TrelayneNYC

Buttermilk scones with currants, served with butter and grapefruit-Meyer lemon marmalade

On 7/4/2018 at 2:53 AM, DaveO said:

My reference above erroneously referenced high housing costs as the main focus of the article.  It’s not.  The article is primarily  focused on overall high costs of running a restaurant with a trend and move to higher end better quality restaurants moving to self serve and eliminating FOH staff.

Coincidentally I had just spoken with a DC FOH person active in the recent DC tipped wages election (on the NO side).  His fast description:  “It’s about jobs!”

The trend to finer dining self serve eliminates FOH staff and jobs.  

Many links in the article to other restaurants incorporating this trend and other cities where it is occurring.  I assume it will spread in DC. 

I understood that. I was just providing a frame of reference since most of you don't live here.

Many thanks.

Just to frame things:

I live in one of the more desirable parts of town in a rent-controlled apartment. The flat above us rents for at least $6,000/month and is divided between three people, all of whom work for tech companies. I know that one of them is employed by Google.

My salary is wonderful compared to when I was in NYC, but even with my income, there's little chance I could get my own place in San Francisco unless I won the lottery. So given those data points, you can imagine what things are like on the lower end of the scale.

oh, one more thing.

you can actually hear conversations at your table without having to shout to make yourselves heard. this town has very little white tablecloth restaurants particularly on the high-end. we should do all we can to keep such places in business.

24 minutes ago, Keithstg said:

What a wonderful post! Thanks so much for sharing. Having been to SPQR but not Acquerello I certainly want to get to the latter when I am next in San Francisco. That said, SPQR is much more casual in it's design and execution, no?

yes, it is

but the difference in quality of service between the two are miles apart

for instance, we were both wearing dark pants and mere seconds after having sat down, were given dark napkins instead of white napkins so that our pants wouldn't be marred by white flecks.

after B made his cheese selections, they plated the cheese, then waited until my dessert was ready before serving both plates. 

we mentioned to the sommelier that we were interested in Italian wines and were given multiple tastings to help narrow down our choices.

it's this attention to detail that I felt set Acquerello apart compared to SPQR. That we loved the food at the former is the literal cherry on top.

Turbot with Taggiasca olives, potato, clams and brown butter.

Not very visually appealing but it did taste wonderful.

Cheese cart.

All selections are Italian. The cart is arranged so that cheeses in the background are hard and those in the foreground are soft. Cheeses on the left side are the most intense and those on the right side are fairly mild.

Vin santo

Cheese plate.

Clockwise from upper left: buffalo milk cheese; aged cow's milk and sheep's milk cheese mixed with Barolo wine; sheep's milk cheese; hazelnuts and raisins mixed with chestnut honey; apricot marmellata; candied fennel.

Napoletano - strawberry mousse layered over pistachio mousse, surrounded by chocolate mousse, covered with white chocolate and served with 66% dark Caraïbe chocolate.

When I reserved, I mentioned to staff that my hubby's birthday was the occasion and they pulled out all the stops.

Birthday dessert plate.

Clockwise from left: lychee-apricot panna cotta with apricot coulis; meringue; dark chocolate truffle over chocolate ganache; chocolate bar.

 

Clockwise from foreground: vanilla spongecake stuffed with pastry cream, soaked in Italian liqueur; chocolate caramel; almond cookie.

 

 

 

 

Wine list - wines-by-the-glass page.

 

 

Total bill was $459 (including tax and 20% tip) for two people. 

 

This place is definitely on our "return" list. Simply lovely.

We celebrated my hubby's 60th birthday tonight at Acquerello.

Highly recommended and much better execution than our experience at SPQR which is another place that does "new-style Italian cuisine".

Orange juice and vermouth

Smoked mascarpone and herb financiers

Lobster beignets with espelette pepper

Savory egg custard, mint and pea puree, white chocolate-almond dust", pea shoots

The custard was lighter than air which told me that someone in the kitchen has serious attention to detail. It made me sit up and take notice.

Butter is house-made, topped with lava salt. The dish with the sea salt has a mother-of-pearl spoon.

