Bay Area restaurant gems

Patrons enjoy fine dining in the intimate setting of Benu, in the Mission District. The food is spare, elegant and sometimes stunning.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Chef Corey Lee, far right, who was chef de cuisine at the French Laundry for close to a decade, helps prepare a foie gras dish in Benu’s kitchen.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A dish of fresh noodles with shrimp roe, tarragon and chicken jus.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A lobster cracker topped with caviar, finely diced bone marrow and flakes of edible gold leaf.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Monk fish liver torchon with turnip and apple is part of the $160-per-person tasting menu.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Homes are nestled together on tree-lined Lombard Street in the City by the Bay.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Chef Michael Tusk prepares the spit roasted pork loin with fennel and red chile peppers, which is cooked above an open flame.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The spit-roasted pork loin is a soulful Italian dish.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Cotogna, in the city’s Financial District, is busy, even during the lunch hour. It can take a month to get a dinner reservation.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Grilled sardines are served on a bed of tondini beans.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Pizza alla puttanesca comes out of an 850-degree wood oven bearing a smear of tomato sauce, olives, anchovy or capers, and delicate squid rings.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

When kissing isn’t enough, San Francisco, as seen here from Golden Gate National Recreation Area, offers plenty of sensual pleasures for the palate.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

In the East Bay, Plum, with blackened steel walls, has a menu that changes daily.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Monterey squid is served with smoked lentil, artichoke and blood orange.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Delta asparagus is enhanced with shallots, creme fraiche and arugula.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A passerby checks out Plum’s daily menu, which hangs in the front window of the Oakland restaurant.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Sightseeing around the Bay Area can build up an appetite. Fortunately, there are plenty of great restaurant choices.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The tall booths at Bar Agricole, South of Market, bring a sense of intimacy to diners.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Presidente cocktail is made with Demerara rum, farmhouse curacao, grenadine and orange bitters.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The spaghetti at Bar Agricole is flavored with saffron, English peas, chorizo and Manila clams.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The ricotta gnudi, nestled in fava beans and greens, is light and delicious.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

At dusk in San Francisco’s Nob Hill area, thoughts turn to the evening’s dining and entertainment.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Commonwealth restaurant has an intimate atmosphere that’s suitable for romantic, late-night dining.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A black slate plate is covered with mache and radishes and looks like something made by woodland faries.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A sous vide duck breast, with crisped fat and skin, is served with dots of blood-orange sauce and a pastry filled with cauliflower mousse.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The City by the Bay and its environs offer a variety of excellent dining choices.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)