Status of AU?

[Bay Gelldawg]

Anyone know when Dennis Leary's AU is scheduled to open in the alley off of Montgomery Street?

I tried a google search and couldn't find anything more recent than a SFEater post from May, which did not give an estimate for the opening.

Thanks.

[DavidT]

Just finished the pork & beans, w/poached egg & tomato salsa ($6.00). First time I have tried it. Other than being a little soupy, it was very tasty, with sizable chunks of pork. Next time I order it I will ask for a slice of bread or piece of roll to soak up the excess liquid.

[mariacarmen]

Had the mushroom, dried tomato and goat cheese sandwich today. without a doubt the messiest sandwich ever! not one bite went into my mouth without spilling mushrooms and/or pinenuts onto my lap, my keyboard, my desk, the floor. It was really tasty, don't get me wrong - creamy and nutty and savory.... just eat it over a sink or something.

[hhc]

Has anyone tried the bearclaw at AU? I read in a magazine it's suppose to be good.

[Ruth Lafler]

Celery posted about it, above.

[david kaplan]

I liked it. More rich than sweet -- heavier on butter and lighter on sugar than most bearclaws.

[hong_kong_foodie]

How many calories do you think it's in one of these bear claws?

[mariacarmen]

Tried the ground lamb with eggplant and tomato sandwich today. Looked a little like a sloppy joe, but packed a delicious lambiness and a rich creaminess and tanginess that I almost mistook for goat cheese, but was actually just mayo. worked really well, not too rich - it's not a huge amount of mayo, just a little spread on one side of the bread. Really hearty. I'd definitely get this again.

their menu is online now:
http://theauwest.com/
They were out of the frisee, sausage and potato salad by the time i got there at 12:45.

[mariacarmen]

Ok, well, today's offering is the steak salad, and it's served on a bed of napa cabbage, which certainly holds up under this beefy delight. I had the same cabbage served with the pastrami salad, which has been one of my favorite offerings so far. This steak salad is great too - tangy dressing, a very tad spicy, and with an ENORMOUS amount of beef - i counted 4 huge slices easily bigger than my outstretched hand of lovely pink meat buried in the cabbage, with a good amount of mint strewn over. It's more roast-beefy than steaky, but really good. it's really almost too much meat, if you can believe it. if the dressing weren't so light and lively, and the meat so tender, it would be too much. and as you can see from the pic, i've got chocolate cake too - which the counter woman gave me for free simply because i mentioned i hadn't detected any cranberry relish in my mole yesterday! i wasn't even complaining, just sort of musing out loud about it! i don't even eat desserts - but i snuck a bite before my sandwich and the cake is dense and darkly chocolate. i'm afraid i'm going to eat it all.

The steak salad seems to be on the menu every day, so there should be plenty of opportunities for all to sample.

p.s. i ate the entire thing, and ALL the chocolate cake. i have no room for the bread!

[DavidT]

Well, I have gone 2 days in a row myself! Today was my first short-rib sandwich. YUM!!!

[mariacarmen]

that short rib sandwich is awesome. on further reflection, that steak salad was really over the top with meat - really rather inelegant. good flavors but just too much in the slabs of meat dept.

[DavidT]

If that is the case, I will have to try it tomorrow for lunch!

[Pandora]

I tend to agree. I liked the steak salad, but it was also medium-rare ish and by the end my salad was very pink. I'm not squeamish at all, but the color was a bit of a turn off.

[mariacarmen]

well there was just so much of it! it was literally like a half a pound of beef. it was almost obscene! i can't even imagine Leary would want to give away that much food for $8.50. i ate it all tho, so i don't know what i'm bitching about! (that's probably why: 10 hours later and i still feel it in my stomach.)

[david kaplan]

Did not like the steak salad today. Way too much meat in unmanageably large slices, and the dressing was thick, almost pasty. Both the meat and dressing obliterated the "salad" portion. In all, it was a careless dish, and the only thumbs-down I've given anything Dennis Leary has done. I've loved my meals at Canteen, the coffee cake, chai, and lunches at Sentinel, and the short ribs sandwich, pork-and-beans, brioche breakfast sandwich, and that chocolate cake at Golden West. I've forgiven the over-use of mayo and richness because it all tastes so darn good, but not that steak salad.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[mariacarmen]

it's weird, isn't it? feels like an anomaly. careless is exactly how i'd describe that dish, and that's not what i think of with Dennis Leary.

