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

Provisional

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 18, 2014—

LUNCH YESTERDAY  with friends, their house, their cooking, delicious … roast chicken, greens, carrots, their own potatoes, mashed; their own hens' eggs, devilled…

Dinner last night at a very nice local joint, Istrian cooking, we'll be back…

Lunch today: a fine beef tartare at a favorite cook's new restaurant…

Dinner tonight: North Beach traditional Italian…

I'll try to fill in the details in a couple of days when I'm at a real computer, with a little more time…

Brunch; supper

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 16, 2014—

GOOD EATING TODAY, as seems to be customary. After our usual breakfast — café au lait, toast — we went out to brunch. (There were no eggs in the icebox this morning, so I was absolved from cooking our usual Sunday soft-boiled eggs.)

We took a walk down Hyde Street, intending to go to a brunch stop on California; but were captivated by the charming yellow façade of a closer spot, and decided to give it a try. Good decision. We ordered identically: an "Apostrophe" wine cocktail to begin with, involving sherry and dark vermouth and rosemary; and then went on to soft scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach, and a small rectangle cut from a baguette, toasted, and garnished with, um, no idea. Well, pickled red onion, some kind of cheese…

• Stones Throw, 1896 Hyde Street, San Francisco; (415) 796-2901

SUPPER, AFTER A very good performance of Ubu Roi,was at a place we'd tried a few weeks back, and damned if I didn't order exactly the same dishes as I had then: hard-cooked quail eggs with celery, mayonnaise, and crisp shallot; then steak tartare with the requisite capers, mustard, and horseradish. A bit of dill, too, to distinguish this joint's tartare from all the rest. Utterly delicious.

Pinot noir, Melville (Santa Barbara), unspecified vintage

•The Cavalier, 360 Jessie Street, San Francisco; (415) 321-6000

Osteria

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 15, 2014—

YES: WHAT YOU SEE here is simply sliced roast pork, porchetta, cooked not alla romana but simply, in a manner reminding me of the Sunday night dinners at home when I was a kid.

I asked at the kitchen on our way out, and was told the herbs involved were rosemary, oregano, and — well, there you are; I've got to where I can only remember two items of three. Sage, perhaps. That's what I'd have added, sage, and perhaps a little myrtle; but then not everyone has myrtle available.

Whatever the herbs, the dish was first-rate. There was a green salad on the side, and I'd also asked for a side order of roast potatoes. They came with roasted slices of carrot and even yam as well, and I played dodgeball.

We'd begun, the three of us, with a nice big platter of salume and an "insalata rustica" involving tuna, white beans, and chopped celery, with a hint of sage I thought, and a delicate addition of very thinly sliced red onion, all in a very pleasant vinaigrette. All in all, a very satisfying dinner.

Pinot grigio, "terra alpina," Riff (Alto Adige), 2012; Corvina, "Scaia," Temita Sant'Antonio (Veneto), 2011

•L'Osteria Del Forno, 519 Columbus Ave, San Francisco; (415) 982-1124

A splendid veal chop

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 14, 2014—

LUNCH, YES, WELL, lunch was quite okay, once past the disappointment that the daily special — linguine with kale — was available only at dinner. I settled for a simple pizza, Calabrese, with ricotta and mozzarella, dried black olives and plenty of chili flakes. Afterward, a good affogatto — the ice cream here is quite good.

Aglianico in the glass

• Paisan, 2514 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley: 510-649-1031

THEN DINNER TONIGHT at the home of a couple of dear old friends, and Andrew cooked. What a fine meal! After apéritifs — kir royale with pomegranate in lieu of cassis (a delicious inspiration) we sat down to a succulent, generous veal chop, beautifully sautéed, with a red wine reduction highlighted by I know not what green herb, asparagus on the side. And for dessert a fine apple-raisin-sliced almond tarte. This chop was one of the finest things I've eaten this year.

Pinot grigio, Main and Geary (Sonoma county), 2012: very nice pointed flavor; Cabernet sauvignon, "Taxi Cab," private production from the chef's own hand, 1995, perfectly balanced, mature but still fruity — thanks, Andrew!

Trattoria; bistro

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 13, 2014—

LUNCH TODAY AT a typical, old-fashioned North Beach trattoria, chosen because of a chance reference to it by a Facebook friend who dined there the other night. When we walked toward it, a little past noon, the host was standing out on the sidewalk in its doorway, arms folded across his chest, enjoying the sun and the moment, just as they do in Italy. We were the first to dine, and were seated of course at the window.

Of the daily lunch specials, it was porchetta romana that sang to me. Three hefty slices of pork roast, flavored pretty much with nothing but the animal's own innate succulence, in a dark jus, with a green salad on the side. The bread is particularly nice, and the olive oil served with it. Everything needed salt, but that was easily done…

Sangiovese, Tuscany, nv

• Piazza Pellegrini, 659 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco; (415) 397-7355

AND THEN A FEW HOURS later, dinner at another old standby, downtown, with a couple of friends, before an evening at the theater (Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem, long, sentimental, overdone, but a brave effort). To test the joint's authenticity — or at least its reliability — I started with celery-root remoulade, then moved to steak tartare. The remoulade was fine; it could have come from any self-respecting Paris charcuterie. The tartare was pre-mixed, sweet and fresh, nicely balanced. Nothing dramatic; quite satisfying.

Côtes du Rhône in the glass

• Le Central, 453 Bush Street, San Francisco; (415) 391-2233

Catered reception

Leavenworth Street, San Francisco, February 12, 2014—

SOME OF OUR FRIENDS labor under the delusion that we're always fortunate at table — and so we are, quantitatively speaking. No one is more aware than I how blest our tables are.

But this photo may help persuade you that it's not all beer and skittles chez Shere: not to mention port and partridge. No. Occasionally we make do with whatever is provided. Tonight, for example, we attended a reception and symposium, on a subject unrelated to gastronomy, and we let the caterer decide. And this is what he proposed, starting with the unidentifiable dark thing at 11 o'clock in the photo and proceeding clockwise:

Roast beef sandwich with horseradish creamParmesan-inflected dinner rollBread-like canapé with sundried tomato somethingA cherry tomatoA small Hungarian-style pepper, pickledFetaA Greek-style oliveSpring roll enclosing grated carrot, red cabbage, and bits of other raw vegetable

Dessert: a brownie; a miniature Linzer-like tartlet

Semillon blanc, California