As our fishing boat rocks from side to side and cascading waves carry us through San Francisco Bay, I feel a sense of solidarity with Dominique Crenn when she admits to feeling seasick, too. But unlike me, holding a notepad with one hand and clutching my stomach with the other, Crenn, a two-star Michelin chef, is sitting stretched out like a starfish, sipping a Krug champagne, wearing joggers and a burgundy puffer vest. After all, she is on her turf.<\/p>\n
Having been named 2016\u2019s best female chef in the world with three world-class establishments\u2014Atelier Crenn, Petit Crenn, and Bar Crenn\u2014it was only a matter of time before she won the prestigious James Beard Award for best chef on the west coast. This year, she launched a campaign to promote gender equality in the restaurant industry in an effort to afford women the same opportunities she has had.<\/p>\n
Crenn landed in the Golden State three decades ago, but her hometown of Versailles still lingers in her voice. She casually tells me her favorite thing to cook is grilled cheese. She then spoons caviar into her mouth like it\u2019s soup, still careful to save some for our mid-fishing trip snack of melt-in-your-mouth morel mushrooms on toast.<\/p>\n
When she\u2019s not whipping up intricate, memorable dishes, Crenn is a regular at select places in her adopted city. Here, a Crenn-approved San Francisco itinerary.<\/p>\n
Get your caffeine fix
For a chance to run into Crenn and her staff off hours, hit up Rapha, right across the street from Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn. There, watch cycling races on-screen while patrons, too, arrive on bikes. Not only does Crenn love the customer service, but \u201cit feels like a community,\u201d she says. \u201cI see the same people. I order a drip coffee with plenty of room for cream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sip on something strong
Given that Crenn draws culinary inspiration from her travels, her affinity for watering hole Trick Dog makes sense. Their cocktail menu, which changes twice a year, offers beverages named after airports all over the world (try the Kansai International Kyoto made of gin, ros\u00e9, nigori sake, lychee, seaweed, and lime). \u201cIt\u2019s a well-run place that always has talented people behind the bar,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s always fun, creative and delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stock up on staples
Crenn\u2019s take on athleisure is both relaxed and refined. \u201cI adore the V-neck t-shirts from James Perse. Also, I recently purchased some Plimsole Lace Up Sneakers from C\u00e9line and they’re one of my new staples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get cultured
\u201cSan Francisco has such amazing museums, and it’s not just MoMa,\u201d Crenn says. She especially recommends the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, a hub of artifacts, textiles, and photography, and The Legion of Honor that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, which houses 4,000 years worth of ancient and European art.<\/p>\n
Unwind in nature
Crenn\u2019s moments of rest are few and far between. Her retreat of choice is Mount Tamalpais Watershed, a 45-minute drive north of San Francisco, a place ripe with pristine views and wildlife. Closer to home, she\u2019s a fan of Golden Gate Park, a microcosm of the city that\u2019s home to lush botanical gardens, concerts and art workshops.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ocean is always a calming place, especially Lands End,\u201d she says. \u201cTo be honest, the East Bay, including Berkeley and Oakland, has so many gems that visitors to San Francisco don’t even begin to consider.\u201d (To make your way around there, try another Vogue guide.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As our fishing boat rocks from side to side and cascading waves carry us through San Francisco Bay, I feel a sense of solidarity with Dominique Crenn when she admits to feeling seasick, too. But unlike me, holding a notepad with one hand and clutching my stomach with the other, Crenn, a two-star Michelin chef,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1505],"tags":[1510,21,6101,255,637],"class_list":["post-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dominique-crenn","tag-dominique-crenn","tag-food","tag-living","tag-travel","tag-web"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117209255328678504","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}