I plan trips to large cities around which restaurants want to visit. I am always on the lookout for new “finds” but I enjoy revisiting my old favorites, too.

    Therein lies the dilemma.

    Do I eat at the place I loved last time, or more likely, the last several times? Or do I knock out another restaurant on my very long culinary to-do list?

    It’s never an easy decision.

    Eating at the proven entity is the safe choice, but some could argue that it’s the smart choice, too. Though if I did nothing but eat at the old standbys I’ve been visiting for years, I’d never have anything new to write about.

    If I venture out to a new place that I read about– or drop in on a restaurant a friend recommended, and has been stored in my got-to-get-to file for several months– I run the risk of wasting one of my limited meal periods on a subpar meal.

    I pondered this as I drove into San Francisco for a business meeting. I have several standbys in this city, yet I only have three available meals. My favorite restaurant here is Gary Danko, but that is out because I didn’t bring a sports coat. No fine dining this time, which is OK because I’ve got reservations at Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller’s casual concept, in Yountville, tonight.

    I definitely wanted Chinese because there isn’t a real, table service Chinese restaurant in my hometown. We have plenty of all-you-can eat Chinese buffets, but they all taste like sauce-out-of-a-can Chinese to me. San Francisco, on the other hand, has some of the best Chinese restaurants in the nation.

    My old go-to Chinese restaurant here is House of Nanking. The food is good, but the experience is even better. There is almost always a line out the door, probably mostly tourists, but once you get in, the show starts. The owner is the pushiest restaurant operator I have ever seen. The waiters, too. They almost force you into ordering what they want you to eat. It’s offensive to some. To me, it”s comical. It is the exact opposite of any acceptable standard-operating-restaurant procedure, but it obviously works for them– there’s always a line out into the street.

    This trip I chose quality over abuse, though I kept it in the family. Fang is operated by the family that owns House of Nanking, but it is nicer, cleaner, in a better location, and no one forces you to eat something you don’t want.

    The pork buns were outstanding, possibly the best example of that dish this side of David Chang’s Momofuku in New York. The steamed dumplings were– without a doubt– the best dumplings I have ever tasted and worth the 12- block walk from my hotel. Actually, I would walk across the Golden Gate barefooted to eat Fang’s dumplings.

    The Mongolian Beef was nothing special, and the Sesame Chicken wasn’t even as good as a Chinese buffet’s back home. But I have found two go-to dishes for my next visit.

    So long, Chinatown. There is no doubt that one of my dining slots on my next trip to this city will be filled with pork buns and steamed dumplings at Fang.

    At breakfast the next morning, I walked across the street from the hotel and ate at an old standby of mine, Sears Fine Foods. Sears is a breakfast joint/diner from the 1930s that has been redecorated, reconcepted, and modernized out of it’s charm. I am sure that I could get a much better breakfast at several places within a two-block radius, but I am on a column deadline, so I have to go with the easiest choice– Swedish Pancakes.

    The pancakes are OK, but nothing to write home about these days. On my first visits to Sears they were good, but I get the feeling they have changed ownership in the last decade and it’s now a tourist hotspot, but it’s quick and dependable.

    I’ll be eating lunch at Barbacco which is a new restaurant on my to-do list. It’s an Italian place that is plugged into the “local foods” scene. At Barbacco I hope to garner a few ideas, gain some inspiration, and peruse the menu to see if there is anything I want to try back home in our new Italian restaurant.

    I eat for a living. Its a tough job, but someone has to chew it.

    Robert St.John is a restaurateur, chef, and author of the newly released “Dispatches From My South.” He can be reached at www.robertstjohn.com.

Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with Seasame Soy Vinaigrette

Six 5-6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup no stick grilling marinade

1 tsp poultry seasoning

2 lbs fresh spinach, cleaned, stems removed

1 cup shredded carrots

? cups shredded red cabbage

1 cup very thinly sliced celery, on bias

1 small cantaloupe, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 recipe Sesame Soy Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

 

    Brush the chicken breasts with the marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Sprinkle the chicken with the poultry seasoning.

    Prepare the grill. Cook the chicken over direct high heat for 10-12 minutes, turning once during the grilling process.

    Remove the chicken from the grill and allow to cool completely.

    Place the cleaned spinach, carrots, cabbage, celery and cantaloupe in a large mixing bowl. Stir the vinaigrette well and pour it over the salad. Toss well and divide onto serving dishes. Slice each chicken breast into 5-6 thin strips and arrange them on the salad. Serve immediately.

    Yield: 6 servings

 

Sesame Soy Vinaigrette

1 Tbl dry mustard

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tbls white vinegar

1 Tbl sesame seed oil

2 cups canola or vegetable oil

 

    Mix together the mustard, sugar, soy sauce and vinegars.  Slowly add the oils using a wire whisk. Refrigerate for 2 hours and stir well before serving.

    Yield: 3 1/2 cups