RESTAURANT PICKS
San Francisco and Beyond
CELIA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT. 1 Vivian Way, San Rafael. And others throughout the Bay Area, including: Berkeley, two locations in San Mateo, San Bruno, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Lafayette, Danville, Antioch and Daly City.
For Fernando Rodriguez, five is a very lucky number: Rodriquez was born in May, the fifth month of the year, the fifth child born to a family of twelve who would eventually assume part ownership of the fifth Celia's Restaurant. This one, located near the harbor in San Rafael, California, was launched in 1971 and is the centerpiece of the family-owned chain.
Celia's Restaurants are known among diners in San Francisco and beyond as places to get first-rate Mexican cuisine at affordable prices. The first Celia's was launched in 1965 on Judah Street in San Francisco by Perfecto and Celia Lopez. This eatery, which is still in business, was an instant hit - customers immediately drawn to the clean atmosphere and the friendly staff; almost over-night, Celia's became known as the place to get a great margarita and enjoy an authentic Mexican meal.
And during these last four decades, not much has changed: Celia's is still the place to go if you are hungry for a big plate of food cooked and served up by real people.
"After my aunt and uncle opened Celia’s number one, my brother Rafael and I immigrated from Mexico and went to work for them," remembers Rodriguez. "My uncle taught us to cook, and showed us how to run a restaurant. From that, we opened Celia’s number two in San Mateo, that was around 1968." Rodriquez pauses, staring into the kitchen where countless vats of fresh tortilla chips sit and cool; finally, he continues: "We keep going, opening new places, because you have to keep going and try and do the best for yourself and your family. That’s what Celia’s is about: trying to do the best we can for ourselves and our customers."
In addition to the food, what is best about Celia's is the homey feel: this is not so much a typical bay area restaurant as it is a cantina you'd find in Mexico or El Centro - this place is about home style Mexican cooking in a rustic atmosphere. For Rodriguez and his crew, the focus is on the food and service - their goal is to please the customer. Big platters and quick service means you walk out full and satisfied, and not feeling as though you have been cheated by the "dining experience."
FOOD: Big menu, the standouts are many, but try the Crab enchiladas first - filling is made with chopped mushrooms and plentiful crab and the green sauce accentuates the taste nicely. Also great grilled garlic-glazed prawns. And the best Carne Asada I've ever had. For this dish, Rodriguez marinates pieces of skirt steak in an array of herbs. The big platter comes complete with tortillas, rice, beans and some first-rate guacamole. Other high points include the Camarones Especiales, consisting of jumbo shrimp stuffed with jack cheese and wrapped in smoky bacon. Carnitas de Pollo is a wonderful chicken stir-fry (chicken breast, white onion and bell pepper in Celia's special sauce: this is a perfect choice for the diet conscious diner who will savor something tasty with this dish while still watching calorie intake). Also high quality from the typical Mexican menu -- with very good burritos and excellent beef enchiladas (notable for their sauces and the well-seasoned fillings).
DESSERT: Desserts are limited, but what's here is quite good. The centerpiece is a traditional Mexican dessert called Sopapillas -- deep fried flour-tortilla chips topped with honey, cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. The Flan is also note-worthy, a homemade vanilla custard creation that's delicate and light but not overly sweet.
BAR: Full bar. Large selection of tequilas. Authentic margaritas in tall glasses which are the big hit here.
STAFF: Quick service. Courtesy. Non-pretentious with an eye towards customer satisfaction.
ATMOSPHERE: Very clean. This big place can sometimes get very loud on weekends, so it's hard to carry on an intimate conversation at the Saturday night dinner hour.
OVER-ALL: Great choice for Mexican food. Outside of the Mission District in San Francisco, Celia's is the place to go if you want to enjoy a night on the town over a burrito and beer.
COST: Inexpensive to moderate; two can drink and dine nicely for $40 or under.
NOTABLE COOK BOOKS
The San Francisco Bay Region
THE VINEYARD KITCHEN. Maria Helm Sinskey. Harper Collins. Maria Helm Sinskey is known throughout food circles as one of the top chefs in the states -- an inventive and dedicated cook who pours herself into her dishes. Sinskey became known in the bay area when she worked as Executive Chef at The Plumpjack Cafe, an upscale eatery near the northern edge of the San Francisco waterfront. After Sinnskey left Plumpjack’s, she brought her unique style of cooking to the "classroom," directing the kitchen and teaching classes at the Robert Sinskey Vineyard -- a Napa Valley winery she and her husband own.
Vineyard is Sinskey’s first book, and it is a marvel -- an elegant collection of recipes basted in real simplicity: rather than flaunt her "great chef" title, Sinskey instead chooses to forsake pomp for the love of her craft. The result is a book that steps out to teach rather than talk.
There are many fine selections among these recipes (neatly segregated into "Fall," "Winter," "Spring" & "Summer" chapters), but the standouts include the red-wine braised short ribs with roasted root vegetables and the spring lamb stew; also the pancetta-wrapped grilled figs with baby arugula offers a new twist to the prosciutto and figs staple that so many Italians enjoy on their late summer tables.
Along with Tom’s Big Dinners (William Morrow), Vineyard Kitchen is a great choice for an all-around kitchen manual that will serve full-time cooks and on-the-run commuters equally well.
To order go to amazon.com
TOM’S BIG DINNERS. Tom Douglas. With Ed Levine, Shelly Lance and Jackie Cross. William Morrow. Tom Douglas is one of the hottest chefs in the country -- a refreshingly "down-home" cook whose theory of the kitchen revolves around making big meals for the family. Look close: so much of what we see today from American chefs is centered around complicated "statement" recipes that high-light the preparer more than the food. Well, Douglas’ work changes this trend, as he takes his craft from the restaurant scene of Seattle to the rest of the country. However, what’s truly valuable about these concepts and recipes is that they are not limited to the Pacific Northwest region, but instead, are useful to any home cook looking for some new things to try. Tom’s Big Dinners includes a wonderful recipe for pit-roasted spareribs -- a simple and robust creation that retools the standard Texas style of BBQ and adds a Southwest glaze of smoke to the meat - accentuating the flavor while making it much less heavy. The ham-hock stock, brandied Bing cherries and chocolate crepes are also standouts: inventive and original, yet not difficult to prepare. Home cooks will also appreciate the way this book is presented -- easy to follow recipes and crisp writing teach us in an effortless and efficient way (the true and ultimate test of every worthwhile cook book). If you are the type of person who only wants one or two cooking "coaches" in the house to be used time and again, then try Tom’s Big Dinners: For this is a manual about feeding your family and not about impressing the neighbors. ~John Aiello
Purchase from amazon.com
