Tasting Notes - AUG 2010

AUG left The Foodie wondering how Range haz a Michelin Star, exactly how much StarCraft one has to play to disable ones hand & if Marlowe will ever get sick of slinging burgers.

08.06 - Range left The Foodie a bit confused. More often than not, when you're dining at a place with a Michelin Star, you KNOW it. From the moment you walk into a place like Quince, Madrona Manor, Michael Mina or Ritz-Carlton you KNOW you're about to have a high-end dining experience. To a lesser extent this is true at slightly more casual/business friendly places like Boulevard, Commis, Luce, One Market, Redd & The Village Pub. Range seemed MUCH more like a "mention" than a true Star. Now, don't get me wrong, the food we had was good BUT nothing about Range (the space, the service, the creativity/technique of the food - the 'stuff' Michelin normally loves) screamed Michelin Star. The overall experience was no more Wow-worthy than recent trips to Chez Papa Resto & Thermidor and, honestly, if I'm going to go out of my way to dine in SF I'd much rather go to mere Michelin Mentioned spots like SPQR or Baker & Banker (which, yes, isn't technically rated yet but will be). And, yes, The Foodie realizes he didn't mention ANYTHING about the actual food. He's okay with that.

08.08 - Since Range left The Foodie feeling gypped this weekend, so a trip to Ad Hoc for brunch was in order. For the first time in...well...forever nether Katie NOR Trevor was our server and, ironically, as we were telling our waiter this, Katie swung by with two House Special Sangrias to welcome us back. Trevor (sporting an arm brace from playing too much StarCraft - no, I'm not making that up) also popped over to say hi and explain his injury.
Foodwise, the menu was extraordinary. We started with the Ad Hoc version of a Breakfast Pizza which was much like the vaunted version down the street @Redd, just minus the scrambled eggs. Redd's might be better, but nobody's going to kick the Ad Hoc version out of bed, especially with the deft addition of Chili Oil that added just a t-o-u-c-h of heat. We then moved on to Housemade Waygu Corned Beef that was brined for 7 days and THEN sous vide for over a day!!! That means that, over a week ago, the back of the house had to start making food they were going to serve in, like, ten days o_O Served with fluffy, velvety eggs and crispy potatoes roasted in duck fat it might well be the best meal I've EVER had at Ad Hoc.

08.10 - SF Chefs Week ran a promo where participating restaurants offered special deals (think Dine About Town) featuring pork & thus The Foodie found himself tucked into one of those novelty-sized white booths @ XYZ. The Fig & Pig Salad with crispy pig parts was well balanced as a starter, but The Hottie's Pork Tenderloin was a bit overcooked for the main (for the record, mine wasn't nearly as dry, thought it was still on the well-done side of the meter). But the star of the nite (aside from the remarkably stellar service for a "hotel restaurant") was the Warm Nectarine Tart with Corn Ice Cream & Candied Bacon. They had me at the mere mention of Corn Ice Cream but the surprisingly complexity of what was essentially jumbo bacon bits dipped in simple syrup added a contrast of textures and flavors with it's salty/smokiness w/o overpowering the dessert. Just a very well though out dessert that XYZ should consider putting on their regular offerings.

08.19 - First off the Burger @ Marlowe might well be worth all the hype if you're looking for a hi-end restaurant burger. It's certainly better than the more hyped (and more expensive) burger @ Father's Office which many consider to be the best patty in La-La-Land. And they are BEYOND popular to boot. I didn't see a single table that didn't order at least one and, in some cases, the entire table got burgers. The Foodie actually felt a bit guilty ordering the burger but since that's what they're known for, why fight it? I promised our server I'd order something different next time. FYI, the Brussels Sprout Chips (if available) are not to be missed. The Hottie, who hasn't voluntarily eaten a brussels sprout in the last 20 years, was stuffing her face with them as she tried to explain how there was something not quite right with them. MUNCH*MUNCH*MUNCH* The Foodie is not big fan of said Sprout either, but they were terribly addictive & creative although I sincerely feel for the poor cook that has to take apart each sprout leaf by tiny leaf...

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