I always say that restaurants are like movies – they save the best ones for last. Last year started off slow except for a couple of highlights like Perbacco (which actually opened late in 2006), but finished as one of the strongest falls in recent memory, with the highly anticipated Spruce leading the way. Three other newly notable restaurants spruced up the year’s end, and all will easily make my list of best new restaurants in our upcoming “Best of Food & Wine” issue. A venerable classic also gets a newly notable nod – Moose’s received a facelift from famed restaurant designer Michael Brennan, and a new, enthusiastic chef is adding his touches to the tried and true new American menu.

As the strippers told Gypsy Rose Lee, “You gotta have a gimmick,” and Fish & Farm has a clever and timely one – most of the meat, fish and produce is sourced within 100 miles from their doorstep. All of the produce is organic, as are many of the wines, and the meat and seafood are all raised in a humane and sustainable manner. 

The family behind this modern take on surf ‘n’ turf, John and Elena Duggan, have a long history in San Francisco’s restaurant business – their grandfather founded Original Joe’s, which was closed after a fire (though they do plan to reopen).
   

Just a couple of blocks from Union Square, the intimate Fish & Farm features walls washed in aqua, comfortable booths and banquettes, marble tabletops, and distressed wood chairs. Like the food, most of the interior is sustainable and much of it is recycled. The floor is made of sustainable bamboo and the kitchen door was rescued from an old barn; they even donate their used cooking oil to a biodiesel plant. Edison bulbs and chandeliers shaped like fish traps dress up the ceiling while a giant clock commands attention from the wall, permanently set at 10 minutes to 2 (an old advertising technique based on the idea that 10-to-2 is the most aesthetically pleasing time).
   

Chef Michael Morrison (Ame, Bizou, Fringale, Michael Mina) utilizes the local products beautifully in dishes like creamy pan-cooked seafood chowder with briny, petite oysters, perfectly chewy clams, and tender potatoes and carrots served with a tin cone of bacon-infused crackers. Grilled Monterey squid is some of the freshest I’ve had, simply dressed on a bed of butter beans with harissa and preserved lemon for a North African twist. Grilled Monterey Bay sardines made this Sicilian girl’s heart sing, though the presentation was a bit disturbing – the whole fish are laid on the plate as if swimming upstream in a Loch Ness Monsteresque sort of way. The most traditional dish, fish and chips, is one of the few items hindered by the 100-mile radius – local rock cod is not as firm as the typically used Atlantic cod; however, it is more sustainable, and the crispy batter and house-aged herbed malt vinegar are wonderful. I found the absence of Dungeness crab on the menu shortly after the season started surprising, which may have been due to the oil spill, but there are plenty of other seafood options, including pan-seared corvina, sautéed sablefish and grilled Channel Island swordfish.
   

Though winter vegetables can be as drab and dreary as the season, Morrison uses what’s available to his advantage. Still, I look forward to seeing what he can do with spring’s bounty, including my favorite, English peas.
   

Meat dishes, such as slow braised lamb shoulder, are hearty and homey. The only thing missing is Joe’s Special; a scramble of eggs, ground chuck, spinach, and mushrooms that would lend itself nicely to Fish & Farm’s concept while paying homage to the Duggan family history.

The team behind A16 has the Midas touch when it comes to regional Italian restaurants. Their newest venture, SPQR, is a casually charming, 45-seat osteria located in the old Chez Nous space in Pacific Heights that focuses on the food of Rome (the name translates to “the Senate and the Roman people”).
   

Co-executive chefs Nate Appleman and Daniel Holzman went to culinary school together and reunited at Campton Place. Their food is rustic, satisfying and full of flavor. The wine list, under the adept direction of Shelley Lindgren, features 25-plus Italian wines by the taste, glass and carafe, and 60 bottles ranging from north to south with a particular focus on Rome’s surrounding region, Lazio.   

While Appleman and Lindgren hold down the fort at A16, SPQR is in the very capable hands of Holzman and general manager-sommelier Ehren Jennings, who has worked in New York and also with Lindgren at Bacar. She leads a young, talented staff whose enthusiasm is infectious. As at A16, the line cooks fire dishes with astounding speed and precision from their tiny coliseum while an audience watches from the best seats in the house – a small dining bar directly in front of the action.   

Start with addictive fried bocconcini, bite-sized nuggets of chewy, stringy mozzarella with a golden, crunchy crust. Fried chicken livers are just like my mom’s, and the croquettes of salt cod and potato are a perfect mix of starch and brine. The Brussels sprouts are not to be missed – caramelized with garlic, capers, lemon, and parsley. House-made pork sausage has a creamy flavor with a kick; shreds of pork add texture to the medium-ground patty. Pastas include my childhood favorite, aglio e olio (though they could tone down the chilies), baked lasagna, and carbonara made with guanciale (pork cheeks). Entrées are hardy, including beef brisket so tender it’s served with a butter knife, and crispy-skinned, whole-fried young chicken dotted with sea salt.  

