Dine About Town

There's only a day and a half left of Dine About Town! Eat out at San Francisco's best restaurants at a bargain price. You'll get a prix fixe 3-course lunch for $21.95 and dinner is only $31.95. A fabulous deal, considering that the entree alone at most of these restaurants is well over $20.

So far I've had dinner at 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar where I dined on grilled romaine hearts with bacon vinaigrette and citrus segments (stole a couple of spoonfuls of the roasted garnet yam soup with chive crème and crispy pancetta & the rabbit pate terrine), followed by hoffman gamebirds' coq au vin with crimini mushrooms, pearl onions, niman bacon and yukon gold potatoes (tasted the fresh paparadelle with milk braised berkshire pork, bloomsdale spinach and pecorino & the grilled niman ranch hangar steak frites with frisee and "aio e oio"), followed by Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate-pumpkin torte with pine nut caramel & I pecked at two other decadent desserts. 1550 Hyde uses fresh ingredients from the farmers' market and you can really taste the difference.

I've lunched at Restaurant Lulu where I had the roasted eggplant & portabello appetizer, followed by the veal stew (I know, I'm bad) and an amazing blood orange cheesecake. The large rotisserie in the dining room at Lulu churns around whole chickens and ribs and provides a nice, cozy atmosphere to the rather spacious restaurant.

For lunch today I'm trying to decide between Jack Falstaff, Asia de Cuba and Campton Place Restaurant. Too many choices and not enough time! I think it's going to be Asia de Cuba. I can't wait to take a bite out of a Maine lobster club with ginger-mango mayo and applewood smoked bacon with a side of Mojito fries. Delicioso! I love "working from home"!

p.s. as of 11:45 pm Tuesday night: I'll update this soon and tell you about Asia de Cuba (where I ended up for lunch) and Scott Howard Restaurant (where I ended up for dinner).

UPDATE: So I ended up at Asia de Cuba
for lunch and the lobster club was awesome! The restaurant is located inside the Clift Hotel, home of the Redwood Room
, where overpriced drinks, cougars and PUA's comingle in the midst of a swanky setting overlooked by googily-eyed portrait paintings on the walls. The bento box that my dining companion ordered included crispy black bean and chickpea dumplings in a tomato-ginger sauce, chipotle glazed strip steak and fried rice with plantains (several other options were available to choose from). Both of our dishes came with opera cake for dessert and the club included coffee or a pot of tea.

And for my Dine About Town finale, the best was certainly saved for last. I had never heard of the place before, but now Scott Howard is my favorite restaurant in the city (and within walking distance of my apartment so I can work up an appetite on my way over). I ordered the carrot broth, maine scallops and the panna cotta. I did try everything else listed below too, and also the lamb loin that is not listed.

First Course
Smoked salmon - Fingerling potato salad • Green apple • Creme fraiche
or
Carrot broth - Chervil sabayon • Truffle oil
or
Mache & frisee salad - Blood Orange • Fennel • Champagne vinaigrette

Second Course
Maine scallops - Maitake mushrooms • Saffron sauce • Yukon potato purée
or
Scottish salmon - Shallot confit • Hedgehog mushrooms • Fingerling potatoes • Curry beurre blanc
or
Pork shoulder - Celery root puree • Braised kale • Maple syrup glaze

Third Course
Panna cotta - Citrus salad • Macadamia nut brittle • Citrus glaze
or
Warm chocolate cake - Blackberry coulis • Creme fraiche
or
Butterscotch pudding - Caramelized banana

The carrot broth soup was phenomenal, probably my favorite soup in the city now, and I’m a huge fan of soup. Sure, anything with truffle oil is good, but this was outstanding! My scallops were beautifully prepared and all of the entrees, with the exception of the salmon, were perfectly flavored and…my most flattering adjective when talking about food…savory. The entrée portions are not large, of course, forcing you to focus on every bite before it hits your belly. All three of the desserts were winners and the special Dine About Town wine pairing they offered ($15 for two glasses of wine plus a port or Muscat) helped to round out an amazing meal. Scott Howard
, you’re my hero.

Only 11 months until Dine About Town 2008! Until then, bon apetit!