Sbrocco: American soul food in San Francisco... Griffin Robertson: They call you, and you just have to come.

Sbrocco: ...Bohemian brunch with a view in Tiburon.

Andrews: You feel like you've left the spa and you're on vacation.

Sbrocco: ...and farm-to-table fare in Oakland.

Oh: It is truly seasonal.

Sbrocco: Just ahead on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Seems to me like you should be eating that with your hands.

Andrews: I haven't tried yet.

Sbrocco: [ Laughs ] Sbrocco: No, no, no.

[ Laughs ] [ Indistinct conversations ] Hi, I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, please!

Bay Area," the show where Bay Area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants.

Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go check them out to see what they think.

Joining me at the "Check, Please!"

table today are program manager Sarah Oh, business communications advisor Leslie Griffin Robertson, and marketing strategist George Andrews.

Welcome, everyone.

Are you excited to be here?

Andrews: So happy to be here.

Griffin Robertson: You bet.

Yeah.

Very excited.

Sbrocco: Leslie is letting the good times roll with her pick.

It's a soul food spot featuring a rotating menu of Southern-style gumbo with a California twist.

Located in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, it's Gumbo Social.

♪♪ Man: I don't think I've ever had gumbo like this before.

Woman: It is so good.

My eyes are rolling to the back of my head.

Oh!

Woman #2: So good.

♪♪ Ball: I firmly believe that gumbo should be America's national dish.

It is a dish that really encompasses multiple cultures.

You have the African, you have the Cajun and Creole.

There's a lot of French influence, a touch of Spanish as well.

So you have multiple cultures kind of binding together to create this incredible dish.

We're here at 5176 3rd Street out in Bayview.

I wanted to use Gumbo Social as an opportunity to bring folks to this neighborhood, to see a different part of San Francisco that they normally don't see.

It's a place where I'm from.

It's a place that I think deserves to have light shined on it in regards from a culinary standpoint.

I'm heavily opinionated when it comes to gumbo.

There's some dos and don'ts.

I firmly believe that a gumbo should always have okra in it.

Woman #3: Got the chicken in there, the okra.

Like, the long pieces, not the chunks.

Ball: Sausage in there for sure.

Woman #4: This is amazing.

Ball: We like to try to hit it middle of the road from the spice standpoint.

We want to be able to tickle the palate a little bit but not be too spicy.

Woman #5: Out of 10, what do you score it?

10 out of 10?

Ball: If you don't want Mr. Gumbo to come to your house, Please don't put corn in your gumbo.

It is against the law.

Penal code 779825.

I'll come arrest you.

Citizen's arrest.

One of the things we love to do at Gumbo Social is host a great party.

And so we are bringing in folks to do a gumbo tasting.

We have five different gumbos for people to try.

Woman #6: I'm here to eat.

Woman #7: We have a pork gumbo with fried chicharrón on top.

Ball: The new one, the gumbo z'herbes.

Man: Yeah.

Ball: And then folks actually get to vote on what their favorite gumbo is.

My mom, she's the person that really taught me how to cook.

She's always kind of coming through, spot-checking the gumbo, making sure that the seasonings are on par.

Woman #3: Now, this is gumbo.

Ball: And then just helping me push the boundaries of the food.

One of the things that we focus on is being really versatile.

So we do events, catering.

Farmers markets are like a really great home base for us.

Oh, yeah, so much.

Man #2: Thank you.

Ball: One of my favorite pieces is people who haven't had gumbo in a long time, taste it, and then it's kind of that look.

♪♪ And then when they go back in... And usually the pinkie's out when they're going in, and so then you know you got something.

Man #3: Mmm!

Oh!

Mm.

Ball: My goal is to get a bowl of gumbo in every household in America.

That's my goal.

Woman #8: Get into it.

Sbrocco: So, now, Leslie, gumbo is pretty specific.

Are you a gumbo lover because of traveling?

Or just that you love the flavor?

Griffin Robertson: I love the flavors, I love spice, I love things that, at their very best, take a couple days to really come into themselves.

