Feast Blog

In all honesty, I’m not sure why this received a Michelin star…

There were two omakase offerings on the menu; one with meat and one vegetarian. I was intrigued with the vegetarian until I was told it was two courses with a dessert. That’s it? I’ll take the meat omakase which was five courses.

An amuse was brought out – a sandwich of tuna rillette between two crunchy crackers which were actually toasted slices of their house bread. Putting *some* rillette on a single slice would have been sufficient but an amuse (which in my mind should be taken in one bite) of two dry hunks of bread with not-enough fish just made for too big of a mouthful.

Sadly, there is no wine pairing with the omakase and so I was on my own in determining wine pairings for dishes that I had no pre-knowledge of. Big mistake. The waiter did tell me the first few courses were fish so I was fairly certain a white would work and ordered a Riesling (sorry, lost my notes on which one specifically). Also, this wine was served in a Pinot Noir glass… Bad.

The first course was a layered monstrosity of a giant wasabi leaf, champagne-poached oyster, blue fin tuna tartare, some coconut-based hollandaise, fresh uni, and American sturgeon caviar. I say it was a monstrosity as there was far too much going on and either the oyster or the tartare (or both?) could have been entirely left out. The flavor of the uni, caviar, and coconut was predominate so something as delicate as a champagne-poached oyster (which couldn’t be seen so maybe it WASN’T there!) was irrelevant. As was the tartare.

The next course was a composed salad of fresh heirloom tomatoes, topped with dressed frisée, and surrounded by slices of sashimi of Arctic Char. Recalling my disastrous visit to Valentino in Los Angeles, I wonder why chefs insist on pairing tomatoes with raw fish — the textures and flavors are so disparate and I’m curious if there exists any good examples of this sort of pairing as my two sojourns into that particular pairing have been exceptionally bad.

The Riesling finished and not remembering what was coming next, I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir (standby knowledge – it usually goes with everything).

The next course was a hot fish dish of grilled Red snapper with crispy skin on ratatouille and hollandaise. This was a real hollandaise but there wasn’t quite enough of it to pair well with the grilled vegetables and dry fish.

The last savory course was American Wagyu, perfectly rare, served atop sliced Yukon Gold potatoes and baby shiitake mushrooms. There was a very good sauce with it but I’m afraid I don’t exactly recall its components. Regrettably, the sauce did not make up for whatever was done to the mushrooms which were stridently sharp and peppery. I didn’t bother finishing this course.

Dessert was an Orange “parfait” which was actually a scoop of creamy orange sorbet in some orange soup and topped with a small tuille cookie. This was paired with a sparkling sake which was a relatively nice pairing.

Overall, the service was very good but I question many things about the menu. For starters, in reading through the standard offerings, there doesn’t seem to be any evolution in the menu. Similar to my Gary Danko complaints, nothing is different than what I read when I first visited, 18 months ago. The addition of the omakase is week in its lack of wine pairings and I found the dishes overall to be ill-conceived although well-prepared.

I don’t need to go back.

Many of my friends know that I am on the continual hunt for the budget $10 lunch. I like those lunches that are either so filling that a modest dinner is all that is needed or one that is so ample as to provide left-overs for a supper snack. When a friend recently came to town and ended up in Hayes Valley, I advised her to pick some place that looked good for her for lunch and that I would join her. I admit that Cafee Della Stella had never attracted much attention as it lies across the street from the far more desirable (and expensive) Absinthe. And the fact that during the day, it is mostly empty.

But they had a sign out front that they had been open for twenty years and there was an economy lunch, so I didn’t mind too much. Besides, I was here to see an old friend and ended up being fairly surprised — not overwhelmed — but reasonably satisfied. While we perused the menu, a bread offering was presented; an herb-topped focaccia and classic Italian roll with a spicy, red pepper dipping sauce. The bread was probably day old at that point, but having two different kinds with an accompaniment (instead of butter or oil) was nice. Rose and I agreed to stick to the $10 menu which included a dozen different choices of mostly pastas, but a few sandwiches, larger salads, and a pizza. The pasta dishes came with a side of green salad or cup of soup.

