Like discovering a long-lost twin, Cala's California roots cuisine is a revelation. San Francisco's Mexican-ranchera origins are deeply honored here: silky bone-marrow salsa and fragrant heritage-corn tortillas grace a sweet potato slow-cooked in ashes with sea salt. For even wilder flavors, pair mezcal margaritas with NorCal foragers' surf-and-turf: bottarga pasta with trumpet mushrooms and chickweed. Original and unforgettable, capped with silken coconut flan.
Chef-owner Gabriela Cámara first gained renown for her upscale Mexico City restaurant Contramar – but here at her first US restaurant, she's committed to upholding SF's time-honored Mexican-street-food traditions, with $4.75 tacos served in the back-alley cantina at lunchtime (enter on Hickory St). Service is set at 20% so that staff receive a steady paycheck – key to Cala's pioneering partnership with the city to employ parolees.
