43945 Mon Feb 27 15:20:47 -0800 2006 10 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 215590 A pre-ballet dinner at Acquellero, we dined at this beautiful restaurant on Sat. The prices were a bit higher than I had expected. Entree averaged around $30 and first/second courses averaged around $18. But from beginning to end, the service, food, and presentation were all excellent. Special bonus points go towards the two pasta dish that were ordered: foi gras truffle sauced penne and lobster ravioli. To die for sauces on both. Beautifully presented desserts. Excellenct wine suggestion, by the glass. Three courses for three people, two glasses of wine, two coffee, total bill was about $280. Mon Feb 27 15:20:47 -0800 2006 0 Wendy Lai 1 215595 Why were you surprised? Acquerello has been a top flight restaurant for years. Mon Feb 27 15:27:41 -0800 2006 215590 0 JonesWineNo1 2 215647 Because most people always talk about Gary Danko, or Fifth Floor, or other more happening places. Just from doing a search here, the number of posts about acquerello is less than some of the others. I'm happy to have finallyed made it there though. Mon Feb 27 19:24:32 -0800 2006 215595 0 Wendy Lai 3 215662 You're right -- even allowing for the inadequacy of the search engine, there just aren't that many post to find (although there have been several mentions recently, so maybe its popularity is on the upswing). I think it's not, as you said, considered happening or cutting edge. Nor does it fit into the trend toward Italian restaurants in the Incanto/Defina/A-16 mode. But the fact that it's not trendy or cutting edge cuisine doesn't mean it isn't good! Mon Feb 27 19:52:07 -0800 2006 215647 0 Ruth Lafler 4 215668 Acquerello gets recommended fairly often, but people usuallly misspell it, so searching is problematic. E.g. the following Google results: "acquerello site:chowhound.com 2006" (correct): 1 hit "acquarello site:chowhound.com 2006": 3 hits "aquarello site:chowhound.com 2006": 2 hits Link: http://www.acquerello.com/ Mon Feb 27 20:01:56 -0800 2006 215662 0 Robert Lauriston 2 215716 So has Chez Panisse. For more years. Tue Feb 28 02:00:31 -0800 2006 215595 0 Tony 3 215766 Actually Chez Panisse was once an iconic restaurant that now sadly has been running on fumes for years. Tue Feb 28 14:25:36 -0800 2006 215716 0 JonesWineNo1 4 215771 Pretty tasty fumes, then. Our meal at Chez Panisse last month was as good as any I've had there in the past 30 years. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/42878#208995 Tue Feb 28 14:41:12 -0800 2006 215766 0 Robert Lauriston 5 215818 You must be an easy grader. Tue Feb 28 18:03:18 -0800 2006 215771 0 JonesWineNo1 1 215596 The $110 prix fixe with wine pairings is a great value. Mon Feb 27 15:28:04 -0800 2006 215590 0 Robert Lauriston 2 215648 Yes it is, especially with wine. But we had an eight o'clock curtin call, so we didn't want to rush our dinner. Mon Feb 27 19:25:18 -0800 2006 215596 0 Wendy Lai