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"