San Francisco's Flavor Crisis: When Chinatown, the Mission, and SoMa Throw a Chaotic Dinner Party Together

About this episode

The episode explores San Francisco's evolving culinary scene through innovative dishes from various neighborhoods.

Food Scene San Francisco San Francisco is having another one of its delicious identity crises, and listeners are the lucky beneficiaries. This time, the city’s culinary personality is leaning hard into hyper-local ingredients, boundary-pushing tasting menus, and playful mashups that feel as if Chinatown, the Mission District, and SoMa all decided to throw a dinner party together. At San Ho Won in the Mission District, chef Corey Lee and chef Jeong-In Hwang channel Korean barbecue through a precise, almost meditative lens, turning galbi and kimchi into dishes that feel both soulful and architectural at once. Over at Aphotic in SoMa, chef Peter Hemsley focuses almost entirely on sustainable seafood, using Northern California’s coastal bounty to craft dry-aged fish, caviar from regional producers, and ocean-inspired broths that taste like a foggy evening by the Bay distilled into a bowl. Innovative formats are everywhere. At Nari in Japantown, chef Pim Techamuanvivit reframes Thai food with Northern California produce, turning local Dungeness crab into a lush curry and showcasing herbs sourced from nearby farms. In the Mission District, Liholiho Yacht Club weaves Hawaiian, Indian…

Topics covered

• culinary identity
• local ingredients
• dinner party
• sustainable seafood
• innovative cuisine

Keywords

• San Francisco
• Chinatown
• Mission District
• SoMa
• sustainable seafood
• local ingredients
• dinner party
• culinary innovation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: galbi, kimchi, caviar, Dungeness crab, fermented tea leaf salad, coconut n

Places: San Francisco, Chinatown, Mission District, SoMa, Japantown, Richmond District

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