State Bird Provisions 
State Bird Provisions serves up tapas dishes in a dim-sum-style method. They have a small a la carte menu with starters and main dishes, but the highlights are the dishes they bring around the restaurant on trays and rolling carts – just like the dimsum parlors. All trays and carts come with a price of the dishes, so you know exactly how much each one costs and they mark it on your card when you order it. This was a really fun way of eating, as I could physically see each dish before deciding if I wanted it or not. 

Taishoken Ramen 
Founded in Nakano in 1951 by Masayasu Sakaguchi, Taishoken is where tsukemen originated. Tsukemen, a style of ramen where you dip cold noodles into hot broth before eating, is one of the more unique ways of eating ramen. The San Mateo location of Taishoken opened in 2019, and they have since expanded to the Mission District in San Francisco. You have to try their signature Tokusei Tsukemen, which features cold thick noodles with a rich dipping soup made with pork, chicken, dried anchovy, and dried bonito. All of their ramen is accompanied by pork chashu and the Tokusei Tsukemen also comes with Jidori soft boiled egg and sous-vide Berkshire pork chashu. 

Flour + Water
Flour + Water is an Italian-inspired restaurant that serves hand-crafted pastas and other seasonal dishes using Northern California ingredients. They have an a la carte menu, but their showcase is the $135 Pasta Tasting Menu. It comes with 10 courses – 4 appetizer courses, 5 pasta courses, and 1 dessert. For us, the standouts were the appetizer courses and a few of the pasta courses.