Both of us were craving pasta and knowing we would be sharing, decided on a pappardale with fennel sausage Bolognese and an orecchiette with ground veal, herbs, and tomato cream sauce. The salad was simple and fresh – just lightly dressed greens and no extra frills or accompaniments. The day’s soup was minestrone and while flavorful, was mostly just a fairly thin broth and lacked any of the expected ingredients of beans, pasta, or hefty vegetables. Granted, there were some vegetables, but they were finely diced and far from substantial.

The pasta servings were larger than expected and not that bad. The pappardale was relatively thick had a nice tooth and the fennel sausage was surprisingly spicy and rich. Stuck-together orecchiette cradled thick, creamy veal-laden sauce. Both proved richer and a higher quality and larger portions than I was expecting for the price. Left-overs of both pastas were brought home and enjoyed later that evening. We both opted for glasses of wine which drove the price of our budget lunch higher than we should have spent, but I would not hesitate to return and refrain from the alcohol, keeping to the table-served bottled water.

395 Hayes St
(between Franklin St & Gough St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 252-1110

In the space that used to be Bar Crudo is a restaurant called Swell. Quite frankly, it is so close to what Bar Crudo was in its realization as to be spooky. Well, similar in style, presentation and quality of seafood without the wait, crowd, or hype. There is also a more accessible menu insofar as small bites are concerned.

I learned all this late one afternoon when BFF Lisa and I were wandering around Union Square, trying yet again to decide where to eat that might be different and off-radar. I had completely forgotten about the restaurant’s existence after Bar Crudo departed and considering it was a Tuesday, we weren’t even sure it was going to be open. Walking in around 7:00 in the evening, we were really pleased to get a table. Once we finished our meal, we were more surprised they weren’t packed.

While we pondered the menu, we decided to start with a dozen oysters and I ordered a glass of Riesling from Chile to accompany — mostly because I have never tasted a Chilean Riesling. Our waitress instead suggested something I had never tried, Picpoul de Pinet, by Felines Jourdan from Languedoc. She was really fabulous; not only in the wine recommendation but also in bringing me a taste of the Chilean Riesling and a Domaine Auchere Sancerre, which I would have normally ordered with oysters. Her suggestion was spot on and a great complement to the oysters.

In wanting to try as many dishes as possible, we started with the larger portion of a Chef Tasting Platter; four selections for $22. For $15, you can start with three. And getting one taste of each kind was perfect for the two of us as $11 for four intense and interesting samplings was very intriguing. Lisa and I indicated that we would be very happy if one of the selections would include sea urchin, a particular favorite of ours. Our first four tastes:

Sashimi Grade Yellow Fin Tuna – Ample perfectly squared cuts of yellow fin tuna sits atop slices of Haas avocado with a bit of shiro dashi and sesame seeds. Very rich and quite good.

Dayboat Scallops – Fileted scallops wrapped around matchstick slices of crisp, green Granny Smith apples all topped with wasabi caviar and yuzu aïoli. This was a stunner of a combination. The rich scallop with creamy aïoli provided a rich juxtaposition with the clean, juicy apples.

Smoked Ocean Trout – Prepared with red beet gelée, wasabi-crème fraîche, and quail egg. Here the red beet gelée was prepared and used the way seaweed nori would be in a classic nigiri offering, clutching the delicately smoked trout. The fish and beet preparation sat beneath the ever-so-slightly-spicy wasabi crème fraîche and perfectly hard-boiled quail egg.

Santa Barbara Sea Urchin – With Asian pear wrap, nori, apple aïoli, and jalapeño. Served on a slice of cucumber, the waitress advised us to consume the fish combination separate from the cucumber as the vegetable component would overwhelm the rest. What was the most anticipated of all the crudo offerings proved to be the most disappointing. Perhaps because we were dining on a Tuesday and very often fresh fish is not brought in but used from the weekend, we found the uni lacking in freshness and the preparation to be the least enticing.

Of all the previous four, it was the scallops which were the most exciting with the smoked trout a close second. The tuna was very good, but with so many avocado and sashimi-grade fish offerings in the city, it was not as memorable as the other selections. Still a little hungry and very intrigued with the rest of the menu, we decided on another Chef Tasting of Four, this time getting a few cooked items on the platter.

