5 posts tagged “san francisco dining”

http://aswelikeit.vox.com/
Cuisine=*(0-20) Ambiance=!(0-5) Price=$(Simple-Full)
Approximate Price per person excluding tax, beverage + tip=$. Simple=appetizer + main course; full= best available multi-course meal.

As We Like It has been serving the gastronomically enlightened community since 1989.

    San Francisco Bay Area, CA

    Redwood City

     Old Port Lobster Shack *(16) !(1.5) $(18-64) Tel.= 650-366-2400, Fax= 650-366-4658, http://oplobster.com/index.htm, 851 Veterans Boulevard, Open Monday-Saturday continuously from 11:30 AM till 8:30-9:00 PM, Sunday=12:00 Noon-8:00 PM.
    Started by a lobster professional from Maine, the steamed 1.25 pound Maine lobster special is first rate (worthy of a *19 food rating), the best we’ve discovered locally, and a bargain at $32.75 (or $60.00 for 2). It comes with a nut cracker, lobster fork and bib. Next time we’ll bring our own special lobster scissors to facilitate dismembering. Garnishes include melted butter, fries, cole slaw and corn on the cob. Don’t bother with the surf and turf. Other pleasant courses included beer battered haddock and chips, grilled salmon, shack crab club and baked, stuffed lobster. Set in a simple storefront with unadorned wooden picnic tables, food and drinks are ordered at the front desk and brought to the table when ready by a pleasant staff, eager to please. A decent selection of appropriate wines and beers is available, though we suggest bringing your own Champagne or white Burgundy to complement the fabulous, simply steamed fresh lobsters. For a special treat, call in advance, and they can even order a 5 pounder for people who are nuts about lobster. Lots of onsite parking is available in this strip mall.

    Sebastopol

     Eloise *(17.5) !(3.5) $(32-55) Tel.=707-823-6300, www.restauranteloise.com, 2295 Gravenstein Highway, Lunch Monday and Wednesday-Friday= 11:30-2:30, Brunch Saturday-Sunday 10-2:30, Dinner= 5:30-10:00 PM Monday+Wednesday-Saturday, Sunday=5-9:00 PM.
     The ambiance and service are that of a French country inn with food to match. They even have a few outside tables for sun lovers. A delightful but rich plate of pig trotters was drizzled with a walnut vinaigrette. Other appetizers included a super fresh green salad directly from their garden; tasty, in-season asparagus with a bit too much gribiche sauce (vinaigrette with hard boiled egg , gherkins and capers) and great texture to the ravioli with an egg yolk center and a bit too much sauce; perhaps the sauce should be placed on the side, to be used as desired by the patron. An excess of pepper marred the otherwise fabulous main courses of rabbit pappardelle and guinea hen with matzoh ball soup. The cassoulet was first rate as well. Leave room for the fine lemon curd with warm madeleines or house-made hazelnut-chocolate ice cream. Would that they bring back our favorite: lemon crepes! There is an appropriate wine list with a $15.00 corkage fee if you bring your own. Lots of onsite parking is available. A recession-special Wednesday night 3-course dinner is offered at $35.00, and corkage is waived.

    Palo Alto

     Il Fornaio *(14.5) !(3) $(15-41) Tel.=650-853-3888, 520 Cowper Street in the Garden Court Hotel, Mon.-Thu.= 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., Fri.= 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., Sat. 8:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., Sun.=  8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
     This is one of the more attractive of the 20 locations in this corporate chain with lots of well spaced tables inside and out. The service is pleasant but not well informed. We enjoyed a lunch of tasty chicken salad and delicious meat lasagna with proper balances between pasta and stuffing. A mixed ice cream dessert provided the right finishing touch. A satisfying glass of 2007 ZD Napa Chardonnay ($18) was chosen from their appropriate wine list. Valet parking is available for $10.00.

