Archive for the ‘Restaurant Reviews’ Category
Sous Buerre and Souvla – an exercise in opposites
t says: There’s no reason that Souvla and Sous Buerre Kitchen should be in the same review. They feature different cuisines. They’re in different neighborhoods. They are entirely different concepts (restaurant vs. order-and-sit). Really, the only thing keeping them in the same post is that they both begin with the same-sounding first syllable: “soo”. But if you look deeper, maybe there is a point, because one’s failing is precisely the reason why the other is a success.
Take Sous Buerre. Referred to us by a server at Neuf in Philly (which was AWESOME – review coming …), we thought that it would have been a slam dunk. It was more of a lay-up. It got the job done, but it wasn’t spectacular. Above is the sous vide pork loin. You look at it on the plate and it looks like it has the potential knock your socks off. Then you begin tasting: pork tastes like a good pork, the asparagus tastes like good asparagus, the jus is tasty, the kale leaf is weird. And you put it all together and it just doesn’t quite sing. It tasted like a pork with a side of veggie. Not bad – but not great; the sum of the dish was not above its components.
And this is the last photo I’ll share: the dessert. Once again – lots of components strewn across the plate … but there was no synergy – which was surprising as hell because it was all bait! (chocolate, marshmallow, etc). Unfortunately, the rest of the group didn’t have much else to praise (the gnocchi seemed like they were well-received, but no one shouted out: “OMG – you have to try this!”). Fortunately, the company we had was awesome, and more than made up for the food.
Meanwhile, look at Souvla. Here, I ordered the lamb wrap …
… and g got the pork salad. And they were CRAZY-good. It took them all of 10 minutes to construct (and that’s probably because they were so backed up) and I just couldn’t understand why it tasted so good; basically it was meat-and-veggies arranged in different proportions depending on if you wanted it in a salad or wrap . It was one of those things where they mashed a bunch of ingredients together and it just really “worked” – every ingredient had a contribution in the final perfect bite, every aspect was balanced, and it was incredibly not-fussy (i.e. there weren’t signs on the door saying “world’s best souvlaki”). The end result was a craveable sandwich/salad that was reasonably priced and we’d be happy to have again! Now I understand why the line is always so frickin’ long! The dining experience was a bit frustrating (they take your order … but you still have to vie for a seat – so it’s better to walk in and get a seat first and THEN order), but if you need to grab-and-go in Hayes Valley, this is the way to do it.
UPDATE: OH NO!! Sous Buerre Kitchen has just closed!!! Read about it here: http://sf.eater.com/2016/5/18/11701524/sous-beurre-kitchen-closed-mission-san-francisco. I guess our review wasn’t far off from the truth!
A Word about Crenn
t says: g and I literally just ate at Petite Crenn last night … and it. was. fabulous. Really. Every dish. Now, on one hand, we should expect it to be fabulous, as Dominique Crenn was just honored as “Best Female Chef” in the WORLD – the WORLD!! (and the DLROW, too, for all my neurology friends) But she really delivered!
Now, this post has no pictures – g was exceptionally self-conscious that evening, so photos were vetoed. But take my word as to why I think that this is the first SF restaurant we’ve gone to that’s worth the fixed price meal:
- Service was prompt and courteous. You think that that would be a “given” – but it was nice to see people serving us who appeared to be excited by the food – it was contagious!
- The room is casual enough to make you feel at ease. No white tablecloths. No excessive silverware. A higher-than-usual volume in the dining room allowed for more of a fun-night-out feel than a worship-at-the-altar-of-food feel.
- The wine list was reasonable. Ok – I take that back; I’m sure that it’s marked-up by a bajillion percent – but they’re bringing in things that are unconventional, so I’m ok with it (it’s like paying a “finder’s fee” for interesting wine). g had an actually wonderful rose cava (that I can’t find anywhere else in the U.S. except one retailer in San Jose …), and I had a Sauvignon Blanc that rode this very interesting line between New Zealand power and French austerity.
