2031 Chestnut (& Fillmore)
(415) 346-5641
Spanish tapas in the Marina (!)
Note: I think I'm going to stop with the rating... it just doesn't feel right anymore!
This tapas restaurant is in the heart of the Marina - not my favorite place, but I will go there for good food. We tried a LOT of food (thanks to Jen's very generous friend!), and there were definitely some standouts.
Highlights:
Braised beef cheeks w/ roasted cauliflower and a honey (?) raisin sauce - the beef was like butter (the only other time I've felt that way about beef was at French Laundry)
Asparagus - it was really quite perfect, with a bit of sweetness
Other notable dishes:
Lamb hearts & livers - I'm not really a liver person, but the combination was pretty good
Charcuterie - headcheese (my first time - not as gross as what I imagined), ham (really really good - comparable to prosciutto), pork confit, sausage
Chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon - the others had a problem with the balance (too much date), but I still liked it. bacon = you can't go wrong
House-made Ricotta
Cod cheeks
Headcheese, smelt, and the lamb hearts/liver
Other dishes we tried:
Piglet w/ pea shoot tendrils and quince aioli
Prawns
Bread & chocolate w/ sea salt + olive oil
Fromage blanc cheesecake w/ blood orange marmalade & sesame tuile
Fried smelt
Monday, April 07, 2008
Laiola
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Alegrias Food from Spain
2018 Lombard St . (and Webster)
(415) 929-8888
Spanish tapas in the Marina/Cow Hollow
This is a good place if you're looking for authenticity (well, what I think is authenticity at least). The staff is Spanish and very knowledgable, and most importantly, very friendly! Our waiter was fabulous and so friendly =)
The food itself was so-so. We had the gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic sauce), pinchos morunos (pork skewers), the patatas bravas con alioli (think fancy shmancy garlic fries), and the seafood+chicken paella as our main dish. These were all just good, but nothing special. The shrimp was really nothing special at all. The potatoes were good... the paella was a bit too seafoody. We had the apple crepes (a flambe), which were pretty unique - not your typical crepes.
Even though the food wasn't spectacular, the service was wonderful. What brings it down is that the tables are way too small. When you have tapas, you're obviously going to have muliple plates on your table, on top of your own personal plate and bread plate and all the other stuff on the table. There just was not enough room!
Isa
3324 Steiner St. (and Lombard)
Went here for my birthday on a late Saturday night (around 9:30pm or so). Even though it was so late, there were still a lot of people there (we were the last to leave though). Sat at the patio in the back - very nice ambiance.
For two people, we shared 4 plates - the lobster broth (just ok - really just broth with like.. 3 pieces of shrimp in it... no lobster), the sea bass wrapped in potato (very good), the duck (not that good... it was very chewy and not that flavorful), and the truffle risotto (recommended by the waiter, but it was too cheesy). For dessert, we had the amaretto semifreddo, which was good - really just because I love love love anything hazelnut. =)
The service was very attentive - since we were there so late and ended up being the last ones out, towards the end they kept asking if we were done which was a little annoying, but understandable.
Overall, pretty good, but the sea bass is the only thing that really stuck out.
A16
2355 Chestnut St. (between Divisadero & Scott)
(415) 771-2216
Italian/Pizza in the Marina
This restaurant was the perfect place to go right before seeing Bookeaters at the Palace of Fine Arts (they're really close to each other). Even as a Monday evening, this place was pretty crowded, but we only had to wait about 15 min. without a reservation. Maybe I shouldn't hate on the Marina so much, but I was expecting pretty snotty service. To my surprise, the staff was actually really chill and accommodating. My friend and I were running late for the show and they took care of everything right away. =)
The atmosphere is pretty typical for the Marina, but what was cool was the bar seating in front of the chefs. Watching them oven-roast corn and plate other dishes made me want to eat those haha. However, we got the pizza salsiccia (sausage & green onions) since they're known for their pizzas, and the pasta with squid & zucchini. Maybe I was expecting too much, but the pizza was just so-so. It was pretty light for a pizza, which I appreciated, but if I ever go back, I'd get one with sauce (e.g. the marinara or romana). Despite having only had one bite of the pasta because we were running late, it was good! I had it later as leftovers and I really liked it - very light with subtle but good flavors.
If you were to go on a more popular night out (e.g. Friday or Saturday), I'd imagine the wait would be really long, and I don't think it would be worth it. However, the food is pretty good, so check it out on another day. =)