    Sausalito

      Murray Circle *(14) !(3) $(27-60) Tel.=415-339-4750, Fax=415-339-4792 www.murraycircle.com, Cavallo Point, 602 Murray Circle, Fort Baker, Sausalito, Daily Breakfast= 7-10:00 AM, Brunch Saturday-Sunday=11:30-2:30, Lunch Monday-Friday=11:30-2:00, Dinner nightly from 5:30 PM.
     Great reviews but disappointing food are what we discovered in this fabulous location on a decommissioned Army base. We figured we would give them a second try after being disappointed on our first visit. Fine natural ingredients are spoiled by “too much stuff” spoiling the natural tastes. A mediocre sweet pea gazpacho with serrano chilies and citrus ice was filled with raw instead of al dente cooked peas. A pedestrian course of Marin mussels with smoked paprika butter was served in an inappropriate vessel having no place to dispose of the shells. A fresh, pleasant day boat halibut was marred by excessive garlic on the plate. The grilled Sonoma pork chop with a detracting carrot-ginger emulsion was garnished with a fabulous textured farro risotto spoiled by its seasoning. Jersey ice cream accompanied a pleasant Boston cream pie. The wine list is amazing with an extensive list of half bottles. Corkage is $25.00 with a 2 bottle limit, though their fee will be waived for each bottle purchased. Lots of onsite parking is available.

    San Francisco

      Piperade *(18) !(4) $(29-61) Tel.=415-391-2555, Fax=415-391-1159, 1015 Battery at Green, Lunch= Monday-Friday 11:30-3:00, Dinner = Monday-Saturday 5:30-10:30 PM.
     Gerald Hirigoyen is a chef who knows how to enhance his high quality ingredients  without messing them up with unnecessary “stuff” on the plate as evidenced by delectable starters of: simply delicious cream of asparagus soup; butter lettuce and fresh herb salad; and superb cold poached foie gras with black pepper, sea salt and rhubarb-ginger compote. We loved our steamed Pacific snapper with spinach and fried garlic vinaigrette. Bluenose sea bass with wilted rapini, bacon, kumquat and meyer lemon was a beautifully balanced course. Save room for scrumptious desserts of: orange blossom beignets, warm apple tart with vanilla ice cream and cornmeal cake with strawberry-rhubarb compote and creme fraiche. The ambiance and service are reminiscent of a charming left bank restaurant in Paris. Street parking is easily available at dinner time.

http://aswelikeit.vox.com/
Cuisine=*(0-20) Ambiance=!(0-5) Price=$(Simple-Full)
Approximate Price per person excluding tax, beverage + tip=$. Simple=appetizer + main
course; full= best available multi-course meal.
As We Like It has been serving the gastronomically enlightened community since 1989.

San Francisco, CA

Hayes Street Grill *(17.5) !(3) $(28-49) Tel.=415-863-5545, 320 Hayes between
Gough and Franklin, Lunch Mon.-Fri= 11:30-2:00, Dinner from 5:00 PM nightly except from
5:30=Saturday
This 30 year old landmark restaurant is the dining base for knowledgeable
patrons before performances in the Concert-Opera-Ballet venues. The staff
really knows how to move people in and out to get them to their respective
theaters on time. And the food is nourishing and delicious. Generous portions
of starters we have enjoyed include: green salad with sherry-shallot vinaigrette
(order sauce on the side and add to taste); fabulous mushroom-celery soup;
Caesar salad (one of the best around); grilled Hoffman quail salad with varying
fruit accompaniments, e.g., grilled figs, cherries, persimmons, or fuji apples
and chicories; autumn tomato salad with feta, cucumbers and olives; Oregon
bay shrimp and avocado salad with green beans and egg; cracked local half
dungeness crab (when in season) with avocado and citrus salad; grilled
scallops, asparagus and citrus salad. Grilled marinated Monterey sardines were
tasty but marred by the multitude of tiny bones, and smoked trout toasts were
overly dressed. They do an excellent job with grilled fish that are garnished
with fine French fries and a choice of sauce; we usually substitute a simple
white rice for the fries and order the sauce on a separate dish. They slightly
undercook the fish, so order them cooked-through if you prefer. We loved the
New Zealand blue nose sea bass, wild Quinault steelhead, Hawaiian long line
ono, Alaska coho salmon, Alaska Halibut, and California white sea bass. Other
main courses we have enjoyed include: Ft. Bragg petrale sole, grilled scallops
with white corn and vegetables, Eastern sole with new potatoes and Oregon
chanterelles, and Tuscan style Alaskan halibut with artichokes and potatoes.
Desserts are straight forward and delicious; we usually split a hot fudge sundae
with toasted pecans, but have been known to savor an apple-rhubard or applecherry-
pecan crisp with vanilla ice cream, or a Meyer lemon tart with
huckleberry sauce. There is a reasonably priced and appropriate wine selection
and corkage is $20.00. Their tables with white table cloths and butcher block
paper are packed together for maximum seating capacity, but the sound levels
are not intrusive. They fill up almost every night, so reserve in advance; they
take reservations 3 weeks in advance after 10:30 AM. There is also a first-come
first-serve bar area that serves the regular menu, but you usually have to come
very early to get a seat. They also offer a “prime time” prix fixe 3-course dinner
for $33 Sunday-Thursday after 7:30 PM.

