1760 rocks it … Bauer be damned!
t says: When visiting SF on a recent trip, I let kp choose our dinner. He opted for 1760, a restaurant located at 1760 Polk street. Not knowing anything about the restaurant beforehand, I was excited to go, as kp was excited for some octopus dish that was a “Top 100 in SF” item according to 7×7. What he/I/we did not know was that the place had be wrecked by SF’s critic, Bauer; he didn’t have one good thing to say about their food! Funny thing about Bauer is that we had crossed paths (like two ships in the dark of night) before, having eaten at Sons and Daughters right before his review broke; now that was a restaurant which we were initially lukewarm about but apparently has gone on to garner Bauer-love and a Michelin star.
So how did 1760 fare? Check it out:
February 2014, Wednesday Dinner, Party of 2. kp and I were ushered in from the rain and seated immediately by a smiling hostess – they got points already.
The format of the restaurant encourages multiple courses in series. As such, there would have to be a lot of re-setting of silverware … except for now, when all you’d have to do is reach for the box of silverware already one the table! I initially thought it was kind of lazy, but you know what – it was actually kind of brilliant! I could switch up my silverware as often as I wanted! kp and I were down for the choose-our-own-fork adventure! (I only wish they would have had a variety of different styles of fork – it would have been fun! Like, Talula’s Daily should do this with their mismatched silverware – it’d be quirky and cute!)
two slices of apple … the literally gave us two slices of apple to “cleanse our palates”. for real. when these came out, all I could do was contemplate, “really? two pieces of apple? what kind of amuse bouche is that? maybe they do things way differently here in SF”. But of course, it wasn’t just two slices of apple – it was two of the best pieces of apple I’ve ever had. Why? Well, it was apple compressed with vanilla and orange zest. The wizardry of citrus-apple-vanilla combination was fabulous. I liken it to eating a sorbet … that had all the textural consistency of an apple. It’s like they played god and made their own apple. As a result, this single apple ruined all other apples for me. I guess I should just stop eating apples altogether now …
raw scallop + ugni + caviar + onion + soy = 5(bait). Beautifully balanced, with the mix of briney-salt and soy-sauce-salt that was so fun to watch.
yellowtail ceviche with shaved celery, a line of homemade sriracha and a bit of yuzu bubbles. This dish tasted like it was ripped straight from the mind of Peter Serpico, himself … which means that it was thoughtfully composed and perfectly executed.
you can’t see the shisito peppers, but they were there … and they were solidly done … nothing beats a well-charred shisito pepper for a fun finger food to munch on as time passed …
the crispy octopus was … very nice … with a fun crispy exterior and soft interior … but let’s be honest: koo zee doo’s milk-braised octopus (R.I.P.) is a benchmark that just cannot be passed.
welcome to monkfish liver mousse. this was kp’s only pick of the evening (the octopus dish was compulsory, and I got to choose the others – kp felt that he’d always have a chance to come back, whereas I was just visiting … he’s thoughtful like that) … and it was incredible! absolutely incredible! If the ocean could be experienced like a symphony … in your mouth … that is what this dish was like. And I say “symphony” because it had this “time course” of flavor, where it started off mild and subtle, followed by a soft crescendo of ocean breeze and lightly sweetened compote which was then followed by a surge of sweet-savory mousse which was then followed by a climax of savory-salty squid ink crisp which was then followed by seconds upon seconds of fading flavors – I didn’t even want to sip my wine with it because I didn’t want to risk losing the delicate flavors of the dish. It was the single best dish of my trip! Forget the octopus being on the “Top 100” – this thing should take up like 4 spots on that list!
the lamb shoulder cavetelli was fine .. nothing too crazy going on here – solid lamb flavors, good bitter greens, al dente pasta … they read the textbook and followed it down to every dotted i and crossed t.
This dessert was a little hokey. That bourbon sauce overpowered everything else on the dish … which wasn’t that bad because it was delicious as hell, but it lacked the balance of a “deconstructed chocolate s’more” … and it made me long for Talula’s Garden’s chocolate s’more dessert, which will go down in history as my favorite dessert in all the land …
In all, 1760 did a wonderful job with the dishes we ordered, and still, there were plenty more that we wanted to try! The lack of “cohesion” that Bauer pointed out isn’t a big deal, as I enjoyed the opportunity to compose a unique adventure from start to finish. I think that the key is to find awesome dinnermates who are willing to share so that you can maximize the tastes. While not every one is the blow-you-away-killa’, everything was nicely done with a delicate, deliberate hand … oh … and that monkfish liver mousse just straight-up killed it …
As an aside, kp and his roommate also took me to Nopalito on another night and it was ridiculous. There were too many dishes to do a blow-by-blow, so I’m just going to have to put up a single pic so I will remember going there:
porky yumminess.
after dinner sneeze 
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