50 Best New U.S. Restaurants

San Francisco: Spruce

Plundering the appetizer menu is also a smart move at Spruce, a masculine chocolate-colored boîte in Presidio Heights where neighborhood swells wash down grilled bavette steak and sinful duck fat–fried potatoes with big-ticket Cabs with prerecession abandon. Among the many reasons to love Spruce are a deep, serious Riesling list; chef Mark Sullivan’s awesome house-made charcuterie; and his knack for sneaking hyper-boutique bitterish greens even into meatier dishes like bacon-bolstered sweetbreads lyonnaise. Allowing guests to order the full affordable bar menu—great burgers and boudin blanc—in the fancy main room is a welcome populist gesture. Dinner for two $110.