This North Beach Asian cafe rarely gets mentioned as a heavy hitter in the San Francisco dining scene, which is a shame, since the food is consistently terrific. Maybe it’s because of its proximity to Italian tourist traps and low-rent strip joints. I’ll stop the speculation and savor Larry Tse and wife Angela’s reasonable marvel, which is still going strong in its fifteenth year.

We received a complimentary plate of cool cucumbers dressed in chile-infused sesame oil, studded with sesame seeds.

The Caesar salad was tossed with crispy bay scallops ($8).

This special Heirloom tomato salad featured mixed greens, caramelized Black Mission Figs and lemon shallot dressing.

The house’s top-flight salmon roll ($7.50) was cased in delicately fried nori, topped with orange smelt eggs and plated on spicy Asian slaw, which included cabbage, chilies, chile oil and sesame seeds. Another flavor jolt: the dish of house-made Chinese hot mustard.

A pear-shaped Maine crab cake ($9.50) was plumed with a fried plantain chip and served with a dish if pickled ginger remoulade. Also on the plate: two colorful discs of radish topped with pastel green tobiko (flying fish) eggs, plus citrus, lemongrass and balsamic oils. There are plenty of perfectly good crabs that reside in the Bay Area, so it’s curious Chef Tse would defer to Maine to construct his crab cakes. Still, I can’t argue with the flavor.

An inventive appetizer special of red and white tuna ceviche was served in a bowl with chile coconut milk broth, fried grains of rice and dyed tobiko eggs.

Warm wasabi house noodles and Angus flatiron steak ($17) were served with another big scoop of Asian slaw. The tender slices of steak, springy noodles and spicy slaw were a fabulous combination.

Grilled sea bass ($24) is a house specialty, with good reason. The buttery fish was glazed with garlic, ginger and soy ($24) then plated with garlic noodles and snap-fresh string beans.

My thick-cut but tender Niman Ranch pork chop was lacquered with a rich pomegranate currant sauce ($18).

The chop was supposed to come with mashed potatoes and asparagus, a traditional but boring duo. I asked the manager if I could get replacement sides, and he granted me garlic noodles. They were udon-like, topped with a light sauce and thin strips of purple cabbage.

To drink, I had a glass of iced black tea with a single pitted lychee in it. Allison drank a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Apple crumb pie ($7.50) was kept on the counter between our table and the kitchen. This signature house dessert couldn’t escape our focus. It was served warm, dusted with powdered sugar. I appreciated the sweet slabs of baked apple and excellent crumble.

Just as good was this dessert special, a moist cube of blueberry and buttermilk bread pudding, drizzled with creme Anglaise and highlighted by sweet berries.

I only get to spend a week or so each year in the Bay Area, so I don’t like to repeat restaurants, but when a restaurant is as good as the house, there’s no inner conflict.

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3. La Boulange de Polk – San Francisco, CA – Saturday, August 4 & Sunday, August 5, 2007
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This entry is filed under Asian, California, Northern California, San Francisco.