A Modern Take on a Gastro Pub.....

After the biggest turn out for our November, 2008 DASF, we had a small and cozy DASF for December 2009 at the Urban Tavern. We got the Krugers all to ourselves.

Food = 85
Excellent Gnocchi appetizer, flavorful, light and pillowey. The grilled pork chop was perfectly cooked and the accompany black pepper and Armagnac sauce was the perfect compliment. The braised boneless short ribs and the herbed, oven roasted Branzino with Saffron & Citrus Vinaigrette were both solid. One side really stands out; the caramelized butternut squash.

Atmosphere = 83
The space at Urban Tavern was designed by one of Patricia’s Architect friend. It can be best describe as modern mixed with country western gastro pub. The exposed wood beams gives the dining a warm touch. The giant flat screen TV dominates the bar area and really give the place the “tavern” feel. However, I’m not really sure how the giant rainbow horse fits into the overall theme.

Service = 77
The service was pretty average, it’s just like what you would expect from any large hotel restaurants. Our waiter was friendly and pleasant but it took him a while to come greet us. The support staff did a decent job.

The Moss Room - Nov '08

We had the largest turn out to date for the Nov ’08 DASF at the Academy of Science’s Moss Room. The group included two first timers (Niaz and Patricia’s friend Norbert). Rounding out the group: the Phans, the Minns, the Klinkes, the Curries, Jen and Erol (back for the 2nd DASF), Patricia, Lehman and Jason. We also celebrated the Klinkes’ 5th Anniversary party…congrats again!

We had our very own private all glass room (the fish bowl) with views of the dining room, the Moss wall, kitchen and wine cellar. The Moss Room is a collaboration effort by two well known Bay area chefs, Charles Phan of the Slanted Door and Loretta Keller of CoCo500 and Bizou. The cuisine is contemporary Californian and they use only sustainable seafood and local, seasonal organic produce. The food was very solid but the service could use some refinement. Read more below.

Food = 85
Excellent salads and appetizers. The persimmon, dates, endives and radicchio salad was creative and definitely very fall. The sweetbread was light, crispy and nicely flavored. The Bavette steak was a big hit for everyone. So was the whole oven roasted Branzinos (one of my personal favorite fishes). Between, Niaz and I, the Branzinos were eaten to the bones. Every dish was simple and solid, nothing spectacular. The Biodynamic wine was interesting and decent but not at $100 a pop – definitely a novel marketing concept. All the desserts were pretty good…including the Chocolate Truffle Torte from Schubert Bakery.

Atmosphere = 87
The mossy wall dominates the room. In addition to serving as a decorative element, it also help keeps the underground room (no windows) fresh by converting the carbon dioxide we exhale into fresh oxygen. They could have chosen a better table (more rounded or oval) for the private room instead of the skinny long table. The rooms felt a little cold but that’s because the tables had no table cloths (because it takes water and energy to wash them). High marks for the hand dryer in the bathroom.

Service = 78
The service here still has plenty of room to improve. Our waitress was friendly and pleasant but she was definitely overwhelmed by the size of our party. At times, she seemed flustered and lost. I had to remind her a few times of things missing or need replacing. The rest of the support staff did a decent job.

Murray Circle in Marin: One of our Best!

This month marked the first ever Marin Dine About for our group as we trekked over the Golden Gate to Murray Circle at Cavallo Point. An impressive 12 diners made the journey to taste the creations of 2 Michelin Star chef, Joseph Humphrey. In attendance - our incredible leaders Phu and Winnie, Tim and Dani our Peninsula Shuttle, Cecilia with the active zipper and her partner in crime Victor, Mo and disappearing Ken, and rounding out the Peninsula crowd: Avis, Mollie, Lehmann and hot legs Jason.

