One thing that I love the most about the food culture in San Francisco is that there is always something unique and special coming up. And this time, I discovered the Pesco e Riso, a place offers dishes that combine the best of Italian and Japanese cuisine. The literal translation of the name is "fish and rice" and you will find both on the menu. Speak of the menu, they have a fantastic and diverse one that offers many plant-based, seafood as well as meat dishes. It is a great place for the gatherings of friends, who have diverse dietary preferences. Dishes range from $12 to $32 and include a Sapporo beer-battered squid, prawn, and eggplant tempura; a spaghettini with scallion and grated dry shrimp; garlic fried wings; and a three-mushroom tagliatelle (and my favorite!!!). Pesco e Riso’s menu changes every four to six weeks to stay in tune with what’s available at the market (so San Francisco) and insanely fresh fish and seafood.

Chef Joe Lin has worked in the Japanese restaurant and lived and worked in Italy before opening up Pesce e Riso. It was during those time when he discovered the cuisines from these two disparate countries had much in common. They both produce amazing beef (Fiorentina and Wagyu, respectively), and embraced rice with equal ardor to noodles and were diehard about seafood.

Must not miss: the Emilia roll is a Japanese idea vamping as a classic Italian dish, Prosciutto e Melone. Japanese rice, wrapped in prosciutto di Parma, is itself the wrapper for fresh melon and just-in asparagus. Served up like a sushi roll, the dish gets a pop of color and a hint of umami from a swipe of the pesto sauce with which it is served.