I judge restaurants by the bread they serve. At Acquerello, it's piping hot, fresh from the oven.

Venetian seafood salad - with mackerel, pickled shrimp, calamari, trout roe and finger lime

Smoked sturgeon galetta with leeks, crème fraiche, brioche and ossetra caviar

Risotto with abalone, roasted turnips and seaweed.

B prononced it one of the best he's ever eaten. Each grain of rice was distinct and fused with flavor.

Raviolo with slow-roasted tomato, ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano crema, served with brown butter and balsamic.

21 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Who is this supposed to impress?  Chinese or Americans?

Probably the influx of high spenders who live in the City these days. Those without taste or knowledge aren't limited to only one culture.

China Live is supposed to be the San Francisco version of Eataly except it's Chinese, and I have to tell you that Eataly doesn't have anything to worry about.

AT ALL.

The prices are about what you might expect...

These were just "ok". Soup dumplings, six for $11.

Peking duck, a quarter duck portion. The pancakes were actually dough pockets and way too thick. Not memorable, for $14.

Crispy chicken, served with rice and chile paste. I think we ordered wrong. It was just plain old roast chicken with crispy skin. I could have had that at home. 

I know we can get better in SF - it's just that I had heard so much about this place, and we were sorely disappointed. Oh well...

For lunch today, we had

Green salad with tomatoes and homemade ranch dressing
BBQ chicken
Baked potatoes with homemade bacon bits, chives, shredded cheese and sour cream
Homemade peach ice cream

Fish soup
Steamed garden vegetables with butter, salt and pepper
Fresh fruit for dessert

We went to a potluck on Sunday where all of the dishes on offer were from Marcella Hazan's cookbooks.

My contribution was

Green beans with sweet pepper, tomato and chile pepper, from "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", pages 474-475.

It's tasty but to be perfectly frank, not as good as my version of fagiolini e pomodoro. If you want, I can demo that the next time I get a chance to make it. It's pretty simple by comparison - has lard, tomato, garlic, green beans, salt, pepper. Marcella's has olive oil, onion, yellow bell pepper, tomato, green beans, salt, pepper AND chile pepper flakes. She also has a few more steps than what I would have done: she has you prep the vegetables a certain way whereas I dispense with most of it. She also doesn't braise the beans as long as I do.

And after this dinner, we went out for a slice of pizza. 

The desserts were not much better. I would have posted this from home but I'm doing it at another location. The pictures are quite large and while I've reduced them, I can only upload 2 MB worth so perhaps a kind moderator will merge them both...hint hint.

Anyway, thinking on this meal, I've had great food at Kin Khao many times, and there was also my birthday dinner at Californios last year. They're outstanding. I don't know if other folks have had the experiences I had. I'm taking B to Acquerello in a few weeks and we'll be booking a rez at Benu later in the year. It's a good bet that the latter two are wonderful. I'd like to think that Michelin-starred restaurants are deserving of their ratings. This was not it.

Goat cheese, with honey, black garlic and granola cracker. For $11.

Easily the weirdest dessert I've ever encountered and a great example of why cheese served this way doesn't grab me.

Chocolate tart, Maldon sea salt, milk ice cream.

Was nothing special; somewhat average as desserts go.

As someone with experience at fine dining, I can appreciate Lord Stanley for what they're trying to do. But I don't think this is on the level of an Eleven Madison Park or a Jean-Louis.

I don't think I ever reported on our dinner there...

Onion petals, sherry vinegar.

B and I had dinner at Lord Stanley back in May 2016. This is supposedly a one-star Michelin restaurant. And now that we've been there, we don't have to go back again. Very refined, well-made dishes with a dash of preciousness...it has that San Francisco vibe.

These were okay but hardly worth $5.

English peas, curds, mint and pistachio.

Vegetal, fresh and clean, like a garden in a bowl.

Confit salmon, Yukon Gold potatoes, sorrel, beurre blanc ($17).

Expertly cooked, well-made. And served like it was the Catholic sacrament of holy matrimony. I joked to B that it reminded me of a Disney cartoon -- Scrooge McDuck is serving his nephews: a giant plate with a single pea.