I get the classic gumbo -- chicken and sausage and the holy trinity, which is celery, onion, and bell pepper, that just makes it this incredibly dense, rich bed of flavor.

Andrews: The gumbo was so fantastic.

Savory and rich and herbaceous.

A lot of thyme in there.

Very generous on the chicken and the sliced sausage.

The only thing I was missing was a little bit more okra, but I would have it any day of the week.

Sbrocco: Now, are you an okra lover?

Oh: I'm an okra lover.

I didn't have that thought though, when I had the gumbo.

But I also loved it.

It's just spicy enough.

And I loved the classic presentation of the rice.

It was just, you know, like, very elegant, but no fuss.

A mound of rice in the middle.

I got the small and wished I had gotten a large.

Griffin Robertson: They sell it in a quart size, and you can take it home.

And I will say it freezes beautifully as well.

Like, if you can't get to Gumbo Social for your gumbo, you can actually pack it up and have it later.

Andrews: I wish it came in gallons.

[ Laughter ] Sbrocco: It was that good.

Andrews: It really was.

Griffin Robertson: It really is.

I usually get the shrimp po'boy on the side.

That is just scrumptious.

Very generous serving of shrimp.

Delicious sauce.

Comes on a nice soft roll.

I'm a dunker, so kind of the perfect dunking situation with the gumbo.

That may be heresy to some, I don't know, but I think it's delicious.

Oh: I had to get the hoecake... Sbrocco: Oh, okay.

Oh: ...which was delicious to eat with the gumbo.

I love anything that's corn based.

It was a nice texture contrast.

Usually I get a side like that and think I'll just have a bite of it.

I finished the whole thing.

Andrews: I had the vegan greens, which are both vegan and gluten-free, and it's a really beautiful braise of kale, pinto beans and chickpeas, kidney beans, so you get a lot of different textures, as well as a lot of the spices that they have in the gumbo.

But I wish it came in as large of a bowl as the gumbo.

I could eat that all the time.

So every once in a while I get an e-mail from Gumbo Social.

And this one was the "siren song of the dirty fries," which is something that's, I gather, not always on the menu.

And, oh, my goodness, you guys, they're really good fries smothered in a cheese situation that is more than just cheese.

I think maybe the configuration of it is a little bit secret.

And despite having consumed a bowl of gumbo, an entire shrimp po'boy, then out come the dirty fries, and my husband and I went at those too.

Sbrocco: You didn't happen to be there for that hat trick, did you?

Andrews: No, no.

I missed that.

Oh: What makes them siren fries?

Is there something spicy?

Griffin Robertson: Just that they call you and you just have to come.

Oh: Oh, I see.

Sbrocco: The siren song.

Griffin Robertson: The way they were described in the e-mail was like, "Come to me..." Andrews: Pull you down into the ocean.

Griffin Robertson: Yeah, exactly.

And my husband and I agreed that they were worth the drive.

Sbrocco: And did you have any dessert?

I did take home a slice of lemon pound cake that was delicious.

Sbrocco: Okay, you looked at me so funny You looked at me like, "I did it.

Yes, I did it."

Andrews: I did.

I did.

And it had a really delicious, intense lemon flavor.

You know, great icing, not too sweet, but beautifully soft pound cake.

Griffin Robertson: I have not ever had the pound cake, but I must put in a word on the untraditional dessert of the Brussels sprouts, which are crispy fried with some apple.

Oh!

These things are phenomenal.

If you're a Brussels sprouts for dessert kind of person, which I'm really not.

Sbrocco: I can't tell you that I know a lot of those people.

Griffin Robertson: Yeah.

Me neither, so...

But they are highly recommended.

Absolutely delicious.

Sbrocco: And this is a casual place, right?

Andrews: Yeah, very casual, very comfortable.

They had good music on.

Oh: Great art on the walls too.

There's some, like, really nice iconic pictures of jazz artists and historic figures.