Besides a couple service snafus, this was one of our best Dine Abouts to date (in my humble opinion, that is). The chef's tasting menu was extremely creative AND delicious, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, and with bubbly pouring all evening - it was a really fun evening. A few examples to give you a flavor for what went on. . . we did the wave - several times; Cecilia kept the conversation going with stories about her. . .ah, better leave that part out of this G rated blog; Jason shared his award winning legs; and we all enjoyed the "god damn" beets!

On to the ratings. . .

1) Food - 95 (with scores from 120 to 85)
In a word, extraordinary. 8 courses that took us on a culinary adventure. My favorites were the 1st course - the dungeness crab with bisque and kafir lime, the 3rd course - halibut wrapped in roasted fig with sassafras, orange, and fennel, and the 7th course - warm vanilla lemon pound cake with ice cold huckleberry sorbet and dollops of lavender creme. The other courses of eggs (partridge, quail, and pheasant), squab & lobster with zinfandel marmalade, rib eye with dreamy whipped turnips and god damn, er golden beets, and carpaccio watermelon with salt & pepper ice cream were all fabulous! The only course that didn't please all was the goat cheese plate - Tim thought it reminded him of smelly feet, I thought it was tasty - hmm, what does that say about my taste?! The tasting menu is the only way to go when you have the chance to experience this imaginative, extremely talented chef!

2) Atmosphere 94 (with scores from 98-85)
It was a rainy night at the old Fort Baker in Sauselito. We found our way into the bar and restaurant and were immediately invited into the warm but lively atmosphere. The dining room was crowded, but did not feel so, but instead gave off a nice buzz and an autumn energy. Our group of 12 was split into 2 tables of 6. With every couple courses 2 people switched tables - so everyone was able to catch up with everyone else. This format made for a very "lively" evening (see the examples above). I compliment the owner/host (not sure who he was) - but he welcomed us just after we arrived and was very accommodating working with our group to figure out the best arrangement and ensuring our evening started off right.

3) Service 85
A couple problems keep this score in check: 1) a waiter broke a champagne glass right on some of our diners; 2) we had asked that our tables be served in sync, but 1 table ended up receiving extremely slow service. I will say, however, the staff was very nice and at least at 1 of the tables they took great care to explain all the different ingredients we were experiencing. Very important with a tasting menu!

Value - the tasting menu is good value at $75. However, with this lively group and 6 bottles of champagne, we did quite a bit of damage on top of this! But - all in all, a fantastic evening! I will be going back.

With such success on our first outing across the bridge, I could see more adventures in our future! Happy fall dining - until next time!

CAV Wine Bar: I'll take Top Ramen instead, please

CAV wine bar had a lot going for it. Nice environment, friendly people, tasty wine, a chef who knows how to cook fish. . . but, have you ever been to a restaurant where 1 dish was just so atrocious that it ruined the entire dining experience? Well, that's what happened to us at CAV. I know, you're saying what a bunch of lunatic foodies overreacting. . .but when you pay top dollar for noodles that are worse than ramen, and you pay an automatic 20% gratuity for an evening filled with service mistakes too long to actually list - you can't just chalk it up to an off night.

Diners this month included Phu and Jon Carter and their harem (Winnie, Mollie, Avis, Patricia, and Mo.) It was a cold foggy night in the city, but our spirits were high as we started the evening. We launched with some lovely cheese selections and crisp white wine, crudo and pleasing salads. But, the food went down hill from there and the service never took off. The relative high bill at the end sealed the deal for us. . . none of these diners will be back for a 2nd tour.

Food: 73
Started strong with good, not-too-smelly cheese, nice Gem salad, salted watermelon & tomato salad, and delicate crudo. Fish plates were definitely the high light, the chef here knows how to cook fish. Very light but rich Branzino and Arctic Char were very strong. Steak underwhelmed and the lagging noodle soups were absolutely appalling. We rarely complain about anything after all our dining experiences, but this time Phu had to speak up about the poor quality of this noodle dish. We've all had better Top Ramen. Desserts held their own (especially the fig tart), but they couldn't save the other misses.

