Side Dish

Happy Birthday to Me
My mother told me, "If you don't have anything nice to say ...." You know how the rest of that goes, and as readers of this space are aware, I didn't pay much attention. Why the personal reverie and nostalgic pandering? It's Side Dish's birthday! One year ago today the editors of SF Weekly gave in to overwhelming popular demand for a restaurant gossip column and printed the very first Side Dish. (We were going to name it "Tales From the Doggie Bag," but it got changed at the printers.)

In any case, it's boring to listen to me talk about how proud I am of myself -- plus I've got a bottle of bubbly waiting on ice -- but I do want to thank you, the readers, all two of you, for coming along for the ride this past year. And thank you for the feedback, though it is polite to give a little sugar with the bitter medicine. And thanks for the dirt, without which Harry would be just another nice boy who listened to his mother.

The Magic Number
James Moffat named his restaurant 42 Degrees for the latitude at which Provence is found. Now, five years after its opening, the name is synonymous with classy food in a casual and offbeat location. Anyone who's been to a party at the Illinois Street space when the staff's rolled up the front wall, garage-style, or who's dined upstairs in the comfy booths with views of the wasteland that stretches between the dining room and the first reaches of the bay knows whereof I speak. Moffat turned over the kitchen to Mark Denham earlier this year, a smooth transition, but the tasty desserts have been lovingly put together by Anne Walker since the beginning. Stop by and help the crew celebrate -- they're now open Sundays for all us day-off food workers.

Hello Dolly
When did we, the Northern Californians, the keepers of the flame, lose out? In L.A. they've found a new hero to worship: the sommelier. Mike Bonaccorsi, who honed his root stock at Masa's, is packing them in at Spago Beverly Hills, where he's been called "the Baryshnikov with a bottle" and the ultimate matchmaker between food, wine, and people.

In the Bay Area the sommelier is an underutilized resource, more an independent contractor or wine list architect than a nightly presence in the dining room. How many restaurants in this spendthrift town have the luxury of a sommelier? Absinthe Master Sommelier Eric Vreede manages the restaurant, runs the list, and oversees Amphora, the wine shop. Renee-Nicole Kubin over at Danko has the luxury and liberty to buy entire cellars for her 900-deep list, but that's a rarity. We should pay attention to this disappearing resource and provide a comfortable home for our wine experts in San Francisco, the heart of America's wine country.

Correction
Harry is getting on in years and made a silly mistake: As the Las Vegas (not Palo Alto) -based Gordon Biersch's Steve Carter was quick to point out, the company that may be partnering up with the popular, 30-outlet brewpub chain is called Big River, not Red River. The proposed partnership is not a done deal and due diligence is under way. Side Dish regrets the error.

Know something Harry doesn't? E-mail Coverte@aol.com and sweep the dirt out from under the rug.