[mariacarmen]

Enjoying Dennis' Chicken Mole Salad, with pepian seeds and celery, over butter lettuce, and served with his standard yummy seeded bun. I don't love mole, it turns out, but i do like this. Had a touch of heat and it went well with the sweet bun. jHuge portion, big chunks of chicken, maybe too much celery for my taste, not enough pepians. But my nose is starting to run, so that's a good sign. Ole!

[DavidT]

Thanks for the heads up on the chicken mole salad. After reading you post I walked over to get one. There was no line at all and they had my salad for me in about 2 minutes. Just finished it and it was very tasty indeed. It was a sizable portion as well.

[wolfe]

That's the bun I had with my short rib sandwich. That's one big bun.

[mariacarmen]

yep, they cut the bun in half for the salads, thank god.

[Ruth Lafler]

Thanks for the report. When I was there last week I was tempted by it, but it seemed to me that butter lettuce would be too delicate to stand up to chicken mole.

[mariacarmen]

In truth, i didn't even eat the butter lettuce. I think you might be right. I usually love butter lettuce, but here it seemed almost like a garnish.

[Ruth Lafler]

I think it would be better with some kind of crunchy jicama salad, although I guess if there's celery that provides some crunch. When I consider the comments about the bun for the shortrib sandwich being too soft, I wonder if softer textures are just the "Dennis Leary style" (unlike some of the people here I don't "follow" Dennis Leary so I can't speak to dishes at his other outposts).

[JasmineG]

I got a good short rib sandwich for lunch last week. Not quite as good as some of the sandwiches that I've had at The Sentinel -- the bread wasn't as good as the bread that I've had at The Sentinel, but it was also a whole wheat bun, which isn't my favorite -- but the short rib filling was delicious.

[josquared]

Had a short rib sandwich for lunch last Thursday as well - I'd agree with the bread (wish they served it on a roll with a little more crunch, but maybe that's just personal preference) but otherwise, it was delicious.

[Ruth Lafler]

Okay, that's three of us (see my post above, where I said it was too soft for such a heavy, wet sandwich) who didn't think the roll they serve it on is right for that otherwise delicious sandwich. Leary, you paying attention?

[drinkmoretang]

I can definitely see the merit for a roll with more texture, but at the same time, I have to provide a counterpoint; I'm hopelessly in love with the sesame-seed bun for the short rib sandwich, and wouldn't want to see the sandwich served on anything else.

While it's admittedly a wet sandwich, the bun's ethereal interior and buttery, yeasty flavor work well with the tender short ribs - and I think it only gets better as the sauce permeates through the sandwich. In my experience, the bun still manages to hold up to it, but just barely.

As a caveat to all that, though, I generally prefer the sandwiches at Golden West to those at The Sentinel.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[JasmineG]

So it's possible that we are talking about different buns, because mine did not have an ethereal interior, and was not buttery at all. It was whole wheat, I think, medium brown, and actually kind of dry, which wasn't what I'm used to from bread from the Leary places. I mostly ended up picking the meat off the bread and eating it that way, partly because it was more or less impossible to eat as a sandwich, but partly because the bread wasn't all that good.

[Ruth Lafler]

They must vary it, because I think the one I had the first time was sesame, but the one I had today was whole wheat.

[josquared]

They must, because I had the whole wheat bun as well.

Jasmine's experience pretty much echoed mine - I ended up using a fork to pick the meat off the bread and there was a whole bunch of bread leftover for the compost bin.

[dordogne]

Are the menus, both pastry and sandwiches, the same each day at both places? Is the consensus that menu and/or execution is superior at Sentinel?

[JasmineG]

I don't think that the menus are the same, nor is there any consensus about the menu/execution. I have liked my sandwiches at The Sentinel better than at Golden West, but I still like Golden West at lot. I think they may be still tinkering with the larger space and different items at Golden West. I loved the coffee cake that I got from them, but it wasn't as good as the coffee cake that I got from Canteen once that I still fantasize about (and I've never had a breakfast item from The Sentinel).

