I planned a low-key celebration for him in San Francisco, starting the day off with breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast restaurants (if not our absolute favorite) in the Bay Area, Mama’s at Washington Square. I know I’ve blogged about and displayed pictures of the things we always eat there before, but it’s so good that it warrants another mention and photographs.
Monte Cristo: Breast of Turkey, Baked Ham, Cheddar and Havarti Cheese, Bread - Dipped in Egg and Grilled, Served with Homemade Jam
Dungeness Crab Benedict with Fresh Spinach
Next we headed off to the California Academy of Sciences, a place we’d been wanting to check out for awhile. I was a little worried that it would be crazily busy, since everyone and their mothers had the day off, but, since we didn’t arrive until 2:00 pm, there was no line for membership holders. Oh, that’s another thing. Admission is $25 per person, but an annual membership is $99, which allows admission for one person and one guest, so we opted to buy an annual membership since it would pay for itself in a mere two visits.
We had a good time wandering around for three hours and taking photographs. We explored the Steinhart Aquarium, the Living Roof, and many of the science exhibits. However, we did not have a chance to check out the Planetarium (they were out of tickets by the time we arrived) or the Rainforests. As expected, it was very crowded inside, but it wasn’t intolerable. We’ll be back! I’d also like to take Naan and Hawk there sometime, and since I have an annual pass, I’ll be able to (though obviously not at the same time, since I can only bring in one person at a time).
We stayed right up until closing time, then headed back to the car. We’d brought clothes to change into for dinner, but we didn’t really have anywhere to change, so we actually changed in the car in the parking lot. (Thank goodness for all those years in band, where I learned to change quickly and discreetly in vehicles.) We then headed over to dinner at Acquerello, a restaurant we’d been wanting to try. We actually wanted to check it out with Ho and Mousse in May, but we couldn’t get a reservation.
The funny thing about Shweetie's birthday dinner is that I’d originally made reservations at Michael Mina. I’d asked Facebook friends for restaurant recommendations, and they’d overwhelmingly voted for Michael Mina. However, when I asked Shweetie about a month before his birthday where he wanted to go to for dinner, his response was, “Anywhere but Michael Mina.” Soooo, I changed our reservation.
I was very glad we did change reservations, because Acquerello was pretty good and we had an enjoyable experience there. We gave the food an 8.00, since most of it was amazing. We each ordered a four-course meal and chose each of our courses.
Amuse bouche:
First courses:
Shweetie loved the risotto since it’s just such a good comfort food and it was done so expertly. The lobster was also pretty good.
Prosecco risotto with prawns, caviar and Venetian style bay scallops
Lobster panzerotti in a spicy lobster brodo with ‘Diavolicchio’
Second courses:
These courses were the only thing that brought the food score down. The ravioli with rabbit was quite uninteresting, and all we could really taste were the olives. The ridged pasta with foie gras and Marsala was just awful. The pasta was undercooked, there were too many truffles, and the sauce was overly sweet and there was just way too much of it. This is one of the few dishes at a nice restaurant I have actually deemed nearly inedible, and we only managed to eat about half of it. Ugh.
Rabbit filled agnolotti with Taggiasca olives and prosciutto
Ridged pasta with foie gras, scented with black truffles and Marsala
Third courses:
The sturgeon dish was brilliant – one of the few surf and turf dishes we’ve had that actually makes sense, as it was a very nice pairing, and we’re not even fans of sturgeon usually! The pan seared scallops with corn fritters was also a good dish, as the scallops were cooked perfectly, though the corn fritters were a tad bit out of place.
Sturgeon, lightly smoked, over shredded beef oxtail with a red wine drizzle
Pan seared scallops, corn fritter, baby fennel and tarragon
Fourth courses:
I’m a huge panna cotta fan, and although I generally prefer them with berries, I have to give them props for using unique fruits on theirs. The fruits were a little tangier, which was different, while the sweetness came from the panna cotta itself. I’m used to the panna cotta being sort of tasteless and the taste coming instead from the berries. This was a nice twist on one of my favorite desserts. The semifreddo was tasty, but Shweetie thought it was way too sweet and couldn’t finish it. We both agreed, though, that the chocolate cookie wedge that came with it was a nice touch, especially since Shweetie loves waffle cones and this thing tasted exactly like a chocolate waffle cone. The cookie was a pleasant surprise, too, because it looked like a solid wall of chocolate, which seems to be so frequently overused in fancy restaurants, but when you bit into it - ta-da! - waffle cone.
Coffee with biscotti
Tangy rum-vanilla panna cotta with pineapple, kumquat and tarragon
Bourbon caramel semifreddo with Amaretti crumbs and drizzle of chocolate sauce
We did not partake of any cheese, though they had quite an impressive selection, since Shweetie doesn’t like cheese and it always gives me a stomachache, despite the fact that I really want to like and appreciate cheese.
Service was lovely, and we discovered that every single member of the wait staff speaks Italian. (Not that we speak any, but the people at the table next to us did, and the wait staff spoke to them in Italian throughout their meal.) Our busboy was also so nice and attentive. I know that sounds strange, but he seemed so genuinely happy to be there that we actually noticed him, and honestly, how often do you notice your busboy unless he’s horrible? The one negative thing about the service was that when the waiters put our plates down (they placed them simultaneously, which I always think is a nice touch), the two servers would talk at the same time, telling each of us what they had just placed. I would have preferred that they not talk simultaneously so I could hear what both of us had. It also made it hard to hear my server because a lot of times I couldn’t filter out the other server’s voice. Anyway, we gave the service a 9.25.
Décor was fairly nice. The restaurant’s set in a former chapel, and the whole place has a distinctly old school Mediterranean/Italian feel, which is consistent with the food. Oh, and they have purse stools, which always amuses me. We gave it an 8.00.
The chef was too busy to take a picture with us, but we won’t hold that against them. We liked this place and definitely recommend – just avoid that rabbit dish (unless you adore olives) and the ridged pasta with foie gras. Their overall score was an 82.50.
All in all, I think Shweetie had a nice birthday. Happy 32nd, Shweetie!
*For a refresher on our rating system, check out this previous post.*
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