Restaurant Review: Zazie

If you're as afraid of commitment at the brunch table as I am, then Zazie is the place for you. The best part about the brunch menu at Zazie is that almost every item can be ordered in quantities of one, two, or three. So, if you can't decide between committing to a whole stack of buttermilk or gingerbread pancakes, you can get one or two of each. Or you can sample a couple of the options on their diverse Eggs Benedict menu. Just get there before 10:30 if you're going on a weekend, in order to save yourself from yet another 45-minute San Francisco brunch line wait.

Service: The host manning the sign-in sheet seems like the type who recognizes regulars easily and was still very friendly to a non-regular like me who doesn't make it out to Cole Valley too often. The waitstaff was polite, nice, and not intrusive. The busboy was attentive, and slowed down the cleanup of the table next to us when he noticed I was photographing the latte bowls on it.

Food: Nick, who orders French toast at every single brunch place he goes to, testifies that their challah French toast stuffed with caramelized bananas and walnuts is the second best French toast in the city (the first being a butterscotch and pumpkin bread French toast from the specials board at Dottie's). The poached egg presentations that I have tried there have all been quite flavorful and the combinations have been exciting; however, most recently both the eggs I received were practically hard boiled and I was slightly disappointed by not getting a runny yolk that I could soak up with my English muffins. I probably would have put up a bigger fuss about it if the other ingredients weren't cooked as perfectly as they were.

Ambiance: I think the place is going for a rustic Provençal look, which does work with the comforting breakfast items on their menu. Big fluffy pancakes and French toast are served on brightly painted plates and lattes are served in big lavender bowls. There are tattered vintage French posters on the pale yellow walls. With the worn-down cushions on the wooden benches, it feels a little bit like eating in an old countryside home if you ignore the other patrons.

Rating: Recommended.

Zazie is located at 941 Cole Street, San Francisco, California 94117.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Restaurant Review: Ironside

Ironside had been on my to-go list for awhile. Their website describes their dinner menu as inspired by American comfort food and I love to be comforted by food. I can certainly see that this is an influence, but the menu goes beyond the American classics with some more exotic touches and non-traditional approaches. They also have a $16 brunch buffet that sounds amazing—I've already made reservations to go back and try it out on Saturday.

Service: I found the staff to be really nice and incredibly detail-oriented. The busguy apologized after spilling one tiny drop of water on our table and doubled back to wipe it up. The waitress asked us if our wobbly table was bothering us before I even noticed it was wobbly, and wedged something underneath to fix it. And everyone smiled.

Food: I got the pressed veggie cubano which came with very thinly-sliced plantain chips, which I thought were a unique touch. I have had many a veggie sandwich but the vegetables inside this one were refreshingly unexpected; in addition to roasted bell peppers and the like, I also saw soft slices of purple turnips and bold, dark leafy greens. The sandwich was pressed in a way that slightly charred the outer surface of the bread, which imparted a very satisfying smokiness to it, too. Very yum. I also tried some of Nick's roasted mushroom pizza. The crust was soft and light and flavorful on its own and the mix of toppings was spread on in a very generous layer. I don't think this is the traditional Neapolitan-style pizza that's touted all over the city but that certainly should not matter because the pizza at Ironside was excellent.

Ambiance: Covers of classics from the '60s and '70s played subtly in the background. The interior was simple with brick walls and one giant vintage sign. There were iron and wood touches on the staircase and the railings on the upper level and my meal was served on an iron skillet atop a wooden platter. I felt that everything from the music to the building to the food seemed to belong together.

Rating: Strongly recommended.

Ironside is located at 680 2nd Street, San Francisco, California 94107.

| Photo Credit: Me. |

Restaurant Review: Destino

Destino combines flavors from South America with Californian-style food. I bet it's the only place around here where you can find gnocchi made of yuca. Unfortunately this terrible photo I took on my BlackBerry camera does not accurately represent it. I need to find a new strategy for documenting good food in low-light conditions.

Service: Our waitress was friendly and conversational when we asked for her opinion on the dessert on the Dine About Town menu. She noted our water glasses every time she swung by our table, and made sure they were filled. She also remembered what I had ordered even after our plates were cleared away and asked me whether I'd liked it because it was her favorite dish there.

