We hate you, Michael Mina! That's right. We ignored you for the first 12 months after you opened, just to knock you down a couple notches from your pedestal. And you noticed, didn't you MM? Hmmm? But you know what, you cheeky little bastard? You win. Apart from the 'this is exactly the stuffy , oh-so sophisticated place my rich daddy and mum would enjoy' to the 'OK, you better call Visa to bump up your credit limit' or 'I better sell a kid to pay the bill' issues, MM delivers coming and going. F'ing flawless. And it better be, at about $500 for 2. Five hundy and J&J weren't even knockin' 'em back like usual. We were...sophisticated so to speak. A glass of bubbly to start (a mighty Krug for moi, Billecart Salmon for Janine), a (yes ONE only!) glass of Burgundy ($25 a pop) with the meal, and a dessert wine to finish. Nice wine selection overall. Decent by the glass, biblical by the bottle.
OK, on the the grub - for the most part this is a three-course Prix Fixe deal.
Course #1: We enjoyed Ahi and Lobster. The Ahi Tuna Tartare was excellent, and they didn't scrimp. Came with Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Bosc Pear, & Sesame Oil and neat little toast triangles. The Lobster was flat OTT. Butter Poached Maine Lobster, to be exact. Nice plump little number, sitting atop a delicate Vanilla Sweet Potato Crêpe and swimming in a Thai Coconut Reduction. The combo of sweet and spicy was tres' y-u-m-m-y.
Halftime report! Gotta tell you kids, we had been hitting the bread and butter like two homeless people 'cuz we figured we'd need a microscope and tweezers to actually eat the portions. I had talked to a woman a few months ago that said she and her boyfriend had eaten at MM, then gone to Frisson for another meal. Whoa, Mama Cass! We stand corrected. For that 500 bones you actually leave full.
Course #2: Lots to choose from, but our server (who was very good) told us there were only 3 portions of Prime Rib left, so our greed set it and we pounced. I mean, it's a little tough to come to a shwank place like MM and not get a dish a little more exotic, but being at Michael Mina we figured this wasn't going to be your daddy's prime rib. Or even like the House of Prime Rib. And bingo, we were right.
Six Hour Butter Poached Prime Rib (for two). So ya both better be carnivores. Done rare, carved at tableside. never had a Prime Rib like it. Accompanied by really good creamed spinach and potatoes done 3 ways - horseradish mashed, au gratin, and and...wait for it...TRUFFLE FRIES. Yeah, baby!
We couldn't even finish all of this course. MM, you were getting more respect with each course.
Course #3 - Dessert of course, my fat little friends. Root Beer Float with Warm Choco-chip Cookies. House-made root beer, with root beer and vanilla ice cream and a chocolate swizzle stick type of thing. AND fresh, warm, chocolate-oozing cookies. Whoa. I really think we were both so stuffed at this point we were in some type of stupor. But y'know what? We finished every last bit! We were happy we didn't go for the Chocolate Trio (Peanut Butter Pudding Cake, Peanut Butter Shake; Banana Bread Pudding, Banana Pot de Creme; Devil's Food Cake, Caramel Sundae) for the second dessert and went with the Artisan Cheese Plate instead. What can I say - it's not like Danko's cheese plate but at this point we were both about ready to pop anyway so it was dandy. We'd recommend sticking with the 'real' desserts though.
Bottom line, since I have yammered on quite a bit here - this is NOT a first date place. You better already know you're gonna get action after shelling out five large, am I right? Anyhoo - the food, service and wine list ROCKS. A 9 outta 10, easy. The atmosphere is a bit 'your grandma's living room' but what the hell, it's not like you can afford to come here often enough to get sick of it!
Michael Mina
Westin St. Francis Hotel
335 Powell St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 397-9222
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