♪♪ Phillips: They're coming faster now.

Sbrocco: A sleek seafood and dim sum spot in San Francisco, we "Rico"-take on traditional tacos in Oakland, and rustic Italian pastas made from scratch in San Rafael on "Check, Please!

Bay Area."

Kong: I would eat that sauce on a flip-flop if it was given to me.

♪♪ Hi.

I'm Leslie Sbrocco.

Welcome to "Check, Please!

Bay Area," the show where regular 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 game designer Francis Kong, teacher and coach Alex Carapanos, and PR executive Mary Richardson.

Welcome, everyone.

Are you ready for a rocking good time?

Richardson: Oh, yeah!

Carapanos: Oh, yeah.

Let's go.

Sbrocco: Francis grew up in his family's Chinese restaurant, so he's got pretty high standards when it comes to Cantonese cooking.

But when it comes to his favorite spot for dim sum and seafood, he opts for a menu that takes a decidedly modern approach to the classics he grew up with.

Located in San Francisco's historic Ghirardelli Square, it's Palette Tea House.

♪♪ Leung: Tea house is actually a very traditional Dim Sum restaurant.

And the reason we picked the name palette was that we wanted to present our food just like an art piece.

♪♪ I grew up in Hong Kong, and our culture back then, we always gather with family members and so on on the weekends.

So it's always fun.

You always see your relatives, your cousins, and then you go to a tea house and enjoy dim sum.

And in Chinese, we call it "yum cha."

It literally translate to "drinking tea."

And in the Cantonese culture, we always start our gathering with yum cha for the day.

Man: And this is the actual iberico marinade that we make here in house.

Leung: Compared to a lot of restaurants, we have a huge menu.

That's also part of the yum cha culture.

People always like different varieties.

because we go back all the time.

Dim sum is actually very difficult to make.

People, they say, "Oh, you can get it from any hole in the wall."

But behind the scene, in the kitchen, it is a lot of work.

Chef Tong, he looks young, but, actually, he has been making dim sum for over 30 years.

And he oversees all the dim sum productions, all made by hand one by one.

And to make the dough as thin as possible, that's required out of skills in doing so.

And the very last is steaming time, is also very crucial.

With the skin being so delicate, if you over-steam it a little bit, the dumpling will break apart.

Of course, dim sum has a long history, but we want to introduce this culture to the younger generation, as well.

As I see people come in, they say, "Hey, this is my first time trying dim sum.

It is so special.

We enjoyed it so much."

And it bring a smile to my face that we actually present this culture to a new audience.

Sbrocco: Now, Francis, there are so many dim sum spots in the city.

How did you come across this one as being so special?

Kong: It was amazing that they took it -- they took all the great parts of the authentic dim sum, and they combined with a lot of European, American, and modern styles.

And so, it wasn't just the dim sum.

It was the presentation, the experience, the overall flavor, the texture.

Everything was just off on another level.

Their plates actually are customized plates.

They look like little paint palettes, and there's four little divots in there for each of their sauces.

So you're actually supposed to take a sauce and put it in each of the little divots, and then you could take your food, put it on your plate, and pick which sauce.

So they actually customize, and that's, hence, their name -- Palette Tea House.

Sbrocco: But tell me, do you have a favorite dish?

Kong: Absolutely.

Sbrocco: Absolutely.

Kong: The iberico pork "cha siu."

I love cha siu, and I learned how to make it when I was a kid for my dad's Chinese restaurant.

But typically, it's just made from a basic pork loin.

Sbrocco: And these pigs eat acorns only, and so there's tons of fatty-marble goodness and richness in that, right?

Kong: Yeah, it was so -- My mouth was so confused in a wonderful way.

I was like, "This is filet mignon but tasting like cha siu."

Carapanos: I also had the iberico pork, and it was the favorite dish that I tried from Palette Tea House.

It was amazing.

What I liked about it, too, is you could take a little piece of that compressed apple and slid it on top of the pork and eat it.

