20942 Mon Aug 12 11:54:58 -0700 2002 9 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 73845 Farallon- This was a fun restaurant. The decor, for those of you who don't know, is simply amazing. THe whole interior looks like an undersea playground. I can't describe it, it must be viewed with the eyes. We walked in for Saturday lunch and were seated no problem. We later learned that this was slow for a lunch. I'm not very good at conveying ambiance and all that so i'm just gonna get straight to the food. I decided to go with the lunch five course tasting for $38 dollars. My girlfriend decided to do the lunch three course for $19 and toss in the softshell crab main course. Needless to say, all the seafood was exceptionally fresh. Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Tartare with blue lake beans, nicoise olives, orange, quail egg. I'm a huge fan of fish tartares and this reminded me why. The tuna was cut chunky as opposed to the fine mince job lots of places do. I like to be able to sink my teeth into a piece of fish and chew it up. The olives were a nice touch. They were pureed and small drops were placed around the plate. I didn't much like the raw egg. The yolk was nice, but the egg white just added a gooey sliminess. The presentation was a bit sloppy. The tartare was served in the typical cylinder shape, but it wasn't as 'tight' as I've seen it at other restaurants. Great dish to begin lunch with. My girlfriend got a sweet corn soup with lobster oil and tarragon. I thought this was a bit salty on my first spoonful, but once I had a bite with kernals of corn, the sweetness of the corn tempered the salt to a certain extent. very rich soup. Osetra caviar ontop of sweet corn ravioli, truffle jus. A single round ravioli filled with sweet corn (i think there might've been a touch of crab in there too?) sorrounded by truffle broth with a bit of chopped truffle in it. The pasta was a little too al dente for me but maybe I'm just used to overcooked, flaccid pasta. This was my first time eating truffles. Kinda gamey. Not in a bad way tho. Interesting flavor. My girlfriend sat this course out, as she had a total of four as opposed to my five. Seared Mediterranean Rouget with lobster mushrooms, cranberry beans, torpedo onion soubise. The filet of rouget was the smallest fish I've ever seen. Literally, it was the size of my thumb. THe soubise was terribly salty So were the beans. I don't recollect much else about this dish. A little disappointing. My girlfriend got her Chesapeake Bay Softshell Crab with potato gnocchi, toxbox tomatoes and tarragon. Another first, softshell crabs. It was breaded in cornmeal, and fried. These things are really good. It was a nice textural contrast with the fluffy gnocchi. Can't say much more as I didn't have all that much. Tender Shortrib of Beef with black truffle macaroni & cheese, watercress, natural jus. THe beef was really solid. It had that gelatinous tender texture I love. The red wine flavor in the beef was a little too pronounced. It could've been a bit more subtle. The mac and cheese with truffle was more like mac and cheese with the truffle broth from the aforementioned ravioli dish. Loved the beef tho. The gf got an amazing roasted local king salmon with baby roasted fennel, cranberry beans and aioli. The fish was perfectly done. Seasoned on both sides, perfect crackly skin, and the interior was a little rare just the way we like it. The aioli was nice, and I loved the baby fennel. So sweet! The accompanying liquid at the bottom of the bowl was a little salty tho. All in all, I really enjoyed this dish. Verbena Panna Cotta with figs and almond raspberry biscotti. I was supposed to get the Plum Upside Down Cake with pecan praline anglaise, and black plum ice cream, but I told the waiter I wasn't the biggest fan of plums and he arranged it so I could order whatever dessert off the regular menu I wanted. The figs were terrific. I had never had a panna cotta either. I dunno how to describe it. Really really really creamy. I assume it's italian. Biscotti were wonderful dipped in coffee. I couldn't taste raspberry at all, but I think i noticed some fennel seed. My girlfriend got the summer berry pavlova with strawberry sorbet, mixed berries and vanilla anglaise. The waiter we got was extremely friendly. We were the last one's in the dining room, so he chatted with us for a while, and he even brought over a copy of the restaurant cookbook for us to flip through. Just a real standout. If we ever go back, which we probably will, we're going to try to request him. Any questions? mike Mon Aug 12 11:54:58 -0700 2002 0 Mike Czyzewski 1 73934 Mike, I just love your reports, keep them coming. I love people who do detailed descriptions about dinner. They are useful, informative and entertaining. I will say that based on my one lunch at Farallon, I was less than impressed. Talking to other hound like people, I was getting back a lot of the same type of feedback. It is ok, but there are too many great restaurants in the city. It is a pretty