Major League Baseball’s Most Restaurant-Obsessed Player Shares His Top Meals of All Time

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Canha has a penchant for fine dining and his absolute favorite restaurant come from chef Dominique Crenn. “I think she is so inspiring, and she’s such an empowering chef and entrepreneur who’s also battled cancer,” he says. “She has to be at the top of the list.”

He appreciates the attention to detail that she puts into her food, and how each menu is written as a poem. “It’s so creative and so beautifully epic. You go from plate to plate and each dish is amazing, and you’re having one of the best dinners you’ve ever had in your life.”

He adds, “Their pastry chef [Juan Contreras] is maybe one of the best in the country. I had a coconut chocolate dessert there once, and it was the perfect dessert, in my opinion.”

Sometimes, kindness creates indelible memories for a restaurant experience. In 2017, Canha found himself in New York for a wild card playoff game along with his wife, Marci, and their nine-month-old daughter. Without a babysitter, they all took the subway down to the NoMad, albeit hesitantly.

“We were really unsure — it’s not a place where you bring a baby, but they were just so nice about it. All the servers and managers were coming up to us, and saying how cute our baby was, and they were playing with her, and they were just so over-the-top cool about it. I thought it was the nicest thing ever that they catered to us so much. When you have kids and people are nice to your family, it’s just the best. It’s a very special memory for me.”

 

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Canha often goes to this Sardinian restaurant with family friends, and every time, he’s been blown away by the experience. “You can smell the food from the kitchen as soon as you walk in, and it’s just so good. It’s very homey. I think it’s the best Italian restaurant in the U.S. that I have ever been to — so classic and so delicious, but also casual, so it’s very much a neighborhood restaurant in Noe Valley.” His go-to dishes at La Ciccia are the baby octopus stew in a spicy tomato sauce; the burrata with arugula, anchovies, and a truffle dressing; and the pasta cruzza cun arrizonis, a fusilli pasta with sea urchin, tomato, and grated tuna heart.

Note: Earlier this year, La Ciccia was sold to new owners.

“The food stands alone as some of the best,” says Canha. “It’s right up there with Atelier Crenn.” One thing he remembers most from his meal here is the housemade kombucha served after the last of the entrees. “It’s helping you digest the food and it’s also so delicious. I thought that was just so cool.”

 

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“This one was a recommendation from my agent,” Canha says. “I haven’t really found a good sushi restaurant that I love in San Francisco, so this one became our favorite sushi restaurant.”

“The French Laundry is just one of those once-in-a-lifetime restaurants,” Canha says. “I tell everyone you gotta eat there once at least, just to try and experience everything that it is.” Canha first ate there during his rookie year in the off season — the first year he and his wife both lived in San Francisco — when they celebrated her birthday. “Everything is as advertised: the service, the food, the white truffle risotto, it’s all so delicious. That was our first three-Michelin-star restaurant we have ever eaten at.”

Risotto holds a special place in Canha’s memories — it was one of the first dishes he remembers distinctly that changed his perception of how good food could be, thanks to his father, a hardware technology salesman who traveled often for work and would cook his favorite dishes from his trips. “I remember the first time he made risotto and I remember thinking it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten in my life,” Canha says.

 

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Canha has only eaten at Canlis once, but it was chef Aisha Ibrahim’s eggplant zurita, a dish that her mother cooked for her, that convinced him “it’s probably the best restaurant in Seattle.”

“The moment you bite into it, you understand she put so much work into this dish,” he says. “It was so delicately done. It reminded me of a frittata but the best one you’ve ever had. I’m such a big fan of her cooking. It’s such a delicious gourmet meal but I felt like I was eating inside someone’s home. It’s like the fanciest comfort food you’ll ever eat.”

Both Canha’s former Oakland A’s manager and the maître d’ of The French Laundry recommended he check out this sleek spot in Denver where the best seat in the house is at the chef’s counter. “I think they had my favorite caviar service ever,” says Canha. “They serve it with crème fraiche, chives, and lemon, but they also have these savory sourdough doughnuts that are piping hot and crispy on the outside and super soft and airy on the inside. I can still taste it — they were so good.”

Canha and his wife both still reminisce about the apricot galette they both shared here: “It was one of our favorite desserts we’ve ever had,” he says. Alice Waters’ farm-to-table influence, he adds, is very strong here: “Her food is so simple, straightforward, and so good, and so seasonal — it speaks for itself.”

“It doesn’t look fancy at all but when you walk through the door, you’re in the cutest courtyard with all this natural light and they have a projector and a big wall on the side of the building where they play movies at night — it’s such a cool concept.” He says his wife, Marci, thinks Foreign Cinema has the best asparagus dish ever. “They do such a good job of making simple vegetable dishes taste good.”

So, does Alinea live up to the hype? Canha says yes. “It’s like if Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory was a Michelin-starred restaurant.”