- Each dish was excellent. From the bread course, to the oyster, to the gnocchi, to the fish, to the salad (salad!!! the SALAD!), I was hooked. It was like this magical mix of Little Fish and Talula’s Garden and Ottolenghi, where the hits just kept on coming. The “weakest” course might have been the dessert, which was a mixed berry galette – but you know what – after so many other wonderful dishes, a humble berry tart which was nicely executed, was all I needed.
- We saw Dominique Crenn. Sporting her short hair, tattoos, and [we think] a dog in a pet carrier, it was like seeing Bradley Cooper in the wild (there’s more to this joke).
Even g loved the dining experience – and she’s as anti-fixed-price as they come. She has decreed: “yea … I’d come back … how about for my birthday?”. ‘Nuff said.
Double-brunch in MB/Dogpatch!
t says: There was this curious little frontage called “the Lab” in Dogpatch – we’ve seen it on numerous ventures to Piccino. Each time we peered into the windows and read the posted flyers we were intrigued; we had stumbled upon one of the sites of “Feastly”, which is essentially an organization that conducts pop-ups all over the country. As far as the Dogpatch site, I would say that it is reminiscent of “Cook” in Philly, but less “instructional” (i.e. you’re not all up in the chef’s business the entire night), and more like a venue that is forever a pop-up restaurant. Each night (nearly every night), there’s a different chef and “theme”. Hoping to be one of the cool kids, I dipped my toe into the water by making a brunch reservation for a Saturday.
April 2016, Saturday Brunch, Party of 2. The space is pretty simple. The tables are simple. The chairs are simple. They aren’t going to win any awards for decor … but we got the feeling that that wasn’t the point. This was not a showcase for “the next super chef” or “chef that’s so hot right now” (even though that’s what the website is espousing), rather, this was a space for some chefs to share their independent creations with a bunch of random people. The theme for the morning: crepes.
There was an open kitchen adjacent to a dining room of about 20 seats among two communal tables. We arrived precisely on time and had the whole table to ourselves, but as you can see, by the time we left, it was getting full (lesson: early bird got the worm … with more elbow room)
It started with a savory crepe – this one featured mushrooms, onions, and egg, and it was amazing. The buckwheat added this grainy texture and savory, bittery flavor as a backdrop to the shrooms and sweet onions.
The ham and cheese was similarly awesome – I mean – yes, a saltier ham might have been nicer, but there was something about it that really brought me back to breakfasts with my family at Verona in Vineland. All smiles here.
And then there was a dessert crepe. Yours truly ventured the nutella crepe (above) while g ventured the salted caramel. They were both the homiest sweet hug that you could get in the morning. And because it was paper-thin, you were free to rationalize, “no, this is way better for me than eating a slice of cake for breakfast …”. Exceedingly complex? No. Mouthwateringly delicious? Absolutely.
Above is a single shot of the pancakes at Cafe Reveille. You read it here first: these are bite-for-bite as delicious as Plow’s pancakes. And there’s no line to wait through. ‘Nuff said …
Tosca Cafe hits some high notes (and some low ones)
t says: Let’s just come out and say it: Tosca Cafe is a weird place. There’s no way to sugar-coat it. A North Beach staple, it’s been around a while – and when you walk in, you feel it immediately. I could have sworn that I walked into another decade (80’s? Early 90’s?). Be that as it may, there’s supposed to be some real talent behind the scenes, pulling the strings (April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman). So what was the food like? It varied …
So we ordered some charcuterie, which had cuts ranging from a delectable speck to a mortadella that hit me almost as something from a deli counter in Jersey (i.e. bland and not exactly “artisanal”). The cheese selection had the requisite soft, semi-soft, and blue. But where was the love? Where was the excitement? For “innovative and fresh Italian cuisine”, these were “fine”, but more like a plane on autopilot than an exciting airshow.
The mains held more promise. The grilled polenta with marscapone and mushrooms (foreground) was spot-on in terms of flavor. It was bold and beautiful and balanced, with good textures. Very nice. The Brussels in the background were a bit more steamed than roasted, but at the very least offered a vegetal counterpoint to the pasta and cheese fest on my plate. g’s bucatini was also nicely done – her one word review was “classic” (which is pretty high praise – she’s Italian like whoa). No pictures because I was trying not to draw attention to myself.
