Cafe Kati

We dined at Cafe Kati for the November edition of DASF. Cafe Kati is considered one of the early pioneers of "East West Fusion" cuisine. It is an intimate neighborhood restaurant. It has been on the Chronicles' Michael Bauer's Top 100 list consistently year in and year out and its food consistently rates above 25 in Zagat's. So the expectation going in was pretty high.

We had a small group this time around...Me, Winnie, Mollie and Avis - the regulars and by far the most critical members of DASF.

Now the ratings:

Food: 73 - Shortly after we sat down, they brought out corn bread. The appetizers started off nicely. The Peanut Crusted Prawns with green papaya, mint and thai basil salad was delicious. The Kati Signature Dragon Roll was decent but we all thought the flavor was a little bland for our taste. For the entrees, we ordered 3 plates to share; the Kati Marinated Skirt Steak, a Seafood Risotto dish and a Pan-Seared Orata. The Steak and Orata were pretty good...excellent flavor and cook just right but the biggest disappointment of the night was the Risotto!!! The entire dish was too salty. It completely ruined a very flavorful dish. It was so salty that we had to send it back - a DASF first. The waiter replaced it with the Miso Glased Black Bass in a Dashi Broth that was excellent. For dessert, both the Panna Cotta & the Warm & Gooey Chocolate Orvit Cake were pretty average. The Panna Cotta can't compare to the one we had at Zuppa. That risotto dish knock the score down by 15+ points!

Service: 80 - The waiter did a good job here but nothing unique or special to warrant a higher score. He made up for the over-salted Risotto dish by recommended a very good Miso Glazed Black Bass dish and he also picked out a pretty good bottle of wine.

Atmosphere: 78 - Cafe Kati is a small neighborhood restuarant. It is small and intimate but we didn't like the decor of the back room very much. The front dining room looks a bit more romantic.

"Jon on the Jon": 50 - Jon was not there to rate the "Jon" but the girls wasn't too impress with it.

Zuppa, Zuppa, Zuppa

We dined at Zuppa last night - a 'classic' SOMA establishment (exposed rafters and concrete walls) serving a range of Italian cuisine. Patricia stepped up to the plate and recommended our restaurant this month and even made the reservation. Thanks, Patricia!

Great group:
New parents Scott and Melissa withthe youngest dine about goer yet - 6 mo. old Teddy - who was a perfect baby and even woke up for a while to check out his surroundings, smile at everyone and drink some milk.
The regulars: Phu, Winnie, Patricia, Yoseph (I"m sorry if I'm not spelling this correctly - please advise!), Jon and Mollie
Out of town 2-time dine about diners - Jerry "doesn't like fish but gave it a try", and beets please" Elna

Summary of the night:
A concerning start. We shivered outside until after 9pm for our 8:30pm reservation, waiting for an oblivious big party who lingered and lingered. The hostess didn't handle the stress well and appeard very frazzled.

Things picked up. We started drinking wine and the staff put together a small, but more quiet table in their upstairs area. From there, the food started coming and we were much happier.

Now, on to my ratings:
Service: 65 - upon further reflection, I have decided Zuppa could have received a relatively high rating from me (above 90) if the service hadn't resembled that of a button-toting TGIF kid (an accurate description from Phu, embellished a bit by me). A self-absorbed, young waiter tried his best (and even got sage guidence from Phu), but ended up delivering a very hurried experience. It's tough to call out what exactly made the service poor, but needless to say we didn't feel comfortable and things didn't flow smoothly - maybe others can fill in the details!

Food: 88 - this is where Zuppa has moments of greatness. The meat platters and octopus salad where delicious, as was the very tender and tasty pork dish. Pizzas, risotto, and crab pasta were good, but average, and fish and steak had limited flavor. The beats and carrots, a special request, did add a little extra zest and desserts (the cotta something or other and hazelnut tort) finished the night off strong.

Atmosphere: 85 - nice, but typical SOMA, nothing special. Plus, if you're going to make people wait, at least have a bar or more than a 4x4 plot of concrete w blustery drafts to stand on.

Sub-category: facilities: 60. We will have a new section, "Jon on the Jon" that Carter will add. But, for my own review: can you say, strip mall like bathroom? Nice restaurants need nice restrooms, period. Why do so many restaurants fail in this area. How hard is nice lighting, maybe some scented flowers, candles, etc.

OK diners and non-diners alike. All you have to do is click on the "0 Comments" to add a comment (you don't have to log in or anything) and blather away! Until next month. . .

Mollie

Pesce - Fun Fish Food

It's been a couple weeks since our visit to Pesce, so I'll try to remember enough to add a review for our very lonely blog. The ordering began with Phu selecting 2 wines to which the waitress had the nerve to question whether Phu knew what he was getting into with his selection of red wine. Apparently others before us had ordered this "earthy" red, found it to be a bit odd, and had quickly returned it. In our case, the wine tasted excellent and complemented the array of food. Would our fearless leader lead us astray?

I can't recall the actual ratings, but I believe after removing the outliers, we fell smack in the middle (where most of our ratings seem to fall.) The sardines were something to remember and the whole fish and bistecca were excellent. The bathroom was pleasent and smelled refreshingly like peppermint (thanks to the generous bowl of peppermints).