Richardson: And I love that it was set up to share with friends, too.

So it wasn't like any fighting over that.

There were perfect sizes ready to share, and it had such a sticky, kind of sweet, a little bit spicy marinade.

Super flavorful.

I loved it.

Carapanos: I just got to say to you, I was already full, and I ate the whole -- I ate that whole dish.

Kong: Oh, wow.

You ate the whole dish by yourself?

That is super impressive.

So another dish was the crab.

It was a garlic butter crab.

The sauce, I think, is what makes this thing so unique, because it's almost the same kind of sauce that you would find in the shrimp- and lobster-type of Chinese restaurants, but much richer, much more thick.

And I'm not that big of a fan of crab, but this crab was amazing with that sauce.

I would eat that sauce on a flip-flop if it was given to me.

That was so good.

So I would actually just sit there, and I'd be like, "You know what?

You guys can have the crab.

I just want the sauce."

Carapanos: I love crab, I love crustaceans.

I love getting my hands dirty.

It was a good dish, but, for me, the sauce was a little too much.

Kong: Yeah, it's just... Carapanos: I was digging in to it, and when I would drop a piece of crab, it would sometimes kind of get lost in the sauce.

The sauce had flavor.

It was rich, you know, garlic butter.

It was nice and flavorful.

But personally, I like to let the crab speak for itself a little more.

Sbrocco: Well, you need to go with Francis.

because he'll take your extra sauce.

Kong: Yeah, you can have the crab, I'll take the sauce.

We're going to be good.

Richardson: I loved the smacked cucumber salad.

It was a nice dish of these sticks of cucumbers that were actually smashed.

So they were a really cool texture that soaked up this vinegar marinade that was kind of tangy and a little refreshing with all of the crab butter and dumplings and pork and just a nice addition to the table.

Sbrocco: Did you have anything else?

Richardson: Ooh, we had some really tasty dumplings.

We got the original pork soup dumplings, which had a really nice, thin homemade wrapper and a warm, juicy broth when you bit into it.

And similarly with the pork, they had a little slice of carrot in the bottom.

So you had a little bit of a crunch after you got that juicy, hot, soupy dumpling, and those were delicious.

Kong: You definitely want to try the lobster har gow.

Traditional har gow is made out of shrimp, but this one is made of lobster meat.

And it comes with a little injection of butter.

So each -- you basically can squeeze the injection and make sure each one has a bite of hot butter that's actually boiled with crab shell, so it's butter with infused crab flavor in the butter that you inject into the lobster.

Carapanos: I had the salted egg lava bao, and I was a little surprised because I thought it would be, like, a savory bao, but it was actually sweet.

So it was like a custard filling and almost was like a crème brûlée filling.

Kong: Definitely that's more of a dessert dish, with the nice lava -- oozy, creamy -- and you bite into it.

And you're right.

It's like a crème brûlée but with a salty -- 'Cause a salty egg is kind of part of a Chinese culture from, like, the moon cakes.

So they took that concept and made it into lava and into baos.

I think one of the things they said is they wanted to make sure all their food that they brought out was Gram-able.

[ Imitates camera shutter clicking ] Right?

Definitely if you guys get a chance to try the Peking duck.

I didn't even want to touch the duck because it was so pretty.

I was like, "Oh, my God, that is art.

I can't even eat that."

Carapanos: Their cocktail menu is really nice.

I had one called The Painted Lady.

It was cognac, hibiscus, nutmeg, Bordeaux.

Really smooth, not overly sweet.

Richardson: I had an amazing cocktail.

It was the Red Lantern.

And it comes out, and it's this beautiful bright-red, pink color.

There's some hibiscus and some prickly pear syrup and then a little bit of smoky mezcal.

And it was just, like, refreshing.

A little tart, a little smoky.

It was so good.

I only had one, but I wish I had a few.

Carapanos: And just the ambiance, too.

It's a nice bar, nice layout, like, different rooms and sections of the restaurant.