I have no pictures of the desserts. Tiramisu was a notch above what I like to call “the usual Tiramisu” (like the kind you might get at something like the Olive Garden – if the Olive Garden serves Tiramisu). It wasn’t as good as the one that some old, frail Italian grandmother slaved over, but for a dessert that could be made ahead of time and sliced on demand, it was well put together. I think we also had some cannolis on the table, but I don’t believe I tried any.
So I’m not sure if the new ownership has truly innovated anything on the menu (or if they did, I dread what it used to look like), but the end result was “pretty good”. We’re glad we checked it out, but I think we’re off to bigger/badder/better places – after all, this is SF. (We heard that Cotogna is pretty darn good – that might be our next Italian destination).
Trestle’s “good deal”
t says: Since moving to SF, Trestle has been near the top of the list of restaurants to try. Every review reads something like, “$35 fixed price! The food is just too incredible for it to be $35! How do they do it!?”. g and I were totally “in” – but for the record, there’s also a pasta supplement (+$10), which we’ll get into later …
March 2016. Saturday Dinner, Party of 2 (or 4?). g and I nabbed a reservation for a few weeks in advance. Later, we happened to be hanging out with k and cm, and decided we should eat together. We called up Trestle and asked to add two to the party – they refused. We looked on opentable – and they had another two-top available within a half-hour of our initial reservation … so we got that one, too. We showed up to the restaurant, explained that we had two reservations, and they sat us next to eachother … with different servers … with the intention that we would keep it as “two separate tables”. I understand why they did it that way, and we’re fine with it – but it did add some fun to our dinner conversation (e.g. pretending not to know eachother, etc). It did confuse the servers that we were so friendly, even going so far as to sharing dishes (i.e. one said: “we’ve never seen this before!” – I hope someone let her in to the fact that we knew eachother). Anyways – it was entertaining, and we’re happy they took us, even if it was a bit silly.
Now here’s the problem with Trestle: the menu changes VERY fast. And the problem is that unless a dish knocks us off our feet, it’s hard for me to remember what they are, as there is no longer a menu online for me to peruse (and I forgot to take a pic of the menu! d’oh!) First victim: the soup. We remember liking it – we just can’t remember why!! Argh!!
The calamari salad was flawlessly executed – just the right crispiness, just the right zippy springy flavors, and not too many greens to make it calamari soggy. Some might complain that it wasn’t salad-enough (::cough:: g ::cough::), but let’s be honest: who’s going to order calamari salad with the “hope” that there are more greens than squid? Answer: no one.
So, here’s the pasta supplement. It was chicken “parm”, or maybe it was “chicken” parm – not sure what was in quotation marks, but I remember asking the waitress why (I wanted to make sure it wasn’t fake-chicken tofu). It was essentially a deconstructed chicken parm, with an airy gnudi. I would have preferred potato gnocchi instead, but aside from that, there was something really nostalgic about it. Like, when I closed my eyes, I felt like I was in a South Jersey diner, age 8, and eating chicken parm from the menu of 200 items they served, thinking it was the best thing in the world (it was like pizza meets fried chicken!). Now, 33-year-old me knows this was not the best chicken parm in the world, but it definitely hit the necessary notes for an elevated version of classic chicken parm (especially not having a tomato sauce that’s too sweet – that’s the worst).
For the mains, I ventured the beef (?short rib?) on what I believe was farro. Solidly executed (I’ve had more tender beef in the past), with a very nice glaze. Wasn’t particularly eye-opening, but no-brainer good. g had some kind of fish on another type of grain – once again – the details evade us – we know it was nicely done, but nothing really stood out.
I’d have to say that the desserts were the weakest parts of the meal. One was some sort of panna cotta with citrus highlights (and a crumble), and the other (pictured above) was a chocolate pudding with citrus highlights (and a crumble). As sexy as torched marshamllow is, these were kind of phoned in. Not super-thoughtful, not superbly composed, just a way to shut up a diner’s sweet tooth (my sweet tooth thanks them).
