Sara Deseran

California

Food Editor at The San Francisco Standard

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Articles

Caviar? In this economy? The woman who wants us to put fish eggs on everything

1 week ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

Petra Higby of The Caviar Co. has chefs adding it to burgers, fried chicken, and cheese fries. Can she keep the good times rolling? You have Petra Higby to thank (or blame) for the idea of Hilda and Jesse’s signature Pancakes Without Boundaries, topped with blueberry-maple syrup and a heap of salted fish eggs.
Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant Osito is closing

1 week ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran |Lauren Saria

Chef-owner Seth Stowaway is closing his Michellin-starred restaurant, but intends to stay in the industry he loves. San Francisco’s only Michelin-starred restaurant with a fire at its heart will go dark Sunday. Chef and owner Seth Stowaway confirmed Tuesday that Osito is closing. Though he said the restaurant was often “very busy,” the $15,000 a month rent wasn’t economically feasible any longer. “Our landlord just wasn’t interested in making it work.
The Hot List: Our favorite restaurants and bars in SF right now

1 week ago | sfstandard.com | Lauren Saria |Sara Deseran |Astrid Kane

You need some new ideas for where to go out. We have some really delicious answers. You need some new ideas for where to go out. We have some really delicious answers. For anyone prepared to ask us, “Where should I eat tonight?” here’s our answer: the Hot List, our opinionated guide to the top restaurants and bars in San Francisco right now. Some of the picks are new and noteworthy; others are rediscovered favorites.
Meski, the city's most exciting new restaurant, opens in the Tenderloin

2 weeks ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

Eat Here Now is a first look at some of the newest, hottest restaurants around — the ones we think are worth visiting. We dine once, serve forth our thoughts, and let you take it from there. There is no “long story short” way to describe Meski, the city’s most exciting new restaurant. In complete defiance of best business practices, there’s no one-liner pitch — no easy nutshell.
After 20 years, the women behind Piccino are just getting started

3 weeks ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

Margherita Sagan and Sheryl Rogat just opened their second restaurant in the Presidio. And a third is on the way. Margherita Sagan and Sheryl Rogat just opened their second restaurant in the Presidio. And a third is on the way. If there is a playbook for success in San Francisco’s ruthless restaurant world, Margherita Sagan and Sheryl Rogat, the owners of Piccino, have long defied it. First, to state the obvious, they are women in an industry that continues to lack top-dog female representation.
9 best places to eat and drink during a day at the Sunset Dunes

3 weeks ago | sfstandard.com | Lauren Saria |Astrid Kane |Sara Deseran

San Francisco’s newest park may have split the city before it debuted, but now that Sunset Dunes is open for strolling and skating, even haters can’t resist the allure. The beachfront stretch of what used to be the Great Highway now has a giant octopus, a skateboard track and bike ramp, colorful murals, and stadium-style benches — which is to say, plenty to explore beyond the beach and attractions at nearby Golden Gate Park. What it doesn’t have is on-site food and drink.
Now open in the Mission, Bar Brucato and its distillery took a risk well worth it

4 weeks ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

By Sara DeseranPublished Apr. 16, 2025 • 10:00amIt’s not an overstatement to say there’s nowhere in San Francisco quite like Bar Brucato. In fact, there’s likely nothing else like it anywhere in the country. The cozy new restaurant, serving thoughtful California fare, just happens to be perched over the only distillery in San Francisco open to the public. A distillery specializing in amaros, nonetheless. In a time when N/A spirits are trending and restaurants are struggling, it’s a bold experiment.
San Francisco's best rooftop bar is closing temporarily, to become new Cuban spot

1 month ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

By Sara DeseranPublished Apr. 14, 2025 • 6:00amIt’s been almost 13 years since rooftop restaurant and bar El Techo on Mission Street between 21st and 22nd began slinging empanadas and tacos. But fans will need to suck down their final pitchers of margaritas, because on May 4 (just before Cinco de Mayo, mind you), El Techo will close. A yet-to-be-named Cuban concept is slated to open in its place in June. This is not a change of hands but a change of theme.
A struggling chef made all the mistakes. He's helping other owners not to repeat them

1 month ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

The current membership is small — basically, Stowaway’s closest friends in the business, including Thad Vogler of spirits company Bar Agricole, Kelly Kozak and Josh Donald of Bernal Cutlery, Maz Naba of Lebanese pop-up Ilna, and a forthcoming restaurant in Berkeley. Stowaway says there’s “lots of interest” from other restaurants, but clearly, he’s hoping that this story, pitched by publicist Cash to this writer, will help spread the gospel.
Turtle Tower has been reborn, this time in the Financial District

1 month ago | sfstandard.com | Sara Deseran

Eat Here Now is a first look at some of the newest, hottest restaurants around – the ones we think are worth visiting. We dine once, serve forth our thoughts, and let you take it from there. The new Turtle Tower has two things that anyone with a beating heart should love: a great comeback story and legendary bowls of noodle soup. A few weeks ago, the hallowed Vietnamese restaurant, which closed its original Tenderloin location in 2023, victoriously reopened in the Financial District.