Best New Restaurant (Expensive)

Jack Falstaff

598 Second St. (at Brannan), 836-9239, www.plumpjack.com

Chef James Ormsby is cooking wonderful organic comfort food in a modern setting at this newest member of the PlumpJack family, located just two blocks from SBC Park. His "slow food" approach includes milling his own flour, creating an array of exotic bar snacks that can be packaged to take with you to the game, and sourcing the best ingredients from myriad local and international purveyors. Ormsby matches his braised and roasted meats and lightly cooked seafood with complementary vegetables and garnishes, producing plates that are beautiful to look at as well as delicious to eat. Our favorite meals here have included succulent pork belly on a bed of lentils garnished with Granny Smith apple "caviar"; lush Scottish salmon in sorrel sauce with asparagus, fiddlehead fern, salsify, and black chanterelles; and slices of juicy slow-roasted pork shoulder with two sides -- braised cabbage with onions and guanciale, and apple-and-raisin chutney. This chef knows the meaning of delicious.