Trendy little asian fusion joint

Namu in the Inner Richmond is a trendy little Korean fusion restaurant known to spice up the traditional korean fare.  I have been hearing so much about these "Korean tacos" since they started participating at the weekly farmers market in the ferry building.  After my dinner experience here, I would say it's overpriced trendified Korean. food.  I would much rather go to a traditional Korean restaurant for some tasty BBQ!

The famous "Korean tacos" layered with seaweed, rice, kimchi salsa and korean kalbi (beef short ribs).  Tasty but very difficult and messy to eat, also not worth $4 each.  I much rather have a few pieces of BBQ kalbi over rice with some kimchi.

They have great sake flights which is fun to be able to try all different kinds of sake.

Bi Bim Bop - A very classic Korean entree with rice, veges and kobe steak cooked in a very hot stone pot.  The best thing about this dish is that the rice on the bottom is super crunchy.

Okonomiyaki - Another classic Korean dish with kimchi, ground beef, cabbage, scallion, egg yolk and bonito flakes.  It's a very heavy dish so if I were to order this again, I would be sure to leave out the creamy sauce heavily drizzled on top.

Quince's little sister

Cotogna is the new addition located right next door to it's sister restaurant Quince.  Also serving up Italian fare but in a much more casual environment and definitely less costly.  Known for their brick oven pizzas and small plate pastas as well as other various apps.

As always we brought our own bottle of bubbles and vino.  Do note that corkage is on the high end here at $25/bottle.

 

Monterey Bay Squid - 

Not worth ordering...extremely small portion and nothing unique

Halibut Tartare with Blood Orange - 

Perfectly paired with the blood orange but once again portion was on the small side.

 

Pizza with Nettles, Lamb Sausage & Ricotta - 

 Tasty but very soggy in the center and crust was not made well.

Pizza with Sea Urchin and Cauliflower - 

A very unique pizza with uni but once again very soggy in the middle

Papardelle with Braised Rabbit

Gnocchi with Duck Ragu

Special entree of the day...Pork Shank - 

 The best dish of the night...perfectly charred and super tender!

 

Affogato - Vanilla Gelato topped with Espresso - 

One was definitely not enough for me!

The newly earned 1 michelin star!

It currently takes about 3 months to get a reservation and it's the most talked about restaurant in town right now...Frances in the Castro district.  So the big question is...did it live up to all the hype?  Unfortunately I must say not so much...the service was great and the food was good but sadly not outstanding.  Just not a place to rave home about.  One thing I am not a fan of is limited choices...only 4 entrees to choose from so you better not be a picky eater!

My favorite thing about this restaurant is you only pay for what you drink when it comes to house wine.  $1 per ounce...what you don't finish they don't charge you!  And surprisingly the house wine is quite decent.

 

 
Panisse Frites - Crispy Chickpea Fritters w/Calabrese Chili Aioli

Applewood Smoked Bacon Beignets w/Maple Creme Fraiche & Chives (very dense and doughy)

Spugnole Pasta & Cotechino Sausage - Black Trumpets and Fiore Sardo Pecorino 
 (our favorite dish of the night but the portion was way too small)

Carmelized Atlantic Scallops - Sunchoke Puree, Sauteed Endive and Nicoise Olive

Five Dot Ranch Bavette Steak - Toasted Farro Ragout, Maitake and Baby Fava Beans

Chicory Root Pana Cotta - Satsuma mandarin, Espresso Gelee and Chocolate Seasalt Cookies

A top 100 spot in the city

Gitane, located in a little alley right next to it's sister restaurant Cafe Claude, is right in the heart of the FiDi.  A modern, funky, cozy, sexy little restaurant great for groups or romantic date nights.  They serve up cuisine with flavors influenced by Spain, Portugal, Southern France and neighboring Morocco.  Great food and fun atmosphere...definitely a spot to hit up!

Bastilla - sweet and savory pastry with chicken, spiced almonds and apricot fennel salad 
(super flakey and tasty!)

Calamares - stuffed with bacon and onion, manzanilla olives, cherry tomatoes and heirloom potatoes (our favorite dish of the night...the sauce is so tasty you just want to lick it all up!)

Roasted sonoma rack of lamb and braised shoulder with sweet potato puree, brussel sprouts and pomegranite

Braised oxtail with celery root "noodles" and pickled baby beets

Beignets with three dipping sauces -  melted chocolate, naughty cream and raspberry preserves 
( I would say this you can pass on...nothing more special than just donut holes)