Sbrocco: So did you get good value out of this place?

Oh: Absolutely.

Talk about a substantial, hearty, satisfying meal that is not going to impact your wallet.

Sbrocco: And you're gonna go back, George, and bring home more?

Andrews: I'm definitely going to hit up the farmers market.

We'll see, if I'm in the neighborhood again, though, I'm going to swing by.

Sbrocco: Well, if you would like to try Gumbo Social, it's located on 3rd Street in San Francisco.

The average tab per person without drinks is around $30.

George's favorite brunch spot is all about location, location, location.

He spent many a Sunday there, sipping Pimm's cups, lounging on the patio, and soaking up the stellar bay views.

Commanding a prime spot on the docks of Tiburon, it's the Bungalow Kitchen.

♪♪ Vergara: The Bungalow Kitchen by Michael Mina.

We want to feel like a clubhouse, you know.

We want the community to come over, relax with us, indulge in our coastal Californian cuisine and wonderful sips as well.

♪♪ Our brunch menu, It's a two-course prix fixe.

You have about 10 options for your appetizers and equal amount for your entrees.

Woman: Mmm!

Vergara: We have an open-fire grill.

It's oak wood that we feed throughout the night to provide that flavor for our steaks.

♪♪ We have an array of seafood.

We have tuna, sea bass, branzino.

We fly in fish from Japan.

Our sushi chef, Chef Yama, will call up the market in Japan and see whatever he can get as fresh as possible and arrive here overnight.

Yama: This rice I buy from Japan.

Vergara: The lobster pot pie, it's a Chef Mina classic dish -- a domed puff pastry, and then we'll crack it tableside, place it on the bottom, and then rebuild that lobster for you.

We love to do that extra detail.

We want to show the guests what we do in the kitchen, to say this is what we have and why and the story.

And it's just beautiful, I would say like a symphony just all working together, you know.

Woman #2: Thank you so much.

Vergara: We want to create an atmosphere where it's relaxing.

You get to just take a quick ferry ride over.

You get the breeze.

You get the warmth.

As foggy as it may be in the city, it's always sunny in Tiburon.

♪♪ Sbrocco: Now, George, you live in the city, right?

Andrews: I do.

Sbrocco: So you get foggy sometimes.

And is that why you're so drawn to sunny Tiburon?

Andrews: It is.

It's like a mini vacation.

And that's why it's so perfect to go for brunch.

You get into your nice big easy chair on the patio.

Everything's kind of these muted coral and sage-green tones, and you just feel like you've left the spa and you're on vacation and you're ready to have a cocktail.

So the first thing that I get is the Pimm's cup.

I love something that's herby, I love something that's gin-based, a little fizzy.

But, you know, it's not too potent, so you can have a few and you're just relaxing.

It's like time has stopped.

Sbrocco: All right, you got Pimm's cup in hand.

What is the first thing you order?

Andrews: The first thing that I like to order is the butter lettuce and hearts of palm salad.

And it comes out on this big long tray, and you think that they're bringing it to someone else because there's no way this whole salad could be just for me.

It's velvety soft butter lettuce cups with Brokaw avocado and the sliced hearts of palm, segmented grapefruit.

And it's just a wonderfully refreshing way to start the meal.

Oh: The theme for me at Bungalow Kitchen was, like, tableside appeal.

Everything kind of has this big tableside presence.

Man: So we have the sashimi-grade ahi tuna.

There's a quail egg on top with Maldon sea salt.

Oh: I had the tuna tartare to start, which is visually so lovely.

You have the Asian pear.

The mint.

There's some sesame oil on there, chilies, all kind of chopped in these cute little piles, and someone tosses it tableside for you.

Sbrocco: It's breakfast and a show.

Oh: Breakfast and a show.

Man: And there we go.

Michael Mina's tuna tartare.

Man #2: Wonderful.

Oh: We went for the lobster pot pie, which, talk about tableside appeal.

It comes out in this beautiful copper pot with, you know, the flaky crust on top.

