Michael Mina Shows
His Culinary Way

Around The San Francisco Bay

Story By Scott Gummer     
Photography by Tomas Muscionico

Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco. Michael Mina found his. So who better to lead a culinary tour of the City by the Bay than the star chef who brought acclaimed San Francisco restaurants Aqua and Nobhill to Las Vegas' Bellagio and MGM Grand, as well as newly opened SEABLUE at MGM Grand? Along for the ride were Susan Fleitz, MGM MIRAGE Senior Vice President of Advertising, Peter Gotfredson, Publisher of M lifestyle and this grateful writer assigned to chronicle the 36-hour feast.

Over coffee, freshly baked sticky buns and mimosas at Ella's, Mina, 36, recalled his road to San Francisco, which took more twists and turns than the city's fabled Lombard Street. Born in Egypt, he was but one year old when his parents fled religious persecution and moved the family a world away (literally and figuratively) to the rural farmlands of Ellensburg, Washington. Mina vividly recalls flipping through a school textbook, stopping and staring at a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. Mesmerized by its majesty, Mina vowed to make his way to the sparkling metropolis one day.

Heaping plates of brandied French toast on honey oatmeal bread, fresh chicken hash and fried cornmeal with cheddar cheese and green onion were personally delivered to the table by Ella's owner Danny Wilser, who named his neoclassical American bistro after his great aunt. "I usually just have fruit and coffee in the morning," says Mina. "Ella's is so homey. The line on weekends is up the block, but the fresh-baked breads alone are worth the wait."

Life is good.

Driving through the Marina, Mina traced his journey from Ellensburg to Hyde Park, New York, where he studied at the acclaimed Culinary Institute of America, to Manhattan and Charlie Palmer's Aureole, to L.A.'s Hotel Bel-Air under Executive Chef George Marrone, who in 1989 made Mina second in command when they moved to San Francisco to open Aqua. Things got off to a bumpy start. The Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked San Francisco struck on Mina's second day in town. The opening of Aqua was subsequently delayed, so Mina did a stint as a pastry chef at the Four Seasons Clift Hotel. It turned out to be a blessing, as it was at the Clift that Mina met his wife, Diane, who was serving high tea. Now a Marin County wedding planner, Diane and Michael live just across the Golden Gate Bridge with their two sons, ages 6 and 3. The family's favorite place to play in the city is the Palace of Fine Arts and adjacent Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum for kids of all ages. Strolling amid the exhibits, Mina admits, "If not for the duck pond outside, I'd never get my boys out of here."

	The R&G Lounge

Our next stop was the R&G Lounge, a former favorite retreat from Aqua between the lunch and dinner shifts. "Everything is live," Mina said as he led the way downstairs to a table beside a tank teeming with fish. Ordering for the table, Mina selected geoduck (goo-e-duk) clams and live shrimp sashimi. Across the table I heard him whisper to the waitress, "Can they salt and pepper the heads?" A fine suggestion as it turned out, as the food was exquisite and perfectly complemented with Cakebread Cellars chardonnay.

Satisfied though not quite full, Mina insisted we experience Swan's Oyster Depot. A San Francisco institution since 1912, the raucous raw bar is run by five brothers. "I've been coming here for years," said Mina as he orders us fresh crab, shrimp cocktails and mounds of oysters on the half shell. Much to the delight of the brothers and other patrons, Susan sidled behind the counter and took a crack at shucking oysters. "Swan's is the greatest place to take visitors," says Mina. "Anchor Steam beer and Dungeness-crab-now that's San Francisco!"