Nettle and cippolini agrodolce. Pasta tasting $70
Flour + Water, San Francisco CA
I’ve never heard of tajarin pasta before, but I guess it’s a thinner version of tagliatelle. Anyway, the best part of this dish was the brown butter giblet sauce – omg, SO good! Combined with the grated cheese on top, it was the best combination of sweet and salty.
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Shaved marinated brussels sprouts, braising liquid broth. Restaurant week dinner $40
Thirsty Bear, San Francisco CA
This wasn’t my favorite. It was pretty bland overall, and it just wasn’t fulfilling. The dish never came together for me.
Paired with Hopsmeister CA Wheat.
$10.25
Sai’s Restaurant, San Francisco CA
Mmm, this noodle soup was warm, rich and really comforting. The broth was flavorful and the there was a good amount of beef in there.
With cultured butter. NYE tasting menu $175
Californios, San Francisco CA
This bread was pretty amazing! It had a hard crust, but the interior was soft and fluffy. It had a wonderful sour taste and was even better bathed in the cultured butter.
Celery root, green olive, charred lemon. Restaurant week dinner $65
Aatxe, San Francisco CA
This was really bright and fresh tasting. I was surprised at the large-ish size of the hamachi cuts, but they were still able to absorb the lovely juices.
$22
Cotogna, San Francisco CA
This was a wonderful combination of sweet, salty, and cheesy! This large raviolo was really fun to eat, but I think I got a bit overloaded with all the richness of the ricotta center. It tasted so good though that I couldn’t stop eating it, lol!
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Florida orange gastrique. $18
RN74, San Francisco
I don’t know what all the fuss is about these duck wings. I didn’t like them at all. They were hard, tough, overcooked and really difficult to chew through. The orange gastrique was also too bitter and didn’t do much to any need moisture to these dry wings. Lame.
Pinot Noir, Maison L’Oree Bourgogne V.V. 2012.
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Maitake mushrooms, brussels sprouts, comte cheese, rye. Four course menu $59
Aster, San Francisco CA
I liked this enough, but it really wasn’t memorable when thinking about dinner afterward. I remember that it tasted fine and the dumplings were nice and firm (not gross and mushy), but besides that I couldn’t remember much more. Hmm…
Charred wheat berry broth, thumbelina carrot. Pasta tasting $70
Flour + Water, San Francisco CA
I’m in love with this pasta! The rabbit tortellini was perfectly cooked al dente and it tasted wonderful. The wheat berry broth was rich and umami and really complimented the rabbit nicely.
7×7 Magazine’s Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die
Smoked over fig wood, fresh hops, malted barley, paired with Grizzly Bear Red Ale. Restaurant week dinner $40
Thirsty Bear, San Francisco CA
These were randomly cut and presented, but I liked the flavor of the cured pork. The fig wood smoke gave it a nice flavor and it paired well with the red ale.
Dark chocolate brownie, Humphrey Slocombe ice cream, chocolate sauce and nibs. Restaurant week lunch $15
Red Dog Restaurant, San Francisco CA
This ice cream sandwich was a bit hard (it could have benefited from a little more defrosting time), but it tasted great. The brownie was very difficult to cut through though.
Three bean soup, shaved white truffle. NYE tasting menu $175
Californios, San Francisco CA
This blew me away! Ok, ok it’s a bean soup, but really it’s been elevated to something much more. It was wonderful to experience the three kinds of beans in such different ways. And the white truffle just put this dish over the top. Noms!
Vittle Monster 