Food: We started off with chicken empanadas and an arepa with nopa vieja. I've had better empanadas elsewhere, but this was definitely the best arepa I've ever had. This was primarily because the arepa was stuffed with fontina cheese, which I'd never experienced with an arepa before, but also because the pulled pork shoulder piled on top of it was soft and full of flavor. This starter alone was good enough for me to want to come back, but then I had the gnocchi de yucca. Usually I find that even the best of potato gnocchi have quite a sturdy feel, and leave me feeling very heavy at the end of the meal; these had a much more airy feel, which I find to be the case whenever the yuca root is substituted for potatoes. They were rather large for gnocchi, but they were light and fluffy on the inside and crispy golden brown on the outside. The pool of thick, creamy huacatay pesto they were served in added an extra coating of flavor, and the whole dish basically blew me away.

Ambiance: Considering how delicious and creative the menu was, it felt like there was a mismatch with the decor. We sat in one of the red velvety booths along the perimeter, which was very comfortable but looked worn. There were some brightly-colored paintings and big mirrors on the walls but the dim yellow lighting made the place feel old rather than romantic. I took a peak at the adjoining Pisco Latin Lounge which looked a little more chic, but overall, I wish I could help them redecorate.

Rating: Strongly recommended.

Destino is located at 1815 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94103.

| Photo Credit: Me, on my worthless BlackBerry camera. |

Restaurant Review: Dottie's True Blue Cafe

Dottie's is not the sort of place you go to when you roll out of bed after sleeping in and realize your tummy is rumbling—going to Dottie's is an event. It is right in the Tenderloin. There is always a 30 to 60 minute wait. There is no list so you have to hold your place in the line outside. But what really makes going to Dottie's an event is plainly that it is the best place in the city to get an old school American diner breakfast.

Service: Last weekend was our third time eating at Dottie's and every time, the staff has been calm and super friendly no matter how hectic the environment. The first time we ate there, we sat at the bar and got to watch the speed and skill of the chef as he cranked out omelettes on the stove while answering the constantly-ringing phone without missing a beat. There is a single-spaced page-long essay of house rules pasted to the windows of the restaurant that states they will never rush patrons or skimp on service no matter how long the line outside, and they stick to their house rules.

Food: I always order from the hand-scrawled specials board. Last weekend I had a portobello mushroom and provolone strata (I had to Google while I was there to find out what a strata was) which was amazingly fluffy, gooey, and melty at the same time. Previously, I've had the sweet potato tart, which was also gooey and delicious. The food always tastes and looks like old fashioned home cooking, but prepared in unexpected ways. Nick orders French toast pretty much whenever we eat out for breakfast and gives this place the trophy for the best French toast he's ever had; they used pumpkin bread to make the French toast and it had a butterscotch glaze.

Ambiance: This is a place where half a dozen types of hot sauce are stocked at every table along with various salt and pepper shakers disguised as tacky figurines or souvenirs. There are photos of movie stars from before my time on the walls (including a poster-sized one with breasts involved) and you have to wait on the sidewalk in the 'Loin just to get a seat. But all of this is part of what makes the Dottie's experience complete. They do accept take-out orders, but that just wouldn't be the same to me.

Rating: Strongly recommended.

Dottie's True Blue Cafe is located at 522 Jones St, San Francisco, California 94102.

Restaurant Review: Aperto

Despite it being in the little hub of Potrero Hill amongst all the neighborhood restaurants we really like, Nick and I hadn't made it over the Aperto until last Sunday. We'd heard a lot of praise about the place in the past and until very recently our good friend's brother used to work there but we don't tend to eat Italian out because Nick is skilled at making pasta from scratch at home. Aperto seems to be known as an Italian restaurant but that doesn't explain why there were two omelettes and only one frittata on the brunch menu.

Service: Immediately as we were seated, I shared the following exchange with the host/manager:

Him: Can I get you anything to drink to start?
Me: I think I'd like to take a look at the menu first.
Him: No, no! I am only asking about beverages now.

Nick and I ordered waters. I am not sure what is so unusual about wanting to see what juices, teas, or espresso items are on the menu before ordering my beverage but I guess that was not okay for this guy, who had no reason to be in a hurry because we were seated immediately upon arrival and there was no one else behind us. Our waitress was friendly though, in the good-at-doing-her-job-without-actually-expressing-her-personality sort of way. She apologized when Nick pointed out that he'd ordered French toast and she brought him pancakes, in the it-is-my-job-to-say-sorry sort of way.

Food: Maybe my exchange with the host/manager before I could even pick up my menu put a damper on things. And maybe their little almond muffins that they serve with brunch were supposed to be dry and hard, but to me a dry and hard muffin is a stale muffin. This is the listing on the menu for what I ordered: "Grilled Four Cheese Sandwich: melted fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, goat and grana cheeses, Sicilian olives and arugula on Italian bread". It came with homefries. I started eating right away even though Nick had to wait for his French toast but my homefries were already cold; they were also so perfectly cubed that there was nothing homey about them. My sandwich tasted like a Grilled One Cheese Sandwich where mozzarella was the only cheese in it. Also, by "Sicilian olives" they meant half of an olive on one side of my sandwich and about 4–5 olive halves on the other side. The most prominent-tasting ingredient was the arugula.