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[mariacarmen]

i've only had the ethereal buttery bun referred to by DrinkMoreTang on any sandwich I've had at AU, including the pork, but it was right after they'd opened, so maybe they switched. IT's also accompanied the stew i had yesterday, and the pastrami salad of a couple weeks ago.

I've probably had 2-3 sandwiches at Sentinel (i don't remember them, but that's because it's been awhlie), compared to 5 or 6 items at AU, and I think they are comparable in quality, taste, execution, etc.

[chocomel]

Just want to add that I went there at 9:45 last Friday, and all they have left is one piece of coffee-cake and the pork and beans. There were quite a few people waiting behind me who were disappointed.

My coworker got the last piece of pear coffee cake that she didn't like because it was very gingery and she thought it was strange. I took a bite and thought it was not bad, but not great like some other coffee cakes we've had in the past from the sentinel (I think there was this amazing persimmon pastry last year).

[mariacarmen]

First slight disappointment. ordered the chickpea/eggplant stew with tuna confit. It was soupier than I expected (and they forgot to give me a spoon or napkins), in a tomato broth, which had a slight tang to it, but no eggplant at all. It was more like a slightly spicy tomato soup with tuna and garbanzos. Ok, but not great. just not what i expected. oh well, i'm still a devoted fan.

I'm still dreaming of that pastrami salad i had last time.....

[mariacarmen]

late edit: by the way, i ate the whole stew and felt very satisfied afterwards, regardless....

[mariacarmen]

i had been craving a BLT and was wondering where to get a good one on my way to work on Montgomery and just decided to see if Leary had anything new since i was here last. Sure enough, he never disappoints. oh man. am in the midst of the pastrami salad - abundant slices of perfectly marbled strips of pastrami mixed into a salad of shredded napa cabbage, mint, and roasted cashews in a light, tart, and smokey paprika vinaigrette. served with a half of one of their sesame seeded buns - and half is plenty, they're huge - so you can make mini sandwiches of the salad. really fresh tasting, and filling. it wasn't a BLT, but it had the salty, crunchy elements i was craving.

[DavidT]

Just finished my first sandwich from AU. It was roast pork shoulder w/cole slaw. VERY tasty indeed! The pork (slightly warm) , the slaw & the roll were all good.

I went around 12:30pm and there was virtually no line. I shall return!

[Ruth Lafler]

I must have just missed you, although I did run into Zach. When I got there, there were a couple of people ahead of me to order and several more milling around waiting for their food (which made it seem like there were more people "in line" than there were). I got the BBQ shortrib sandwich with caramelized onions. The onions aren't what I'd call caramelized, and the bread is a bit to soft for a heavy wet sandwich like this, but otherwise it's damn good, and a decent value given the quality and the generous size of the sandwich. Note that at about 12:45 I overheard them say there were only two servings of the pork left, so if you want something specific you'd better get there before 12:30.

[mariacarmen]

Just had the pork and beans for bfast, but i know it's lunch too - filling! Pork was tender like carnitas (without the crispy bits), in almost a thick-ish broth with giant creamy white beans, a poached egg, and pico de gallo on top. A nice bite from jalapenos, all very flavorful. I wasted this breakfast on a non-hangover day, because it would fit the bill perfectly! And Leary was in the kitchen again, spooning up my egg. I saw him crossing the street ahead of me, so he must have been coming from Sentinel.

[mariacarmen]

Had the short rib sandwich a couple of days ago and totally agree with openhelix. Delicious sauce, even better bun. Just a sesame seeded bun, but it was very light and a touch sweet and smelled just wonderful. The meat was good too, very tender. The sauce was a bit on the bbq sauce side - a little sweet - which is not a bad thing, but not exactly what i had expected. I readjusted immediately and enjoyed.

Today I tried the eggplant, goat cheese, basil and tomato sandwich on the same fantastic bun. The eggplant was firm but creamy, the tomato really flavorful and perfectly seasoned. A really fresh-tasting sandwich. And Dennis was there, cooking! That man must not sleep at all.

