We were meet­ing up with a friend on a recent visit to San Fran­cisco. Since it was late she offered to take us to B*uppo’s for a quick bite; I know her to be a foodie and I think she saw the look on our face. The plan quickly changed and we headed up the street a few blocks into San Francisco’s SOMA dis­trict where one of the city’s best Mediter­ranean bistros — Zare at Fly Trap.  Thanks to Min­nie for the great find! Chef/Owner Hoss Zare is at the helm. His food can best be described as Per­sian meets New Amer­i­can. Chef Zare began his career at this very loca­tion some 20 years ago as the Exec­u­tive Chef. He went on to be Chef at Aromi, later to become Bistro Zare. In 2005 he opened Zare Napa to show­case his Mediter­ranean cook­ing style along with wine coun­try cook­ing. He returned last year to Fly Trap and pur­chased the restau­rant. Chef Zare can be seen at the restau­rant greet­ing his guest as the enter and exit. We were so happy that the restau­rant was both sophis­ti­cated and accom­mo­dat­ing of children.

Isa Help­ing Chef Zare Pre­pare Dessert

Our 3 year old is a bud­ding cook in her own right and was thrilled to get the oppor­tu­nity to pre­pare a dessert along­side Chef Zare.

We decided to go with the on the sin­gle bone short rib, which was deli­cious. The reduc­tion was one of the best I’ve had — well bal­anced between beefy, salty, and sweet. The short ribs are served along­side a deli­cious risotto which was not too creamy; like I like it. I had sworn off short ribs since in Texas it seems to be all over the place. I think I’m back! I am still void­ing any restaurant’s short ribs which are bone­less or flanken cuts.

We also tried the braised duck legs which are pre­pare with can­died cit­rus peels, bar­ber­ries, and pis­ta­chios. It is sim­i­lar to duck con­fit; how­ever it is both sweet and savory and has bits of orange zest, saf­fron, and demi-glacé. The duck was ten­der and crispy in all the right places.

Braised Duck Leg with Can­died Citrus

Our appe­tizer was also fan­tas­tic. It was a large “meat­ball” of Bul­gar wheat, lentils filled with oys­ter mush­rooms and served along with a creamy chili sauce. We will be back to try more of Chef Zare’s inven­tive cui­sine on our next trip to the Bay Area.

Bul­gar Wheat Meatball

Zare at Fly Trap

606 Fol­som Street, San Fran­cisco, CA 94101, 415.243.0580