Catchup: Albona; Boulibar; Fior d'Italia, Chez Panisse

Crafi con burro e salvia at Albona

Eastside Road, February 20, 2014—

HOME AGAIN, AND TIME to fill in a few details from the San Francisco Week. As I last posted, Monday's lunch was in the Washington Street house of a couple of old friends, where everything was delicious, well accompanied by a bottle of Pinot Grigio from Santa Barbara county. Then Monday night we decided to try out a place we'd noticed down the hill from our apartment. On our walk there, we passed another restaurant, whose owner was standing out on the sidewalk in front of the door — it was early in the evening, not yet six o'clock — and we struck up a conversation. This led to a tour of the kitchen, of which he was justly proud, and further conversation, during which I confessed we were on our way to another restaurant.

"Which one?"

"Albona, around the corner."

"Oh, that's a good restaurant. Tell them hello from Gianni."

We did, of course; and then, after a glass of Prosecco, ordered our dinner: for me, first, Sardele in saor ala Veneziana (the menu listings are in dialect): a sardine marinated in red-wine vinegar, with golden raisins and pine nuts, very Venetian); then, Crafi: house-made ravioli stuffed with cheeses, raisins, pine nuts, and nutmeg, in a simple sage and butter sauce. I do live Venetian cuisine, medieval-seeming with its sweet spices, and this place was very good; I see no reason not to go back.

Collio bianco, Zuani (Fruili), 2012: soft, refreshing, delicious

•Albona, 545 Francisco Street, San Francisco
; 415-441-1040 (February 17, 2014)

Tartare at Boulibar

NEXT DAY, TUESDAY, we met an old friend for lunch down at the Ferry Building. Amaryll Schwantner has long been one of my favorite cooks: she is intelligent and thoughtful, attentive to detail, appreciative of the complexities and the simplicities of flavors and textures, and knows how to combine things on the menu and on the plate. On top of that, she's an extremely good chef, teaching and coaching and guiding her crew with what seems to an outside observer a diligent eye, a steady hand, and patient though exacting direction.

I ordered the steak tartare, hand-minced wagyu beef blended with urfa chili, black pepper, sea salt, olive oil, and discreet lemon juice, topped with sumac marinated sweet onion relish, and served, as you see, with rusks: it was first-rate. And the desserts! We had all three: yogurt panna cotta with
blueberries, blood orange, citrus, rose syrup, crystallized pistachios, and basil; bittersweet chocolate custard with an espresso foam topping, sesame nougatine, a delicious turkish coffee cocoa nib shortbread on the side; cannoli filled with a delicate meyer lemon ricotta and mascarpone. These are beautifully made, rivalling the very impressive work at b patisserie and 20th Century Café.


•Bouli bar, 1 Ferry Bldg Marketplace, San Francisco; (415) 399-1177

THEN, FOR DINNER, back to North Beach. Gianni was standing behind the bar when we arrived about 7:30, busy, taking no notice of us. We were joined by a couple of friends in a comfortable red leather booth, very old-fashioned, and I ordered a Negroni, though my friend's Martini looked good.

Saltimbocca alla Romana at Fior d'Italia

We all shared a board of salumi, acceptable but not inspired, and then I had an order of spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil, followed by Saltimbocca alla Romana, veal scallopini topped with prosciutto and sage leaves, carrots and green beans on the side, with roasted potatoes. Perhaps there was a little too much tomato. Otherwise, it was like eating at Vanessi in the old days: we enjoyed it.

Arneis, Pertinance-Roero, 2009(!); nice

Fior d'Italia, 2237 Mason Street, San Francisco; 415 986 1886NEXT DAY, WEDNESDAY, we were in Berkeley on business, then lunched with a favorite cousin too rarely seen — a delicious broth with potatoes and vegetables; bread and three fine cheeses; a fresh-orange compote, then pastries. With all this, a delicious inexpensive Albariño whose label I photographed to no avail; my telephone seems to have destroyed it. I'll try to find it again.

THEN LAST NIGHT we ended our vacation week with dinner with another couple of friends in the café, and when I say that I think you know which one I mean. Here I began with a little Antico Carpano with soda, being just a teeny bit liverish, and then plunged into the house salad whose vinaigrette is always so nicely balanced and, because I couldn't resist it, braised pork shoulder with black-eyed peas, kale, and sage. It's been a sage week. The dinner was memorable, the company delightful. Vacation's over, and I gained five pounds or so.

Rosé, Domaine Tempier (Bandol), 2012

Café Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley; 510-548-5525