Lev O.'s Profile

We stopped here on a lark last weekend, and it turned out to be their first week in operation after acquiring the place. Formerly it was the local foodie fave Seaweed Cafe. The new owners, a pleasant young couple, welcomed us into the mostly empty room-- despite a very quick conversion from the old to the new, business was slow.

The menu was small, mid- to high price and clearly catering to a locavorous foodie segment of the market (the old "Slow Food" sign on the side of the building still applies). Asian-inflected California in style. A short but well-chosen wine list, with a standard 3x markup on the familiar wines. We both had a glass of the excellent house cab (Pellegrini Cloverdale Ranch '05)

Our appetizers were fish-based: yellowtail sashimi for her, a sardine and bean combo for me. The sardines were braised, not brined, just the way I like 'em.

Entrees were a rather pedestrian chicken pot pie for me (compares unfavorably with Liberty Cafe) but a superb black cod fillet for her. Black cod is a tricky fish, often times coming out soggy and poorly cooked through. Not here, though. Lia, the chef, has clearly mastered this dish.

A dessert of local cheeses hit the spot for me... note that the "compote" on the menu is in fact everyday apricot jam, and that the accompanying apricot slices were insipid. She had a standard issue ramekin-sized chocolate cake.... perfectly good, but not my thing.

Andrew, the proprietor, chatted amiably about the complexities of opening a restaurant. We promised him a good Yelping. Here it is.

Pros: probably the best game in town if you're in Bodega Bay (we haven't yet tried the Tides Restaurant, though).

Cons: a wee bit too pricey, portions are a wee bit small, but this is forgivable.

Conclusions: I can't quite give it 5 stars, but it really deserves 4 and a half.

Went there on a Thursday night with Snorri and Dr. Monika, fairly late in the evening without having made reservation.The place was packed, and we milled aimlessly in the tiny bar area waiting for a table. As always, I brought a bottle of wine-- the corkage fee was a modest $10. The place was absolutely swarming with Mission District hipsters! The mellow vibe of the waitstaff bordered on indifference-- it was hard to figure out who was working and who was hanging out. Eventually, we got a table and ordered, but sadly the food was lackluster. My $10 hamburger was smallish and fairly ordinary, while Monika's salmon and fiddlehead fern saute was overly greasy. Only Snorri seemed to dig his meal, which consisted of a pair of passable but pedestrian antipasti. Although dinner for three only set us back $70, it just wasn't all that great. I'd rather go to Chez Papa a few blocks up the hill.

Wandering through downtown Petaluma on a quiet Sunday evening, we chanced upon Central Market. One of my friends, visiting from Chicago, was unclear on the concept of California cuisine, and this seemed like a good opportunity to show it to her.  As we through the window and considered the menu, the maitre d' popped out and said "Where else are you gonna eat in this town?"  He was right (he was also Tony, the owner)--- Central Market is a regional gem. We hit it off with Tony by praising his rustic white bread, which apparently he himself bakes. A small but well-focused wine list emphasizes affordability--- we had the seldom-seen Ravenswood Gewurtztraminer, an excellent floral but not over-sweet specimen (turns out that Tony worked at Ravenswood for many years). We were clearly on Tony's good side, as a complementary dish of hamachi on guacamole appeared shortly thereafter. My bison tartare on a bed of eggplant was piquant and buttery (mmm.... raw exotic ungulate....) and the roasted butternut and shitake thing my friend ordered was extraordinarily rich and concentrated. Excellent entrees all around--- mine was the seafood boudin, a sausage stuffed with a spicy, jambalaya-like mixture of shellfish and rice. Desserts were more conventional but right on target--- the usual girl-pleasing chocolate bomblet, creme brule, and, for me, a fruit cobler/crisp thingie. To sum up--- laid-back atmosphere, fantastic service and a first rate seasonal menu made this my go-to spot next time in that neck of the woods.

Went here on Fat Tuesday night with Jessica, not expecting much from the menu but intrigued by the weekly 1/2 wine bottle special. A pleasant enough space with contemporary lounge fixtures and a prominent bar, but the even on a supposedly mellow night the music was too loud and the ambiance was schizophrenic (bar? lounge? restaurant?). Our server was somewhat distracted by other customers, but proved attentive and knowledgeable about their wine offerings (we had the excellent Gundlach-Bundschu Mountain Cuvee, a Bordeaux-style red blend with a characteristically California fruit emphasis).

