State Bird Provisions, San Francisco - 12/15/2022

State Bird provisions opened in 2011 to a tidal and wave of acclaim success as best New restaurant from the James Beard Foundation and Bon Appetit and a 1 star Michelin came in 2013. 11 years later, there is still a huge line of about 60 people waiting to get in when the doors open at 5:30Pm.

It took me a month to get a reservation for 2 people and I could not even get it on the weekend so I have to settle for a Thursday reservation at 5:30Pm. That is simply madness!

Dynamic culinary duo Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski change the dim-sum game at State Bird Provisions by presenting New American small plates on trolleys wheeled out around the airy and well-illuminated dining room. Using seasonal Californian ingredients, the menu changes weekly and diners can pick out star dishes.

Store front with a large glass windows looking inside de restaurants.

Chefs chucking oysters at the front window.

The entrance door with a signage plaque.

The restaurant opens at 5:30pm.  We were 10 minutes early so we had to wait outside.

There is a huge patio in front of the restaurants and a lot of people are waiting to get in.

Next to Progress State Bird Provisions is The Progress the sister restaurant (1 Michelin star).

Our table was toward the back end of the restaurant.

Simple table set up.

The printed menu is really small with their most popular dishes but our waiter told us there will be about 20 dishes that will be coming out on top of the items on the menu.

10/15 minutes into service the room was completely full, even at the bar.

Cheers.

The first cart that came along our way is filled with Long island oyster with kohlrabi kraut, toasted sesame, and togarashi oil.

The green stand with the number "4" is the cost per oyster. 

Raw Oysters are spiked with house-make Kohlrabi Kraut.  Unusual pairing but so delicious!

Here the oysters are fresh, just hours out of the water and paired with kohlrabi that has been fermented for weeks.

The acidic, funky, slightly crunchy kraut acts like mignonette, balancing the oysters' richness and brininess. A splash of dashi accentuates the sea flavor.

State Bird Provision classic dish: Duck fat Financier with duck liver mousse

Love this dish!  The Financier is a French almond cakes made with butter but here it is made with duck fat and paired it with duck liver mousse.

Both components are simple but when you spread the satiny duck mousse over the Financier, each bite makes the same delicious sense as buttered cornbread.

The food keep coming along via cart or via tray.

Cucumber, feta cheese, dill, black an white sesame seeds.

Cheers!

Sauerkraut, pecorino, and ricotta pancakes.

This one of their signature dish and I have to say they are simply to die for.

Smoked trout dip and chips

The smoke trout dip was amazing with lots of flavors and you can definitely taste the smokiness.

The chips are crispy and perfect vessel to scoop the dip.

Cheers to such a fun evening!

Fried pork belly with persimmon, fish sauce, herb, and long pepper

This dish was inspired by a trip to Vietnam and a visit to the Red Boat Fish sauce Operation.

This dish is on their menu year round with the fruits changing along the seasons with grapes, persimmons in the fall, citrus in the winter, and stone fruits when the weather is warm.

On the left is a deep fried spicy cauliflower, in the center is the Fried pork belly, and on the right is boiled spinach Japanese style (Ohitashi) with burrata, sunflowers seeds.

Both dishes were very tasty and light.

Smoked trout belly

This one is just ok!  it was tough and dry so this is my least favorite dish.

Signature dish: The state bird of California, quail.

It's deep-fried in a buttermilk batter and served on a tangle of lemon-stewed onions soft enough to be spread on toast. It's a brilliant combination

Amazing dish!  Moist with a super crispy skin.  This is my favorite dish of the evening.

House made lamb sausage  with fried Black-eye peas in a spicy sauce.

We were getting full by now. 

Coffee for both of us.

We had a cocktail party to go afterwards so I decided to skip dessert.

View of the room full of people from out table looking out into the street.

This is the view of the back of the room.

The counter with an L-shape and the kitchen behind.

View of the counter from the entrance.

View of the kitchen next to the large window that can be seen from the exterior.

Basically this is dim sum style service with cooks and servers bringing carts and trays of small dishes in a casually but carefully choreographed way.  they are very well organized and the food kept coming at a regular pace.  Tables are super close to each other but the ambiance was electric.  The food was above average, nothing really vow us but it was still very good. Our server was very nice and attentive to our needs so overall, great dinning experience

Filed under: Restaurants