 

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Canha loves grabbing steamy bowls of soup here whenever he’s in Seattle. “You’re in Seattle, and it’s usually cold and kind of rainy but it’s the perfect little spot because you can warm up with a nice bowl of soup that’s so delicate and delicious, and also rich.”

Canha’s go-to order at this San Francisco favorite is the housemade Spam musubi.

Note: Liholiho Yacht Club is temporarily closed but will reopen soon this fall.

This is one of Canha’s favorite Chicago restaurants. While it excels in excellent cocktails, from micheladas to margaritas, there’s one dish in particular that he’d go back for: the tuetano con sabores de caldo made with roasted bone marrow, short ribs, and a homemade flour tortilla. “You just get the meat off the skewer, and you scrape the marrow into a tortilla and make yourself the most delicious burrito. It just blew my mind — it’s so cool and so creative.”

 

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In San Francisco, Canha and his family lived down the street from this sunny café that specializes in matcha (as the name suggests) as well as a variety of Japanese dishes, from chicken katsu curry to tamago sandos. While he’s partial to the matcha-filled pastries, his go-to order is the matchasuke: a bowl of koshihikari rice with salmon that’s perfectly poached in a dashi matcha broth that reminds him of a rice porridge dish he had when he went to Japan for the first time in 2019. “The broth is so good,” he says. “I could eat it every day at least for one meal.”

The exceptional quality of the sushi omakase at this Seattle mainstay is worth seeking out, but for Canha, it’s chef-owner Shiro Kashiba who really won him over. “He walks around to every table and he stopped by my table twice when I was eating there by myself, just to ask how I was doing. He’s there every night, and he comes to every table and he’s cleaning them, too; he’s not just a figurehead.”

 

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The first thing that struck Canha when he stepped into this Manhattan Financial District restaurant was the massive open kitchen. “I remember going there and asking my server what the deal was with the kitchen — it’s right there, and you can see all the action in the restaurant, and they have an almost military-like vibe in the kitchen where everyone is in union with the chef’s orders. It’s such a well-oiled machine in the kitchen, and it’s all kind of out on display for you.” Standouts included the cocktails, and the pull-apart olive oil bread from pastry chef Renata Ameni.

Canha loves this crowd-pleasing, well-balanced spot from chef Stephanie Izard because it’s got something for everyone, from his wife to his own dad and his father-in-law, as well as his kids. One of the most memorable dishes he’s had there? The wood oven roasted pig face, a play on Filipino sisig, served over crispy potatoes and a sunnyside egg, topped with cilantro, tamarind, and a red wine-maple sauce.

 

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“Just get a loaf of bread,” Canha advises. “You can get anything from Tartine, and it’s going to be good; it’s some of the best bread in the world, and the best bread in the country.” For Canha, Tartine’s broccoli rabe and turkey sandwich made with country-style bread is always on order. “It’s just amazing; it’s my favorite sandwich in the world.”

Another San Francisco bakery Canha recommends highly is Jane the Bakery, and it’s specifically for their sourdough bread — a San Francisco specialty that they’ve perfected. “Their sourdough bread is the best there is in San Francisco, and when you think of San Francisco, you think of sourdough.”

“I love eating noodles; it’s comfort food for me, especially on a cold San Francisco day,” Canha says of this homey spot near North Beach, on the edge of San Francisco’s Chinatown, located at 925 Kearny Street. “I just have a great memory here when we hung out there with our friends and went to MoMa, and then went here and had noodles.”

Whenever Canha played against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he’d make it a point to come to this sustainable fish market to order a fish burrito made with panko-crusted white fish. “The fish here is just so fresh, and you can taste it. In the fish burrito, they put a tartar sauce on that’s very limey and acidic, and it’s just so delicious.”

“I love the story of the chef [Cristina Martínez],” says Canha, who watched her Chef’s Table episode on Netflix. “It’s such a good story of an immigrant chef wo has carved out this niche in Philadelphia.” Martínez, he says, makes “the best barbacoa I’ve ever had in my life. It’s just special.” He adds, “If there were no financial or time constraints, I’m taking a helicopter there.”

When Canha is back in the Bay Area, he loves getting garlic noodles and any seafood he can get his hands on from chef Edward Wooley, Dungeness crab included.

Canha’s go-to order at this oyster bar with multiple locations throughout the city is the moqueca, a Brazilian shellfish stew made with coconut milk, tomatoes, jalapeno, clams, mussels, and shrimp, served over rice.

 

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When Canha lived in San Francisco’s Mission District, he and his family loved going to this neighborhood spot for their pasta (“always perfectly al dente”) and pizza (his wife is fond of the cherry pie with marinated cherry tomatoes from the pizzeria next door). “It’s one of those great Mission restaurants.”

