Prospect, Chef Pamela Mazzola's Modern American from the Team behind Boulevard - 300 Spear Street on The Embarcadero near Rincon Hill

[TrelayneNYC]

We went to Prospect for dinner on Saturday.

Prospect
300 Spear Street (Folsom Street)
Embarcadero

http://www.prospectsf.com/

I want to say that we loved it. Well, it's probably more accurate to say that my partner likes it. It was just "ok" for me. We might return for lunch, but I think there are better in SF.

Thoughts and impressions:

* When you come by within literally 1 minute after your guests are seated and ask them if they want anything to drink (other than water), WE HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO LOOK AT THE MENU OR THE WINE LIST!!! And then, you compound that by vanishing into the ether and not coming by to take our orders for 10 more minutes.

* I had heard of restaurants not giving out bread and butter as you would normally expect them to do. We had to eventually ask for some. Always an adventure dining out in San Francisco.

* Would someone please tell FOH staff everywhere that reciting specials without telling your guests how much they cost is a turn-off? It makes you seem uninformed and disorganized.

* A girl sitting at the table next to us managed to break the glassware within 5 minutes of being seated. That's a first, at least for me.

* Prospect is another restaurant that has minimal sound absorption. True, there is a carpet on the floor which does absorb some noise, but when you couple that with plentiful wooden surfaces, square tables with no tablecloths, wooden benches with suede cushions, etc., the result is that it can be impossible to carry on a conversation without shouting. The room emptied out about two-thirds of the way through our dinner after which the difference in loudness was quite noticeable.

We paid $260 for the pleasure of dining there (includes a 20% tip). At least the food was ok and saved the evening.

Seared sea scallops, smoked clams, celtuce purée, chowder broth.

Foie gras, pear butter, Bartlett pear, black sesame brioche.

Berkshire pork chop, cacio e pepe potatoes, broccoli di cicco.

Halibut, brown butter cauliflower, chard, grapes.

I'm reminded of "the parade of brown food" which is a line from Ruth Reichl's review of Le Cirque back in the mid-1990s, and is equally applicable here.

Lemon sour cream pie, caramel sauce.

Almond frangipane cake, burrata ice cream, corn flakes, blackberries.