Side A Is the Mission District’s New Must-Visit Restaurant
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Say hey to Side A, the shiny new restaurant that debuted in May in the old Universal Cafe space in the Mission District. Opened by a husband-and-wife duo, the modern bistro serves up hearty portions of comforting fare with finesse.
“Side A is me getting back to my actual relationship with food, which is about sustenance,” says chef Parker Brown, who spent much of his career in fine dining. “We’re not putting microgreens on food. There’s potentially too much food for you to eat, and that’s okay with us.”
And as much as Side A is about the food, it’s also all about the music, which is curated by Caroline Brown, who has spent her career in music. Below is a rundown of everything you need to know about the new Mission hot spot.
Meet the Browns.
Prior to coming to San Francisco, Parker Brown lived in Chicago, where he cooked under the great Erick Williams at mk restaurant and was also the sous chef at Cindy’s Rooftop. Brown eventually found a home with the Mina Group, which was the catalyst to move to the West Coast “I had lived in Chicago my whole life,” says Brown. “It was time for a change.”
Here, he helped open International Smoke and eventually became the sous chef at the flagship Michael Mina before moving on to open Palette, which then became the (now shuttered) sea-centric Michelin-starred Aphotic, where he was the chef de cuisine.
Caroline also hails from Chicago and met Parker at a food event. “I would say it was love at first sight,” she says. Her background is in music — she attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music and worked at Superfly, where she helped curate Outside Lands.
The food is unlike anything in San Francisco.
You’ll want to bring your appetite and your stretchy pants. Parker’s food is big on flavor and big on portions. “We’re here to feed people,” he says.
Starters are as large as most restaurant entrees and entrees will leave you with leftovers. Case in point: The “Garbage Salad” features little gems and chicories dressed in a creamy red wine vinaigrette, pickled beans for tartness, oven dried tomatoes for umami, candied pecans for sweetness and crunch, a soft boiled egg and crispy pork belly confit for protein (the best crouton ever?). This is our kind of salad.
The chicken cutlet is the size of your face: It features a pounded breast brined in buttermilk that is breaded in panko and cornflakes before being deep-fried. It’s served with braised chicories tossed in a pan sauce made with chicken jus and honey mustard “Big kid food elevated is where my bread is leading me,” says Parker. “What does the inner child want? Chicken fingers with honey mustard.” Brilliant.
But perhaps his piece de resistance is the gnocchi. It’s Parisian style, made with a rich pastry dough base. The gnocchi are seared in brown butter and tossed with braised short rib, topped with local goat cheese and housemade giardiniera — and is 100% inspired by the famed Italian beef from Chicago.
Save room for dessert. The carrot cake is the best version I’ve ever had. It’s based off a version he learned from pastry chef Lisa Bonjour when they were at mk together. (It is also a cake he made for Caroline for her birthday the first year they started dating.)
The music is more than a listening lounge.
Side A applies the listening lounge concept you see at many high-end cocktail bars and brings that focus to a restaurant space.
“When we went to Japan for three weeks before we opened, we went to five or six listening bars per night to really understand where the whole concept originated and get inspired,” says Caroline. “Japan is the epicenter — the best experiences we had is when the owner was the DJ and the bartender. It truly felt like you were stepping into someone’s home.”
As such, you can find Caroline multiple nights a week behind the DJ booth spinning from their collection of 1,000+ records they’ve been collecting over the last few years.
“We prioritize hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk, modern pop rock, and alternative,” says Caroline. “I also have a bunch of house, disco, world, and reggae.” There’s a little something for everyone, it seems.
Brown also brings in DJs on Fridays and Saturdays to spin.
“Music is as much a part of our story as food,” says Caroline.
Music is as much a part of our story as food.— Caroline Brown
Pro tip: Coffee and doughnuts during the day.
In a brilliant business move, the restaurant acts as a coffee shop during the day thanks in part to a collaboration with the Coffee Movement.
“When we were on the trip in Japan and seeing how businesses operate there, I called our restaurant broker to connect us with a coffee shop, because our space needed to be active during the day. Bryan from Coffee Movement came for a walk-through, and the rest is history,” says Brown.
And what pairs best with coffee? Doughnuts, of course. Side A offers freshly fried chocolate and lemon glazed versions to go alongside your brew. There’s also a soft serve made with their coffee, too, for when it’s hot out.
The café operating hours are 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday.
And last but not least: Collaboration is key.
The Browns were very intentional in all aspects of their brand and design, tapping the right people to help. The 70s Motown logo? It was designed by the one and only Benny Gold, San Francisco’s favorite skater-turned-designer.
“I’ve been following him for a while. I knew how important he was to the city. I also know he’s a pro at what he does,” says Caroline. After talking, he let us know he was a huge record-head; it was totally in sync with what we were looking for.”
Then there’s Will Sperry of Good Question, who helped source the “new-fi” hi-fi speakers from Tubs Audio out of New Zealand.
And last but not least, there’s architect, designers, and metal fabricator Jim Skånberg, whose studio 280 West helped build the shiny metal DJ booth, chairs and stools, and more.
It takes a village.
Omar Mamoon is a San Francisco-based freelance writer and cookie dough professional. Follow him on Instagram.
