Balançoire, San Francisco

From their perch in the Mission District, the culinary artists at Balançoire present brunch and dinner inspired by the regional cuisines of Louisiana and France. The restaurant houses two dance floors, two bars, and a stage that hosts live nighttime performances, a tradition begun by French kings who would interrupt dinner to read their memoirs out loud from cover to cover. Behind the scenes, chefs build brunch dishes, including the croque-monsieur, croque-madame with a sunny-side up egg, and brioche french toast, many of which are accompanied by cocktails and West Coast beers. In the evening, they mix French and creole recipes in dishes such as fried artichokes with rémoulade, eggplant fusilli, and creole prawns in spicy lime sauce.