Jon's comments: quaint Russian Hill location (fun to see the old haunts on Polk!), middle-western style waitress (don't know what that means), intiment dining. Overall: we tried a B restaurant and it outperformed at a B+!

Also - wanted to note what a fantastic job Phu does each Dine About to order just the right amount of food with perfect variety and flair. My experience last night confirmed how lucky we are! Last night we dined at Tao Cafe (22nd and Guerrero) and somehow I was put in charge of ordering for 10. Luckily the waitress helped and my years dining with Phu paid off. Right amount, and good variety of food, and people were happy. I'd recommend Tao Cafe if you want good Vietnamese food that's a couple steps above PPQ in terms atmoshpere and food presentation.

Who else has something to add?

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By the way - let me know if you are having any trouble accessing the blog, or creating new posts. To create a post you need to log in to: www.blogger.com. Once you log in, select the SF Dine About blog and select to create a new post. Happy Blogging!

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Kingfish Write-up

The July 2005 DASF was somewhat of a dissapointment!! DASF members were looking forward to some good New Orleans style cuisine but what we got was ordinarary food at upscale prices.

Eight people dined at Kingfish and gave the restaurant the following ratings (on a scale of 1 - 100):

Food - 73 – The oysters and cast-iron roasted mussels were decent but the Gulp Prawn Vietnamese Roll was a disaster! The rice paper was tough and the dipping sauce tasted like the cheap store bought immitation. I don't understand why a Cajun restaurant would serve Asian inspired food? Fusion is one thing but poor immitation should be avoided. The Jambalaya and the Seared Scallop Etouffee were ok but for the DASF members that have been to New Orleans all have tasted much better versions. Finally, Kingfish's own house-made beignets were nothing like the famous beignets from Cafe Du Monde. The cocktails were all excellent and help brought the score up a few points.

Atmosphere – 70, not sure what theme the restaurant is going for??? They have a giant screen TV on one wall, a water fountain in the center of the main room and a large array of folk arts adorning the walls. We were there on a light that the Giants were out of town but we can imagine the pre/post game crowd there.

Service – 75, the waitress did a decent job....nothing special.

For August, we are dining at COCO 500. COCO 500 took over the space that former house the popular French bistro Bizou (I for one was sad to see it go). COCO 500 is the expression of Chef Loretta Keller’s love of Mediterranean flavors, colors and textures. Her inspired cooking features the best local ingredients, meats and poultry from Sonoma farms and the freshest fish and shellfish.

An Inaugural Posting - Welcome!

I am proud to announce we have a blog! Never say never. . .

I'd like to kick off this blog by writing a great big THANK YOU!!!!!! to our master of ceremonies, the man who gets us the chef's table time and time again, the man who ensures our meal is perfectly balanced to enjoy all that each restaurant has to offer, the man who has kept our dining group going. . . the one and only, Phu!!! Thanks Phu, from all of us.

We have had to slightly alter our name to fit the available web address. The web address for this blog is www.sfda.blogspot.com, so that means we are San Francisco Dine About (rather than Dine About San Francisco. DASF was not available.)

I have also included a photo from my favorite SFDA experience to date - the chef's table at Quince! We're pictured here in the kitchen where we dined like kings and witnessed the artistic creation of every dessert by the ever so popular pastry chef (we proceeded, of course, to order one of every dessert.) Also pictured are my parents - who so enjoyed being guest SFDA diners, they have raved to all their friends in the suprisingly culinary town of Phoenix.

Let's raise our glasses and toast to many years of great friends, great food, and great SF nights!

Cheers,
Mollie

Entry #2 - Summary of past ratings

(pic above - the private room at Cortez)

I wanted to copy over the good notes Phu and Winnie have been keeping on our past dining experiences.

All past dinner ratings are included.

Besides Phu and Winnie, who has been to the most SF Dine Abouts? I come in strong with 7 (they're highlighted in red for fun).

Background:
About Dine About San Francisco (DASF) - DASF is an informal dining group of close friends whose sole purpose is to dine out at the finer restaurant establishments in the city of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area. The idea is to eat out at a “hot” new restaurant or at a one of the Chronicles top 100 restaurants the first Friday of each month (for ease of planning).

Past Restaurants Visited:
King Fish, July'05 - ratings yet to come, but they didn't sound good
Frisson, June '05 (the one that broke the bank :)) (Food - 96, Atmosphere - 95, Service - 92)

Jack Falstaff, May '05
Food - 88 – I thought all the dishes were pretty good but there were no standouts except maybe the oxtail raviolis.
Atmosphere – 90, sleek modern restaurant typical of the SOMA district.
Service – 88, the waiter had some high points and low points. He did well with splitting and pacing the dishes but it took him a long time to get some of the drinks.

Quince (Apr, 05)
Food - 95 – Excellent food throughout; the preparation were simple with a strong focus on the ingredients; DASF ordered everything on the dessert menu and the ice cream Bomb was amazing.
Atmosphere – 97, hard to beat the Chef’s table, the setting was rustic and very cozy. Being in the kitchen, the noise level was never a factor. The rest of the restaurant seems quaint and cozy.Service – 93, the waiter was attentive and helpful; he would have garnered a much higher score but he did forget to bring an espresso that was ordered.