One bright spot - the wine. The white Schmelz GV Steinwandfed '06 paired nicely with the cheese, and the Limerick Lane '05 Zin was fabulous (strong notes of cherry and fig, with a soothing, but sweet aroma.)

Atmosphere: 78
This small restaurant off Market has a hip, trendy feel to it. The focus is on the wine, the music is soft, and the table was just right for good conversation. But, nothing stood out and the bathrooms don't even deserve a Jon on the Jon - not as bad as Zuppa (see previous write up), but akin to something you'd see in a low cost diner.

Service: 72
This is where CAV really fell short. While the staff was pleasant enough, there were just too many gaffes, including no explanation of the cheese we asked them to select, forgetting to bring an ordered side dish, missing water glasses for the entire meal, consistently missing serving spoons, and the list goes on.

Value: poor
Given the other ratings, we all thought the final bill was steep for what we had just experienced.

You win some, you lose some. . . we'll be back on the horse in October!

Gone to the Dark Side.....

On 08/08/08 at 8pm, DASF journeyed into the darkness…COMPLETE DARKNESS!!! We dined at Opaque/Crimson Lounge using only our smell, taste, touch and sound to taste the food. We had a fun group of diners: The Phan's, The Curry's, and the Chan’s.
When we arrived, they had us wait in the narrow crimson hallway until everyone in our party showed up and since this was the last time we will have the use of our sight for the evening, our waitress (Coco – who was legally blind) took our food ordered. The menu was a pre-fixe menu and the price is similar to those of a dinner show or cruise, except here we are paying for the experience.

Once you enter the space at Opaque, you can’t see a thing…it is complete darkness. Coco has us formed a chain and she led us to our table. Without your sense of sight, the other senses take over and are heightened. I could hear conversations nearby and smell the steak and asparagus nearby. Once seated, my hands did a lot of the "leg" work, trying to find where things were.

Now close your eyes and use your other senses for the ratings. . .

Food: 88
Normally, the food here would have received an average score of around mid-70’s to low-80’s but with our taste bud on overdrive and our sense of smell heightened, the food really do smell and taste better than they really are. It was a challenged trying to cut your meat into bite sizes and getting food into your mouth. Winnie gave up her knife and fork and used her hands instead. So I decided to toss her some of my mashed potatoes. I know there was also a lot of food thief going on.

A note on the wine. . . the ladies didn’t want us to order red wine fearing that we may purposely spill it on them but we did it anyways and the bouquet smell fabulous!

Service: 90
Coco did a good job guiding us through a fun and successful evening. We had a chance to experience for a few hours what her world is like without sight.

Atmosphere: 85
Hmmmm…close your eyes and use your imagination. The chairs were comfortable and the music was decent, although a bit too loud. The room was bit too warm but since no one can see you, you can take off as many layers as you like (right, Victor??).

Value: Going in, we had the expectation that you are paying more for the experience in addition to the food. It is like going out to a dinner show or cruise. The interesting part is that "the show" is basically about you, your senses and your friends. This was a fun experience that adventurous folks should definitely try. Definite go with friends or guests visiting.

Until September, happy dining!

The Village Pub Lives Up to Expectations - on Quality and Price

On Friday July 11, we took our annual trip south of the city for "Dine About on the Peninsula". We gathered at The Village Pub, a restaurant I have heard about for years as somewhat of a culinary institution in Woodside - the kind of place you go for a special occasion or to cut a big VC deal. Dine About is occasion enough for us! (note - Village Pub is the original dining mecca from the owners who next opened Spruce in the city - see earlier post for Spruce review.)

Diners included the regular suspects: The Phan's, The Carter's (including life of the party JC), The Klinke's back in action after a few months hiatus, The Curry's, and new diner - Phu's nephew Kevin visiting during his break between Sophomore and Junior year at George Mason.

The Village Pub did not disappoint. All dishes were very solid, it served up a great, welcoming atmosphere, and top notch service (beyond a few missteps). On to the ratings. . .

