The Slanted Door

Impeccable nouvelle Vietnamese food has made the Slanted Door a must for local foodies. In a city crammed with high-minded Asian cuisine, this restaurant manages to be both true to its roots and refreshingly contemporary. Bill Clinton always made a beeline here on his fund-raising visits. The Slanted Door is not just any Asian restaurant. For the past eight years Charles Phan and his family have fashioned one of the most dynamic menus in the city. Meals are at once authentically Vietnamese and powerfully original. In the kitchen, Phan invokes the full range of Vietnamese flavors, and that means precise increments of heat and sweet: heat derived from ginger or 7-alarm Thai chiles, counterbalanced with a caramelized, tropical spectrum of sweetness. Chef Charles Phan Chef Phan is unique in serving Vietnamese food in an urbance setting, using local and organic ingredients paired with a creative wine list. “People are really surprised at what Vietnamese food can be.” He explains, offering as an example his popular sautéed spinach dish, made with organic spinach from a small farm. “People who tell me they have hated spinach all their lives love this spinach. I don’t do a lot to it, just a little chicken stock and garlic. It’s the product.” Born in Vietnamese in 1962, Charles Phan and his family – parents and five siblings – left after the war in 1975 and relocated to Guam. The Phans later moved to San Francisco in 1977. Being of Chinese descent, the Phans settled in Chinatown. In this early days in S.F., Phan’s parents held two jobs so it became Charles’ role to cook for the family – ten in all including his aunt and uncle. His personal interest in flavor stemmed from his mother’s cooking that combines French/Vietnamese peasant food to new levels. Despite of owning a degree of architecture from UC Berkeley, Phan’s passion for food never changes. As he became intrigued with cooking, Phan took notice of some of the more avante guarde Bay Area restaurants of the time and credits Chez Panisse and Zuni Café for heavily influencing his food philosophy. Phan’s vision for the restaurant was to create a stylish ambiance for traditional Vietnamese cooking, keep an ingredient-driven menu that changed often and rely heavily on California eating savvy. Phan also focuses on the street foods of Vietnamese-crisp imperial rolls, delicate Vietnamese crepes, caramelized shrimp. An important part of Phan’s job is maintaining he high standards he sets for the restaurant, which means he’s on the line six days a week. In the midst of a dinner rush, the narrow open kitchen appears chaotic. Phan calmly orchestrates, informing the wait staff that the lamb is from Sonoma tonight, filling bowls with dipping sauce, turning a chicken breast on the grill. He’ll be on his feet until 2 a.m., when he makes his fish orders for the next day. When asked why he keeps it up, his answer is, not surprisingly, modest. “It’s about the whole act of eating. You could be dealing with a Supreme Court justice or a neighborhood artist, but when they come here there’s no hierarchy. It seems so really basic. And the satisfaction is so immediate. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.” Eight years straight, showcasing farm fresh, local products, preparing everything from scratch and keeping a limited menu has put The Slanted Door on the cutting edge of Vietnamese cuisine in San Francisco, and possibly the entire country.