391151 Thu Apr 12 15:06:56 -0700 2007 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2475600 Lombard & Van Ness ... anyone been? http://www.mercurysf.com/main/ Open for breakfast, brunch, dinner and late nite drinks ... until 1am on the weekends. The chef and part-owner is Dominic Ainza (Betelnut & Poleng Lounge). It seems Asian-influenced with some Filipino ... hey, upscale fusion Filipino ... I'm so there ... if anyone likes it. Also Mexican, American, and a little of everything. You can get a lowly omelet. Mercury was the Roman God of travel and it seems the menu does span the globe. Under events they have wine tastings matched with bites from the menu on the first and third Monday of each month. A little info from the Nob Hill Gazette http://www.nobhillgazette.com/taste.html 1434 Lombard St. (between Van Ness and Franklin) San Francisco, CA 94123 415.922.1434 Dinner and cocktails Mon-Thu: 6:00 pm – close Fri-Sat : 6:00 pm – 1:00 am Brunch Mon-Fri: 7:00 am – 1:00 pm Sat-Sun: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm Thu Apr 12 15:06:56 -0700 2007 10264 rworange 1 2482841 Anybody tried this place yet? Pretty interesting menu, more Asian-sounding than the usual Asian fusion. It's a sad day when the New York Times scoops the SF Chowhound board. Sun Apr 15 11:20:45 -0700 2007 2475600 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 2482897 That NY Times article was hilarious. http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/travel/11surfacing.1.html "In recent years, a handful of trendy shops and restaurants have drawn fresh life to Lombard Street, giving its endearing seediness something of a stylish polish" When I was in SF last week I cruised the area to see if I was missing something. Yeah ... Lombard St is still Lomard ... hardly the shiny gem portrayed in that article. I couldin't find Mercury. I didn't jot down the address ... how hard should it be to find something on Lombard and Van Ness ... nope ... circled around the block once and still couldn't find it. It must be tiny. It sounds like it is for the 20-something crowd, but the menu sounds interesting and I figured going during 'early-bird' hours ... well, they wouldn't toss me out. I want that lavender martini ... and the lumpia. The other fascinating, so to speak, restaurants they mentioned were - Mel's Drive-in ... that location incorrectly linked to American Graffiti - Hime ... haven't heard much on the board since they opened - Silver Clouds http://www.chowhound.com/topics/391957 Sun Apr 15 11:39:06 -0700 2007 2482841 10264 rworange