Finances were a beast, but dining was a feast

Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer said it on his blog this month: 2010 has been a banner year for the Bay Area restaurant scene.

Bauer will declare his favorite newcomers in Sunday's Food & Wine section, but the year in dining went beyond a crop of great rookies.

A grilled-cheese restaurant opened in SoMa, as did a nearby restaurant specializing only in cheese fondue. A vegan taqueria in the Mission opted for cashew cheese, while a haute cuisine temple on the Peninsula served up spherical liquefied goat cheese.

The Bay Area was introduced to chicken tartare at Ippuku and reunited with chicken Kiev at Thermidor. Then there was the matter of red velvet fried chicken at American Cupcake.

The math alone is staggering. The year's deluge of new - and often quality - restaurants means that there are thousands of new seats vying for diners' dollars each and every night, a worrisome prospect for many established restaurateurs and their thin margins.

The Chronicle gave first-time reviews to close to 100 restaurants this year, and the stats backed up the buzz. By an unofficial tally, 16 rated an overall three stars or better, compared with only 12 last year.

Just one - Morton's - got zero stars for food.

Tyler Florence opened two restaurants this year, one (Wayfare Tavern) in downtown San Francisco and one in downtown Napa (Rotisserie & Wine). The celebrity chef proved he's serious about his efforts, too, hiring the talented Jeremy Fox as his budding restaurant group's creative director. The pair will roll out Mill Valley's El Paseo in March, with the help of one Sammy Hagar.

Chef Christopher Kostow and the Restaurant at Meadowood joined the French Laundry atop the culinary world as the only restaurants on the West Coast to boast three Michelin stars. He snagged his fourth Chronicle star, too.

David Kinch and Nicole Plue finally took home James Beard Awards after multiple nominations. The Laundry's rising star Timothy Hollingsworth won one on his first try.

Daniel Patterson ventured into Oakland, Michael Mina went downtown and Bauer was lured into Benihana.

Blue Bottle had a little situation in Dolores Park.

Willie Brown found his calling as a restaurant writer, while Chris Daly embraced his as a bar owner.

Ike's Place had a little situation in the Castro.