San Francisco: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World

Excellent layout...I really liked the Introduction section and the different food focuses in the Best of San Francisco.Then the recipes!!!Beautiful photos.Wish I had read this book before our recent visit to San Francisco but it captures so much of the flavours of this amazing city.This product is better than I could have imagined.

What a wonderful book. The recipes were easy to follow, sometimes simple, but wonderful. The photos were breathtaking.

I lived in San Francisco for several years and had to privledge to become familiar with the city's fantastic cuisine. This book is part of the Williams-Sonoma series focusing on cities with unique culinary traditions and letting the reader get to know both the city and the local food. San Francisco is more than just a cookbook. The introduction provides an overview of the city and the important culinary influences. The book then dedicates about 40 pages to discussing local specialties, both their origins and how they're made, ranging through artisan bread, coffee & tea, beer, wine, dim sum, asian produce, local cheese and chocolate. There are only 45 recipies, but they cover a wide variety from "steamed shrip dumplings" and "quesadillas with chorizo and jack cheese" to "slow roasted king salmon with braised lentils" to "buttermilk panna cotta." Insets scattered among the recipies provide backgroup information, culinary tips, or pairing tips such as dessert wines. Each recipe is clearly detailed and beautifully photographed. You also don't need to be a gourmet cook to follow the clear directions! This book provides a beautiful and delightful culinary tour through San Francisco, and is well worth adding to a personal library.

As a resident of San Francisco who loves his city, I am hardly the most objective reviewer of this book, but I do think this is a worthy if rather cursory overview of the culinary treats and idiosyncratic dining experiences that make up the best of what this city has to offer to local and tourist alike. Chuck Williams has established one of the more unavoidable upscale gourmet store chains in Williams-Sonoma, and this tome is the latest in a series of cookbooks focused on the premiere food capitals of the world. The first third is actually a well-organized explanation of what makes San Francisco unique from its culinary history to the distinctive flavors currently found in its major neighborhoods. There are sections on local specialties such as artisan bread, coffee, wine, Asian produce and chocolate. The breezy but informative text is by Janet Fletcher. The recipes actually don't start until page 79, but the 45 selections all look tasty and not overly complex to prepare. I have always had good luck with the recipes in the Williams-Sonoma catalog, and this one is proving to be no exception so far. Personally I have tried making the orecchiette with broccoli rabe; the braised chicken with tomato, pancetta and zinfandel; and the stir-fried long beans with Thai chile paste. All were hits with friends, though I would think items such as Chinese long beans may be harder to find outside the major metropolitan areas. There are even snippets of local information interspersed among the recipes. The book is also abundant in nice color photographs courtesy of Jean-Blaise Hall, though I wish the editors would have included captions so you know where some of the places are. Highly recommended for those who left their palettes in San Francisco.