»nopa

After several months of rebuffed attempts to get into this place, Anna and I finally sat down in NOPA, first at the long bar and then at a two-top.

I got over the ridiculous name ("North of Panhandle" is off by a few hundred meters and a whole New York City concept). The drinks are good, and the menu promising, both for cocktails and for wine (the half-bottle selection is quite decent, even). In fact, the whole dining experience was pleasant enough that it renewed my enthusiasm for eating out in San Francisco. There are few enough honest restaurants of any price; I can think of Papalote, , the delicious pizzerias Pauline's and Little Star, and, the difficult-to-get-into Slanted Door -- well, I can't really think of too many other outstanding places to eat, places that advertise the quality of their ingredients and stick to their principles.

The Bay Area has many other fine places to have a breakfast (Ole's, say, or Kate's Kitchen), lunch (Mondo Caffé), and dinner; or to have a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, or even a glass of real ale. But we seem short on honest places to get an unpretentious plate of good cooking.

Nopa has yummy, good food made fresh in the kitchen (which we could see from our table), good drinks made right at the bar, and pleasant, attentive staff. I was impressed and pleased. Now if I could reliably get a table ...!