So I was wondering why the name "Palette Tea House."

Kong: Because dim sum evolved from tea houses, and back then, when they were selling tea houses in ancient China, they realized they just weren't making that much money because people only drink one pot of tea.

But if they served a little bit of steamed dumplings here and there, people are like, "Oh!

I'll have another pot of tea."

And so, the whole word, the name "tea house" stuck because that's the origins of dim sum.

Sbrocco: I think, Teacher Alex, he gets an "A."

Carapanos: That's not an "A."

That's an A-plus.

Sbrocco: A-plus.

There we go.

Richardson: Wow!

Kong: Salud.

Sbrocco: Salud.

If you would like to try Palette Tea House, it's located in San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square.

The average tab per person, without drinks, is around $40.

♪♪ Almost every week, Mary faces a tough decision at her favorite find.

Will it be the crispy carnitas or the juicy, fresh-off-the-spit al pastor?

Luckily, she lives so close to her Lake Merritt taqueria, she can satisfy either craving any time she wants.

In Oakland, it's Rico Rico Taco.

♪♪ Marisol: "Un taco al dia es la llave de la alegria" means "one taco a day is the key to joy."

And we do really believe in, like, I think tacos and food just brings people together.

Ricardo: I grew up in the taco business in my family's business, Tacos El Gordo.

When my dad started here and he opened, it was, like, me and my mom and my dad.

So we started literally on the street, right?

Marisol: Yeah.

And then for me, my family owns Tacos Sinaloa.

They've been in the business for over 20 years.

♪♪ Ricardo: We wanted to take a little bit of menu items from both and our favorites.

My favorite is, honestly, the taco al pastor.

And Marisol's favorite is tacos and carnitas.

Marisol, I think, likes the carnitas' crispiness, because even though the meat is slow-cooked, once you actually ask for it, we'll put it on the grill.

I like to describe it as a little patty, so it's, like, kind of crispy on the outside, but once you bite into it, you still feel the moistness of that taco, and I think that that, accompanied with the onion, cilantro, and salsa, it just gives you, like, that perfect mixture of goodness.

[ Chuckles ] ♪♪ Marisol: I think what makes Rico Rico really special is, really, our handmade tortillas.

Ricardo: It's a spinning Comal, so you'll actually see them laying the tortillas, but as soon as they lay it, it spins around, and it's just -- I feel like it's almost like a little show, right?

Woman: You get the corn tortilla, and then she's smashing it.

Ricardo: I love that all our staff really takes pride in what they put out there.

Like, you know, they tell each other stories, how they say, "Hey, somebody came and told me I made the best burrito."

You know, it's almost a competition of, like, who makes the better burrito, you know?

So I think that's really cool, that the culture here is really, "I love my job, and I love how I put out the food."

It makes me feel like we're not letting our family down.

[ Laughs ] Sbrocco: Mary, the story behind this spot is so unique, isn't it?

Two famed taco truck families.

Tell us a little bit about the story.

Richardson: Yes.

So in Oakland, as many of you probably know, there are a bunch of taco trucks all throughout the area.

And I am a big burrito and taco connoisseur.

I love walking around Lake Merritt, grabbing my burrito, going for a walk.

And when Rico Rico opened up, I was like, "Wow, these taco trucks are coming together.

I have to see what this food is like."

And the first time I bit into their burrito, I was like, "This is special."

And what I think makes it so great is that they griddle their carnitas.

So they take your portion of meat, they put it on the hot griddle, and it gets a really nice crisp.

But still, the meat is a little juicy on the inside.

And then they load up their big tortilla with your classic rice, beans, onions, cilantro, a homemade avocado salsa, and then they wrap it up, and then they griddle it again.

So you've got the crunchy inside, crunchy outside, creamy salsa.

It's big, but I can obviously eat the whole thing.

It is just the perfect burrito.

Kong: My favorite was the carnitas, because I actually judge Mexican plates by the carnitas.

