DINNER & DRINKS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Dinner & drinks in San Francisco - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Dinner & drinks in San Francisco | |||||
| By: Michael Shaw, Issue 44 – Spring 2010 | |||||
| (San Francisco, USA) | |||||
| FOOD AND WINE WRITER MICHAEL SHAW SAMPLES THREE OF SAN FRANCISCO’S BEST RESTAURANTS. | |||||
| RN74 | |||||
| 301 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO. (415) 543 7474 The stellar wine list at RN74 had me convinced instantly, but there was more to come. Restaurateur Michael Minna’s new downtown outlet uses local artisan and foraged produce to create an innovative menu. There are no tablecloths, but the crisp service blends perfectly with the contemporary, less formal ambience. The wine is sourced from Europe and California’s best. I enjoyed a premier cru Chassagne-Montrachet and Kutch Sonoma coast Pinot Noir which were perfectly matched to the food. But for a real treat there are rare wines aged by co-owner Wilf Jaeger at very realistic prices. Try a Chateau Leoville-Barton, St. Julien, Bordeaux 1990 or others that are displayed on a “one-off basis” on the “departure board” list. For these the process of decanting and checking are done at a large central service table. The bar is a cool, lively destination on its own, but it’s mostly a pre-dinner set and it would be hard to pass up these wines for a cocktail, for me anyway. | |||||
| GARY DANKO | |||||
| 800 NORTH POINT STREET (AT HYDE), SAN FRANCISCO. (415) 749 2060 A romantic, formal dinner is a rare treat these days, and Chef Gary Danko has created the perfect environment for it. Flowers and dramatic lighting are combined with impeccable service and a sumptuous fixed price, two or three course menu. Included are amuse bouche (bite-sized hors d’oeuvre) served at the bar or at table and they truly do amuse. Glazed oysters with Osetra caviar and lettuce cream stood out but everything was luxurious. There were more morels, foie gras, lobster and guinea hen than I’d seen anywhere for a while. The dishes were all quite heavily worked but still light on their feet and as dramatic as the setting. The cuisine is modern French-inspired and the wine list is broader in scope including some of the more diverse areas of Europe. Chambolle-Musigny Grand Cru, Californias Sine Qua Non varietals and even a 1983 Grange was available. The bar is alive but very pre-dinner or a pre-show but well worth arriving for. | |||||
| PERBACCO | |||||
| 230 CALIFORNIA STREET, SAN FRANCISCO. (415) 955 0663 You can feel the Northern Italian style from the moment the door opens at Perbacco. The space is urbane and refined with a long, marble bar, a large, two-tier dining room and an open, hopping kitchen. The owners’ Piedmontese hometown inspires the menu and chef Staffan Terje uses seasonal, hand chosen ingredients to produce classics dishes with a modern feel. I enjoyed the Agnolotti Al Coniglio, and Capicoll Arrosto with stone fruit and white corn polenta. The chef has a fine touch never letting the cooking overwhelm the ingredients. In fact they make their salami in-house and the chef grows the pigs for the restaurant’s use. The wine is selected from the best Regional Italian offerings like Borollo and Barbaresco, and of course new world, particularly Californian regional specialties are available at very reasonable prices. I was bowled over by their selection of Nebiollo, Fruilli and of course the Gruner Veltliners, the new-age Sauvingnon Blanc. | |||||
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