Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
It’s not every day in San Francisco that a duo singing Italian opera gives an outdoor performance at a restaurant opening — and that Mayor Daniel Lurie pops in to make a speech. But when it’s chef David Nayfeld opening another restaurant, apparently that’s what happens. At least, it did on Oct. 9 at the Via Aurelia’s opening party, to which I was lucky enough to be invited.
Via Aurelia is built differently than Nayfeld’s other ventures, with the added backing of the San Francisco Giants, real estate giant Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco.
According to a press release, “the restaurant also strives to be more than a dining destination, but also a symbol of San Francisco’s resilience and potential. Via Aurelia will be a testament to San Francisco’s upward momentum, an illustration of growth, community, and world-class hospitality.”
The mayor spoke to that effect, saying that Nayfeld and his business partner Matt Brewer — they’re the team behind several other Bay Area restaurants — did not give up on the city during Covid, and in fact they went above and beyond to show their commitment during that difficult time.
Nayfeld grew up in Alameda, the son of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. (His proud parents were at the Via Aurelia opening, as were a lot of cousins.) He and Brewster opened Che Fico near Alamo Square in 2018, and during this past summer opened Bubbelah, a Jewish concept restaurant in Menlo Park.
Via Aurelia — named after the ancient road connecting Rome to Pisa — is a 216-seat fine-dining concept at Mission Rock offering five- or seven-course tasting menus in addition to its regular menu. Specializing in Tuscan food, the restaurant features farm-to-table Italian cuisine and freshly made pasta; it also has a wine list with 650 bottles, mainly from France, California and Italy.
We got to sample the divine Tartara di Tonno, which features finely chopped dry-aged bluefin tuna belly and loin, delicately seasoned with Tuscan tamari. Prepared tableside, it is mixed with trout roe, cucumber, sea lettuce oil and shavings of cured and dried tuna heart. We didn’t get to try the Sformato di Funghi, which features a chanterelle custard with Brentwood sweet corn and Parmigiano, nor the dry-aged Anatra (“liberty duck breast”), served with Santa Rosa plums, Hakori turnips and a Tuscan duck sauce then garnished with an Amaretto cookie and duck chicharon granola.
However, I wanted to jump right into both the Tortelli Mugellani, an exquisite pillow of pasta over a tomato ragu, and a bowl of orzo with butter, Parmesan, rosemary and beans. While most appetizers and entrées are in the $35 to $50 range, an outrageously good Wagyu steak tops out at $225. Not only did we get to try small portions of that, too, we also happened to meet the supplier.
In addition to the main dining room, the restaurant features a large, horseshoe-shaped bar, two private dining rooms and a heated patio with expansive views.
If the opening night crowd is any indication of who will be dining there, this is definitely a place to see and be seen.
Via Aurelia is located next to the new China Basin Park at 300 Toni Stone Xing, Suite A. Open for dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Lunch will follow in the coming months.
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I covered a story a few weeks ago for Berkeleyside about the Richmond-based Coracao Chocolate brand, which recently introduced its own version of the Dubai bar. In case you’ve missed this craze, which has taken over the chocolate world after going viral on TikTok, it features pistachio cream, shredded filo dough and (sometimes) tahini in a chocolate bar. Different versions are available pretty much everywhere.
Coracao Chocolate distinguishes itself from many brands in being completely free of gluten and dairy, so it’s great for people with allergies. It’s also made in a peanut-free facility and uses coconut sugar and all organic ingredients (a healthier option than cane sugar, coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic index for those watching their blood sugar). It also happens to be certified kosher by Sunrise Kosher–Vaad Hakashrus of Northern California.
The Jewish co-founder of Corocao, Daniel Korson, told me that the first time he bought a Dubai bar, it was in a shop with various nuts and seeds sold by weight in paper bags, like he was used to experiencing in Jerusalem (his father is Israeli).
As I was working on my article about Coracao, the website Tasting Table did an article of its own ranking the best American-made Dubai bars. Topping its list was the locally made Charles Chocolates, which has three versions of a “Dubai done better” bar. After falling on the sword and trying both of these local bars made by Jewish chocolatiers, I say you can’t go wrong with either. While Coracao might be the healthier choice for some people, both are excellent in hitting all the notes the Dubai bar should: creamy and crunchy, salty and sweet.
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With the arrival of fall comes a new cookbook season, and two Jewish cookbook authors of some renown have done or will be doing at the JCCSF. Dorie Greenspan, known for her large sweets repertoire, appeared on Oct. 21 to speak with food writer Kate Leahy about Greenspan’s new book “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes.” On Nov. 5, Michael Twitty will be in conversation with local cookbook author Bryant Terry about Twitty’s “Recipes from the American South.” Twitty is an expert on Southern foodways and has been at the JCCSF before, including for its Juneteenth events. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on the JCCSF website.
Both events are co-sponsored by Noe Valley’s Omnivore Books.