"Absinthe" makes my heart grow fond
Written: Sep 27 '99 (Updated Oct 05 '99)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great food, great service, great atmosphere
Cons: I didn't find any
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| Chuq's Full Review: Absinthe Brasserie and Bar |
(Okay, you can stop groaning at the pun...) Absinthe is a wonderful French brasserie on the corner of Hayes and Gough. I visited on the recommendation of a friend who'd spent months raving about nothing but one of their desserts, and dining there was the highlight of my Labor Day weekend trip to the City.
There was a vintage bottle of actual absinthe on display behind glass and under lock and key, in honor of the venerable and now-outlawed beverage, and the decor featured many absinthe-related posters from Art Nouveau-era France. I had one of absinthe's modern-day descendents, a pastis drink from my hometown New Orleans called Herbsaint. It was delicious and packed quite a kick from the alcohol alone -- I can hardly imagine it containing a narcotic as well, like in the old days). Oddly enough, I had never tried any pastis drink, and this one was served in a similar manner to the old traditional style, with a small pitcher of water (but no absinthe spoon and sugar cube). The flavor was predominantly that of anise, but had much complexity from the other herbs used in the formula. I think I'll try a Pernod next time.
The menu at Absinthe changes daily, although it seems that a few items are regularly available. The menu also seems to be seasonal, which gets a big thumbs-up from me. Some of the ingredients of my fabulous meal are nearing the end of their season, so don't expect that you'll necessarily be able to order what I did. Now, onward to the meal...
Appetizer: Black Mission figs with fresh goat cheese, shaved fennel and walnuts. This was marvelous. Other appetizers we shared were a wonderful pizza-like tart called pissaladière that was covered with caramelized onions, anchovies and capers, plus ricotta dumplings drizzled with pesto.
Entrée: Grilled albacore tuna steak with sauce rouille, confit'd artichoke, marinated green peppers and brandade toast points.
I had a lovely Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir with with the entrée.
Cheese course: Bleu d'Auvergne with fresh sliced pear.
Dessert: Oven-baked Black Mission figs alternately layered with lemon crème and butter cookies, served with fig-honey reduction sauce. (I was the only one who got this. Everyone else got the dessert that my friend James had been raving about for weeks, a Scharffen Berger chocolate pot de crème which was, as promised, fabulous -- I got a few tastes. But I thought it'd be cool to begin and end my meal with those wonderful figs.)
With my dessert I had a really nice 1996 Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glacière.
This meal was luxurious, and finer than what I'd expect from a typical brasserie. We spent three hours at the table, and weren't rushed along (which happens in many restaurants, and which I despise). I had read a couple of accounts of "spotty" or "uneven" service, but when we were there the service was impeccable and very attentive. For example, when I was passing a bite of fig and goat cheese to someone across the table, I dropped it into my wine glass (luckily empty at the time). As I started looking for the waiter to get his attention for another glass, he was already on his way over with one. We had a fantastic time, tipped extravagantly and promised to return. On your next visit to San Francisco, go there and enjoy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Chuq
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Member: Chuck Taggart
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 80 members
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