So … Trestle … how was it? Well, $40 per person for dinner is sort of a deal (because generally, you’ll need one pasta supplement per two diners, at least), and no part of the meal was bad (which is good!), but let’s add some perspective. There are places in SF to get mind-blowing food in ample quantities that are just as inexpensive (Nopalito, Anchor Oyster), but those aren’t the contemporary-American-composed-dishes-in-courses restaurants. When you start stepping up to the “tasting menu” styles of restaurant, then yes, Trestle comes in at a deal. But I believe the flavors come in exactly at the pricepoint suggests; at no point did I every confuse Trestle’s dinner for some magical $100+ fixed price menu, or even an $70 one. It tasted like a solid $30-40 – and for that, in SF, they get props for not charging $70, $100, etc. Will g and I go back? Not on our own accord – maybe if we have some visitors from out of town and need to add a Contempo-American stop to the itinerary (but that’d be after Mexican, Seafood, Japanese, other Asian, pizza, and French).
Midnight in the Garden of Eatin’
t says: g and I had an opportunity to visit Savannah with a pretty cool guy and gal (i.e. g’s grandparents), and while I won’t show you everything we did, I will show you the food!
Savannah tap house served standard bar fare. Nothing particularly great about the atmosphere or service. They did try to jazz it up with an assortment of flatbreads, like this one with brie, peach, and pork belly. Ultimately was disappointing as the center was really soggy. Also: peach + brie = good, pork + peach = good, but pork + peach + brie = not as good. Sorry guys.
The Little Pink House is a Savanah institution. g and I were hesitant to go because we were afraid we’d have another Commander’s Palace experience (i.e. lots of hype, but a huge disappointment). Fortunately, the food was actually done quite well, and the service was quite competent (including dealing g’s grandfather’s “flirtatious advances” – I use air-quotes because it’s not really flirtatious, just funny!). Here is the fried green tomato over corn grits with a dash of bacon bits – pretty respectably done.
I followed it up with a pecan-crusted chicken, collards, and sweet potato. Ok – so the collards and sweet potato were both bland – so they get failing marks – the chicken, however, that was actually pretty amazing! There was no way I’d expect that pecans belong in/on/around chicken, but they really pulled it off, as the pecans added more of a savory character than a sweet one (just so long as you didn’t get too much of the maple glaze on it). I’ll give it an A- (the chicken could have been a bit juicier).
So, on one hand, I felt like they just phoned in dessert – it was the equivalent of ice cream and fruit … BUT THAT CUP. It was some kind of tuille of sugar and nut that was, in my opinion the best single item we ate while there. If I had the recipe for that, I’d be making them all the time for dinner parties. (The fruit and ice cream were “ok”).
I knew we weren’t in Louisiana, but I just had to try an oyster-and-shrimp-po’-boy while at “The Shrimp Factory” along the river. Result: precisely executed. The shrimp and oysters were nicely fried (not over, not under), which is the most important part. The lettuce and tomato were a bit sad-looking (so essentially I had fried seafood between two pieces of bread). This sandwich could have easily taken home “best item of the trip” with just a bit more “healthy” stuff (omg – never thought I’d say something like that on this blog ever).
g and I did go to a restaurant at the Savannah Andaz called 22Square. Now this restaurant felt like we were back in Philly. Boasting “from farm to fork”, It had that rustic look with the appearance reclaimed woods and wrought iron light fixtures with Edison bulbs. The servers were professional, and the menu was edgier than anything else we had see on the trip. Above, you see the bread plate with some dynamite foccacia and some kind of dried-fruit-in-rye-bread. (I actually think that those might be the best savory items we ate on the trip …)
Our appetizers featured what I’d like to call an “Asian salad” (citrus + sesame seeds + greens) and a pork belly appetizer that was a bit forgettable (i.e. I forget the details).
