Best Meal Ever: Our SF 30-Under-30 Honorees Share Their Favorite Bites

Eric Railsback(left) and Fred Tang(right), two SF 30-Under 30 Honorees

By Kelly Dobkin

Our party to honor our 30-Under-30 in San Fran last night at Wo Hing General Store was quite the rager, but between sips, we still managed to sneak a few words in with some of the honorees. Building on a post we did a few weeks back in which we asked chef and industry folks to share their Best Meals Ever, we thought we'd turn the question over to our 30-Under-30 San Fran. Check out their answers below and click here to vote for your favorite restaurants in our current San Francisco Restaurant Survey!

Nicole Erny's Best Meal Ever: "On shift at The Trappist in Oakland where I used to work, I grabbed dinner from Tamarindo next door. I had these special Mexican crepes with portobello mushrooms and had this delicious poblano corn cream. I paired them with St. Bernardus Prior 8 (beer). It was one of those long nights and I finally had a break and I sat on the floor on the corner behind the bar. It was such a great pairing that one-by-one I took all of my co-workers back so they could taste it. It was a sublime experience in an unlikely place."

Francis Ang's Best Meal Ever: "It was either at Manresa or Commonwealth. At Manresa, get the tidal pool - an incredible dashi with foie gras and delicious uni. Commonwealth - well, I would say the whole menu is awesome. Get everything."

Eric Railsback's Best Meal Ever: "In Corsica, I had lunch with a winemaker and had just raw shellfish cooked up with some sausage, mussels a la plancha, etc. When you're dining in a vineyard you don't have to overdo and over-think the ingredients."

Randy Lutz's Best Meal Ever: "At Benu about six months ago, it was unbelievable. Before that it was the Fifth Floor when Laurent Gras was there. As we progress we develop new ideals and our taste buds can expand a little bit."

Aaron London's Best Meal Ever: "Hands down it was at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I've eaten there a ton of times and the last time I ate there the meal totally annihilated me. They were dropping plates from left and right. I loved it because it was really heartfelt food."