Rhode Island Fluke – With pickled ginger, citrus salad and rice crispies. An another interesting crunch component with the light rice crispy added a very textural element but the citrus and ginger were too similar in tangy flavors to balance out the clean fluke. It was only the addition of the little sea bean which made the dish more interesting.

Coconut Ceviche of Kampachi – Served with sea bean, red onion, and rice chips.  The texture of raw fish, pickled vegetable, and crunch with a hint of coconut was intriguing, but there was a little too much of the rice chip although I can understand why it needed to be that size, to hold the dressed kampachi.

Miso Black Cod Brûlée – Served with purple potato salad, this was a universally loved concoction. The black cod with its miso marinade and slightly browned exterior had a skillfully prepared amount of sweetness which paired well with the rich, creamy potatoes.

Tuna Tartare – Prepared very similarly to a tartare recipe I grew to love when I worked for Joachim Splichal’s Patina group in Los Angeles, almost a decade ago. Freshly cut tuna, dressed with with black sesame and a hint of sesame oil plated atop finely slivered and pickled seaweed. I could eat a large plate of this.

Lisa was not interested in dessert but the waitress described the flavors of a Crème Brûlée sampler and I couldn’t resist; ginger, miso, and coffee. Our waitress insisted it was not too much and that just a few spoonfuls of each flavor would not be too overwhelming. Lisa was determined to not eat more than a bite or two but within just one taste of each flavor and we knew there was no way to not consume each one – and scrape out a little at the end with our fingers… The ginger was spicy enough with a strong, piquant taste that I adore. The coffee was rich and pungent, the way I like it – almost bitter with coffee taste. But it was the miso which was the surprise. Almost the way a salted caramel gives just enough salt taste to counter-balance the sweetness of a caramel, the umami and saltiness of the miso worked enticingly well with the sweet candied top of the crème brûlée.

There were a handful of larger dishes I would like to go back and try; a lobster bisque, a beef tartare, and bouillabaisse. Glad to have rediscovered the spot and looking forward to repeat visits.

Because of a recent promotion, I got a WHOLE BUNCH of discounted coupons from Restaurant.com (something like $250 worth of coupons for less than $30). Tonight was the beginning of the coupon adventure with food-buddy, Lisa.

We started with a cocktail at Pisco, the neighboring bar, as Destino was not quite ready to open. I had a lovely “Pisco Cosmo” which was very bright and tangy and Lisa had a classic Pisco Sour which could now be one of my favorite drinks.

While we were pondering the menu, we were given an amuse of a sliced, fried plantain served with a green parsley sauce. I could have eaten a dozen of these easily and both Lisa and I were dipping our fingers in the green sauce.

We ordered four small plates to share: a salad of Mexican papaya, greens, toasted pumpkin seeds, and hearts of palm, skewers of beef heart, a chicken empanada served with queso fresco and Andean black mint, and a ceviche of yellowtail tuna, ginger, sesame oil, and Fresno chiles.

Of the four dishes, the salata and the ceviche were easily far superior. The salad was fresh and points were given for not being over-dressed. The ceviche had large chunks of fish (I hate it when its almost ground) and was also not overdressed but quite rich and well-balanced.

The other two dishes were more wanting; the empanada’s dough should have been brushed with egg before baking and it was a fairly chewy dough. It was served with a very spicy, yellow chili sauce and we were both pleased that we had kept the green sauce from the amuse to moisten it up. Made me miss the empanadas from Empanadas Place in Los Angeles. The beef heart skewers were well-seasoned, but sadly overcooked to the point of being very tough and chewy.

Huge points are given for the great service. After our cocktails, we sat down and ordered Sangria. Being slightly undecided, the waiter suggested one each of the white and red and when we found them too sweet for our tastes, the bartender very graciously took them away and discussed other cocktail options for us. Secondary cocktails that we shared was a Pisco-based Mojito and a Caipirinha, made with a most interestingly smoky Cachaca.

We were debating a dessert and knew of the fame of the Alfajores cookies. On the Destino menu, they only list the cookies by the dozen but the bar, Pisco, has them individually. When asked about dessert choices, we indicated we would go back to the bar for a cookie, our waiter offered us several small dulce de leche caramel-filled cookies which was the perfect ending.

Based on other dishes I saw being served and the attentive service, I would definitely return to try other dishes.