To understand the genesis of the one of the most historic saloons in San Francisco, the Comstock Saloon, you will require either good research skills or a step back in time. Rooted as the menu is in turn-of-the-last-century local food, it is high on concept and low on number of ingredients per dish and the general complexity scale. Think of it as retro comfort food without a twist, except for perhaps the high quality of the raw ingredients, which extend to the cocktail menu put together by co-owners and mixologists Jonny Raglin and Jeff Hollinger. Comstock Saloon serves lots of preserved and pickled foods, as well as little-used ingredients such as beef shank and salted fish. As austere as it sounds, it works beautifully, especially in the beautifully restored space that’s been an SF watering hole since 1907.