Ambiance: They had a nice little open kitchen area and a warm color on the walls. The larger tables had bright blue vases with vibrant-colored flowers in them. I enjoyed admiring the cool-looking purple flower on the table next to us but the camera on my BlackBerry decided to make it blue.

Rating: Not recommended.

Aperto is located at 1434 18th Street, San Francisco, California, 94107.

Restaurant Review: Pomelo

Last weekend, finding ourselves not craving any particular cuisine, we came across Pomelo on Yelp and decided to give it a try. The place boasts the slogan "refreshingly global" because each dish on the menu (cutely divided into "side trips" and "destinations" for appetizers and entrées, respectively) is named after a different spot on the globe and represents an entirely different culture's cuisine. I couldn't take or find a very good photo of the restaurant so instead, I drew you this silly pomelo.

Service: There was one guy in there who did everything: greeted us, showed us our table, took our order, served us, and cleared our table. He was friendly and even showed a little humor. He was the sort of waiter who helped guide old ladies into their chairs and patted people on the shoulder as he was checking in on their meals. When he cleared our plates, he asked if we had been finished for a long time; we weren't at all. I liked him.

Food: I had a Provençal-inspired lamb ragout which was delicious; the best part though was the cakes of baked polenta served to the side of it that were the perfect consistency on the inside and crispiness on the outside. Nick had Indonesian-style noodles in a big bowl that smelled great but that I didn't try because it was too different from my meal. He enjoyed it. I think the concept of putting such disparate dishes all in one menu is an interesting and original one, and it works for people who like variety on the menu but not sharing around the table. If you like having a little sample of everyone else's dish but are still looking for a coherent meal, this is probably not the place for you.

Ambiance: This is clearly a neighborhood restaurant. The fresh rose on every table was a nice touch and the soft peachy colors and the dim lighting makes the place a good spot for a romantic but very very casual dinner. After previewing the menu online ahead of time though, I was a little bit surprised when I walked in because I think I was expecting an environment that matched their modern and eclectic theme. I could see this being a fantastic go-to dinner spot for people who live nearby but it does not look like a destination for me.

Rating: Recommended.

Pomelo is located at 1793 Church Street San Francisco, California 94131.

Restaurant Review: Plow

On Sunday, Nick and I waited for over an hour to get a table at Plow, the bougie breakfast place right in our neighborhood. Plow is a charming little place with a wrought iron pig sign, sturdy plain white plates, and a menu of the breakfast classics done simply but in a very San Francisco way (using fresh and locally-sourced ingredients). You can tell just how carefree and nonchalant the people are around here by how hardly anyone flinches when the guy in the Giants cap taking down names tells them to wait outside and enjoy the sunshine for the next hour and 15 minutes.

Service: The staff here are warm and friendly without being annoying. Despite how busy they were, they never gave off a frazzled vibe. I ordered the fried egg sandwich with added bacon; when the sandwich arrived there was no bacon, but I didn't want to wait again so I just asked them to remove the bacon fee from the bill when it arrived. Instead, the waitress apologized sincerely and put the whole sandwich on the house.

Food: My fried egg sandwich with Grafton cheddar and frisee was delicious. Somehow the frisee was perfectly subtle while still giving the sandwich some produce presence. What really impressed me was how despite my cutting through the runny eggs and being a the slowest eater of all time, the bottom bun stayed crispy all the way through my very last bite. Nick and I also got one of their lemon ricotta pancakes on the side. I'm usually not a big pancake person unless there is truly something special, and this was seriously the best pancake of my life. Instead of tasting and feeling like a disk of cooked pancake batter, this was like a soft sponge cake with the light and creamy qualities of ricotta and a faint essence of fresh lemon. I know that last sentence did not make very much sense but it is because words cannot really describe this pancake.

Ambiance: I felt that the place matched the food in simultaneously achieving simplicity and elegance. The interior somehow managed to be both modern and farm-inspired without a grain of kitsch. I was charmed by the salt and pepper shakers that looked like old milk bottles and how the natural light from the wall of windows on one side of the space created a natural glow bouncing off the walls of the other side. A nice article/slideshow on how wine barrels and other such materials were repurposed for the restaurant can be found here.

Rating: Strongly recommended.

Plow is located at 1299 18th Street, San Francisco, California 94107.