Bay Area Must-Try: Bagels, Ramen, Dim Sum and Tacos

🥯California Roll Bagel · Bloom Bagels

One diner worked through eight bagels at Bloom Bagels in a single sitting, and the California Roll Bagel is the one they put at the top of the pile — a sushi crossover rated Must Try. Five others took a Must Try too, among them the Corn Cheese Bagel, the Strawberry Matcha Bagel and the Jalapeno Bagel they named their second favorite. Start with the California roll, then pick by flavor.

Probably my favorite bagel I’ve ever had in my life. I’m a sushi lover, so this was an easy sell for me, but this bagel goes above and beyond, preserving the essence of both sushi and bagel.— FoodiesLane diner review

🍤Shrimp Toast · HK Lounge Bistro

Six dim sum plates were logged at HK Lounge Bistro, and the Shrimp Toast is the one the diner singled out as the dish to order, rated Must Try. What sets it apart, by their account, is the wasabi aioli that comes on top. The Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Shanghai Soup Dumplings and Pork Spareribs from the same visit all landed Must Try as well.

IMO this dish is the main thing you have to try at HK Lounge. I wish every dim sum place had this — and I really like the wasabi aioli sauce which they put on it.— FoodiesLane diner review

🍜Black King Ramen · Ramen Nagi

Ramen Nagi’s Black King is a squid ink bowl rated Good, with a caveat the diner was upfront about: rich and decadent to the point where a whole bowl is a commitment. Order it for the novelty rather than for comfort. The Chicken Karaage alongside it also came in at Good.

Extremely, extremely rich and decadent. Super interesting to try once, but I don’t know if I could sit through a whole meal of it. But it was definitely tasty, and the squid ink fits right in.— FoodiesLane diner review

🍳The OG · Breakfast Little

A Must Try breakfast burrito, and the review is unusually specific about why it works: sausage and egg, tater tots inside, and garlic aioli doing the heavy lifting in every bite. The Not Your Mom’s PB&J from the same visit came in a step below at Good.

Best breakfast burrito I’ve had in my life. The sausage and egg are tasty, and the tater tots are amazing, but by far the best part is the subtle taste of garlic aioli with every bite.— FoodiesLane diner review

🌯Regular Vegetarian Burrito · La Taqueria

The one La Taqueria dish in our Bay Area data came back a Must Try: a regular vegetarian burrito on Mission Street. The diner’s note is short and points at exactly one thing, the toasting.

Toasted was really good— FoodiesLane diner review

🍥Soy Sauce Tori Paitan Ramen · Nojo Ramen Tavern

The second ramen here is the one that took a Must Try: a chicken broth with a drumstick in the bowl, on Franklin Street. The reviewer set it against the usual pork ramen and gave it a flat 10/10, which is as close to an unqualified verdict as our reviews get.

In a world where pork ramen reigns supreme, my life changed when a restaurant stuck a chicken drumstick in a bowl, and reimagined the usual ramen broth in a way that complements it perfectly. 10/10.— FoodiesLane diner review

🍗Chicken Manchuria · Inchin's Bamboo Garden

Both dishes logged at Inchin’s Bamboo Garden — the Chicken Manchuria and the Triple Chicken Noodles Shezwan — came in at Good. The diner read them as fine rather than unmissable, so file this one as the Chinese option to keep in mind when you are already on River Oaks Place.

🍣Spicy Tuna and Avocado Roll · Kanpai

Kanpai closes the list with a Good for its spicy tuna and avocado roll on Lytton Avenue. Neither review here carried a written note, so this is a rating and nothing more — the ebi and avocado roll from the same visit sat a rung lower.