Katia’s Russian Tea Room *(16.5) !(2.5) $(23-65) Tel.=415-668-9292, 600 5th
Avenue at Balboa, Lunch Wed.-Fri= 11:30-2:30, Dinner from 5:00 PM Wed.-Sun.
Start with some beet borsch or mushroom-barley-potato soup and follow
with little bites (zakuski) of piroshki, vareniki or pelmeni to pass around the
table. Our favorite is the blini selection with smoked salmon, etc. We also like
to bring our own caviar for the blini. Beef stroganoff, veal cutlets, lamb shashlik
and poached sturgeon are recommended entrees. Save room for the blinchiki or
Napoleon desserts. Street parking can be challenging.

Jardiniere *(17.5) !(3.5) $(54-125) Tel.=415-861-5555, 300 Grove St., at Franklin,
Dinner from 5:00 PM nightly.
This is a more formal restaurant for your pre- or post-concert meal, and
it is most conveniently located across the street from the Symphony and Opera
Halls with valet parking available. We savored the foie gras terrine with
caramelized pineapple and macadamia nuts to start. Highly recommended are
the Maine diver scallops with cauliflower, golden raisins, coconut and lemon
grass nage, as well as Liberty Farms duck breast with turnips, bok choy, blood
orange and tamarind-date puree. Enjoyable desserts included a dark chocolate
cake and a rhubarb-frangipane tart with pistachio ice cream and vanilla
custard. There is an expensive, extensive wine list, and corkage is $25.

Boulevard *(18) !(4) $(46-80) Tel.=415-543-6084 Fax=415-495-2936
boulevardrestaurant.com, One Mission St. at Steuart, Lunch Mon.-Fri.=11:30-2:00, Dinner
from 5:00 PM nightly.
The delightful art deco setting makes you feel like you are in a Paris
Brasserie. Make sure to reserve in advance, because it’s one of the most popular
places in town. Outstanding starters included squab breast (with potato ravioli)
and pan seared Sonoma foie gras with honey poached quince and toasted
chocolate spice bread. Also enjoyed were the Monterey calamari stuffed with
crab and lobster, as well as an heirloom Tamworth proscuitto course. Wood
roasted rack of lamb was fabulous, and the pan roasted guinea hen was
delightful. Leave room for some delicious apple terrine or quince cake. There is
a fine but pricey wine list with a $25. corkage fee. Valet parking is available.

Fleur de Lys *(19.5) !(5) $(90-150) Tel.=415-673-7779 Fax=415-673-4619, 777
Sutter St. at Jones, Dinner from 6:00 PM Mon.-Sat.
Romance oozes from every corner of this wonderful restaurant with its
beautiful decor, seamless service and world class wine list. You can’t go wrong
with a symphony of appetizers or the salmon soufflé “Paul Haeberlin”. The
boneless quail stuffed with ris de veau (sweetbreads) is “to die for” as is the
seared filet mignon with a lobster truffled “mac & cheese” en brioche. Duck
lovers will be happy to find a muscovy duck breast on savoy cabbage with
cream of celery root. An assortment of fine cheeses is the perfect complement
to those last few ounces in your wine glass. We go back and forth at to whether
we prefer the Grand Marnier or the chocolate soufflé for dessert. Corkage is
$35. Valet parking is available.

Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton *(18.5) !(4.5) $(45-125) Tel.=415-773-6198, 600
Stockton St. between California and Pine, Dinner from 6:00 PM Tues.-Sat.
This is the place to go for an elegant dinner in a serene setting. For
maximal conversational abilities ask to be seated away from the harp player. We
loved all of these appetizers: chilled pea soup, sashimi of kampachi, chilled
foie gras and abalone. Well executed entrees included foie gras medallions with
rhubarb terrine, potato crusted moi, black cod with suckling pig, Sonoma duck
breast, poussin and veal chop with sweetbread medallion. Desserts are usually
first rate. You can’t beat the wine selection or service, and the corkage is $35.
Valet parking is available.

