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Good Morning, Vietnam
August 4, 2008

Chili's founder Larry Lavine asked me a few years ago where I was traveling to that week. San Francisco, I told him. He asked if I had been to The Slanted Door. I told him that I hadn't, and Larry gave me a short talk on how disappointed he was with me not keeping up with the hotter concepts in the country. This Vietnamese concept, he said, was one of his favorite concepts at the time. He told me to go, and then call him when I got back in town so that he could relive the experience. Of course I went, and it quickly became one of my favorite restaurants. The Slanted Door has a way of making people passionate about it.
 
I have been back to The Slanted Door many times over the years, watching it move from its original location on Valencia Street to its current location in the Ferry Building overlooking the Bay. Last week I had the good fortune to have dinner at the bar, since the dining room was going to be fully booked until closing. Not bad for a Monday night.
 
One of the more interesting things about the concept, in addition to really, really good food, is its approach to ingredient sourcing. The Slanted Door describes itself as modern Vietnamese. In this case, modern refers to founder and executive chef Charles Phan's ability to rework the traditional flavors of a classic Vietnamese dish with local ingredients geared for western palates.
 
Most high end Asian concepts in the U.S., whether they are Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, or other, focus on presenting a fine-dining version of street foods, or everyday fare. The usual attempt is to feature the chef-prepared cuisine in an upscale environment. The Slanted Door, while upscale, marches to a different drummer when it comes to its ingredients. 
 
The restaurant is a showcase for the abundance of organic produce, as well as ecologically farmed meat, game and poultry, found at farms and ranches around the San Francisco Bay area. The menu is a virtual shopping list for some of the best ingredients that can be found in the region. 

• Catalan Farm chickpeas, summer squash, and broccoli 
• Prather Ranch beef carpaccio 
• Niman Ranch beef and pork spareribs 
• Range Brothers berkshire pork chops 
• Meyer Ranch rib-eye steak 
• Anderson Ranch lamb sirloin 
• Allstar Organics erbette chard, and sweet yellow snow peas 
• Star Route Farm spinach 
• Dirty Girl Farm haricot verts 
• Massa Organics brown rice

The wine offerings are the perfect partner to the food. Whatever tastes good with the food stays on the list. The wine list is heavy on German and Austrian Rieslings. 21 to be exact. "Our wine list features estates that grow their grapes organically or biodynamically."
 
Bars in most restaurants, Asian restaurants included, usually are there as an amenity to the guest, and don't try to complicate things by trying to pair with the food. Not so at The Slanted Door. 

"The challenge has been to find products that compliment the established wine and food programs. Interestingly, the style of cocktail that seems to work best at The Slanted Door resembles the wines; cocktails that are bright and crisp - balanced by a touch of sweetness. Like the kitchen, the bar at The Slanted Door uses the freshest ingredients and, whenever possible, organic ones. We feature small producers dedicated to quality rather than promotion and advertising." 

13 years after opening in the original location, The Slanted Door has reached a place of honor in a city known for its food. Its $12 million in annual sales is a testament to the power of local sourcing, organics, and reaching for the culinary stars.
 
 

Posted by Lane Cardwell on August 4, 2008 | Comments (3)