We then ventured a lamp shepherd’s pie which was excellently done – good veggies, smooth mash, deep lamby flavors – no complaints! g’s beef was satisfactory (no frills there), and accompanied by a bed of greens that reminded us quite a bit of the initial Asian salad we had as an appetizer …
Now this … this is the reason you should have bothered reading to the end of this post. I saved the best for last. This is ice cream from Napoleon’s, which was just a half-block away from our hotel. It. was. stupendous. The not-electric-lime-green pistachio ice cream was chocked full of nuts. When coupled with the hot fudge, it sent me to heaven. g and I started scheming ways to mail the ice cream back to SF so we could have a proper Napoleon vs. Bi Rite face-off. If I had to eat one thing in Savannah again, it’d be this ice cream …
While driving back to the Orlando airport, g consulted a previous email that kp had constructed to detail all of his favorite bbq stops off of 95. How/why kp had made such a list – I don’t know – but we’re darn appreciative. About one hour above the Flordia-Georgia border is Southern Soul BBQ on St. Simons Island. This place packs up at lunch like Pat’s/Geno’s at night, with a long line of people waiting to place their orders, and all the seating taken up by a mix of tourists and locals (although it is a tourist destination, so probably more tourists than locals). We sat across from a family from Kentucky who, in stereotypical Southern manner, were very nice, pleasant, kind folk. I have no picture of the bbq, because immediately upon receiving my brisket, my hands were an oil-and-sauce-covered mess. It was some excellent bbq, though, and we highly recommend it, as the meat was succulent, the sauce options were plentiful (although the “hot” sauce wasn’t very spicy). Really, the only thing missing was us pulling out some gouchuchang (for some reason I felt like a Korean spin on this bbq would have blown my mind). I will say: pass on the key lime bar, as much as I wanted it to resemble key lime pie, it wasn’t (I only have myself to blame …).
Date Night at Cafe Reveille
t says: Having been fans of eater.com from our Philly days, we scour it routinely for mentions of new places in our ‘hood. We’re sure that “real” San Franciscans use cooler apps and websites to keep track of their ginormous restaurant scene – and we’ll find them eventually – but for now, we have eater … Well, eater was pretty excited that Cafe Reveille was opening in Mission Bay, so we went to check it out. Of course, the first time we went to check it out, it was brunch … and there was a line … out the door … so we just kept driving on by. But this time, we dropped in for dinner. It was shockingly empty for a Friday evening …
The space is pretty open – I’m surprised they don’t squeeze like 17 more tables in there for dinner. But we enjoyed the elbow room, not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I ventured the burger with the egg addition. It was absolutely delicious. It’s been a while since I’ve had a burger this good. The meat was flavorful, the toppings were right-on, and the egg was oh-so-gooey. As my first burger in SF (not including In-n-Out), I’m thrilled to know that we’ve got a good burger so nearby! The Brussels sprouts – yea – pure bait, but who cares if they’re that good? I wish I could have had a second burger where it was just bread and Brussels – now that would have been an amazing meal, too!
g went for the steak frites (that’s right, she’s back on the wagon) – and it too was a pretty solid dish. I mean, it wasn’t Bibou-good, but a well-cooked steak, nicely done accompaniments – nothing mindblowing, but nothing to complain about. (It’s one red-wine jus sauce away from being excellent).
Later on, I also made it back for the morning rush. The staff made quick work of the long line, and despite everyone grabbing-and-going, there were quite a few empty tables. Had g accompanied me, we would have sat and enjoyed brunch, for sure. However, because she wasn’t, I grabbed some egg sandwiches that were quite solid – more like the above steak frites than the burger. Here’s a peak at the bar during the morning rush (the line is hiding behind the espresso machine):
BUT – if you take a peak into those bags, you’d see a blackberry-pistachio croissant (from Neighbor Bakehouse) which is life-changing (it’s really really frickin’ delicious), and a chocolate kouign amann which was “just ok” (Rival Bros’ version from High Street on Market is better). The hot chocolate was similar to every other “hot chocolate” in SF – more like watered down chocolate rather than “drinking chocolate” with which I am more accustomed (and favor). Oh well – guess we’ll have to make do. We’re going to have to go back for an official brunch review …
In all, though, Cafe Reveille will definitely be a staple for us – it’s close and food is solid-to-fantastic. I’ll have to get someone else to tell me how the coffee is (but the reviews say it’s great!). We’re also definitely adding it to the list of places we’re going to take our Philly friends to for their official review (if they ever visit!).
after dinner sneeze 