Dear Readers: Here's a fun game you can play with foodie friends. Pretend you're leaving town for at least five years. You have 10 meals left in the Bay Area. Money is not an issue. Where would you go?
Foodies always mention the same places: Masa's, the French Laundry, Chez Panisse. But as they move further down their list, four- star destination restaurants give way to more personal choices: the favorite Chinese restaurant with special spicy chicken, the burrito parlor where the salsa is just so, the inexpensive Italian place where the waitresses are so great with kids . . . .
None of this surprises Chronicle Food Critic Michael Bauer, who put together today's Bargain Bites dining guide, which features great values throughout the Bay Area.
"The real heart of what's so great about dining out in the Bay Area is the quality, lower-priced restaurants," Bauer says. "There's great depth of quality at all levels, even in the lowest price ranges."
No kidding. Our special pullout guide was originally eight pages, but grew to 12, and it features more than 100 restaurants. And as Bauer points out, we visited a lot more places than we actually included.
"Our criterion was either they had to be good and cheap or at least really, really cheap," Bauer says. "Obviously, the lower the price, the more lenient we were."
Aside from the actual reviews, you'll find a couple of bonuses: indexes by both cuisine and location, plus a story about fixed-price dining, another source of great dining values.
"Probably the best, most surprising deal is the Bistro at the Lafayette Park Hotel. They have giant martinis, great atmosphere, excellent food, plus -- something you never get in the city -- free valet parking. You can look like a big spender for change."
By the way, I played the Foodie Game with Bauer. He mentioned Masa's, of course, and the French Laundry. And then he listed Ton Kiang ("for the dim sum"), La Taqueria ("wonderful burritos") and Coriya (''great for parties").
What are your favorite bargain dining spots? We'd love to hear from you. Write to Michael Bauer, The San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, 94103. I can hardly wait to see what you recommend!