Culture Feed is the blog for arts and culture in the Bay Area – produced by the culture desk of The Bay Citizen. From breaking arts news to event coverage to YouTube videos, Culture Feed aims to bring you the best in culture from around the Bay. Please drop us a line and let us know what’s on your radar.
Though she went to culinary school to learn fine dining, and worked at high-end restaurants in London, Mistry’s main jobs in the Bay Area involved being executive chef at Charlie’s Café at Google and at the de Young museum, both of which focused on lunch. Now, she’s bringing her culinary training and love of California ingredients to her new Indian-fusion lunch pop-up, Juhu Beach Club, in San Francisco’s South of Market.
“Lunch has kind of come up in the world in San Francisco. It definitely has the respect it didn’t use to have,” says Mistry, 34.
Mistry serves a handful of dishes each day, all are made with vibrant spice mixtures and fresh produce. Last week, a friend and I ordered everything on the menu (which was definitely over-the-top but hard to resist). The samosas ($6) are light with a creamy potato filling, cilantro chutney and salad dressed withcitrus-ginger vinaigrette. The Sloppy Lil’ ($7) is her version of a vegetarian sloppy joe, based on a streetfood dish pav bhaji, long-simmered vegetables and spices on a soft bun, with pickled onions.
My favorite was the “holy slow-braised cow” ($9), with long-cooked short ribs in an Acme roll, toppedwith cucumber raita. There’s also an exceedingly juicy grilled chicken sandwich ($7) with cabbage slaw,and Mistry’s invigorating mango lassi ($3) is sweet and salty, with toasted cumin, mint and lime.
Mistry named her restaurant for a beach in Mumbai that’s a popular hang-out spot at night. As for now, her borrowed space, a modest kitchen and dining area attached to a liquor store, isn’t the focus. Despite the simplicity of the setup, and the menu, she wants to focus on making food that is true to her background, with parents from the Indian state of Gujarat and having lived in the Bay Area for the past 15 years or so.
“My goal is to really use good ingredients, but it’s also to stay true to Indian flavors,” said Mistry.
Juhu Beach Club takes place 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Garage Cafe,320 11th Street (between Folsom and Harrison), San Francisco. Cash only. Information can be found at facebook.com/JuhuBeachClub or on twitter at @juhubeachclub.
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