The meat was succulent and tasty.

The vegetables, what I really appreciated tasted really fresh, like someone had just chopped them and threw them in.

A slight acidity would have been nice to kind of cut through the cream, but the sauce was really rich, and it was delicious.

Sbrocco: Right.

Griffin Robertson: I had regrets.

I saw it.

We had already ordered, and then I saw that roll by, and I was like, "Oh, I missed a bet there," because it truly is stunningly beautiful.

But we did order an assortment of appetizers, and our very favorite one was the jalapeño lobster toasts.

Andrews: Yes!

Griffin Robertson: They're like a rolled-up kind of thing.

It wasn't -- I was expecting something flat on a toast.

And this was so much more than that and so much better than that.

Delightful little bit of spice, but not too much.

Just a really nice blend and balance.

Sbrocco: And what other dishes did you have?

Griffin Robertson: I had the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon.

Also phenomenal.

Standard Benedict in terms of English muffin and an egg and hollandaise sauce, but the addition of the smoked salmon was really nice, and it came with a side of crispy potatoes that was really, really good.

I also had the steak frites, which is sort of a basic dish -- It's meat and potatoes -- but this one was really special.

It was a filet prepared absolutely perfectly, nice béarnaise sauce, good fries.

We were super happy with it.

Andrews: Where I've been going lately is to the oak-grilled branzino.

And this one comes out in a beautiful stoneware bowl on a bed of orzo with little baby French lentils and a nice piquant tomato sauce.

Beautiful piece of branzino with the skin still a little bit crisp.

But the flesh is so tender, and it's just a dream to eat.

Oh: I think the tip is, at Bungalow Kitchen, you go and you see everything... Griffin Robertson: Watch.

Oh: ...and then you go back a second time.

Griffin Robertson: Yep.

Oh: We were tempted by the oyster shooters that were going by.

Again, just, you know, couldn't say no.

[ Laughter ] Man: This is the way you do it.

Woman: Here we go.

Whoo-hoo!

Oh: And I also had a Bloody Mary, which had the same kind of tomato-based spicy mix that was part of the oyster shooter.

Griffin Robertson: For dessert, I had the espresso martini, which I cannot recommend highly enough.

Not groundbreaking in terms of, like, special adds or anything, but in terms of just being well prepared, it was perfection.

Oh: We shared the crème brûlée French toast, which to me tasted like dessert.

It had the sweet inside.

I didn't get too much of a crème brûlée taste, but it was still delicious and sweet and decadent.

Yeah.

Sbrocco: Absolutely.

And how was the service?

Griffin Robertson: Oh, the service was spectacular.

Like you said, there was so much tableside action, and they were very, very attentive.

Overall, yeah, no complaints on service at all.

It was really nicely done.

Sbrocco: And you feel like this is an every Sunday if you can.

Andrews: I don't go every Sunday, although I wish that I could.

But, yeah, it's more of like a once-a-month place, you know, when the fog is getting me down.

Just hop across the bridge and, you know, have -- Sbrocco: And treat yourself.

Andrews: Yeah, exactly.

Sbrocco: All right, well, if you would like to try the Bungalow Kitchen, it's located on Main Street in Tiburon.

And the average tab per person without drinks is around $85.

Sarah's favorite restaurant offers the quintessential farm-to-table experience.

The new California menu is driven by whatever's in season at the owner's orchards along with other family-owned farms.

Located on Oakland's Piedmont Avenue, it's Pomet.

♪♪ Deasy: Ooh, now the best part, right?

Pomet is the truest definition of "farm to table" when it comes to California cuisine.

We have access to some of the best ingredients and some of the most unique flavors.

A mustard-miso dressing, avocados.

I chose the name Pomet because it means "orchard" in an old Roman language.

It also stems from the word of "pomology," which is the study and cultivation of fruit and nut trees.

Pomet wouldn't be here without Kalayada and James, my parents, who started the farm K & J orchards.

Nectarines, peaches, cherries, persimmons.

