Luna Bar & Restaurant: A Favored Neighborhood Vacation spot – San Francisco Bay Instances

By David Landis, The Gay Gourmet

Finding a worthy neighborhood restaurant gem can often be a challenge. There are numerous grab and go places or fine dining restaurants, but often nothing in between. It’s hard to find a place where you can sip a well-made cocktail, sit down and be served a decent, well-made meal.

When then The Luna Park Closed in the Mission District, there was a moment of sadness at the loss of a great American bistro within walking distance of many residents. Luckily there is reincarnation! The new Luna Bar & Restaurant rose from the ashes on Valencia Street. It’s a more contemporary culinary adventure from a thoroughbred team, the owners of Wayfare Tavern. And yes, the venue still offers an affordable and tasty meal for lunch, brunch, happy hour, or dinner.

The experience begins at the door with Danny, your welcoming host and manager. The atmosphere is boisterous and fun, which can get loud at times. But it’s all part of the ambiance that makes the experience enjoyable. The inviting bar, with a lighted and raised liquor shelf, lines the first half of the restaurant on the right, inviting diners to sit and interact. Further back in the restaurant there are warm maroon interiors punctuated by red leather banquettes accented by provocative contemporary art on the walls.

Chef Michelle Mathews has accomplished something unique: making fine American comfort food more interesting with an Asian twist that surprises and delights. It’s no wonder. Her stints include such notable New York City mainstays as picholine (a gay gourmet favorite) and Daniel. Before running the kitchen at Luna, she also worked at San Francisco kaiyo. She keeps a close eye on the kitchen, but Luna is the kind of place where chef Michelle enjoys serving guests when the restaurant is full (which it often is).

Creative cocktails like a Hibiscus Margarita and a Gin Thang (with watermelon, cucumber and lime) populate the clever drinks menu. We opted instead for a straight-forward Chopin Gin Martini (perfectly executed) and the Skylark Pinot Blanc from Mendocino (dry and crisp, with hints of minerality).

As for the salads, I don’t know why warm bacon dressing has gone out of fashion. It’s one of the most satisfying side dishes to accompany green vegetables, mixing hot and cold, hearty and crunchy. Luna makes a wintergreen chicory salad with goat cheese, a soft-boiled egg, buttery homemade croutons, and the aforementioned bacon dressing (with mild anchovies). It could be a delicious light meal in and of itself.

Next, we shared the succulent pork skewers, which featured hints of mango and coriander: a surprising and flavorful combination with enough spiciness to make them sing. For mains we shared one of the best fried chicken deals in town. This isn’t your mom’s: it’s koji marinated with gochujang, sesame seeds, and scallions—a hot Korean sauce I could eat every day.

We tried the Reuben, which instead of slaw had a kimchi slaw with the expected and deliciously moist breast, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island Dressing. It’s an unpredictable but delicious mix of East and West. Luckily, the accompanying fries were extra crispy—just as Mother Nature intended.

The menu also offers an all fish special with orange, pistachios, lime salsa verde, chili oil and salt. We didn’t try it but it looked very appetizing and the neighbors dining to our left raved about it. Also on offer is a tempting Luna burger, poutine and local king salmon.

For dessert we opted for the crème brûlée with orange blossom – a touch of spring in the mouth. It’s another example of Chef Michelle’s inventiveness. She takes a normal dish like crème brûlée and makes it original with a refreshing and new ingredient.

Also applause for the server extraordinaire Daniela, who takes care of all matters with sovereignty, knowledge and friendly flair.

In short, Luna Bar & Kitchen is a great find. And it’s a premier neighborhood destination, wherever you live.

bits and bites

I recently had the pleasure of tasting some of the finest and most elegant Italian wines on the market today from a family run winery called Verona Sartorius of Verona (which means “tailor” in Italian). Skillfully paired with a delicious lunch from the new Ula Restaurant & Tapas Bar In Union Square, the wines truly demonstrated their ability to bring out the best in a variety of culinary offerings.

Known for its full-bodied Amarones, Sartori has just released a complex and delicious new white wine, the 2020 Sartori “Marani” Bianco Veronese. As a wine connoisseur who prefers clear and mineral white wines, this 13.5% wine is “a broad-shouldered white Amarone” according to the winemaker. This full-bodied but accessible vino made from Garganega grapes is only lightly fermented in the barrel, so it doesn’t taste like oak. A tasty zucchini and crab croquette, along with a side of crispy Brussels sprouts, complemented the wine perfectly.

The winery’s (named after the winemaker’s grandfather) 2018 Sartori “Regolo” Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso is best described as a “baby Amarone”. It is a blend of Corvina Veronese, Corvinone and Rondinella grapes. At 13.5% ABV it packs a serious punch but in a smooth and resonant way. A fettuccine arrabbiata with olive tapenade brought out the best in this robust yet refined wine.

The stars of Sartori, the 2016 “Reius” Amarone Classico and the 2013 “Corte Bra” Amarone Classico Riserva, showed their versatility as great accompaniments to fried tuna (with dried fruit compote) and lamb knuckle with red wine jus and mushroom risotto with asparagus and gorgonzola. These wines are refined and classic, with both brawn (15% alcohol) and dignity. Above all, they are delicious. Sartori wines are available at Restaurant Ula and also online total wines, BevMoAnd wine.com.

I hear good things about Coho, the new seafood restaurant that took over the old one Vasco place in Mühltal. The masterminds are Luigi Petrone and Felicia Ferguson, the children of Paolo and Domenico Petrone (who founded and also run Piazza D’Angelo Spoonbar And Dry Creek cuisine in Heilburg).

In the category “How clever and yet local” The Ritz Carlton San Francisco‘s Lounge has launched new creative drinks representing a selection of the city’s iconic neighborhoods. The cocktail offer includes: Sevillian Negroni (representing North Beach and made with Tanqueray Seville, Spanish vermouth, Campari and orange bitters in a Riedel Rocks glass); Luck (representing Chinatown and made with Tanqueray Rangpur, kumquat/ginger syrup, ginger liqueur and lime in a vampire cup glass); And In love with Karl (which depicts “Karl the Fog” and the Golden Gate Bridge and is made with Belvedere, red grape and hibiscus syrup, Germaine elderflower liqueur, aquafaba and lemon juice in a Riedel Coupe glass).

I’m also happy to see that there’s a planned rebirth of the celebrity Cafe Flora in the castro. Who hasn’t spent long hours sipping the day with a strong cappuccino at this pleasant indoor/outdoor corner café at Noe and Market? The new owner Serhat Zorlu plans to reopen in the coming months as a sustainable fish restaurant called fish and flora.

Luna Bar & Restaurant: https://tinyurl.com/yc5dsazk
Sartori di Verona: https://tinyurl.com/3sjb6can
Ula Restaurant & Tapas Bar: https://tinyurl.com/y7bvjjur
Coho: https://tinyurl.com/w8vwxm76
The Ritz Carlton San Francisco: https://tinyurl.com/yyn9ybvy
Fish and Flore: https://tinyurl.com/3fddcfmj

David Landis, also known as “The Gay Gourmet,” is a retired foodie, freelance writer, and public relations professional. Follow him on Instagram @GayGourmetSF or email him at: davidlandissf@gmail.com

Or visit him online at: www.gaygourmetsf.com

The gay gourmet
Released April 6, 2023