So our friend Spencer, chef at Paragon, turned us onto this cool place so Janine and I hit it on date night. Located in the financial district (do people really call it the FiDi!?) in the old Gold Coast space (yeah, we never went there either) next to Tadich. We love love love Italian food, really just about anything Italy, and frankly have just burnt out on most of our regulars, so we were really lookin' forward to finding a new fave. The space is great, large but situated well enough to seem almost intimate (but when your chick is as hot as mine, a Denny's can seem pretty hot). Contemporary but not hip, some exposed brick, oak drop ceilings in some areas, and a nice bar, which is where we're gonna saddle up to and eat next time around.
... ...OK, I can almost smell your desperate anticipation. "So, is it a new fave, VinDivine? Is it? Is it?! Tell me - we need to eat!"
OK, especially since we have been pretty lame lately about posting, I'll cut to the chase:
An 8 outta 10. And that means it's darn tasty vittles, a great space, and good service. Oh yeah, good wine list too. We'll see what that nimrod Michael Bauer says, his review comes out this weekend. Will we finally agree on something?
The menu: itsa solid
• Good bread sticks! Thin, slightly crispy but slightly chewy all at once. And not 'cuz they were stale, like bar bread sticks:) How do they do it?!
• 3-4 sushi appetizers (didn't get to them this time around, and I don't go to Italian places for raw fish)
• SALAMI! House-made salami. This guy buys whole pigs and just goes to town..."Come and meet my little friend". I didn't think I even liked Salami, but both the Fennel, and Garlic & Black Pepper rocked. Very thinly sliced, subtle, fresh, melt-in-your-mouth salami. mmm mmm. Try the sampler plate
• Appy menu is pretty good, lots of variance. The Burrata Cheese with Black truffle Salsa, Arugula and Filone was OTH in our opinion. Burrata is kinda like Bufala Mozzarella in a way, very tender but with a firm, thin skin, and the salsa was a great touch. The Carne Cruda of Vitellone (aka Carpaccio) was tender young beef, super-thin with lemon and olive oil.
• The Best Part: The PASTA MENU. Gigidy. Great selection and choice of 1/2 or full portions. I looove that. Lets grazers like us try lotsa pasta. The Tajarin - super-thin tagliatelle, ramen-like with all-day cooked pig 'sugo' and porcini mushrooms. (I guess what doesn't go into the house-made salami goes here). Pappardelle with braised short rib ragu and chantrelles . About the only 'so-so' dish was the Pansotti with Ricotta, chard, herbs and walnut butter.
• The Main Courses, we didn't even deal with. They looked OK, but after that Pasta menu fuggetaboutit. Monkfish, Sea Bass, Chicken, Quail, Short Ribs, Sirloin. Oh yeah, DITCH THE SKATE WING! I despise that fish. Sorry, I'll quit shouting.
• Dessert Menu: Same thing, my friends. Comin' off of the holidays the last thing we need is more sugar, spice and everything nice. The cheese did look better than the desserts, to me at least.
• The lista del vino is also tight. Nice range of by-the-glass and bottles from Italia and beyond
The service was good too. Our server, Kristy, was kinda spacey but very sweet, and the food all arrived perfectly timed, one dish at a time. And a bonus, the owner, Umberto, is a really nice guy. What are ya waitin' for? Andiamo!
Perbacco
230 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.955.0663
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