enough of the service. The charming, and very Italian waiter, above, saw me taking a snap of the interior and before I knew it we were deep in discussion about the forthcoming Lytro light field camera!

Risotto allo scoglio prawns, calamari, clams, mussels, light tomato sauce, Moretti Rosso.

This is very much a linen tablecloth sort of place yet one without any talking down to the customers. Highly recommended. The olive oil was the high point of the meal, with fragrance and flavor to die for. My tab for the risotto, beer and a Pellegrino came to $30 – spendy, and worth it.

Brew pub.

I stopped by the Thirsty Bear the other day for lunch.

Rain threatened, so I drove. Bad Idea. Ever tried to park in San Francisco at lunch time with a big conference playing at the convention center?

The pub is not much to look at from outside, but you come here for the beers, all brewed on site. The crowd is distinctly up market and I found myself chatting at the bar with an attendee at the Moscone Center’s laser technology conference down the road. A Cornell and Stanford grad, some 68 years old and working at Los Alamos in New Mexico where we make weapons of mass destruction, this vital and engaging companion proved a boon to a decent meal and pint, even if my IQ was a mere fraction of his!

The first on the G3 with the Oly 9-18mm at 9mm, the other two on the iPhone 4S.

I enjoyed a Meyer ESB, subtler than is typical of the breed with a creamy head, with my chicken sandwich and fries. The portions of the latter were nice and small, with no resulting bloat.

$17.50 for the lot, and the barman serving me was polite, efficient and personable.