Food: perfectly pedestrian but mercifully inexpensive for places of this style. We shared the beet and green salad (a nicely presented, wholesome dish) but my entree of filet mignon was bathed in an unappealing sticky sauce resembling something from a bottle labeled "Heinz." The Mardi Gras dessert special, however, was a worthy, well-turned panna cotta with blood oranges. Portion size was rather large, aiming toward larger groups of small plate-wielding nibblers. Which brings me to my next point....

What is this place doing in the Mission District? It's like a little embassy from the Marina or Walnut Creek--- all of these super skinny office girls out for a night on the town and creepy guys in ridiculous "f*** me" shirts. Jess mentioned that the ladies roomed smelled like mouthwash... bulimia strikes again! Maybe it was a Mardi Gras thing, but definitely not our crowd.

Summary: come here for the Tuesday wine special or with a group of friends, but don't come for the haute cuisine or an intimate date.

I was treated to a meal here on a Wednesday night by a pair of friends. We had late reservations but the place was packed and we waited about 15 minutes before a table cleared up. The atmosphere was laid back but stylish--- the clientele appear to be hipsters with $. The cute waitress knowledgeably decanted the relatively fancy wine I brought and agreed to have a sip--- this trick works very well to get the servers on your side. We shared a dish of fresh local sardines on a bed of celery and herb salad (superb!) and then proceeded to the main event, ribeye steaks. Damn, that was probably the best restaurant steak I've had in San Francisco. My arteries will no doubt pay the cost at some point, but hopefully the red wine will dissolve those sclerotic plaques. Anyhow, my dessert was a glass of exceptional Juranon Petit Manseng while my friends had the deliciously malty chocolate sundae. I'll definitely be back to try other items.

Went here with a few friends before a fancy film premiere at the nearby Castro Theater. We arrived fairly early in the evening and for a while were the only people there. I brought a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and we all ordered off the prix fixe menu (three courses of $27.50, choosing from among virtually all items on the regular menu). Although we had to rush our meal to make it to the show, the waiter (genuinely French, unlike at most French places in SF) was extremely obliging. We were all pleased with our meals---  standouts were the lobster risotto appetizer and the fantastic tart tatin.  Excellent food, excellent service and above all an excellent QPR (quality/price ratio)

I went with a group of five friends to this place on Sunday night to do the Dine-About-Town thing. It was wretched. Let me rant about a few things:

1. Colorful walls and the Amelie soundtrack on repeat doesn't create a French ambiance. Fake-o!
2. The Russian waiter was so obviously hamming up a French accent that the entire table tittered.  Fake!
3. The wine list was reprehensible! We ordered a supposedly St. Emillion '03 Bordeaux at $55 only to get a bottle of cheap plonk masquerading as a Grand Cru. Absolutely unacceptable. Adding insult to injury, we were charged a staggering $18 corkage fee for the much more drinkable California cab we brought with us.

The food was mediocre... completely serviceable escargot were followed by a lackluster steak and frittes. Only the dessert, a simple blueberry rhubarb tart, was decent... and I definitely could have made that at home. The last straw was the lukewarm, watery coffee.

Stick with Garcon, Cafe Bastille or any of another mid-range places that are the real deal.

Nice vibe, fab walls, great tunes... sadly, lousy beer, but I can overlook that every once in a while.

I've been here a few times, most recently with Monika Monika and Snorri for the Dine About Town promotion. Same pumpkin and crab soup as last year, complete with gratuitous showy administration of the puree from a little pitcher at the table. The mahi mahi steak was tasty but straightfoward,  though I like the crispy, nearly burned fingerling potatoes. Dessert, however, was lousy--- an overly gelatinous rice and cinnamon pudding that was starchy, stiff and stale. M. didn't like her sorbet, either. But that's not the point here --- it's all about the wines, which were superb. The Dine About Town red flight consisted of a pedestrian pinot noir, a rich Chilean Malbec, two splendid syrahs (the Paso Robles Barrel 27 was edged out by a remarkable Australian called "The Formula"). For dessert, my Tokay Aszu was a tawdry whore of a wine, all flirt and promise but left me feeling cheap and dirty.  However, the Navarro Late Harvest Riesling gave me and M. simultaneous nosegasms.

Went to lunch here with Gaius to take advantage of the Dine About Town promotion. A palpable hit with both of us. Sleek, elegant and compact dining room. Formally dressed elderly waiters wandering around with trays of bread. A very attentive waiter who accommodated Gaius's allergies with a substitution to the prix fixe menu. I had the soup, the squab pasta ragou and the bread pudding dessert, all of which were excellent. Also had a memorable glass of Spanish grenache (Bodegas Borsao "Tres Pichos"), one of two Dine About Town wine specials. It's hard to believe that this is a hotel restaurant. Would unhesitatingly go again.