Trevor Felch
The Slanted Door's Spicy Broccoli and Tofu
The Slanted Door certainly isn’t a hole in the wall hidden gem like in its early Valencia Street days, when that thoroughfare was definitely not one of San Francisco’s “it” spots for nightlife. After all, Charles Phan’s Ferry Building flagship was recently named by
Restaurants & Institutions as
the top grossing restaurant ($16.5 million a year!) in the Bay Area and 22nd in the country.
However, the restaurant’s significant roster of vegetarian dishes still does manage to fly under the radar amidst the much-written about standards like the claypot chicken and shaking beef. For a tourist or local diner, a vegetarian or meat lover diet, the meat-free selections could easily complete one of the premier vegetarian meals in town.
And trust me, any vegetarian meal here will have broccoli and tofu as a headliner. My waitress kept imploring me to get it and I grudgingly did. What a recommendation. Yes, that’s a usually mundane pairing that sounds as exciting as sitting in Bay Bridge traffic at 5 p.m., but leave it to Phan to give this pair startling life. The spicy Catalan Farm broccoli (from near Hollister) and braised Hodo soy tofu's ($11) centerpiece is the florets of steamed broccoli that strike as meaty and juicy, with a surprisingly sweet outer crust that nicely contrasts with the oncoming spice.
Kimchi admirers will recognize the similar red pepper paste that gives a pleasant coating and zip to the dish that rises bite by bite, especially for the tofu that absorbs much of it. The clincher are the lion’s mane mushrooms that look like cauliflower ends, arriving rubbery, in a good way, with a slight chew and slight crunch, tasting strongly of a earthy forest to play off the spice and sweetness around them. I’d call chanterelle mushrooms the closest comparison to them. There are a lot of texture and flavor profiles exchanges going on in the dish with a hefty dose of funk, so each bite is a quirky adventure. Broccoli and tofu becoming an adventure? You bet.
The vegetarian hits don’t end there. Refreshing spring rolls ($12) feature more of that tofu and the umami jolt of shiitake mushrooms sharing tidy space with fragrant mint, cool vermicelli noodles, and the crunch of cabbage, all wrapped in translucent rice paper. Diners then dip the roll in a peanut sauce that balances sugar and nuts so well that I’d buy a jar of it for a an advanced version of PB&J sandwiches.
Other vegetarian dishes to keep an eye on include the fried kabocha squash with a sweet though not cloying palm sugar and lime caramel sauce, and the pleasantly funky green papaya salad. Be mindful that about half of the “vegetables” in that section of the menu include meat. My advice from experience: ask questions and sample. The restaurant is extremely welcoming about ordering dishes in half portions. Do it. Four spring rolls, a half spicy broccoli and tofu and a half papaya salad, and then you’ll be dancing down the Embarcadero.
My other tip for this busy restaurant is to come solo or as a pair and share a bunch of dishes at the bar. I'd say it's better than spending the money for a prime reservation on a site
like Table 8. Besides, it’s fun to watch the bartenders make top flight Erik Adkins-designed drinks. Nearby sibling Hard Water gets the beverage attention but the cocktails here are of the same caliber — with much more space to stretch. Maybe get another drink since you didn’t spend the $25 on a reservation site.
The Slanted Door continues to be a city legend since opening in the Mission way back in 1995. They definitely deserve the major praise if they can make broccoli and tofu as riveting as the Bay Bridge light show out the window.
1 Ferry Plaza, Bldg 3; 861-8032.