Although Catch has a reputation for being a place to see and be seen, Canha says he was surprised by just how good the food was when he dined there with his agent, shortly after signing with the New York Mets. They shared a seafood tower and some sashimi, but what Canha recalls most is what happened during the dinner, a true full-circle moment.

“We get a call in the middle of dinner, and they said I passed my physical, and so I hugged my agent — I just signed the best contract I’d ever signed, and I was super excited to be in New York, and next to our table were six members of the San Jose Sharks — they were in town to play the Rangers,” Canha remembers. “I’m from San Jose and a huge Sharks fan so I was totally fanboying out. It was just such a special night.”

This is Canha’s favorite spot in the Bay Area for a solo meal — a place he’d often go to by himself in the off season, and in 2016, when he was rehabilitating from a season-ending injury, taking the long way home from Berkeley and making sure to stop here for their seafood stew and a pint of beer, of their Saigon salmon sandwich, made in the style of a banh mi. “It’s like Bay Area heaven,” he says.

This vegan restaurant from Eric Tucker has made a lasting impression on Canha. “The chef loves to create these bold flavors that kind of punch you in the face, in the best way.” He recalls the mac and cheese with tempeh bacon (“the tempeh bacon was better than any bacon I’ve ever eaten in my life”), and adds, “My mind is always blown whenever I go there.”

When Canha heads to this bakery in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood he’s there for one thing only: the incredible almond croissant, which he found out about from a childhood friend of his who’s now a Brooklynite. “Last year when I went to New York, and I was there with the A’s I had an off day, and I went to this spot and had an almond croissant and a cup of coffee and it was just amazing. It’s been a while since I’ve been to France or Paris, but this was a pretty darn good croissant.”

 

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When Canha and his family are based in Scottsdale, Ariz. for spring training, he’ll make the drive to Phoenix just to get a meal from this Thai street food specialist.

Longtime French Laundry general manager Michael Minnillo recommended this restaurant to Canha, who took his teammates from the A’s there for a dinner last year. And even though they dined out in the cold — indoor dining was prohibited at the time — he said the piping hot rack of lamb kept him warm, and well fed. “Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a nice, fancy, delicious, gourmet meal and this place just checked that box for me,” Canha says. “You don’t get those types of nights that often during the season, and I think the boys liked it.”

 

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Minneapolis wouldn’t be the first place that comes to mind for lobster rolls, but Canha says this spot has a solid one, and the vibe makes it all the more special. “You wouldn’t expect this in Minneapolis but it’s this great little oasis for seafood and I just really appreciate it. When I go back there, I always try to go there and get lunch before the game — it’s a great place to go to before you go to a Twins game.”

Cala was a favorite date night spot for Canha and his wife in San Francisco, and he says he hasn’t stopped thinking about one dish in particular: Cala’s roasted sweet potato with bone marrow salsa negra. “It’s such a rustic, good dish, and that salsa is so rich and creamy; it’s a badass dish.”

Stone Brewing is known for its beer, but Canha says that should you happen to find yourself in San Diego, do not sleep on their burger — which might even be better than his favorite hometown burger in San Francisco at the Wayfare Tavern. “I had this burger there and started eating it and it shocked me,” he remembers. “There was nothing gimmicky about it — there were no crazy ingredients. Just a burger with a great bun, and cheese.”

 

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When Canha played for the A’s and found himself staying in Midtown, he loved going to Ess-A-Bagel for a nova lox bagel sandwich with the works (cucumber, tomato, red onion). “I went there several years ago during my rookie year and though it was a damn good bagel, and it became my go-to bagel place in New York,” he says.

This is the only Momofuku restaurant Canha has been to, and it’s a unique one at that, comprising a Momofuku Noodle Bar, a contemporary grill called Kojin, and a Milk Bar, and it’s one of Canha’s favorite places to go to whenever he’s playing a game in Toronto. “It’s my old reliable — who doesn’t love eating noodles?”

This find was a spot Canha researched on Withlocals and it won him over with its food and atmosphere. “This is a cool little Saint Louis spot that’s not barbecue — it’s got upscale, fancy food, but it’s not pretentious, and the staff was just so friendly; it’s a real neighborhood spot,” he says. Canha had a memorable beef tenderloin and polenta when he visited.

 

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Speaking of barbecue, this family-owned spot is one of Canha’s favorites for their brisket. Canha’s cousin, who lives in Coppell, took him here when Canha was playing against the Texas Rangers, and he still remembers the smoke flavor that lingered on the meats here. “It’s just good, old-fashioned Texas barbecue, and they do it really well.”

And should you find yourself in Kansas City, Canha says this is one of his favorite places to go to in Kansas City, and it’s best paired with a visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “Last year, I went to the museum for a second time, and they organized a private tour for the six of us, and it’s such a cool experience — and afterward, we went to Arthur Bryant’s a couple blocks away.” He loves ordering the ribs here.