We get to highlight what we grow, and the kitchen gets to make even look more beautiful and taste even better than it really is in its natural form.

♪♪ The recipes are a culmination of the collaboration of the chef and the kitchen staff and also a little bit input from me.

Hello, all.

They are dishes that we remember growing up and what our parents, our grandparents used to cook, and influence of many cultures.

The wood that we use to cook our food here is mostly all fruit wood.

It brings a little bit of that earthiness to each of the plates.

In a way, the tree is the full circle of life.

We harvest the fruit from it, but then we use the rest of it to cook the food that is presented here at Pomet.

Man: That is really good.

Deasy: One of the things that Pomet does is, at the end of every meal, they get to have a piece of fruit for them to experience like they just walked out of the orchard, to really enjoy as their last bite as they say thank you, and we say thank you to them.

Their faces when they try something and they're just mesmerized by the taste and the freshness, brings me joy that we've done something right.

Sbrocco: All right, Sarah, you know the "farm to table" is so overused sometimes.

I mean, this really is about "orchard to table."

This is -- This is the real deal, isn't it?

Oh: That's the perfect way of putting it.

When you look at the menu, what I love is they'll feature the farms' names.

It's something that it's so subtle and small, but it makes a really big difference, I think, in understanding where the food comes from.

Sbrocco: Right.

Oh: I always start with the seasonal salad.

It is truly seasonal, so it will depend on what fruits are in season.

I went recently and I got little gem lettuces with peaches and just a really light vinaigrette that doesn't overpower the fruit or the lettuces.

You can even taste the sweetness of the lettuce.

Andrews: One of the best stars for me was the smashed cucumber salad.

And the cucumbers are all sliced in different directions, so you kind of get some different textures, right?

But they're sitting in a soy milk and sesame broth, and it's all topped with a little bit of chili oil.

So I found myself trying to push away my tablemates.

Sbrocco: Right.

You wanted all the cucumbers to yourself.

Andrews: I wanted them all to myself.

Sbrocco: [ Laughs ] What about you, Leslie?

Griffin Robertson: Every single dish had something jazzy going on, something creative.

We had the crispy duck appetizer, and we also had the duck entrée.

They were very different.

The appetizer was kind of a little explosion of flavors.

We're kind of like knocking each other's forks out of the way.

[ Laughter ] Andrews: So we also had the duck appetizer, and it came with a crisp little apple slaw with it.

And the sauce was kind of a pomegranate and gochujang glaze.

Perfectly crisp.

My tablemate, other than myself and my fiancé, we were a table of three, is vegetarian, so I only had to share with one person.

[ Laughter ] I was also celebrating my birthday, so I got to -- yeah, I got to kind of pull rank a little bit on whichever dishes that I wanted.

Oh: This is more a side, but I love the rolls.

They have these Hokkaido milk bread rolls.

So fluffy.

Nice chew when you bite into it, and they serve it with this incredible butter.

One time I finished the rolls and there was leftover butter and I asked the waiter if I could take the butter home, it was that good.

It's very velvety and soft, and it's great for sopping up those juices from the cucumber or other appetizers.

Andrews: We did all starters, actually.

So the graffiti eggplant dip was so fabulous.

Perfectly smooth, rich, kind of like a mapo mushroom sauce over the top.

A wonderful cool cream on the side, with semolina crackers, which were kind of like big, long shards -- looked like broken glass but made of semolina.

We were all fighting over that one as well.

Another star for us was the ugly mushroom pasta.

A symphony of mushrooms, right?

Sbrocco: And all ugly.

Andrews: Well, I would say beautiful.

Griffin Robertson: I thought it was gorgeous.

Oh: I forget that it's a starter.

I always think of it as a main dish because it's so substantial.

Griffin Robertson: Spectacular, though.

Andrews: And then once you kind of get below that layer, you have these little boats of pasta filled with even more mushroom, luscious sauce underneath.

It was a dream.

-Sbrocco: And you're agreeing.

Griffin Robertson: Oh, that's the dish that we will all really remember.

