The February Hit List: Automat, Good Good Culture Club, Copas, and More

Chefs Matthew Kirk and David Barzelay have opened up Automat, and it’s all that. During the day, there are all sorts of interesting sandwiches, such as the breakfast sandwich served with herbed pimento cheese, sausage, and an “omelette” egg on toasted wondermat bread, as well as spicy fried chicken sandwiches served in between a fluffy housemade milk bun.

Sometimes we don’t supper well enough in SF — allow Brenda’s Meat & Three to help fix that. Choose a meat, perhaps some blackened catfish with chipotle remoulade, and three sides: red beans and rice, maybe some cornbread, and fried okra could be nice. But the choice is yours, of course.

Sofrito Baked Eggs, Cochinita Pibil, rollies aka housemade flour tortillas, smoked brisket, pinto beans, and scrambled eggs — and so much more — all can be yours for brunch at Copas on Market in The Castro.

Good ol’ La Taqueria is truly one of our favorites in The City, where since 1973 the Jara family has been consistently serving up San Franciscans and visitors alike burritos and tacos packed with flavorful carne asada.

As the name implies, we’re not sure if there’s a better place to eat this month than Lovely’s, where you’ll find burgers made with grass-fed beef that’s ground in-house, daily. Even the great San Francisco Chronicle critic Soleil Ho co-signs.

Chefs Ravi Kapur, Brett Shaw, and team are keeping the spirit alive in The Mission with their latest: Good Good Culture Club. You’ll find an exciting large menu to savor, including poppyseed steam buns, halibut crudo, housemade red curry, and so much more.

Chef Seth Stowaway’s long-awaited, live-fire tasting menu restaurant Osito has finally opened. The menu changes seasonally, but this month will be seafood-centric and feature dishes like Bay shrimp with fermented honey, walnut milk and fat; geoduck with olive, daikon, burnt orange, and pistachio; and crispy cod skin with kiwi and jalapeño-smoked cod cream.

Not to overstate things, but a seared tuna crudo could be genius. Add tahini puffed wild rice, salsa verde, and shiso to the mix and that’s a nice starter. And a Dungeness crab gemelli with jalapeño, Meyer lemon, fines herbs, and breadcrumbs for a main course sounds delightful.

There are fewer things better than brunch at NOPA. The custard French toast lives with us forever. As will dinner before or after a show at The Independent.

Phone 415-864-8643 for reservations.

We’re not trying to be cheesy, but nothing says “I love you” more than pizza, and a pinsa isn’t far off. When in Rome, as they say. Consider the special three-course Valentine’s Day dinner menu with an optional (but highly recommended) wine pairing.