The hottest restaurant reservation in the Mission is a gluttonous good time

Eat Here Now is a first look at some of the newest, hottest restaurants around — the ones we think are worth visiting. We dine once, serve forth our thoughts, and let you take it from there.

There’s nothing remotely B-side about Side A. The menu at the boisterous new listening bar and restaurant in the Mission is clearly gunning for a top-40 hit. 

There’s a carnal half-pound burger topped with a thick slice of Kenne (a soft-ripened goat cheese) and served with a cow-femur-size side of bone marrow ($35). There’s also a big bowl of cheese fries covered in sweet tangles of caramelized onions, orange pops of smoked trout roe, and generous dollops of sea-salty caviar ($39) that’s downright licentious. Order the signature Garbage Salad ($25), and what appears at first glance to be chunks of something crunchy and bready isn’t croutons but fried pork belly. 

What I’m trying to say is: Bring your digestive enzyme pills. 

In May, Parker Brown (who last cooked at Michelin-starred Aphotic) and his wife, Caroline Brown (who spins records under the name Music Please), moved into the narrow space that housed the beloved Universal Cafe for 27 years before its closure in 2021. 

The couple’s design team, Studio Ahead, largely left the ’90s industrial decor as it was: the open kitchen, the stainless elements, the bentwood banquette and bar, the sliding chalkboard. The most notable new elements are off-white drapery and upholstered chairs, which feel a little out of sync — more Euro-chic than Miller High Life (which, by the way, is available for $6).

What’s most notably different is the DJ booth, fronting shelves crammed with around a thousand LPs right next to the wine glasses. State-of-the-art Tub’s Audio speakers hang from the ceiling. Soundproofing panels of creamy, white wool pillows line the walls. 

Barring the weekends, when there are guest DJs, Caroline intends to handle the music herself — even if that means spending an entire night spinning only 45s, which is either some kind of torture or Buddhist meditation. One night when I was there, this was her chosen method, leaving her only a few minutes to shoot the shit with a guest before a Staple Singers song would be over and she’d have to run back to make the switch to James Brown.

At both of my dinners at Side A, the music was from another era — expect everything from funk to disco to reggae.

Parker says he and Caroline want to give people a taste of nostalgia, which for them includes food that reminds them of the Chicago burbs where they grew up. Parker calls it “midwestern Americana.” He’s intentionally going for gluttony. Clearly, this is therapy for him as much as for the guests. “I spent the last decade in fine dining, throwing things in the garbage because they weren’t the exact correct size, tweezering things,” he says. “We want this food to be messy and interactive. We want you to lick your fingers, and say, ‘Holy shit.’”

Thus: artichoke dip with charred leeks and horseradish ($22) is on offer, as well as a chicken cutlet ($37), which Parker likens to the world’s largest chicken finger. The size of a flattened football, the crispy breaded chicken sits in a shimmering pool of honey-mustard sauce with what I’d say is a superfluous addition of hazelnuts and radicchio. The richness is cut with a mountain of dill, parsley, and other herbs. It is honestly enough for more than two people. 

If you’re looking for a respite, start with the kale salad with green goddess dressing ($22). Then decide between the halibut with creamy, plump butter beans and salsa macha ($40) or the toasted gnocchi with braised short rib and perky giardiniera ($34) — a nod to a Chicago Italian beef. These two dishes were my favorites. Each calls for a good glass of wine. Paul Chung, wine director at the Sardinian restaurant La Ciccia in Noe Valley, curated the list, so it’s a mix of local and Italian. 

If you have room for dessert, end the evening with carrot cake ($18), one of two options (the other is soft serve) and, yes, a quirky one. But it makes sense when you know it’s a miniature version of the cake the Browns had at their wedding. It’s double-layered and showered in caramelized walnuts and coconut. We took half of it to go. (If you don’t leave with leftovers from the Herculean portions, I commend you.) 

Side A is not the place to go if you want to have a sweet little heart-to-heart dinner. Maybe don’t take your hard-of-hearing parents.

The exhaust system is lacking, so, at times, the open kitchen smokes up the room. If you’re sitting at the counter, you might find yourself coughing. While this might not garner Side A a Michelin star, it also makes it feel like you’re dining in your friend’s hoodless apartment kitchen (which I think the Browns would take as a compliment). Side A is excessive and loud, but it is also energetic and fun. And, maybe even most important, for San Francisco, it’s definitely something different.