I was looking for exactly what you said -- moist, crispy, a little bit of that lard pork flavor.

And, yeah, that's -- possibly, that's the best carnitas I've had in the Bay Area.

Richardson: I would say the same, Francis.

Carapanos: I'm taking that mental note because I think I might have to try that next time I'm there.

Ooh!

Sbrocco: What did you get when you went?

Carapanos: I'm kind of an al pastor person.

That's kind of my thing.

So when I walked into Rico, Rico, when I see the spit, ooh, it gets me excited.

And when I got these tacos, these aren't tiny little street tacos.

These are nice, single, thick, handmade tortillas with a homemade salsa, with fresh pastor meat, with the onion and cilantro.

Richardson: And the pineapple.

Carapanos: With the pineapple, that nice, fresh slice of pineapple.

And then you get the pickled carrots with the radishes.

I was in heaven, too.

Sbrocco: I'm hungry now.

I'm really hungry.

Richardson: I could go for a taco.

I love the fish tacos because you have a nice, crispy, fried piece of whitefish with a little bit of thinly-sliced red onions and a slaw and some lime, and it's tangy and crunchy and on that chewy, thick tortilla.

I love those.

Kong: Alright, I'm hungry.

Sbrocco: Did you have anything else, Francis?

Because you had the carnitas, you had the... Kong: The mushroom, the hongo.

Sbrocco: The mushroom.

Kong: That's the first time I ever had a mushroom taco my entire life, and I was skeptical, right?

But I actually really loved it.

Very robust mushrooms, and it had a savory flavor, and the texture was almost meaty.

Carapanos: I thought that the value for price was exceptional, with the quality, with the portions.

Sbrocco: So is this -- Now, is this the gold standard that you're working off of or close?

Carapanos: No, this was the gold standard because -- Sbrocco: Okay.

There you go.

Richardson: Wow.

Yes!

Sbrocco: I think Mary needs a round of applause.

Kong: Oh, yes.

Thank you for helping us discover that place.

Richardson: In the name of carnitas burritos, thank you.

Kong: Yes.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try Rico Rico Taco, it's located on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland, and the average tab per person, without drinks, is around $20.

♪♪ Alex is an avid traveler who's always dreamed of going to Italy.

Luckily, he says he's found a little piece of northern Italy right here in the North Bay.

Nestled in San Rafael's charming West End neighborhood, it's The Kitchen Table.

♪♪ Woman: Is that good?

Boy: Yeah.

Alexander: The restaurant name is The Kitchen Table.

I opened here in San Rafael because I grew up here.

So the menu is designed to where we have bites and you could start off with something right when you sit down.

It's, like, something quick.

And then we have appetizers, salads, and then we have pizzas, pastas, and entrées.

I designed it to where it's open, so I don't need to come out because I'm working back there.

So the regulars, they pretty much come to me or yell at me from across the dining room.

Whatever, you know?

That's, like, the whole idea.

My family had Alioto's down the Wharf since 1920.

I'm fourth generation, so the restaurant was for family.

My great-grandparents started it, and then my grandfather and my father, and we all had summer jobs down there.

My father, he's like, "If you really want to learn, you got to go work in Europe," right?

So that's what I did.

I like using egg pasta and rolling it out to where it's tender, with the thickness, but also delicate.

The raviolo uovo is a single ravioli.

It's just about making the filling so it's not dry and be delicate when you place the egg, which I learned at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola, which is a little south of Bologna.

You always want to work from the end out so air comes out.

Chef Valentino Marcattilii created this dish, and everything in the dish works -- ricotta cheese, spinach...

They just go right in.

...a truffle brown butter, Parmigiano.

So all of that is like a perfect match.

My father, Nunzio, is a master sommelier.

It's something that he's always helped me out with.

And, you know, he lives right down the street, so he's created my wine list.

It's what's good, what goes good with food, and that's what we're going to sell.

Nunzio: Cheers.

Alexander: San Rafael is a small town.

A lot of people know a lot of people.