]

Lamb loin and belly, mint, fava beans.

Again, well-made and prepared, seasoned perfectly. Except easily half of one piece was a marble slab of fat. This entree cost $34, for maybe 6 tablespoons of food.

They're great, aren't they?

Insalata cruda e cotta

This version has Little Gem lettuces, roasted onion, boiled potato and green beans, diced tomato; capers; pickled cherry peppers; marinated artichoke hearts and olives.

Then we had

Chicken braised in wine with garlic, rosemary, olives and red wine vinegar

Also wonderful if made with rabbit

Today (Memorial Day), we went to one of my hubby's favorite fish places for brunch:

Barbara Fishtrap
281 Capistrano Road
Half Moon Bay, CA

B says that this other place

which is located 100 feet away from Barbara Fishtrap isn't as good since their menu is more pedestrian even though they take credit cards. Take a look and decide if you ever make it out to my neck of the woods...

On to the food...

Wedge salad with bacon and blue cheese

Huge portion and pretty good even if the kitchen overcooked the eggs (you can tell by the discoloration on the yolk).

Scallops with garlic and white wine, with rice pilaf and fried zucchini sticks

Scallops had a good sear, rice was well-made, zucchini - excellent. Fair value for $26.

Half-order of steamed clams, with green sauce and lemon

For me, tres leches cake; for B, vanilla gelato with whipped cream.

Cake was light even though drenched with milks. One of the better versions I've had.

Total was $120 with tax and 20% tip. Would recommend. We left stuffed.

Spaghetti puttanesca

The sauce contains only ONE garlic clove, olive oil, chile flakes, anchovy, tomato, olives, capers and minced parsley.

If you want to go old school, omit the parsley and use dried oregano.

On Saturday, we went to one of the more unusual Chinese restaurants in San Francisco. They're in a Michelin guide if that matters.

Old Mandarin Restaurant
3132 Vicente Street (42nd Avenue)
Parkside

We had lamb hot pot along with a scallion pancake. The pancake was one of the best I've ever had and HUGE, as in literally the size of a dinner plate. Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.

The stock is flavored with ginger, scallion and star anise. Dip the vegetables and meat to cook, then retrieve with a strainer and dip into sauce and eat. Then later, drink the stock which has now been flavored with the ingredients as a kind of soup.

Clockwise from top: lamb kidney and liver; fish balls; Napa cabbage; tea; preserved tofu; chive dressing; pickled garlic; winter melon; enoki mushrooms.

Lamb slices. 

There's chile sauce in the ceramic jar at top.

That ancient copy of The Joy of Cooking

sells for $200. It's the second printing and was issued in 1936.

Pictured is a recipe for "pigs in potatoes".

As you know, I collect vintage cookbooks and Kitchen Witch is on track to be my "go-to" store with Amber Unicorn in Las Vegas a close second.

We were pleasantly surprised by one of the restaurants at SFO's Southwest Airlines terminal - a special of Dungeness crab eggs benedict had real crabmeat set atop toasted English muffins slathered with melted butter and a competently made hollandaise sauce draped over the eggs.

For $18.25.

Not bad.

Edit:  I think the restaurant was Yankee Pier.

Nutmeg.

The meatballs have about 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg in them.

If you mean the stuff in the metal measuring cup, it's 1 cup breadcrumbs.

Plain beignets

Conch fritters, pickled pineapple tartar sauce at Compere Lapin

Hamachi tartare, guava, papaya

Spiced chocolate mousse, lemongrass, caramel

Roasted banana zeppole, caramel sauce

Boucherie plate at Cochon

Clockwise from top left:  pate; mustard; head cheese; toast points; pickled green tomatoes; salami; lard with chopped pork; cucumber pickle; ???; bread and butter pickles

Cochon with pork rinds, cabbage and turnips

Braised short ribs, rice pilaf, mushroom gravy

Pineapple upside down cake, coconut-lime sherbet

Shrimp Arnaud at Arnaud's

Quail, gastrique, seafood cake

As you can guess, we went to NOLA for a few days. Some meals were great, others not so much. It's ok, we'll probably return sometime in the next year or so.