663277 Thu Oct 29 09:57:31 -0700 2009 7 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 5140359 Here is a recent experience that we had at Flour + Water. Pictures can be viewed at: http://tnt-adventures.blogspot.com/ Flour + Water is one of the new restaurants on the block in the Mission District and is getting high praise from food critics and bloggers. The restaurant focuses on the simplicity of ingredients, hence the name Flour + Water. Just like many of the other Mission District restaurants the style of the restaurant is definitely eclectic. I love that this restaurant has a very unpretentious, yet cool vibe to it. The restaurant specializes in house made pasta (and who doesn't love house made pasta) and Neopolitan thin crust style pizzas that are baked for no more than 2 minutes at a blistery 427 degree centigrade. According to the website, this is approximately the same temperature as hell, but only heaven awaits as you enter these doors. The prices are definitely reasonable for the quality of ingredients and quality of food your are going to get. Margherita Pizza with tomato, basil, fior di latte, and extra virgin olive oil - 13 Fresh out of the oven, piping hot, slightly crispy, yet soft crust are some words to describe my initial reaction to the pizza. The pizza has a beautiful crust that is slightly charred but with a fantastic chewy consistency and a wood imparted flavor. Pizza doesn't get any simpler but more satisfying than this. Maltagliati with brown butter braised duck giblets - 15 At the first bite, it tasted a bit livery and I wasn't sure if I liked it because I never really had duck giblets in my pasta. It was just unexpected. But as I took my second bite, and then the third bite, I just couldn't get enough of it. I really just wanted to lick the whole plate. The freshly made pasta had a wonderful consistency that is only attained through fresh and not dried pasta. Included in this pasta dish was either pumpkin or squash bits that really lightened the dish that could have been too heavy. Basil granite with late summer stone fruit and prosecco jelly - 8 While perusing the dessert menu, my eyes immediately darted towards this dessert. Basil? Love it..Stone fruit? Love it... Prosecco? Love it.. Did I love this dessert? No....Did I hate it? No... It was a light and refreshing dessert but didn't really taste the prosecco in the jelly and the basil granite was just so-so. Yet the concept was very interesting and unique. I like what Flour + Water stands for with their simplistic approach to food without compromising flavors. There is something so satisfying about a great pizza and perfect pasta; this is my comfort food. The excellent food and the laid-back cool vibe is something I am definitely looking forward to returning to in the future. Thu Oct 29 09:57:31 -0700 2009 1118490 TNT Adventures 1 5141360 Thanks for this - I am dying to try it out. I love that you wanted to lick the plate! Currently have a reservation for 12/21 - so long to wait. I wonder if you've had pizza at Pizzaiolo in Oakland, or Gialina in Glen Park, and how they compare to you? Thu Oct 29 15:32:19 -0700 2009 5140359 44619 mariacarmen 2 5141520 mariacarmen - I am glad that you found the review helpful. Wow!! You made reservations way in advance. You really must be dying to try Flour + Water out. As for your question, unfortunately, I have never had pizza at Pizzaiolo or Gialina. I have had pizza at A16 in San Francisco and pizzas in Rome and Florence. I would say that Flour + Water is equally as good. I actually like the crust at F+W better than A16, less char on it. I am sure you will enjoy it. Thu Oct 29 16:38:40 -0700 2009 5141360 1118490 TNT Adventures 3 5142197 thanks for your response! it was the first reservation we could get that wasn't either 5:30 or 8:45 p.m. we tried to walk in one night and there was a two hour wait, and we were hungry. (we ended up at Specchio on Valencia - a disappointment.) i know they save some tables for walk-ins, and bar seats, but that still entailed the extended wait. i live three blocks away, so if you think/know that there is a real chance to do a walk-in with less than a 1/2 hour wait, i'll try it! we got there at about 7:00, but our jobs don't allow us to get there that much earlier. a good friend of mine, an ex-chef, adores Pizzaiolo (as do i), and she felt F&W wasn't as good, but I still want to try it. Fri Oct 30 01:24:33 -0700 2009 5141520 44619 mariacarmen 2 5141545 flour + water only allows 1/2 the restaurant to be reserved. the other 1/2 is for walkins, trying to keep the neighborhood feel. so, you really don't have to wait until 12/21, especially if you can go earlier in the evening and/or a nonweekend day. i've walked up at 6pm and 10pm with no problem, though it did take a looooooooong while at 8pm on a sunday. keep your 12/21 but go sooner too! Thu Oct 29 16:48:20 -0700 2009 5141360 12336 artemis 1 5141529 I think you mean "simple" not "simplistic" (making complex problems unrealistically simple; oversimplifying or oversimplified). Thu Oct 29 16:42:06 -0700 2009 5140359 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 5141547 Ruth - Thank you for pointing that out. You are correct, simplistic does have more of a negative meaning to it. Meant only praises. Thu Oct 29 16:49:10 -0700 2009 5141529 1118490 TNT Adventures 1 5143160 I loved the food, the staff and the atmosphere at F+W and will return. However, I find their self-described "casual" wine service a bit of a turn off. When you order a bottle from their wine list, it is brought to the table with the cork removed and is simply placed on the table without first offering you to taste it. The server then points out that this is done so that their staff can assure that the bottle is not tainted before it is brought to the table. I find this a bit unusual at a restaurant of this caliber Fri Oct 30 10:28:04 -0700 2009 5140359 183782 bobpantzer