restuarant, and when I was there they had periwinkles on the menu. I see myself going back to the bar and trying them. Great parting gifts also. Besides matches, they have note pads and postcards. Uh, those were FREE, right? We might just have different tastes. I'm not a fish tartare or carpaccio fan and am just trying to ride out this trend. I thought the cookbook representative of the restaurant, too fussy and too difficult to try at home. I'm not a cook, but I find Mario Battelli's cookbooks useful even though I don't have the skill to prepare many of the dishes. I didn't find that in the Farallon cookbook. To me, when you play with the food too much, it removes alot of the flavor. Mon Aug 12 21:10:09 -0700 2002 73845 0 Stanley Stephan 2 73945 i'd agree with you when you say that farallon isn't great. the food is clearly a level below la folie and gary danko, the other high end restaurant i've had the opportunity to visit. i'd rather go to a place where i receive gracious, honest, heartfelt service rather than one where i receive great food and 'proper' service. the waiter was amazing. i mean, he told us all about the restaurant, the things that go on on the floors above, how he's been with the restaurant from teh opening day, how he went to cooking school in his country, he put up with us being pains in the asses when we ordered etc.... he was special. like i said, if we can call ahead and he's working, we're all over that place. it's not often that i visit a restaurant specifically for a server. he comped me a beverage when he took a little too long to bring it. he comped our coffee at the end of teh meal. he rearranged tasting menus for us. needless to say, i tipped him a full 25%. he deserved it. there were great parting gifts. i got the matches and postcards, must've missed the notepads. wished i got one tho! i'm gonna try to start stealing pens. i already got one from la folie. shoulda stole a danko pen when i was there. why don't you like tartares? i love em. the real flavor of the fish shines through. and i like the texture! ever had salmon tartare? the restaurant's food is a little fussy. they try to impose their will on the seafood instead of working with the natural flavors. like i said before tho, it's teh server i'd go back for. mike Tue Aug 13 00:59:27 -0700 2002 73934 0 mike czyzewski 3 73954 When they do "best of" restuarant lists, they should include the restaurant with the best server. Some people really need to be acknowledged I go to Bizou so often not only because of the great food, but the wonderful service. If you visit Bizou (Tuesday - Saturday), sit at the bar. Stacy, the bartender, is the best at suggesting the top dishes on the menu and matching the correct wine to the food. If you sit at a table, Christine is very good. There are a few other good servers there as well. Every now and then a clinker gets hired, but they don't last long. I lucked out on my first visit at Slanted Door and had an excellent server who was really outstanding. I will sometimes wait at the bar until I can get a table with someone who's excellent. Thanks for the Farallon tip on service. Tue Aug 13 01:33:08 -0700 2002 73945 0 Stamley Stephan 4 73988 I also appreciate an excellent server, and am always glad to hear about them. I find it difficult in person to overcome my shyness with bad service, and Mr. Smith, while very earnest, can be inarticulate in passing on my more specific culinary requests. I patronized the (now-gone) Mayes Oyster House as much for the kindly, antiquated waiter who I always seemed to luck out and get, as for the great french-fried oysters! He always accomodated our requests (the waiter, not the oysters,) such as dividing a salad into two portions, ordering smaller orders of several appetizers to get a good variety, tastes of wine before we ordered, etc., with gentleness and the air of "of course". He was also not particularly chatty -- which I like, though a server who is full of information like the one you described is great, too. Most of the time I've found the service in SF restaurants to be adequate-to-good, but an excellent server in any restaurant will bring me back, even if the food wasn't absolutely perfect. That said, of course, great service can't fix bad food. But, as has been said so many times on this board, with so many good restaurants around here, the great server can put one of the good restaurants over the top. I recently ate at Citizen Cake and the 'tude was absent in my hostess and server. Have things improved over there -- any other reports of good/bad service? Tue Aug 13 13:55:59 -0700 2002 73954 0 Mrs. Smith 5 74068 i'm a little confused about your comment about citizen cake. the 'tude was absent. isn't that a good thing? mike Tue Aug 13 23:32:25 -0700 2002 73988 0 mike czyzewski 6 74101 Yes! That's what I meant -- there was no attitude. It was very good, friendly service. I had heard many comments that Citizen Cake had very snooty service (which I had never encountered, even when I vacillated endlessly over what type of wedding cake to