Measurement of the decays B --> phi K and B --> K*

We have observed the decays B → phi K and phi K* in a sample of over 45 million B mesons collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II collider. The measured branching fractions are BF(B+ → phi K+) = (7.7-1.4+1.6+/- 0.8) x 10-6, BF(B0 → phi K0) =(8.1-2.5+3.1+/- 0.8) x 10-6, BF(B+ → phi K*+) = (9.7-3.4+4.2+/- 1.7) x 10-6, and BF(B0 → phi K*0) = (8.6-2.4+2.8+/- 1.1) x 10-6. We also report the upper limit BF(B+ → phi pi+) < 1.4 x 10-6 (90 percent CL)