401907 Tue May 15 18:12:47 -0700 2007 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2572817 Thanks for all those who weighed in on my requests for an sophisticated and quiet dinner in San Francisco. Since it was the weekend of Mothers Day and reservations were a bit hard to come by, we kept our reservation at Les Amis (www.lesamissf.com). I was a bit nervous because there was very little chowhound chatter about this restaurant, but it had ranked well on Citysearch (I know, an unreliable source), yelp (again, unreliable), in the SFGate reviews and from personal recs of some friends, and it really ended up being the perfect place. The restaurant is quite small and softly lit (easy to read the menu, but definite feel of a "date" restaurant), with nice, but not over-the-top decor (this is no Farallon). The menu was again small, but very well chosen -- there was a tasting menu, and an a la carte menu, with 5 or 6 options for both appetizers and main courses. Unlike a lot of restaurants, though, where I can find maybe one or two things on the menu that really appeal, I would have eaten anything on the menu and been happy. And the main courses looked just as appealing as the appetizers, which is rare. We were ordering wines by the glass (I'm not really drinking since I'm pregnant) so I didn't really look at the full wine list, but the glass selections were very thoughtful -- mostly French, which you don't see that often in California. We began with an amuse bouche, which consisted of a very flavorful large shrimp, a slice of artichoke heart that was very firm and may have been lightly pickled, and some tomato gelee. The combination worked very well together, and was light and refreshing - it really did serve the function of waking up the palate, but it wouldn't have overwhelmed anything that followed. For a first course, my husband and I both couldn't resist the foie gras, and we didn't want to share, either. It was served with a small slice of a delicious duck terrine (they called it a rillette -- my grandmother is French Canadian and that's not what I would call a rillette, but really, that's a semantic quibble), and a piece of quince poached in vanilla syrup. The foie gras itself was seared, and didn't have any sweet sauce other than resting atop the quince. The duck terrine was very good, but the foie gras was amazing. It was absolutely perfectly cooked - it had a nice sear on the outside which really lent it a bit of a crust, but the inside was really meltingly tender. It seems like most of the foie gras I've had in the past few years has been tough or veiny -- this didn't have that shortcoming at all. And the quince highlighted the foie without overwhelming it with sweetness. Husband had a nice glass of sauternes with this, which of course was a perfect match. For mains, husband had rabbit prepared three ways -- in another "rillette" (terrine), in a rack (miniature, but he said tasty, and he wasn't sharing) and then a rabbit leg that was roasted and stuffed with a bit of a forcemeat stuffing to avoid the dryness that rabbit can have. (I had a bite of the latter, and it was very tender and flavorful.) I had duck breast in a beet sauce, which was a really nice pairing -- some of the sweetness you get with the usual fruit sauces but without the excessive tanginess that can really detract from the meaty flavor of the duck. Again, the sauce here didn't overwhelm at all. This was served with some duck confit (really delicious -- there was something very slightly sweet in with the confit but I couldn't identify it) and braised leeks. The wines recommended by the waiter were excellent and did pair very well. Finally, for dessert we were again so tempted that we didn't share. Husband pounced on the vanilla bean creme brulee (he loves creme brulee, but is turned off by the passionfruit and pumpkin and green tea flavors out there - he's a purist) that had some excellent and interesting mango filled ravioli on the side, and I had the dessert off the tasting menu -- a chocolate brioche with homemade toffee ice cream. Sweet, but neither dessert was an overwhelming portion, and although we each had 3 courses, we left feeling pleasantly full but not overstuffed like you can feel after a meal like that. Overall, the food was good and very well prepared, the atmosphere was lovely, the service was efficient and attentive, and the cost was reasonable -- 3 courses apiece + 3 glasses of wine + coffee was well under $200 for the two of us. For a meal of this caliber, I thought that was more than fair. Tue May 15 18:12:47 -0700 2007 10669 Amuse Bouches 1 2573444 I'm so glad someone's finally writing up a review of Les Amis, one of my favorite restaurants! I've been lazy to write up what I still remember from my DAT experience at Les Amis which was amazing... Great report! Stay tuned for my very very late write-up of the restaurant with pictures to come very soon~~ Wed May 16 00:32:47 -0700 2007 2572817 77836 liujenny 1 2574318 Yes, I agree with liujenny - Great report. My boyfriend and I greatly enjoy Les Amis and often go there because its quiet, has great food and service and we can usually get a table any night of the week. Most recently, we went with another couple and all four of us did their tasting menu. I had a really long day so I don't remember too much, but their ravioli was the best ravioli I've ever had in my life. The creaminess of the filling (I think was foie gras) with the pasta that was perfectly cooked and the sauce.... It was just perfect. Hopefully with these reviews, I'll still be able to get a great table! Wed May 16 09:47:26 -0700 2007 2572817 51435 lamster