Food: 95
One of our best yet! Life of the party JC got things going with Martinis (great, if you like strong vodka martinis) and an assortment of gooey, smelly cheeses. Next, the beet salad was once again fresh, earthy, and delicious (in my humble beet loving opinion, that is). The Fois Gras was extraordinary served on fresh brioche like rolls. The charcuterie was good, but fairly average.

Dinners were all strong. Fresh, homemade tagliatelle pasta with mushrooms and crisp corn was the hit of the table. Halibut was light and fresh. Chicken, besides the very salty skin, was moist and incredibly tasty. Lamb, duck and tuna were good, but not very memorable. The panna cotta dessert was surprisingly amazing - so light and cool - I'd go back just for this. Chocolate souffle was chocolate and good, but not divine.

Special note on the wine. . . Avis and our very informative, chatty somelier delivered 2 excellent wines. The Talley '05 Rosemary Chardonnay had strong notes of pear, apple and oak, and best of all left a very subtle, smoothness lingering on the tongue. The Groth 05 Cab was spectacular. This winery is across the street from Silver Oak and it shows. Both wines were perfectly paired with the meal, but not exactly bargains! But more on value later.

Service: 91
Friendly, knowledgeable staff - including the Somelier Max who provided life of the party JC with much information on our wine choices. A couple missteps keeps the score in check - spilled water on Messr. Klinke, no serving utensils for the salad/appetizer course, less than prompt coffee service. We're a tough crowd!

Atmosphere: 95
We had a great table for 9 by the window, which allowed for an easy flow of conversation. The room buzzed without being loud. The art work didn't strike fear in us like that at Spruce!

Value: it took a couple years to find a place to exceed our record high tab at Frissone. . .but we did it at the Village Pub! We have a new record folks - mostly due to our top notch wines and cocktails!

Life of the party JC will be adding the next installment of Jon on the Jon. Stay tuned. . .

Until August, happy dining!

Anchor and Hope Delivers Great Appetizers, Average Meal in East Coast Style

A small, but mighty group came together for the June installment of Dine About SF. We dined at Anchor and Hope - the 3rd eatery from the group that brought us Town Hall and Salt House. Diners included: The Phan's, Lehmann and Jason, and Mollie.

Overall an enjoyable meal - mostly for the company, fun setting and surprising appetizers. The rest of the food failed to impress, and service was quite average, verging on disinterested. Of course, after years of extraordinary meals, our expectations are very, very high. . .

The Ratings:

Atmosphere = 90. It was no chef's table like Quince, but the charm of this east coast boathouse made for a fun evening. Airy, high ceilings, boardwalk like lamps, thick ropes hanging from the ceiling - felt like Maine! One caveat -- Anchor and Hope is lucky there was no "Jon on the Jon". I am told the bathrooms were very second rate.

Food = 82. Started out very strong and raised our hopes. Delectable appetizers of smelt (fried little fishies), oysters wrapped in bacon (can't go wrong here), and most impressive sea urchin w/ crab and the tuna belly blt - imagination that delivered! Entrees mostly pleased: solid black sea bass, less solid muscles stew, and dry chicken (with good potatoes and mushrooms). The $6 coleslaw was a disappointment. The fries, as usual, were very good. Desserts were tasty, but failed to delight. Chocolate cake with pudding and nuts was the favorite, panna cotta like dish was average, and 3rd dessert I can't even remember.

Service = 70. Definitely fell short. Nothing stood out and Lehmann got snubbed multiple times by the waitress (left hanging while ordering the wine, was not poured any wine, and coffee delivered before the dessert when otherwise requested.)

Hope to see you all in July!

