Tucked in the shadows of The Fillmore, the famed music venue where the Grateful Dead once reigned, nestled among the shops and karaoke bars of San Francisco’s Japantown, you might stumble upon the unassuming storefront of one of the best restaurants in the world. 

One thing that gives it away is the line that often forms down the block as it opens for dinner. What it lacks in glam, the Michelin-star-rated State Bird Provisions more than makes up for in sumptuous food and stellar presentation. The Hawaiian-inspired dim sum restaurant features dumplings with duck confit filling and pork belly that melts in your mouth, all served with the fresh local produce for which San Francisco dining has become famous.

All of this is presided over by the out head chef, Gaby Maeda. GayCities sat down with Gaby in the restaurant’s stylish yet unpretentious concrete dining room to talk about being out in the workplace, the secrets to recipes, honing her craft with award-winning chef Gary Danko, and where she eats when she’s not in the kitchen herself.

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