Saison vs Michael Mina vs Masa's vs Chez Spencer -- or stick with what I know in La Folie

[pauliface]

Hi All

Looking to have a special anniversary dinner in SF on a Tuesday.

La Folie is a perennial favorite, but, if there's a great choice, I'd like to try someplace new.
Saving The Ritz for another event later in the year.

So:
Should I try Saison or Michael Mina or Masa's or Chez Spencer?

To help guide you, here are some other likes and dislikes:

Favorites:
-- in SF: La Folie, Aziza, Fleur de Lys, Nihon Whiskey Lounge, Kiss, Acquarello, Bar Crudo, Boulevard, Bix
-- in NYC: Sugiyama, Eleven Madison Park, Omen
-- in Chicago: Moto (and soon-to-try Alinea)
-- in Paris: Lasserre, L'Astrance

Disappointments:
-- in SF: Coi, Jardiniere (loved it when it opened, but went downhill), Delfina, Hayes St Grill,

[Littleman]

What about Restaurant Gary Danko. I don't see it mentioned. I always thought it was outstanding. I love Eleven Madison Park in NYC but I thought Danko was close. And I don't think anyone mentioned Boulevard. I thought it was very nice.

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Gary Danko
800 N Point St, San Francisco, CA 94109

[vincentlo]

Why not consider Benu?

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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[pauliface]

Benu does not appear to be open on Tuesdays, so it's out.

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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[nocharge]

Huh? Both Opentable and their own website say that they are open for dinner Tue-Sat.

[pauliface]

My mistake.
I misread the opentable results -- it merely said that I was looking too far ahead, not on the wrong night.

So then! Why benu?

[nocharge]

Benu is excellent and like Alinea, it's run by a Thomas Keller protege. On the other hand, La Folie, Ame, Masa's, etc. are all great restaurants as well and it's really hard to predict which one another person would like the best. I'd happily eat any one of them depending on what kind of food and ambience I'm in the mood for.

[Ruth Lafler]

When I replied about Masa'a, above, I read their chef's bio and he's also a Thomas Keller protoge.

[vincentlo]

Well if that matters, Benu has a bit of Chinese influence, and Ame of Japanese. But let's face it, modern French or Californian cuisine often carries Japanese nuances anyway.

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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[pauliface]

Ah, perhaps that explains the shark's fin on Benu's sample online menu.

The menu scares me off, and I don't consider myself a picky eater.
But it's got:
-- shark's fin, which I will not eat on principle
-- abalone, which I've tasted 5 times and only liked once, at Ryugin in Tokyo
-- Monkfish liver, which I've had many times, but only really loved at Ino Sushi, where he prepares it himself.

Do they really use those ingredients a lot, or was this just an odd sample?

[Melanie Wong]

The "shark's fin" is synthetic, that's why it's in quotes. The dish is an homage to show that it's not necessary to use real sharks fin to create the same taste profile. I haven't tried Benu's version so can't say whether it's successful or not, personally.

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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[sfbing]

I've had Benu's pseudo sharkfin and I've also had several excellent homemade versions of shark fin soup (the crap served in restaurants does not compare). The Benu soup had an unctuous richness (provided by truffles, I believe) which is reminiscent of the real thing, but it is missing the seawater tang and completely lacks the textural element of biting into a big mouthful of sharkfin needles connected by gelatinous connective tissue.

However, the Benu soup is very good in its own way and was a highlight of my meal there.

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Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[Ruth Lafler]

Selfishly, I'd like you to try Masa's, since there just aren't that many reports (although the few there are have been positive). It fell off the radar many years ago and yet when people do go there, they really seem to have great experiences.

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Masa's Restaurant
648 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

[pauliface]

Ha! Remember when Masa's was the most expensive place in the city? Back in the early 90's when I first moved here, it was prohibitively so, beyond Fleur de Lys (which was the big splurge we made instead). So I never went.

Now, while pricey, there are several that surpass it, it seems.

[Ruth Lafler]

Yup. I went to Masa's in 1989 (a birthday ending in zero) it was considered the best (and the most expensive) restaurant in the whole Bay Area (pre-TFL, etc.). Then the fine dining scene in the city really exploded in the '90s and Masa's went through a series of chef changes (Julian Serrano went to Vegas, then Ron Siegel for a while before he went to the Ritz, and Richard Reddington before Redd). But the current crew has been there for ages (six years, which is a lifetime in chef years) and as far as I can tell is quietly but consistently producing excellence.

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Masa's Restaurant
648 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108

[bitteroldman]

I'm a fan of Chez Spencer. I've always had incredible food and cocktails there, and the ambiance is really, really nice- kind of dark, but romantic and intimate.

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Chez Spencer
82 14th St., San Francisco, CA 94103

[pauliface]

I've long been curious about Chez Spencer.
Gotta say, the menu on their site looks awfully nice.
Bouillabaise Soup, tangerine granite? Yum!

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Chez Spencer
82 14th St., San Francisco, CA 94103

[JasmineG]

Michael Mina is closing http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/paolo..., so that's the best choice. One place that's not on your possibilities list is Ame, maybe add that to the considerations? Saison has gotten some great reviews on this board, but some of those were with the guest chefs, so it's really hard to tell if they apply to the restaurant without those chefs.

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Saison
2124 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94110

[pauliface]

If you think Ame beats the others, then sure I'll consider it. Is it your preference? If so I'd like to know what about it stands out for you!