order, and Ms Faulkner had gone to considerable trouble to do a drawing for me and everything -- they were always polite and they could have easily gotten exasperated with my protracted indecision!). I also have reports from friends not being seated and forgotten and ignored in the past, and, since I've seen no recent evidence of such bad treatment, I'm just wondering if the Chowhounds out there have also noticed a recent trend of improvement there. I'm hoping my good experience was not an isolated one. I'll go back, anyway, for the pates de fruits (fruit squares) to buy at the counter, even if the servers have 'tude. Wed Aug 14 13:27:30 -0700 2002 74068 0 Mrs. Smith 4 74067 how was bizou? i haven't heard much about it and would love to know more about it. where else do you like to go? i'm not looking for terribly high end places, just nice places where you feel comfortable. i've heard some nto so great things about slanted door. too trendy, too hip, it's not really authentic. how do you respond to those types of comments? mike Tue Aug 13 23:29:10 -0700 2002 73954 0 mike czyzewski 5 74189 Mike, I'm guessing you are new to Chowhound and these were your first posts which, as I said earlier, were wonderful. As you get familiar with Chowhound, you'll find posters whose tastes are similar to your own which is a great help in deciding where you want to go for dinner. I highly recommend the weekly Chow News. It summarizes the week and is an easy way to archive info about restaurants. Also, it keeps the site going. The nominal price is saved many times over. Just avoiding a single dinner at a mediocre restaurant pays the cost. I won’t attempt to cover the ethnic restaurants which are not my specialty, but I have learned so much from these boards. Some of the meals described are just amazing. Especially look for posts by Limster, Yimster, Low End Theory, Melanie Wong, Ruth Lafler, Pointybird, Windy, jawing. Wendy Lai, Sharuf, Han Lukito Fatemeh. I know I am insulting so many people because I’m forgetting their names and not recognizing their wonderful posts. My excuse is that the board is down as I am writing this in word, and many names escape me. Some SF mid-scale favorites on the board (some I've tried, others are on my to try list): Chapeau Café Desiree Chaz Alamo Square Tadich Grill Bistro Aix Hayes Street Grill 21st Amendment Bar and Grill Chez Papa Home Do a search on the SF board and you will find reviews for most. Some you can find in google as they are in general posts like "4 perfect days in SF". Anyway, Bizou is my favorite restaurant. I've bored enough people on the board so I won't go into too many details. I go there about once a month. It is my Cheers. I usually have dinner at the bar because I like the atmosphere there. I can't think of many places where the dinner is more satisfying. Here's a recent Chronicle review. The only thing is that I don't recommend the beef cheeks. They are ok, but so many other dishes are outstanding. http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/33713.html#postfp I like Slanted Door. It is in my neighborhood and it was my first exposure to Vietnamese food. I always go early for lunch (11:30) so it is quiet and pleasant. Here are some chowhound reviews. Just avoid the squid. http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/33713.html#postfp http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/25704.html Another restaurant I've enjoyed has been Chez Spencer. It is only a few months old and the chef/owner is still in the kitchen (as opposed to the Wolfgang Puck types who only imprint a restaurant with his name and have nothing to do with the actual dinner). Here's some recent reviews. I love this place for lunch because it is really mellow. http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/28936.html http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco/messages/30689.html I also like Flower Market Café for Dinner and Zare. . I personally hate Boulevard although it has it’s fans. Not found of Maya either. Mediocre reports on the board about Bacar, Acme Chop House. It’s upscale, but Redwood Park gets more thumbs down than up. Palamino, a chain, recently was trashed. I was recently under whelmed by Postrio. The restaurants on Beldon Place get consistently good reviews. My own opinion is none have really impressed me. Anyway, welcome and don’t forget your subscription to Chow News. Link: http://chowhound.safeshopper.com/23/cat23.htm?933 Thu Aug 15 03:20:45 -0700 2002 74067 0 Stanley Stephan 6 74199 hey thanks for the heads up. unfortunately, i don't go into the city that often. i live in sacramento, actually, i'm living in sacramento for the summer. i move to chicago in the fall so i've got a whole new culinary land to explore! i'm very excited. thanks for the tips tho. we're probably gonna stop in the city again. more than likely, we're gonna go visit chez panisse again because we loved it so much. or farallon if we call ahead and the waiter is working. mike Thu Aug 15 11:39:48 -0700 2002 74189 0 mike czyzewski