     La Terrasse*(15.5) !(2.5) $(22-48) Tel.=415-922-3463, 215 Lincoln Blvd. at Graham St. on the Presidio of San Francisco, Breakfast Mon.-Fri.= 7:00-10:45 AM, Brunch Sat.=11.00-4:00 PM, Sun. =10:00-4:00, Lunch Mon.-Fri= 11:00-4:00, Dinner= 5:00-10:00 PM nightly.
    We find this to be a delightful bistro for lunch to enjoy their generous, flavorful foie gras torchon as well as the moules frites with Pernod, salad nicoise with grilled tuna, sauteed prawns provencal and onion soup gratinee. Pot de creme and vanilla millefeuille were fine finishing touches. We look forward to trying their breakfasts, brunches and dinners in the future. An appropriate but limited wine selection is available and corkage is $25.

     La Folie*(18.5) !(4) $(75-110) Tel.=415-776-5577, 2316 Polk St. between Green and Union, Dinner only= 5:30-10:30 PM Mon.-Sat.
    Who could resist beautifully seared Hudson Valley Foie gras with wild Oregon huckleberries or cauliflower soup with lobster knuckles and curried pears? We loved the pan seared Tai snapper with jus de bouillabaisse and thought the trio of rabbit (loin, rack and braised leg) with natural jus to be delightful. Black mission fig tarte tatin is a marvelous innovation on one of our favorite desserts. An exceptional wine list has something for everybody, and corkage is $35. Valet parking is available.

Cuisine=*(0-20) Ambiance=!(0-5) Price=$(Simple-Full)
Approximate Price per person excluding tax, beverage + tip=$. Simple=appetizer + main course; full= best available multi-course meal.

As We Like It has been serving the gastronomically enlightened community since 1989.

    San Francisco

    Gary Danko *(19.5) !(5) $(65-100) 415-749-2060  www.garydanko.com.  800 Northpoint Street at Hyde  Dinner from 5:30 nightly.
    Vibrant electricity is evident as you enter the restaurant and continues throughout the evening... resembling something out of a 1940’s movie with the “right” people going to the hottest place in town. Soft lighting with muted colors and exquisite floral arrangements mix with happy diners and lots of professional staff scurrying around the room. Elegant table settings and linens complete the picture. As for the food: Gary has hit his stride; without his even being in the kitchen during the dinner service for the 3 visits we’ve had recently, uniform excellence has been orchestrated by his kitchen staff. Fabulous appetizers with great balances were: seared foie gras with caramelized red onion and rhubarb; risotto with lobster, rock shrimp, zucchini, crispy artichokes and lemon herb butter; as well as green and white asparagus salad with red peppers, quail eggs and caper red onion vinaigrette. Fish and seafood courses have been spectacular: branzini (sea bass) with fennel purée, nicoise olives, naval oranges and saffron; roast Maine lobster on a pillow of mashed potato with morel mushrooms, asparagus and tarragon; seared sea scallops with salsify, fava beans, frisée and pancetta; and somewhat overly salted with excess garlic pancetta wrapped frog legs with sunchoke purée, potato and lentils. An unbeatable quail course was served with mushroom ragout, foie gras, gigante and fava beans, English peas, tasso and arrugula. Also terrific was a guinea hen breast with fregola, asparagus and lemon confit. Skip the overly spiced lemon herb duck breast, but don’t miss some scrumptious roasted loin of bison with king trumpet mushrooms, glazed cipollini onions  and herb spaetzle. Leave room for the best cheese service west of Paris, all properly aged, including brebiou, brie de Nangis, Brillat Savarin, Livarot and Taleggio, among others. Desserts held their own including: a toothsome baked chocolate soufflé with 2 sauces, a light and delightful non-cholesterol raspberry soufflé and a delicious passion fruit-strawberry vacherin with poached rhubarb, almond meringue and sour cream ice cream. The wine selection and service are world class; corkage is $35.00 per bottle if you bring your own wine. Valet parking is available with $11.00 charge.

