Curiously, in SF Weekly’s 2012 Best of S.F. (in news boxes today), Best California Cuisine is the title given to Benu — Jonathan Kauffman, before departing, appears to have wanted to make the argument that what Corey Lee is doing can’t be called Asian Fusion anymore, and it should be called California Cuisine. Okay, fine. Best of the New Izakayas goes to Berkeley’s Ippuku. Fifth Floor takes Best Burger (Though the readers’ poll winner is Super Duper). Kauffman made no secret of his love for Bar Tartine, so the fact that they were named Best Restaurant Reinvention is no surprise. Best New Bar was a tie in the readers’ poll between Churchill and Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The editors, meanwhile, name Dave’s, that dive at 3rd and Market, as “the best alternative to overpriced bars.” Wisely, after 2009’s Pasta Pomodoro fiasco, they’ve stopped letting the readers even pick a Best Restaurant in the poll. [SF Weekly]