So everyone's talking and getting up and coming over to the pass, and that's the idea.

It's like being around the kitchen table, right?

Sbrocco: Alright, before we get started on your restaurant, Alex, I just have to dig a little deeper into who you are, because you are a traveler, a teacher.

You are also an on-the-spot poet.

So I need a little bit of your talent to shine through right now.

Carapanos: You know it, Leslie.

Sbrocco: Okay.

Carapanos: ♪ Can I get a check, please?

♪ Yeah.

Kong: Oh, yeah.

Richardson: Yeah.

Sbrocco: Alright, well, now we've got to talk food.

Favorite dish?

Carapanos: They have a wonderful starter.

I feel like it could be their signature.

It's called the raviolo uovo.

It's one large ravioli sitting on some sage butter sauce with some Parmesan.

But the real magic happens when you dig your fork in there, cut into it, and you see that egg yolk coming out, with a little ricotta-spinach filling.

So the play of textures and the flavor and a little bit of truffle sauce.

And it's just rich and decadent and unique.

Sbrocco: And ooey.

Carapanos: And gooey and ooey and just all that good feelings in there.

Richardson: Yes.

Actually, when I ordered it, I wasn't sure what to expect.

And our very kind server was like, "You know, you should get a side of bread with that."

I was like, "A side of bread?"

I thought it was kind of a pasta dish.

But when we cut into it and the egg yolk, the creamy, buttery sauce went everywhere, we all dipped our bread in and just took every last bite of that sauce.

I was so glad we had the bread.

Sbrocco: You being the sauce guy, Francis.

Kong: Yes.

I was going to say, we finished the bread.

I never finish the bread.

And I was like, "I need more bread, because this sauce needs to be paired with your bread."

So good.

Richardson: It was so good.

Kong: One of the things that I will never forget there and I would drive back for is that gnocchi.

Little pillows of potato puff heaven.

Super light, and that broccoli sauce was perfect with it.

Richardson: I also got that, and it was incredible.

And I also got a pizza, the chorizo pizza, which was amazing.

I think the pastas are known to shine there, but this pizza dough was light and airy, with a good chew, and it had artichokes and olives and slices of chorizo that were a little like pepperoni, kind of like a slice, and it was so good.

They really made a delicious pizza.

Carapanos: So there's the fritto misto.

It's squid, shrimp, zucchini, fennel.

It's all fried...but not greasy.

It's really well-seasoned.

And then there's a little kick in there.

It's the fried green olives.

They give it a little flair.

It's a little bit of a tang.

Richardson: Mm-hmm.

Kong: The pork chop was the best pork chop.

Super tender, super juicy, thick.

I didn't even think I was going to, like, have room for it.

I finished the pork chop.

I was like you with the crab.

I was like, "Where did that go?"

Carapanos: That's how you know, man.

Kong: Yeah, that's how you know it's good, because where did all the food go, right?

Everything I ordered there was just top of the line.

Thank you for recommending that.

That's my new favorite Italian place now.

Carapanos: You can tell they pay attention to detail and that they use fresh ingredients.

And the servers and the staff are really educated.

Sbrocco: And what other dishes do you get when you go?

Carapanos: I'm a beignet person.

I'm a beignet person.

I love beignets.

Kong: Said it twice.

Carapanos: I love them.

I've had beignets in New Orleans at Cafe du Monde, the original.

Richardson: Yes, me too.

Carapanos: And mark my words, I know it's just my opinion, but these beignets are better.

Richardson: I agree.

Carapanos: They're nice-size beignets, nice texture, this crisp on the outside and really tender and moist on the inside.

There's a cinnamon cayenne sugar on the outside.

Richardson: The cayenne!

Carapanos: Yeah, just that little hint of spice.

And then vanilla sauce.

And after I finish these beignets, I have to say, my wife saw the look in my eyes, and she said, you know, "I love you so you can have these extra couple beignets."

Kong: That is true love.

Richardson: That is.

Kong: True love.

