The Slanted Door - San Francisco

1 Ferry Building, #3
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.861.8032
http://www.slanteddoor.com/

The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in the Ferry Building. It is regarded as one of the most well known Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco and maybe even California or even beyond. The restaurant showcases the abundance of organic produce as well as ecologically farmed meat, game, and poultry found at farms around the San Francisco Bay Area. (Here is a picture taken by Christine, the professional photographer. She captured the San Francisco reflections off of the restaurant's door so well. I think we should sell this to them).The restaurant itself isn't your typical Vietnamese restaurant. Offering sweeping view of the San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge, The Slanted Door is very slick and chic with a modern look. We sat at the communal tables in the back of the restaurant. Normally we would rather sit at our own table or booth, but this time we actually enjoyed sitting with other patrons. We had the pleasure of meeting a couple who are regulars to The Slanted Door and helped us choose our delicious salad and were kind enough to share some of their spring rolls with us. We quickly discovered that they were fellow foodies and spent our lunchtime talking about food, restaurants, and travel. They even offered to give us an intinerary of Italy whenever we get a chance to go there.

Grapefruit & Jicama Salad w/ red cabbage, pickled carrots and candied pecans (9)

Upon the recommendation of the friendly couple, we ordered the grapefruit jicama salad. This salad is simple yet so fresh and delicious. The saltiness of the fish sauce, the sweetness and tartness of the grapefruit, sweetness and crunchiness of the candied pecans, and crunchiness of the jicama went very well togehter. This is a salad that I will definitely attempt to recreate in the future. A very light and fresh way to start off the meal!

Pho Bo - beef noodle soup with Prather Ranch london broil (6)

It was a chilly New Years weekend in San Francisco so we had to warm our bodies with some Pho. We were also curious how it would compare to our pho restaurants in Southern California. You know the restaurant is fancy when the waiter comes out with the bean sprouts, lime, basil and says "Here are your AROMATICS." We both looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking: "Did he just say AROMATICS?"

The pho itself was a good version. The broth was not quite as flavorful as I would have liked. The meat was high quality but I wish they would have used filet mignon like some of the Southern California restaurants. The pho noodles were quite fresh but they were disproportionate to the limited amount of broth. Overall, a good version of it but not quite what I was expecting because of my high expectations.

Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio - Grilled Lemongrass Pork over rice vermicelli noodles with imperial rolls, cucumber, lettuce, and mint (12)

The Slanted Door's version of bun thit nuong was a good one, but nothing above and beyond any other bun thit nuong that I have had at any other Vietnamese restaurant for less than half the price. I must say, though, that the egg rolls had an excellent crisp and good filling ratio.

We enjoyed our meal at The Slanted Door, but with high expectations going into the meal, it was a bar that we set too high. Reflecting back on our meal at The Slanted Door, we didn't do the restaurant justice by ordering the items that we did. Since it was a lunch, we had wanted to eat light. To really appreciate The Slanted Door, one must order the more specialty items where the organic produce and farmed meats can really shine. Maybe on the next visit...