State Bird Provisions

Cuisine	American (New)
Price	$$$$ (51-100)
Rating	9/10
Last Visit	Sept. 11, 2021
Location	SFBA: San Francisco: West

---

General Notes

---

Possibly the best restaurant that I've been to in San Francisco (at least as of September 2021). The food here is incredibly vibrant and inventive. Apparently, during pre-covid times dishes were served dim-sum style. Now the food is served a-la-carte in small, sharable plates. Find some occasion and try it for yourself. It's a bit pricey but well worth the experience.

---

Positives

---

> The dishes here are incredibly vibrant. Each dish incorporates the perfect amount of acidity to keep things well-balanced, and the herbs are remarkably fresh. You can really taste the difference in the herbs.
> They emphasize seasonal ingredients -- you can tell by the produce on the menu. Apparently they switch up their menu frequently, even daily.
> You can order many of their dishes as half orders , such as the corn mochi or mint ice cream sandwich. Some of their dishes you can even order per piece, such as the oysters or pancakes. And the price is actually halved / scaled accordingly! Great if you're dining solo or with a small group and want to try as many things as possible. All the dishes themselves are already structured as sharable small plates.
> As a solo diner especially (but also as a party of two), the bar seats are wonderful. Two of the bar seats have a perfect view of all the action in the kitchen.
> A majority of the dishes are actualy vegetarian.

---

Dishes Tasted

---

• ★★★★ Mint "Ice Cream" Sandwich -- poppyseed macaron, gravenstein & pink pearl apples, pumpkin seeds. The quotes around "ice cream" comes from the fact that they add extra egg yolk to their ice cream, giving it a denser and richer texture, more like a zabayon. It was delightful and you can definitely taste the difference! The combination of mint, cream, and grainy seeds like poppyseed and pumpkin seed somehow works beautifully. A delicious and surprisingly refreshing dessert.
• ★★★☆ State Bird w/ Provisions -- "Provisions" entails pickled onions and parmigiano reggiano. I like how the breading is a bit crunchier than your typical fried chicken breading. The cook of the quail was perfect -- it was so tender inside. The bones make it slightly frustrating to eat, but otherwise an excellent dish.
• ★★★★ Corn Mochi -- Goat gouda, fresno chile & cilantro. By far the best dish of the night and possibly one of the best dishes I've had, period. The combination of flavors was vibrant and bright (vaguely reminiscent of Mexican street corn). The corn puree and black sauce (no clue what was in it) brought everything together perfectly. And the texture of the mochi -- chewy throughout and lightly crispy on the outside.
• ★★★★ Whole Grain Fiscalini Cheddar Pancakes -- with tomato and basil. Intense flavor, delightful texture.
• ★★★★ Sourdough Sauerkraut Pecorino & Ricotta Pancakes -- Served with dehydrated sauerkraut. Intense flavor, delightful texture.
• ★★☆☆ Black Sesame Duck Confit Dumpling -- I like the crispy exterior, but the wrapper was a bit too thick and doughy. The filling is decent but a bit bland and the dish lacks any sense of duck flavor.
• ★★★★ Heirloom Tomato Salad -- Pickled honshimeji, heart of palm, cucumber, peanuts, makrut lime. An incredibly refreshing, vibrant dish. What stood out the most was how strong the basil was. You can really taste the difference in how thoughtfully they handle their herbs. The peanut was a little weird at first, but it worked beautifully.