Everything at this restaurant was special.

We had the char siu pork, which was a pork belly.

This was like silk in your mouth.

Beautifully prepared, just the right amount of seasoning.

And it came with this hot mustard, which was delicious.

Oh: I had the salmon.

The quality of the salmon is such that all they did was serve it with some stuffed peppers.

Very fresh.

And it was the perfect pairing of the sweetness from the peppers with the richness of the salmon.

It's super simple.

Just a great fish.

Sbrocco: And did you have anything to drink with this?

Griffin Robertson: I did.

I had the housemade rose geranium spritzer.

I'm an herb gardener myself, so of course I had to try that, and it was perfect.

Like, it did not beat you over the head with rose geranium.

You had to get about halfway down the spritzer in order to get it, and then when it came, it was perfect.

Sbrocco: Oh, nice.

Andrews: Well, is it too early to talk about dessert?

Sbrocco: It never is.

No.

Andrews: So if I could go back and just have this peach galette, I would, and it would be the only thing that I ate for the rest of my life.

It was beautiful mound of peaches sitting atop a very crisp puff pastry, beautifully pleated and studded with sanding sugar so it's extra crisp.

And then sitting above is the real star that makes it so amazing, which is the yogurt semifreddo.

And as soon as it touches your tongue, it just dissipates completely.

But it brought it all together.

Griffin Robertson: I got to put in a word for the chocolate cake.

OMG, you guys.

Texturally, it was almost like a cross between pudding and cake.

Not too sweet.

Perfectly balanced flavors and five people going at it with spoons.

[ Laughter ] It was -- It was perfection.

Sbrocco: It was a battle, I'm guessing.

Griffin Robertson: It was perfection.

Every single mouthful at that place, no matter what we ordered, was outstanding.

Sbrocco: Yeah.

Deasy: You're welcome.

Griffin Robertson: And I can't put enough emphasis on the service, too, because we were seated in the outside area.

So there were heaters to make sure we were warm.

And sometimes when you get seated outside, you get forgotten a little bit.

Not at this place.

Sbrocco: You agree?

Andrews: I definitely agree.

I will be going back next year for my birthday and probably a number of times in between.

Griffin Robertson: My husband has already asked for it for his birthday next year, so it's gonna become a birthday destination.

Sbrocco: I would say that's high praise.

Oh: That's what I like.

You know, you can go for your birthday, you can go for a Friday night meal.

And it really does have this cozy, inviting feel.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try Pomet, it's located on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, and the average tab per person without drinks is around $80.

Looking for more Bay Area bites you've just got to try?

Check out "Cecilia Tries It" online at kqed.org/checkplease.

I have to thank my incredibly articulate guests on this week's show -- Sarah Oh, who appreciates the farm-driven menu at Pomet in Oakland; Leslie Griffin Robertson, who always takes home an extra bowl from Gumbo Social in San Francisco; and George Andrews, who pairs his branzino with bay views at the Bungalow Kitchen in Tiburon.

Join us next time when three more guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

I'm Leslie Sbrocco, and I'll see you then.

Cheers.

And cheers to you.

Oh: Cheers.

Andrews: Cheers.

Sbrocco: Did you have fun?

Andrews: Yeah.

Sbrocco: Yes!

Whee!

[ Indistinct conversations ] Ball: Me and gumbo are in a heavy marriage together.

Her and I, we've been seeing each other for quite some time.

[ Laughs ] The social piece I thought was really important because typically when you have gumbo, you're having it with people you love and care about.

So if you're having a tough day, Ball: Me and gumbo are in a heavy marriage together.

Her and I, we've been seeing each other for quite some time.

[ Laughs ] The social piece I thought was really important because typically when you have gumbo, you're having it with people you love and care about.

So if you're having a tough day, the gumbo should ease the tension of the conversation.

I've never seen anyone have a fight when the bowl of gumbo is present.

Only rough argument's when, who's gonna get the last crab leg?

[ Laughs ]