Epic Roasthouse Serves Up Epic Size Portions

For May, DASF dined at Epic Roasthouse, the second of the conjoined restaurants on the San Francisco waterfront. Like Waterbar (see the March ’08 blog), Epic Roasthouse left many San Franciscans salivating as delays push the opening to January of this year and the wait was worth it. Epic plays on the contemporary steak-house idea, applying the modern sensibilities of Chef Jan Birnbaum to an American classic. Everything is a la carte and the steaks are dry-aged for 28 days.

Diners included: Ken & Mo (coming through as a last minute fill-ins), the Phans, Tim and Dani and Tim’s dad and stepmom, who were visiting from LA.

We sat in a long table right in the center of the main dining room, under seawater-pump fire hose and a steering wheel of a tug boat. The vive was festive and the view magnificent.

Now, onto the rating…

Food: 90 - Appetizers were a mix bag. The wood oven roasted chili squid salads were excellent. The squids were tender and they were served with perfectly cooked white beans, olives, tomato confit and wild Arugula. The hearts of romaine with mortar & pestle anchovy dressing was solid. The Chef’s nightly selection of house-cured meats and the clam chowder with Hobbs bacon and classic mirepoix should be skip altogether. Side note: cocktails were all pretty good.

The Entrees are where Epic really shines. There were many enticing selections on the menu. The group had the wood oven roasted bone-in Rib Eye for 2 with horseradish and black pepper crème fraîche, the New York strip with coriander, black peppercorns and coffee beans, the long bone Beef Short Rib with whipped truffle potatoes, the Filet and the wood oven roasted Half Dungeness Crab with Cipollini onion and fingerling potatoes.

Sides – there were 15 to choose from and the portions were HUGE!!! We shared 7 sides, 2 steak fries with roasted garlic and fried herbs, 2 scallop potatoes au gratin, 1 sautéed wild mushrooms and 1 grilled garlic Broccolini. The fries and the potatoes au gratin were solid. The wild mushrooms were mostly King Trumpet Royals and lacks flavor. The grilled garlic Broccolinis were a little too mushy.

Service: 78 – Our waiter did a decent job and his support crew (Sommelier, Bus Boys, and Food Runners) did a solid job. However, we were not happy that he didn’t advise us of the gigantic portion size for the sides. On top of that, most of the entrees already include a side or two. At $9 - $10 a pop, we spent an extra $40 - $50 unnecessarily. I really hate it when Waiters do this to pad their automatic Service Charge for large parties.

Atmosphere: 90 - Epic Roasthouse is a beautiful restaurant a beautiful view of the bay and the Bay Bridge. The restaurant has great energy and the design is sleek with modern lines.

Note on Value – with food prices rising as much as it has recently, expect to spend more on future DASFs. Also, San Francisco has made it mandatory that all restaurants offer all their staff health benefits and the restaurants are passing some of that expense to diners (4% of total bill).

Orson: A Cacophony of Flavors

10 people strong, DASF dined at Orson this month. For the first time in history we dined on the 3rd Friday of the month - our fearless leaders the Phan's were in Europe earlier in April. Expectations were high for Chef Elizabeth Faulkner's innovative share plates and specialities from the wood fired oven. A little too innovative it was! But, kudos to Phu for putting together a fantastic tasting menu! And - we even got our own menu (helps in writing the blog 2 days later!)

Note - a learning for future DASFs. We should avoid pre-ordering. When our #s change it's very difficult to order the right amount of food and our value rating suffers (read - hit our upper end at over $100/person).

In attendance - the usual suspects - The Phan's back from Italy and Vienna; The Carter's/Brown's (Mollie's parents make yet another appearance at DASF!); Avis sans John (who stayed home with the kiddos); Cecilia sans Victor (partying in NYC); and Tim and Dani just back from Miami.

Ratings:

Food: 85 - hits and misses and overall just too many different flavors competing for attention. Example - chocolate fois gras appetizer - some liked it, most found it to be a dreadful combination.

