Aziza
5800 Geary Blvd. SF (415) 752-3056
It seems like I always go to California Cuisine type restaurants when I am willing to drop some serious $$. This time I decided to break my mold. I heard about Aziza from my fellow chef friend who is an avid follower of the Zagat Guide . He saw a write up on this Moroccan restaurant and forwarded the info to me. We got our group together and went to sink our teeth into some of the best Bastilla and Tagine around. Our waiter was a little strange, very new age. The whole place is kind of like that, but the decor is beautiful and the food is so good you can ignore the trippy trance music. We started our evening with cocktails with a Moroccan spin. I got the Mojito with a touch of rose water. YUM. Other beverage highlights are a Fez Fizz (champagne & pomegranate), Tangier Tartini (grapefruit juice, vodka, guava, and tonic) or perhaps an Aziza Cosmo (blood orange, vodka, cointreau, and cranberry juice). (Warning: The drinks take a VERY long time. We waited forever, in a desperate thirst.) Next we had a series of appetizers: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup ($6), Bastilla: saffron chicken in phyllo with almonds and powdered sugar cinnamon ($12), Mediterranean Spreads: eggplant mousse, red pepper & pomegranate molasses , and yogurt-cucumber dill ($9), lastly the Wilted Spinach with Preserved Lemons and Pine Nuts ($5). For entrees, we got Saffron Infused Cornish Hen ($16), Hungarian Paprika Smothered Rabbit ($18), and Lavender Braised Squab. Of course we had dessert too, but I forget what we got. The important thing is, they were all delicious. If you want to take the easy and cheaper route, go with the Chef's Tasting Menu for $39 a person. Not bad at all for all the opulence of Aziza.
Christ, let me see the menu:
aziza-sf.com
Jardiniere
300 Grove St. SF (415) 861-555
The architecture and interior design of Jardiniere is enough to bring you there, complete with a cheese-aging room, where your cheese can get nice and stinky ripe! The outside of the building is unassuming brick, but then you enter into a what seems to be a night sky. Tons of small white lights shine from the ceiling. Designer Pat Kuleto did a hell of a job on this building, you'll feel quite swanky sitting inside, even if you just have your blue jeans on. Alright, enough about that, here's the food...Chef Traci Des Jardins cooks up some of the most amazing food that I have ever eaten. The style is classified as French Californian Cuisine. Some examples are Sweet Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons, Brioche Crusted Crispy Sweetbreads with Sunchokes and Zante Currants, Crispy Duck Confit with Candied Kumquats, Pomegranate and Pistachios, warm Bread Salad with Baby Artichokes and Marinated Crescenza Cheese, Liberty Farms Duck Breast with Honey Glazed Kabocha Squash, and Bacon and Savoy Spinach. If that doesn't have your mouth watering, let me tell you some dessert options. Strawberry and Rhubarb Shortcakes with Honey and Lavender Ice Cream,Warm Cinnamon Donut with Stone Fruit Compote and Apricot Swirl Ice , The Caramel Tasting with an assortment of Crème Caramel, Caramel Mousse Filled Chocolate Cone, Apple Walnut Cake with Creme Fraiche-Caramel Ice Cream. So how much is this going to put you out? Well, the Chef's Six-Course Tasting Menu is seventy-five dollars, if you want some booze (fancy wines) add forty dollars. Of course you can just go in a get a bowl of soup or some coffee and dessert. I forgot to say that the bread is phenomenal. It is a rare occasion when I eat somewhere and LOVE every dish. This happened for me at Jardiniere, and I wish the same for you. Be warned that because of Jardiniere's close proximity to the symphony and opera, it can get mobbed with pre-show crowds that are decked out, ritzy, and in a hurry.
Christ, let me see the menu: jardiniere.com
Farmhouse Inn Restaurant
7871 River Rd., Forestville, CA (707) 887-3300
Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant is located just outside of Guerneville in Sonoma County. It is a beautiful drive from San Francisco (or most other places, I'm assuming) through the vineyards and quiet backcountry roads. Eating at the Farmhouse feels, well...homey. I got seated right in front of a big wood-burning fireplace, in their small dinning room. The restaurant is really just a converted farmhouse, which has had minimal changes to make it into an eating establishment. Here I had the best King crab legs I've ever had. My friend got the Pork Chop with Parsnip Puree. The texture was perfectly juicy, with a slightly crunchy skin. I wish I had the menu in front of me, but I gave it to my boss. Damn. I will do my best to recall what I had. I know it finished with a hot chocolate souffle that left us all drooling and stuttering. Just before that we had a cheese course, which was wheeled out on an old cart by our waiter. He described every cheese to us, from where it was made and who made it to the specific process and what we should be tasting when we bite it. The cheese was eaten with a sharp knife edge, in a specific order, going from mildest to most ripe and strong. If you're into wines, they have a varied list with lots of local choices. Take a little field trip and go to the wineries and get something to eat here. Oh yeah, the prices are expensive, but doable. I didn't choke when I got the bill, just smiled and said it was all worth it.
If you get too drunk or stuffed while eating at here, you can always spend the night in their upscale cabins.
Christ, let me see their web site (sorry no menu!!): farmhouseinn.com
French Laundry
6640 Washington St., Yountville, CA (707) 944-2380
Built in the1890s as a French steam laundry, the rustic two-story stone house is surrounded by lush country gardens. The food is contemporary American with French influences. It is very pricey!! I suggest just eating here once in your life. Dinner: $120 Chef's Tasting Menu; $105 Five-Course Prix Fixe Menu with choices;$80 Five-Course Prix Fixe Vegetarian Menu. Chef Thomas Keller creates flavors that you have never experienced before and never will again. The presentation of the food is a work of art. Everything is like a small sculpture that you're are lucky enough to get to eat. I can't even describe the ingredients of the food because I've never had over half of them. Check out their on-line menu to see what you're getting yourself into if you eat here. If you want a visual idea, look at their cookbook next time you're in the bookstore. I'll just say this about his food, it will silence a table of loud talkers. I was in complete awe of each dish. The service is impeccable, each course arriving and being unveiled simultaneously. The waiter then describes, in painstaking detail, what you're about to eat. Your meal is going to take hours!!! We got there at 8:00 P.M. and weren't finished until 12:30. When I finally left, I couldn't believe how full I was, seeing that each course only consists of three bites. But the food kept coming, and was all soooo rich ( I had two dishes with frois grois). So if you think you might want to go, be prepared for it to take you months to make reservations. They only take them on the phone, and you have to book them two months (to the day) in advance. Doesn't sound too bad, huh? Well the phone is always busy. Just keep trying, or drive out to Yountville and make them in person.
Christ, let me see the menu:
sterba.net/yountville/frenchlaundry