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The Slanted Door

By Paul Lyons

6/30/2007 8:15:04 AM | Number of Comments: 0 | Add Comments +

When Bill Clinton came to San Francisco, back in the day when Al had created the Internet and Bill was in between interns, Mr. Clinton ate at The Slanted Door. The Slanted Door, at that time was on Valencia in a very bohemian, sort of skuzzy yet hip part of town. It was a well-regarded restaurant with a few good reviews. Bill must have had a hankering for Vietnamese food and got a tip from a guy in security.
Word had it that security closed down most of the block. For years after that, it was next to impossible to get a table at the place. Since then The Slanted Door has moved. It is now in the newly resuscitated Ferry Building at the end of Market Street. The food is still quite good; the ambience has turned to lots of hard surfaces, glass and that dulling industrial house music. Most notably the menu prices have jumped and are nice round numbers – 12, 16, 15. It helps with the math at the end when you are figuring out your bill.

Everyone knows that in San Francisco the dining options are many. Just about any kind of food can be had in San Francisco. There surely must be ten to fifty Vietnamese restaurants in town. The Slanted Door is the one that most tourists probably venture to – the location and the ambience surely draw people in. But if you want to check out some other spots there are two that also really good and perhaps a bit more authentic.

On Geary and Fourth, a few blocks north of Golden Gate Park is a restaurant call New Ho Ky. It has Five Spice Chicken that is better than the Slanted Door. The good thing is that it is about half the price and you get about twice as much. Their soups are also really good. A few years back a co-worker took me to about 4th Street and Market to another Vietnamese restaurant. It was basically a lunch counter with woks everywhere. The place was packed. We sat at that lunch counter drinking our tea watching the cooks a few feet away. Food seemed to be flying every which way. These two just touch the surface of the great Vietnamese food here in San Francisco. If you have another recommendation, feel free to let me know.

My mother had taken the ferry down from the North Bay. The Slanted Door was on the itinerary. The food was good though we did have to yell a bit to be heard over the house music – a bit strange for an 11am brunch get together. The check came and I grabbed it fast. No biggie. She was picking up the tickets to the play.

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