Kyoko had two friends visiting from Denver, John and Sean, so we thought it would be fun to have dinner and drinks then visit the California Academy of Sciences afterwards. On Thursday evenings the Academy turns into NightLife – think of it as a science museum for adults! With that in mind, we dined at Maven, which was perfectly located to accommodate such a plan. Maven is a cool, trendy, yet down-to-earth, two-story bar and restaurant in SF’s Lower Haight.

Maven’s Chinatown Duck Sliders are #38 on our 7×7 list. One order comes with two sliders, so we ordered a few! These sliders were definitely on the 7×7 list for a reason, the duck was perfectly glazed in a slightly sweet hoisin sauce, topped with shiitake mushroom and bok choy. All the delicious flavors of a traditional Sunday morning dim sum were captured in this trendy, palm-sized slider. The duo, and our two visitors, give the chef eight thumbs up!

To accompany the sliders, and of course we couldn’t resist, we ordered the fries which came with olive aioli. Fries are one of those foods that seem to taste good everywhere. Maven’s fries were no exception – perfectly fried with a great house-made dipping sauce.

The guests sitting at a table next to ours ordered oysters. Since oysters are not on the menu, we had to ask our waitress how we could get our hands on them! They looked too delicious not to ask. Who doesn’t love a fresh oyster?

To keep with the seafood theme, we also ordered the Penn Cove Mussels, made with Korean chili pepper and absinthe and served with garlic bread. Our favorite part was using the bread to soak up all the delicious broth at the bottom of the bowl!

We loved the atmosphere that Maven provided and its proximity to Golden Gate Park. We would suggest that if you want to plan a date night, or host friends, or just explore the city, that you dine at Maven on a Thursday night before visiting the Academy, and be sure to get tickets ahead of time!

Until next time, cheers!

xo,
The Duo