35844 Thu Apr 21 14:39:09 -0700 2005 3 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 164444 My friend and I did a tasting at Bocadillos, Luna Basque, and L'Osteria del forno all on the same night. Originally, we were going to go to Bocadillos, Luna Basque, then end the night with a steak at Raigon, but we got so full we went to L'Osteria del forno instead because they have smaller dishes. Here is the report. Bocadillos: Great space, excellent food, mediocre service. We ordered only two dishes, but both were excellente: Marinated Ahi Tuna salad, Serrano Ham tapa. Both were absolutely delicious, the Serrano Ham was fresh and simple, and the Tuna was to die for. My friend who is a chef, commented that this place reminded him of the tapa bars in Barcelona. Luna Basque: Next we strolled down to this establishment. This place seems a little erratic and poorly executed, the food was decent to bad and the service was ok. We ordered the pepper stuffed with Salt Cod. This dish was decent, all the flavors mixed well, but it did taste a little off. Then we ordered the empanada; VERY salty to say the least, so salty we only ate half. We were cracking up because we saw the chef in the kitchen talking on the phone, yet he wasn't too concerned that his cooks were turning out salty empanadas. Last stop was L'Osteria, excellent food as always, I don't go there much myself because it is ALWAYS packed, but because it was late on a Monday night we walked right in. We ordered the Grilled Radicchio wrapped in Proscuitto; this was a delicious simple dish as always. Next, we ordered a piece of Porcini Mushroom Pizza, the pizza was ok, not as good as times past, but a great combination. I usally get the Salmon Carpaccio there, but I was not in the mood for that dish, I highly recommend that dish if you have not tried it. Finally we had the Gnocci, best dish we had all night, yet it was very simple, just Gnocci in a delicious Pomodoro sauce, one of the best I've had. We finished the dinner off with Nardini Moscato Grappa and a espresso, Salute!!! I'll definitely, plan for more late Monday night dinners or Sunday lunches at this place. Oh, I forgot to mention they have the best focaccia around. Thu Apr 21 14:39:09 -0700 2005 0 Mil Mascaras 1 164449 For the benefit of future searches, the name of that place is actually Iluna Basque. Thu Apr 21 15:16:49 -0700 2005 164444 0 Robert Lauriston 1 164455 I totally agree with your assessment of Iluna Basque. Average at best, and the overall vibe of the place is a bit aloof. Thu Apr 21 15:49:35 -0700 2005 164444 0 Absonot 1 164469 I had dinner @ Bocadillos last Friday night. Food was uniformly excellent. The Serrano ham is soooo tasty. The flat iron steak was also truly great. For the adventurous ( and you know you want to be) the pig foot was really yummy. Fatty and greasy and porky and still crisp and crunchy! YUM! We had awesome service! The best friendliest ...just call her "princess" Cheers. Thu Apr 21 17:19:33 -0700 2005 164444 0 JD