The good: Duck fat french fries with butter bearnaise - how can you go wrong?! Salads were great (octopus tender; biodynamic greens/beets salad full of smooth flavors). Carrot dumplings got rave reviews. Pork buns good/but forgettable. Roasted pig pleased. Desserts were very good (chocolate french toast tasty; rosebud creme brulee with sensual; blue potato ravioli with citrus salt unexpected) - but they brought out 15 dessert plates for 10 people!

The bad. . .and the ugly: foie bon bon (see chocolate fois gras notes above.) Mixed reviews on the Cod and Halibut. Who ordered the Blood Sausage? Thumbs down from all.

Service: 93 - very friendly and attentive. She was really trying to to ensure we were all happy.

Atmosphere: 85 - this is where I thought Orson really fell down. Main dining room was edgy and cool, but we were upstairs where the decor consisted of plain black walls, black table cloths and spot lights on the diners (better when bright lights focus on the food.) The restauranteurs were going for a Citizen Kane like feel, just felt dark and plain to me.

"Jon on the Jon" - unisex bathrooms, Jon's favorite since he says they're much cleaner!

All in all a very fun evening - great company, conversation and a roller coaster of tastes! See you in a couple weeks for the next DASF.

Looking for good seafood in SF??? Look no further...Waterbar delivers...

Our March Dine About spots filled up quickly and for good reasons. Waterbar – one of two high-profile restaurants (the other is Epic Roasthouse) to opened recently on the San Francisco waterfront to high fan fares and expectations. Waterbar is co-owned by Mark Franz of Farallon and features seafood from around the world. Both Waterbar and Epic Roasthouse are designed and co-owned by Pat Kuleto.

Diners included: we had 4 Klinkes this time around, Avis & John and first timers Ray & Janet Klinke, Lehmann & Jason, Ken & Mo and the Phans.

We had a short wait at the buzzing bar area before we were led to two round tables to enjoy our dining experience (they don’t have a table in the main dining room that can accommodate a party our size). We decided to break up the couples and mix up the seating (Ray’s idea) and Ray ended up in the table of 4 with 3 lovely ladies.

Food: 93 With this being a seafood restaurant, we started off with a few dozen oysters (Hog Island Kumamotos & Preston Points from Tomales Bay, Miyagis from Washington and Chincoteagues from the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland). They tasted fresh, clean and just the right amount of creaminess. Most impressive was that Mo not only had her first raw oyster but she followed that up with a second!! The oysters were followed by a Sea Bass & Sea Urchin Ceviche for one table and Geoduck Ceviche at the other. The Sea Bass & Sea Urchin Ceviche was definitely the better of the two. We also had two salads – the Fuji apple, endive, aged Gouda grilled cheese salad stood out. Main courses: this is where Waterbar really shines. The pan-seared Black Bass was well seasoned and accompanied by shaved baby artichokes in a cream sauce. We had two types of whole fishes, a John Dory (oven roasted) and two Turbots (a mild sweet white fish, one oven roasted and one poached). The oven roasted Turbo was outstanding (Avis said it was the best fish she has ever tasted!!). One table also ordered the roast free-range chicken that was very good. All the main courses were perfectly cooked. We shared 3 desserts and they were all solid; a Meyer lemon crème brulee, a roasted pineapple tart with crème fraiche custard and a warm bittersweet chocolate pudding cake with coffee ice cream

Service: 85 We had two different servers – a female server that was very good and the male server that was pretty “rough”. The rest of the staff help brought the averages up. I think we just got unlucky with our bad server.

Atmosphere: 90 Waterbar is a beautiful restaurant. In the main dinning room, there are two dramatic, 19-foot tall, five-foot diameter, floor-to-ceiling circular aquariums filled with an eye-catching array of fish and marine life from the Pacific Ocean, while walls of vividly illuminated fish tanks display a gallery of fresh lobsters and spot prawns. Our tables had excellent views of the bay and the Bay Bridge. It would have scored higher except a few thought it was pretty loud.

John on the Jon….

