Janelle Bitker

New office decor!

Summer at @joodooboo is such a treat. Soft dooboo curds are flecked with sweet corn and purslane. Eggplant goes into the salty rice thief. Jimmy Nardellos top a caramelized hunk of sweet potato. And the star of the show: one-bite tomatoes, shed of their skins, with luscious whipped dooboo and kimchi. I could eat so many of these little plates!

The team threw me a very sweet (literally — it was essentially an AYCE dessert buffet) party recently… because I’ve been promoted! In my new role, I will still oversee the @sfchronicle_food team, but also service journalism efforts around the newsroom. My first order of business: hiring a new Food & Wine editor! Who should it be? Are you interested??? Let’s talk!

A glorious marg with a delightfully chewy crust from @junes_pizza . It’s one of several new spots on the @sfchronicle_food guide to the Bay Area’s best pizza via @fukufoodz and @mackenzie_fegan . We are so spoiled here!

Spotted at @thatsouttasight : a Top 100 Photo Booth prop that may or may not have mysteriously vanished from the awards party. 😂 We started talking about bringing back the Chronicle’s Top 100 more than two years ago. It’s a monster of a project — and so much more than just another list. The amount of research and thought @mackenzie_fegan and @fukufoodz poured into their selections was staggering. We drove disposable cameras to restaurants from Geyserville down to San Jose (and sometimes again when we developed the film and found something went wrong). And the awards party! I’ve heard people call it food prom, and I love that so much. Now we are starting to work on Top 100 2026 — we’d love to hear from you on what we can do better. A selection of memorable meals from current class in no particular order: 1. @thatsouttasight , where the mapo tofu pizza recently made me dance 2. A muffuletta party via @sandysmuffs 3. Always gorgeous oysters at @snail_bar_oak 4. Custardy coconut cakes and more brunch delights at @tanziescafe 5. The pain perdu to end all pain perdu @verjus_sf 6. Delicate acorn crepes at @sun_moon_studio_ 7. Baby corn slathered in mole at @magorestaurant 8. Mandu with a lacy skirt at @sanhowon 9. Pea shoots and steamed egg custard at @fourkings__ 10. Tamagoyaki before the noodles at @sobaichi_oakland 11. Crispy masala dosa, powerful chutneys and more at @coprarestaurant 12. BBQ SHRIMP HEAVEN @burdell_oak 13. Mignardises cart at @quince_sf 14. The spiciest aburasoba at @kajikenwestcoast 15. Saucy fish and springtime bites at @joodooboo 16. Breakfast tacos on flour tortillas at @tacososcar 17. Excellent banchan spread at @10butchers 18. Mortadella sandwich at @valleybarandbottle 19. Breakfast tamale at @yotambiencantina 20. Chicken in fermented pineapple at @popoca.oakland

Looking for the Bay Area’s best fried chicken? @fukufoodz dropped his big guide on the SF Chronicle website today. There aren’t any popups on the list, but if you’re game to chase something infrequent, allow me to point you to chicken master @hinayakitori , who can sometimes be found making sensational fried chicken sandwiches at @berkeleybowl west cafe. The crunch on these juicy thighs, cloaked in yuzu hot sauce, can be heard from across the room.

It’s Dungeness season!!! @sfchronicle_food is out with a list of recommended restaurant specials, from classics like the cellophane crab noodles at @slanteddoor to newcomers like these deliriously delicious eggs with garlicky, buttery crab and tangy Thai seafood sauce at @tanziescafe . Happy 🦀 to all!

I’m back to work — Slack back on my phone, thousands of unread emails, and a calendar quickly filling up. Have I been ignoring you? It’s not you, it’s me. I kept eating out a lot during leave and still have many opinions. What was the best thing, you ask? Hard to say but MAYBE this corn pudding pizza from @jules.pza . There’s so much great pizza in the Bay Area and yet! What a wondrous addition to the scene.

One thing that happens when you have a baby is very kind people buy you gift cards for various delivery apps. I pretty much never order delivery in my normal life, so this presented a prime opportunity to get hooked on @jungdonkatsu22 , a remarkably great ghost kitchen specializing in katsu that @fukufoodz wrote about long ago. Soooo crunchy! I am not surprised to read that a brick-and-mortar restaurant is in the works.

It’s about to warm up again. You may want to go to @sobaichi_oakland and slurp up these chilled, chewy noodles covered in thin slices of key lime. So refreshing 🙌

Summer is going by far too fast. My recommendation for coping (for myself at least) is eating ice cream as much as possible, as often as possible. AKA ordering the “giant” with six mini scoops densely packed into a cup at @iscreaminberkeley

Chawanmushi loaded with Dungeness meat and rich orange crab fat, part of a blowout meal at @theshotasf . I’ve been trying to enjoy some specifically not baby-friendly dining experiences lately. (Don’t think I will be taking a baby to omakase anytime… ever.) But I would love to hear about your favorite restaurants for stroller navigation, diaper changes, etc!