Sbrocco: Did you guys have the beignets?

Kong: Absolutely.

Sbrocco: Okay.

There you go.

Good.

Good.

Kong: Yes.

Yes.

Because if you didn't, you will now.

Richardson: Oh, yeah, no, I got them.

Kong: No, we're going to have it again.

Sbrocco: If you would like to try The Kitchen Table, it's located on 4th Street in San Rafael, and the average tab per person is around $60.

And now reporter Cecilia Phillips has another fresh food find.

She's got the scoop at San Francisco's first urban creamery.

♪♪ Hicks: Daily Driver is -- it's really dynamic makerspace.

And it's a bagelry, a cheese-making operation, and a roastery all under one roof.

Yeah, we are probably one of only a few urban creameries in the entire United States.

Woman: Oh, this looks so good.

Phillips: Tell me a little bit about the cows' milk that you use.

Hicks: It's insanely amazing milk.

So we pick up the milk once a week.

It's 500 gallons of milk that we drive down over the Golden Gate Bridge, which is kind of a crazy operation.

Probably why there's not a lot of urban creameries.

Phillips: You guys got to come and see this.

Alright, so this is the cows' milk being pumped in.

Hicks: So we pump it in, then make cream cheese and butter from that.

We make a European-style, or French-style, butter, which means that cultures are added to it.

It's beautiful, and it just has this very distinct flavor.

So anybody that comes in here and has a bagel with butter, it's going to be from that butter.

♪♪ Phillips: Okay, so around the hand.

Okay.

Both.

Alright.

And roll.

Easy.

Oh.

[ Gasps ] Did I just make a bagel?

[ Laughs ] Start going faster, huh?

"I Love Lucy" -- You know this one, with the candy?

Felbermayr: We have some baking soda as the alkaline and some brewers malt.

Phillips: So every bagel that comes out of here gets a little dip in this bath.

Felbermayr: Always a bath, yes.

It gives it a little malty, sweet flavor, and the baking soda creates a crust.

Phillips: So that's where the crunch comes from.

Hicks: So our bagels, we kind of borrowed a little bit from New York and a little bit from Montreal and a little bit just from us.

So the Montreal part is that they're wood-fired.

The New York part is that they're boiled before they are wood-fired.

And then our part of it is we designed and built this incredible ramp, as you can see, Once they come out of the oven, the bagels get flipped into this ramp.

And individuals that are in the front of the house can then easily sort from that big ramp.

Phillips: So let's see what a Montreal, New York, Bay Area-style bagel is like.

Here we go.

Crunchy, has a bit of that bite on the outside.

You immediately bite in -- super soft.

Hicks: Sometimes I walk in here, and I see everything that we wanted to have happen is happening, and it's just such a great feeling.

Making food is fun and exciting, and a lot goes into it, and a lot of hard work goes into it, and we just want people to not only see it, but kind of feel part of it.

Phillips: It's the cheese drip for me.

Sbrocco: I have to thank my fantastic guests on this week's show -- Francis Kong, who shared his passion for the iberico roasted pork at Palette Tea House, Alex Carapanos, lover of the decadent raviolo uovo at The Kitchen Table in San Rafael, and Mary Richardson, who craves the crispy carnitas at Rico Rico Taco.

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 fantastic guests.

Whoo-hoo!

Alrighty.

Carapanos: ♪ Can I get a beignet?

♪ ♪ Say "hey" ♪ ♪ I like the beignets from The Kitchen Table ♪ ♪ They're so nice ♪ ♪ Can I get a crème anglaise with my beignet?

♪ ♪ Say "hey" ♪ Sbrocco: Yes!

Yes!

Carapanos: ♪ Can I get a vanilla sauce with my beignet?

♪ ♪ Say "hey" ♪ ♪ Go to The Kitchen Table ♪ ♪ They'll take care of you all day ♪ ♪ With the beignets, say "hey" ♪ Sbrocco: Whoo!

[ Cheers and applause ]