There are an estimated 4,000 restaurants in San Francisco collectively serving up tens of thousands of dishes. For Gazetteer SF, food enthusiast and man-about-town Omar Mamoon is recommending the best ones. This is Order Up.
When I learned Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz, the talented team behind Dalida, the critically acclaimed eastern Mediterranean restaurant in The Presidio, were opening a new contemporary Mexican spot, I knew it was highly likely the restaurant would hit hard.
A meal there confirmed it.
Maria Isabel, the Ozyilmaz’s new restaurant at 500 Presidio Ave. in Presidio Heights, is a highly personal one for Laura. Whereas Dalida is named after Sayat’s mother who hails from Istanbul, Maria Isabel is a nod to the women in Laura’s life: her sister Maria (a chef in Mexico City), and Isabel, Laura’s mother, who lives in Acapulco.
“The restaurant represents the strong women in my family and embraces the femininity,” Laura told me. “It feels like you’re coming to my house.”
In honor of Acapulco’s beaches, the first section of the menu is devoted to mariscos: zippy aguachiles, octopus tostadas, and a bright ceviche acapulqueńo that features a molasses made of sour orange sourced front Star Route Farms in Bolinas in place of the orange Fanta that’s commonly used in the O.G. version.
“I’m sticking to my own inspiration, the way I grew up eating and adapting the dishes to ingredients I find here in San Francisco,” said Laura, who moved here after cooking at some of the best restaurants around the world like the avant-garde Mugaritz in Spain and Eleven Madison Park in New York City.
It was in New York where Laura met Sayat and fell in love; the two moved to San Francisco ten years ago. They continued working in fine dining before starting their own popup together, which led to Dalida.
Though Maria Isabel opened barely two months ago, it’s already firing on all cylinders. I dined with a group of 5 and we ordered almost the entire menu, which is divided into the aforementioned mariscos section focused on seafood, antojitos (small snacks), maiz (which emphasizes corn dishes), and platos principales that are more meat forward.
For me, the standout was the tamalito de maiz: I’ve never had anything quite like this one before.
Based on a tamal de elote that Laura grew up eating in Acapulco, it’s made from fresh corn blitzed together with butter before being steamed. The result is something slightly sweeter that achieves a beautiful fluffy texture somewhere between a tamale, flan, and corn bread.
“I grew up eating that specific tamale, topped with queso, crema, and salsa verde. I’d eat that twice a week,” Laura said.
For Maria Isabel’s version, Laura tops the tamales with a few luscious tongues of bright orange sea urchin finished brilliantly with a Mexican vanilla oil.
“Vanilla, to me, tastes like the forest or earth — it tastes a little piney and adds a layer of complexity,” she explained.
Hidden beneath the tamale is a layer of crunchy fried corn kernels that provide a nice textural contrast, and the entire thing is topped off with a sauce made from more corn, butter, and cream spiked with more of Mexican vanilla and finished with a few dots of fermented habanero sauce for nice added spice.
The dish was gone in an instant. Besides ordering it, my only other advice is not to split it five ways.
