All year we've been eating our way through San Francisco and beyond. We've looked back on all of the restaurants we've eaten at in 2006 and we've come up with the winners. Here they are:

Best Breakfast: The Pork Store
The Pork Store never disappoints. It may not be edgy, or high end food, but it is exactly what you need after a hang over, or if you're just feeling like comfort food. The portions are large, the prices are affordable, and you don't mind the wait in the line our the door because they serve you coffee in line.

Best Brunch: Canteen
Canteen is elegant, cozy and hip all at the same time. The booths are tiny, fitting 2 comfortably and 4 a bit more uncomfortably. The food is somehow homey and interesting at the same time.

Honorable Mention for Brunch: Foreign Cinema
Although the waitstaff are generally unbearably holier-than-though, Foreign Cinema is a great place for a late weekend brunch in the sun. The outside area makes you forget about how much cooler your waiter is than you.

Best Overall: The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton
The food is always amazing, especially with Ron Siegle as the chef. The dished are interesting and use the best quality ingredients. They even serve you fresh wasabi, grated tableside, with wonderful bites such as spot prawn sashimi. The food is often playful and the service is impeccable.

Honorable Mention for Best Overall: Range
If The Ritz didn't have such amazing tasting menus and great service, Range would be getting this award. Range is fun, casual and the food is also amazing and affordable.

Best Newcomer: Range
At Range, not only are the prices reasonable and the staff knowledgeable and friendly but every singe dish we had was impeccable and inspired. Range is now the first restaurant we recommend to people.

Honorable Mention for Best Newcomer: Scott Howard
Scott Howard has created a great little spot with interesting tasting menu and a friendly atmostphere. You can order the full menu in the bar area, so don't worry if you've forgotten to make a reservation on a Friday night. Also, the chef is accomodating. He made us a variation on the tasting menu when we came back and discovered it hadn't changed since the last time we were there.

and Umami
Although obviously still working out the kinks, Umami will be a great place. Most of the food was amazing, and what wasn't was still very good. The bar was hopping. The decor is ecclectic, yet well put together and they have the coolest bathroom sinks we've ever seen.

Best Buffet: Ritz Carlton, Singapore
The breakfast buffet at the Ritz Carleton in Singapore was about as varied as one could want. French pastries, bagels with lox and cream cheese, a selection of fine cheeses, Japanese style breakfast, dim sum, congee, fruit. There was something for everyone, and something different to try each day.

Honorable Mention for Best Buffet: Espetus
For about $30 you get endless types of grilled meats, shrimp and pineapple, plus the (somewhat lackluster) salad bar. You always eat too much, but you feel like it was worth it at the end.

Best Bathroom: Astrid y Gaston
Not only the best bathroom in Lima, but the best restaurant bathroom we've ever been to. It smelled good. It was light and airy. It was modern and interesting in decor. It was everything you could want in a bathroom.

Best Decor: AME
The red, black and wood theme at AME in San Francisco comes off elegant and subdued rather than garish. The wall of wines is also spectacular. The only "3" we've ever given for decor. (And the food's pretty good too.)

Best Light Fixtures: Cortez
Although the food is pricey for the portion size, have a drink at the bar at Cortez just to look at these amazing light fixtures. They are sculptural, colorful and reiminscent of childhood.

Best Dessert: Astrid y Gaston
I don't know what these were called, but I do know that Alexis had finished the whole plate before Giao got back from the bathroom. These deep fried donut balls filled with molten bittersweet chocolate were not too sweet, and contained a perfect play on textures. They were sophisticated and homey at the same time.

Labels: Best of, restaurant, review