Piperade (Mar, 05)
Food - 90 – Pretty much everyone enjoyed all the small plates, entrees and desserts we ordered.
Atmosphere – 90, once again, DASF got a “special” table. They sat us at their rustic “family” table with a unique chandelier. The restaurant is small and cozy.
Service – 72, the waitress was very nice but she was very slow. We had to wait a long time before she took our order and another long wait before dessert.

Aziza (Feb, 05)
Food - 89 “all excellent, from appetizers to desserts”; “innovative cocktails”; “great value for the quality and the amount of food served”
Atmosphere - 88 "comfortable and cozy”; “washing hands with rose water as soon as we sat was a nice touch”
Service - 92 “drink service was slow with only one bartender but made up for it by buying our table a round”; “waiters and busboys were in complete control”; “very good service overall”

La Suite (Jan, 05)
Food - 89 “great appetizers, especially the steam clams”; “the Niman Ranch entrecôte steak and fries was very good and the halibut was outstanding!”
Atmosphere - 90 "nice restaurant with good vibes”
Service - 80 “waitress did her job but she lacks personality”

Tamarine (Dec, 04)
Food - 87 “appetizers and entrees are all very good but no “wow” factor”; “desserts were ordinary”
Atmosphere - 90 "nice restaurant"; “bathrooms are very clean”
Service - 88 “waitress did an excellent job”; “excellent service overall, very attentive”; “lacks personality”

El Raigon (Nov, 04)
Food - 87 “all the steaks are excellent, especially the Skirt Steak”; “very good sides – try the mashed squash”; “appetizers were ordinary”; “Panqueques con Dulce de Leche is very good and the Chocolate Bombe is very rich”.
Atmosphere - 90 "a very cozy setting, small room but quaint"
Service - 90 “waitress was very helpful and loves to talk”; “excellent service overall, very attentive”.

A16 (Oct, 04)
Food - 88 “the pork entrees were excellent”; “appetizers were savory and well executed”; “halibut was a little on the dry side”; “above average desserts”.
Atmosphere - 85 "a very cozy setting, nice room but a bit on the noisy side"
Service - 75 “waiter was pretty good but they seem understaffed that night”; “busboy appeared flustered and lost at times and he forgot our doggie bag”

Baraka (Sep, 04)
Food - 81 “appetizers were the star of this dinner”; “the warm pistachio-crusted goat cheese w/honey was to die for!”; “the best squid I’ve ever had”; “very average desserts”; “some entrees were good, the Monkfish Tagines were bland w/too much potatoes and little Monkfish”.
Atmosphere - 85 "a very cozy setting”; “room was very romantic"; "the ottoman-style chairs became uncomfortable after two hours".
Service - 70 “Our waiter oversold us and recommended too much food.”; “waiter was rather arrogant”.


Cortez (Aug, 04)
Food - 88 "the dishes came out course by course in a well paced manner”; "dessert was the big hit"
Atmosphere - 90 "a very cozy setting, great for conversations"; "very private"
Service - 92 "excellent service overall”; “it seems like we had 20 different people waited on us”; “very friendly waitress that did an excellent job orchestrating the service from her team of busboys, back-waiters and other waiters"

Town Hall (Jul, 04)
Food - 90 “Everything was very good, we all really enjoyed our entrees, especially the pork chops”
Atmosphere - 85 "a warm and comfortable place with interesting decorative pieces"
Service - 75 "the waiter did an adequate job, nothing over the top"

Circolo (Jun, 04)
Food - 75 "creative appetizers"; "too much going on for the entrees"
Atmosphere - 85 "a very cozy space"; "good place to people watch"
Service - 90 "very cool waitress that was on top of her game"; "very stylish"

Frisson Write-Up

Here is Phu's write-up from the June outing to Frisson:

DASF celebrated its 1-Yr anniversary in June by dining at the Chef’s Table at Frisson. Frisson is a chic and stylish restaurant (Interior Design Magazine profiles the restaurant) and definitely a place to see and be seen (although we had the privacy of the Chef’s table). New York chef Sarah Schafer's serves New American cuisine using the freshest local seasonal ingredients to deliver a nice combination of fresh flavors.

Ten people dined at Frisson and this was the first time DASF broke the $100 per person benchmark!

Frisson received the following ratings (on a scale of 1 - 100):

Food - 96 – Appetizers were the definitely the highlight! The tuna tartare appetizer with the cucumber-melon sorbet is one of the best matched appetizer we’ve tasted! The seared Fois Gras was luxurious without tasting fat or heavy and the brandied soft polenta was incredible.

Atmosphere – 95, a beautifully design restaurant. The restroom is hidden downstairs, very sexy and its co-ed (Jon Carter's favorite feature!). The Chef’s table is in a private room with its own music volume control.

Service – 92, the waiter and his support staff did a solid job overall. The Maitre’D made several appearances to ensure that we were well taken care of (this might be because he knew that we are a dining group).

For July, we are dinning at Kingfish!!