[Ruth Lafler]

Do they make their own buns?

I had a cheddar bratwurst at the 4505 stand at the Ferry Building today and thought the bun was also more than just a vessel to get the meat to my mouth. Does anyone know who makes them?

[Melanie Wong]

I think I'd read that part of the plan for Golden West was to produce the baked goods for the other Leary outposts.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[sfbing]

I'm pretty sure Leary bakes his own stuff, I used to see them proofing buns at Sentinel. Given that Canteen and Sentinel are pretty cramped, it seems like a great idea to do the baking off site.

[mariacarmen]

and we already know that they can do bread - those dinner rolls he serves at Canteen are wonderful. The bun at AU feels very freshly homemade - around the corner I could smell wonderful yeasty bready smells.

[grayelf]

Would it be gilding the lily to dream about his dinner rolls with things inside 'em for lunch? Brioche-wiches, if you will :-).

[mariacarmen]

You know, that's kind of what the sandwich buns are like at AU - golden shiny tops, soft poufy insides, sweet, light .... they don't have the salt on top but they're still very flavorful. mmmm i'm going to have to stop by for lunch again, i'm afraid! sorry you are so far away, grayelf!

[grayelf]

Sobbing on keyboard... brightening a bit as I realize that I will be back in SF in two months. Thanks for the details on the buns, maria, AU is even more firmly ensconsed on my must try list for November.

[mariacarmen]

You must let us know what meals we can join in on with you!
Well, i did it - I went again. Corn/bacon clam chowder - with a roll! i'm eating it now and getting very full, despite the fact that when i first tasted it I thought it was rather thin, not chunky, and the golden milky broth seemed a tad bland. after a couple bites i really began to taste the smokey bacon, the sweet corn, and bits of clam. i would have liked a couple of whole clams, but these are all chopped up. Still, very delicious. It really tastes more bacony than clammy, but that is not a complaint. I only wish the onions were cooked a little more - they still have some crunch, which others may like but i don't, mirroring the corn kernels. and the bread! so yummy dipped in the soup. and the nice server was sweet enough to throw in a leftover blueberry muffin from breakfast. It is huge and I don't think i'll be getting to it right away.

[grayelf]

Apart from being a huge fan of Chef Leary's food, I'm always so impressed by the staff he hires at both Sentinel and Canteen. He must be an excellent manager.

maria, please feel free to email me (addy in my profile) so we don't clutter up the boards with planning :-).

[grayelf]

During our November jaunt, I was able to hit Au to try the egg dish and the biscuit with bechamel and ham (also admired by drinkmoretang back in August). I found the former too soupy for me but the tastes were there. The latter was love at first bite and I can only say it is a good thing I do not live anywhere near this savoury breakfast delight or I'd be on Lipitor in no time.

[mariacarmen]

i broke down and had a bite of the muffin. it's strawberry and divine.

[Zach Georgopoulos]

Having the steak salad now at my desk -- seriously spicy, with slices of jalapeno mixed with the cabbage. The steak is very thinly sliced and varies from blood rare to medium. Probably the most interesting food I've had at my desk in awhile, and there was oddly no line...

[openhelix]

Stopped in for lunch today since it's nearby where I'm working and had the BBQ shortrib sandwich. Wow!! REALLY good. Rich flavor, just the right amount of spice. And the bun was great; more than just a vessel to get the meat to my mouth.

The limited menu could mean it's not a frequent stop but I'd definitely come back.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[JasmineG]

I stopped by this morning and got coffee cake, fantastic. Raspberries inside, almonds on top and nice and crispy, very moist and yet crunchy on top, and still warm. Yum.

[Jeff]

Just walked by 15 minutes ago (1:00) and still not open for lunch.

[Mr_Happy]

There was some text on the menu that said they'll be open for lunch on the 23rd if I remember correctly, with lunch starting at 10:30?

