The Secrets of Success Cookbook: Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Francisco's Best Restaurants

The San Francisco Chronicle's longtime restaurant critic gives readers the ultimate tour of the Bay Area restaurant scene in this chatty cookbook, which presents more than 300 recipes from top chefs who divulge the ""secrets"" behind their signature dishes. Peppered with restaurant and chef trivia, each recipe's preface reads like a mini restaurant review. Avid restaurant-goers and foodies will appreciate Bauer's discriminating palate as he deconstructs his favorite dishes for ""breakfast, cocktails and everything in between."" For example, for Gabriel Fregoso's (Las Camelias) Tequila Marinated Cornish Hens: ""The hens get an explosion of flavor from marinating 24 hours in a mixture of water, ginger, onion, garlic and tequila."" Geared specifically to home cooks, these succinct, clearly written recipes reflect San Francisco's diverse influences and tastes, from the culturally nuanced Tamarind Guava Barbecue Spareribs, Thai-Style Fried Quail and Seared Black Pepper Lavender Fillet of Beef to refined American diner standards such as Buttermilk Pancakes, Banana Cream Pie and the Best Hamburger (the secret is to use 18% fat chuck and salt it). For those who enjoy cooking and want to better understand the process--without investing a lifetime in the kitchen--this compendium of culinary Cliffs Notes provides a fine alternative. (Apr.)