Pastry chef Jane Tseng’s desserts are worth saving room for, especially the chocolate panna cotta accompanied by a salty walnut ball and topped with chunky persimmon preserves; and the heavenly panino with caramelized milk, pears, shaved chocolate, and sea salt, which I think should be renamed “God’s French toast.”   

Reservations are not accepted, so get there early. Insider’s tip: I hear Sundays are “pretty dead,” so that’s a good night to check it out.

Situated in the Chestnut Street space previously occupied by Pizza My Heart (for about twelve seconds) is a quaint Spanish spot owned by Andrew McCormack and Joe Hargrave of Frisson. If you’re looking for hardcore traditional Spanish fare, Laiola is not for you; it has a decidedly California sensibility, but never loses sight of its roots.
   

Chef Mark Denham formerly helmed the celebrated Mediterranean restaurant 42 Degrees, and has spent nearly a decade working the line at top restaurants like Manresa and Kokkari. Patience paid off for Denham as Laiola is a perfect showcase for his talent.
   

Bacon-wrapped Medjool dates stuffed with spicy chorizo offers bold, exciting flavors in a tiny package; rectangular chickpea croquettes stacked like Lincoln Logs incorporate all the best elements of French fries – a tender, fluffy inside wrapped in a crunchy outer shell. A mixed grill of piglet ranging from loin to crackle-topped belly is a highlight of the larger plates, as are the luscious slices of grass-fed steak topped with Cabrales butter (butter mixed with Spanish blue cheese). We visited on a Sunday when Denham was offering his take on a traditional Sunday dish in Valencia, Spain: paella, made with chunks of Dungeness crab, dry cured chorizo and fava beans. For dessert, try the pan con chocolate, a dark, rich ganache served with sea salt, olive oil and toasted slices of bread.

The 100-plus wines are almost all Spanish (surely the largest collection of any restaurant in San Francisco) and offered by the glass, bottle or flight – check out the staff’s picks of the week. There is also a well-stocked bar that serves up traditional as well as specialty cocktails.

Opened in 1992 by Ed and Mary Etta Moose (who formerly owned the also venerable Washington Square Bar & Grill), Moose’s holds a place in San Francisco’s culinary history. Although they went through nearly half a dozen chefs during their tenure, the new American cuisine has always drawn an eclectic crowd of politicians, celebrities, tourists, and regulars. For years Ed Moose threatened to sell the place, but in 2005 he made good on that threat and Gary Hirano and Phillip Wong became the new proprietors.
   

Hirano is a veteran of the hospitality industry, cutting his teeth at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and going on to manage New York’s Plaza Hotel. He also spent time as vice president of Trader Vic’s and the New Otani in Tokyo. Partner Wong is the co-owner of his family’s restaurant and deli in Stockton. Over the last two years, the pair has tried a number of things to revamp the restaurant with hopes of taking Moose’s to the Asian market, even commissioning Robert Lam (Butterfly) to turn it into an “Italian brasserie” with Asian influences. Recently, designer Michael Brennan gave Moose’s a facelift with stunning results – gone is the “White Room” effect, replaced with rich hues of mahogany and a communal table in the bar that allows guests to chat over cocktails and appetizers. The neon blue moose head still beckons from the foot of Washington Square, but this is not your mama’s Moose’s anymore – it’s cozy yet elegant, something that should please old timers and new timers alike. Best of all, you can still hear the tinkling of the ivories at both dinner and brunch.
   

New chef Travis Flood honed his skills at Postrio and Fifth Floor and also worked as the private chef of PayPal CEO Peter Thiel. His style suits Moose’s new direction – classic cooking inflected with nouveau techniques. He likes to use his sous vide machine, which allows slow cooking in vacuum-sealed bags at slow temperatures. It’s supposed to lock in the flavor and render the contents moist and tender, which it does very successfully in some cases and not so much in others. I had the pork belly, which was delicious, but the accompanying sous vide spaghetti squash was bland. The portion of pork was as big as a meatloaf, but also pricey at $28 – I would like to see him cut both the portion and the price in half. Flood’s short ribs are another sous vide success story and well worth a nibble. I also enjoyed the risotto “carnitas,” Flood’s take on the Mexican classic burrito, with crispy pork, tomato confit and zesty pepitas.
   

While the majority of dishes ranged from good to very good, I felt that most were under-salted, and Flood seemed to be relying a little too heavily on sous vide. He also spent a lot of time out talking with guests, a recipe for disaster for a young chef in a new kitchen. If Flood stays behind the stoves more and keeps in mind that he’s not working at a trendy new lounge or The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, I have high hopes that Moose’s will continue to attract a crowd.