[josquared]

I saw a sign with that exact text on their window yesterday on an early morning excursion to their location

[Mr_Happy]

They have a website now: http://theauwest.com/

[ammck63]

They are open for lunch today (or will be in a couple of minutes). Despite what it ways on the website (theauwest.com), they aren't open for lunch from 10-2, only 12-2 (I found this out the hard way at 11:15!). Only soup and 2 sandwiches today,

[Pandora]

I picked up a BBQ beef short rib sandwich today. No waiting and the sandwich was good - very similar to sentinel. They don't have drinks yet, only coffee.

[drinkmoretang]

Visited at 10:15 AM today and ordered pork and beans, the creamed ham biscuit, and raspberry coffee cake.

The pork and beans with the poached egg looks almost like a cassoulet - sizeable, tender shelling beans with quarter-sized chunks of tender pork and almost-melting pieces of fat. My poached egg was a tiny bit underdone with some of the white still runny, but it's really a negligible complaint - stirring in that yolk into the rest just makes this a phenomenal breakfast. There's a little diced jalapeno in here that makes for a bit of a kick, too.

Biscuit with creamed ham - a large biscuit topped with a lattice of cheese, with my box overflowing with rich, creamy white gravy with savory, porky pieces of ham. This is a rich, soft biscuit: not crumbly or flaky. Has some chew - serves as a great vessel for all the gravy. Worth being careful with this order - I was unaware of this, and one of my biscuit containers popped open and leaked gravy in the rest of the bag.

Great coffee cake, too - moist, crunchy, warm, and not too sweet. Wish I'd gotten to try the strawberry muffin as well.

They were out of bear claws at 10:15 AM - it sounds like it could be a popular order. I saw two other customers, and both tried to order the bear claw. I'm an instant convert - I like Sentinel, but it's a relative disappointment to me because I love Canteen. This is the best breakfast/lunch I've had in recent memory.

Added bonus: Chef Leary prepared our order! Heard from a friend that he was not in there earlier at ~8:30 AM.

[eatdrinkthis]

It's literally on my way to work, in recent days, there's only 3 items for breakfast, but I hear they plan to open soon for lunch.

raspberry coffee cake, blueberry muffin, almond bear claw.

(I totally thought the Au was for something else)

[Celery]

It is currently open for breakfast only. They will be expanding to lunch down the road. Spoke with Dennis when buying my bear claw this morning and he said he thinks the hours will be 8-10 for breakfast and 11:30-3 for lunch eventually. The bear claw was warm and delicious, flaky pastry-like. It's a new item for me as Sentinel had only done muffins and coffeecake. My office is just between Golden West and Sentinel so it'll be interesting to see the differences/similarities as they are only like 3 blocks apart.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[Bay Gelldawg]

Thanks for the info folks. Odd to hear that they are open for breakfast. I made a special trip there this morning and at 8am they were not open and there was no sign of life. The window and door were covered with paper.

[grayelf]

I'm hoping for the butter kuchen and baked egg with spicy pork and beans mentioned (on Eater I think) as potential breakfast items. Long live the savoury brekky, one thing missing from Sentinel's otherwise excellent repertoire.

[wolfe]

What is Golden West Bakery at 8 Trinity Place? Is it possible I have been watching too much Jeopardy?
http://www.tablehopper.com/chatterbox/golden-west-may-maybe-perhaps-open-early-next-week/

The Dive and others have already been there.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7250...

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[Ruth Lafler]

Yes, it's confusing that the name of the bakery is apparently Golden West but the sign simply says "Au" (the chemical symbol for gold, no mention at all of anything "West"). That's trying a little to hard to be hip and cryptic, IMHO. And to clarify, the alley is actually off Sutter, not Montgomery.

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Golden West
8 Trinity Pl, San Francisco, CA 94104

[josquared]

Awww, geez....why can't either this or The Sentinel be opened before 7 AM? Those things sound delish and much tastier than my alternatives at that hour

re: the sign - I immediately got the gold reference being a chemistry geek in high school. Like you, not sure where the west part of it comes in, though, unless there's a plan to open up an Au place in the East (Bay) in the future maybe?

[wolfe]

I just realized it's right across the street from Sam Spade's office.
"Hammett gave Spade an office in a splendid 1926 building at 111 Sutter Street. The marble hall and walls and the beamed, painted ceiling look more like the entrance to a Medici palace. Sam had his office - on the fifth floor."