While we love cooking as much as the next family, sometimes we need a break from the kitchen—and so we visit some of our favorite Bay Area restaurants that are dedicated to delicious cuisine, incredible service, and, of course, humanely raised pastured meats like our very own Rossotti Ranch veal. This list is by no means all-inclusive, but it’s a good place to start for some of our absolute favorites.
Perbacco—Innovative Italian in the Heart of the Bay Area
One of our longest standing customers, supporters, and friends has been Staffan Terje at Perbacco. Perbacco, a one of the most innovative and delicious Italian restaurants in the Bay Area, if not the country, has been using Rossotti Ranch veal for many years.
One of our favorite recent dishes is the Bollito Di Vitellone—Chef Terje used the brisket, neck and filetto from one of our calves, and simmered them in broth and served with long cooked brown butter carrots and a truffle salsa verde. So delicious! As our restaurant customers usually bring in whole or half calves, they often come up with innovate ways to utilize all parts of the animal. One of the reasons why we love traditional Piedmontese cuisine is that it truly lends itself to these sorts of resourceful dishes.
One Market: A Bay Area Classic for Over 25 years
Another uber-loyal restaurant supporter of ours is One Market. Chef Mark Dommen has been featuring our veal (and goat!) in numerous appetizers and entrees on the dinner menu, as a featured part of special events like the annual Dress for Success gala, and in their regular series of Whole Beast dinners. We love One Market’s long, 25-year history in San Francisco, its comfortable dining room and convenient location right next to the Ferry Plaza, the staff’s dedication to professional, yet warmly welcoming service.
Alto Vino—One of the Bay Area’s Hottest New Restaurants
This charming, Italian-inspired wine bar and bistro in North Beach, Alto Vino, is brand-spanking new, but already proves to be one of the hottest tickets in town! We’ve been so excited to try Chef Nick Kelly’s delightful dishes, especially the recent Raviolo Doppio: beautiful handmade pasta stuffed with red wine braised veal and house made ricotta, spinach, Meyer lemon zest. It was served with springy peas and pea leaves in a veal/whey brodo—delicious! And perfect for spring, we might add. We simply cannot wait to see what they come up with next.
Gwen LA—Worth a Trip Next Time You Leave the Bay Area!
Even though this post is about our favorite Bay Area restaurants, we can’t help but include mention of another one of our loyal customer favorites down south—GwenLA Butcher Shop and Restaurant is a stunning mecca for whole animal, fire-based cooking, with a butcher shop, a la carte menu, and 10-course tasting options available in a variety of settings. We like sitting up at the elegant yet comfortable bar, or finding a sunny spot on the patio, to tuck into some charcuterie, crudo, or pasta. GwenLA has only been open for a couple short years, but it is already considered a national destination for “primal elegance.” Make sure to look them up next time you are in Southern California!
This list is just a tiny sampling of some of our favorite Bay Area (and beyond!) restaurants that are as dedicated to humane, pasture raised veal as we are. We couldn’t do what we do every day without their support, so we hope that this post encourages you to give them a try next time you are looking for a fabulous night on the town! Let us know if you have any favorites that didn’t make our list this time, and we will be sure to include them in a future roundup.