Spruce: Come For The Food, Stay For The Service

Our February Dine About came up quickly (it was on Feb 1st), but left a lasting impression. Spruce - the encore of famed Village Pub founders, expectations were high. I don't know if it's because I've missed the last 4 Dine Abouts, or because it's the first adult dinner I've had in months, but Spruce made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Diners included: our steady leaders Phu & Winnie, 2nd timers Ehren and Karen Kruger, Mollie and her possy (Jon and Ella stayed home, Mollie and Mom and Dad Brown hit the town), and pinch hitter Maureen filling in last minute for Jon. A fun loving crowd all around.

A short wait and we were led to a perfect round table to enjoy our dining experience.

Food: 92 Started nice and continued strong. My memory is a little fuzzy, so perhaps others can fill in the details. Starters: Nice salads, sweet bread that no one likes but Phu always orders, tasty duck pate and salty meat plates. Main course: wonderful, light sole, sea bass just ok, nice beef (w/duck fat potatoes), other dishes escape me! Desserts - hazelnut cake took the prize.

Phu: The duck pate and salty meat plate, aka their House–made charcuterie was one of the best I've had. The other entree was a delicious pan seared pork tenderloin served on top of some large white beans. It was perfectly seasoned. I also liked the Beignet dessert with two dipping sauce.

Service: 95 So smooth - some of the best we've seen! Plates and settings appeared and disappeared without notice, glasses always full, pacing perfect.

Phu: The Sommelier select two wines that everyone liked (a very fragrant Lynmar Chardonnay and a bold Trueblood Cabernet).

Atmosphere: 89 would have scored higher except for the athletic jersey framed like art and the terrifying white teeth staring from the wall during dinner.

Phu: Yeah, the artworks were a bit odd and out of place. The wine cellar is pretty impressive though.

Jon on the Jon. . .perhpas we'll have a guest columnist this month!

See you in March.

Nice Little Jewel in the Tenderloin

A small turn out for this month’s Dine About SF at Fish and Farm restaurant, with just the Phans and the Chos. I like to congratulate Avis and John on becoming proud parents to two beautiful little girls, Juliet and Sabrina. We hope to see them soon in our future DASFs.

Fish and Farm is another one of the many new restaurants that is following the trendy concept of the moment – organic and local (all its ingredients are sourced within a hundred miles of the restaurant). It is a small restaurant (in the Mark Twain Hotel) that serves up delicious “New American” cuisine. We walked away satisfied and quite please with the food.

On to the reviews:

Food = 88
The appetizers were the standouts, we had the grilled Monterey squid will citrus and fennel, fried oysters with a celery root remoulade and Meyer lemon marmalade and a home made parpardelle pasta with winter vegetable. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce flavorful. The squid was tender and nicely seasoned. The fried oyster was light, crunchy on the outside and moist and creamy on the inside. The celery root remoulade that accompanied the oysters was excellent. Main courses were solid all around. We had the bone-in rib eye, the sable fish and the gnocchi. Particularly good was the house-made gnocchi with roasted pumpkin. The Chef definitely has a knack for home made pastas. For desserts, we ordered the persimmon bread pudding with cinnamon sabayon and the huckleberry and pear crumble. I’m a huge fan of persimmons and when I saw the persimmon bread pudding, my eyes lit up but when the desserts came out, I was disappointed to see that it was regular bread pudding garnished with a few slices of persimmons. The huckleberry and pear crumble, however, was quite delicious. We also noticed that the same ingredient was used multiple times on the same menu – a must for a small restaurant.

Atmosphere = 85
Fish and Farm is a cozy small restaurant. We sat in a chocolate-colored booth, very comfortable. The room is decorated with vintage boat oars, a giant clock, and paintings of fishermen and farmers. It was a little on the noisy side.

Service = 83
Service was solid all around but on the slow side…perhaps intentionally. They kept our water glasses full.

According to Victor, the “John” was part of the Mark Twain hotel and does not deserve a "John on the Jon" haiku!