Cuisine=*(0-20) Ambiance=!(0-5) Price=$(Simple-Full)
Approximate Price per person excluding tax, beverage + tip=$. Simple=appetizer + main course; full= best available multi-course meal.

As We Like It has been serving the gastronomically enlightened community since 1989.

    San Francisco

    Chapeau! *(17.5) !(2.5) $(27-55) Tel.=415-750-9787  Fax=415-750-9677 chapeaubistro@earthlink.net.  1408 Clement St. at 15th Ave.  Dinner 5-10:00 Tues.-Sun.
    In typical bistro style the tables, with white table cloths, are jammed together and noise levels are high. So why is this place packed-solid every time we come? Because they offer  real “bang-for-the-buck”: good food at reasonable prices. The “boss” appetizer was a boneless quail with mizuna, foie gras and huckleberry sauce, but the traditional onion soup and sauteed foie gras on toasted brioche with huckleberry sauce were decent as well. Beautifully seared scallop on a bed of butternut squash risotto was a winner. Perfectly medium rare filet mignon was served with pommes de terres Landaise, king trumpet and oyster mushrooms and sauce a la Perigourdine. We enjoyed the bacon wrapped veal medallion with crispy sweetbreads, hedgehog mushroom fricassée, chestnut en purée, baby carrot and veal demi-glace. Soggy accompaniments marred the otherwise pleasant braised Colorado lamb shank. Don’t bother with the chilled orange soup/ grand marnier soufflé glacé; when the profiterolles and warm chocolate cake with banana flambée/ rum-raisin ice cream and caramel sauce are superior. Service was pleasant but slow, probably because they were opening their second restaurant that same night. They have a well-priced, appropriate wine list.

Cuisine=*(0-20) Ambiance=!(0-5) Price=$(Simple-Full)
Approximate Price per person excluding tax, beverage + tip=$. Simple=appetizer + main course; full= best available multi-course meal.

As We Like It has been serving the gastronomically enlightened community since 1989.

    San Francisco

    Fleur de Lys *(19.5) !(5) $(70-102) 415-673-7779  www.fleurdelyssf.com.  777 Sutter St. at Jones  Dinner from 6:00 P.M. Mon.-Sat.
    Their elegant dining room is definitely the most romantic restaurant setting that we have encountered, and the food is always of the highest caliber, with a mixture of the old classic French technique combined with exotic influences from all over the world. Professional service completes the picture. One can opt for a three to five course dinner chosen from their menu, but we feel that this is one of those places where you can have implicit faith in Chef Hubert Keller and say: “have the chef prepare a tasting menu for the table”. If this happens, usually every other diner can be served a different course, and sharing and switching is great fun. Our starter of white gazpaccho with truffle popcorn and sweetbreads with sea urchin was a visual and gustatory delight. An imaginative trio of chestnut included chestnut soup with osetra caviar, chestnut gratin with sea scallop and chestnut and crab fritters, while the toothsome oxtail and truffle cappuccino with truffle duxelle was paired with a jalapeno brioche for contrast. Next came two marvelous seafood preparations: perfectly roasted lobster on artichoke purée with citrus salad and porcini oil, and roasted sea scallop with wonderfully accented, crunchy hazelnut crust, chanterelles, potato gnocchi and mushroom jus with hazelnut oil emulsion. Their variation of “surf-n-turf” consisted of a delectable, perfectly cooked mini-lobster atop a tender, seared filet mignon of the highest quality accented with a red wine, shallot-thyme Bordelaise sauce and accompanied by truffled mac & cheese. A very rich, but superb, slow-braised Snake River Farm Waygu beef cheek was garnished with cream of celery root, grenadine pickled onions and a juniper berry essence. A generous, enjoyable assortment of French cheeses with rustic country bread was just the right complement to finish our red wine. We are so happy to see the reappearance of a soufflé on their dessert menu; for there is nothing as satisfying as a great Grand Marnier or Chocolate soufflé to finish a fine meal, and they make outstanding preparations of each. The delightful assortment of chocolates and warm madeleines with chocolate dipping sauce at the end of the meal is another special touch. The wine service and selection is superb with something for everyone; corkage is $35.00 if you bring your own bottle. We found our 1990 Latour Chevalier Montrachet and 2000 F. Esmonin Clos Vougeot complemented the meal perfectly. Valet parking is available with a $13.00 charge.