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Academy Café

The wildly popular dining venue at the new California Academy of Sciences, in Golden Gate Park, is one of the city's latest shrines to sustainable agriculture, courtesy of local food heroes and good-pal chefs Charles Phan (Slanted Door) and Loretta Keller (Coco500). Where else can you load up your tray with juicy Niman Ranch pork carnitas tacos, Phan's famously feathery Vietnamese steamed chicken buns, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches updated with organic almond butter and house-made jam? Don't fret the $25 museum admission to lunch here: surely you want to see the eco-sleek sci-fi setting that starchitect Renzo Piano has created for the designer butterflies and lizards.

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From Food & Wine , SEP 2008

At the café's noodle station, visitors can try Phan's signature Vietnamese dishes, like a ginger-infused lemongrass pork with vermicelli. The pork is served in a Thai chile–spiked brown-sugar sauce, leaving the meat juicy and sweet...MORE>>

– Joshua Davis Chefs Charles Phan and Loretta Keller: Recipes for Sustainability

Last updated September 2008