I went here for lunch a few weeks ago – how disappointing. This is one of those I’ve-been-traveling-too-much-to-try-restaurants-in-my-own-home-town restaurants; a hole in my resume. It’s nationally known for its wine program but the chef left for Canteen and the wine director left for greener pastures too.

1. Salmon tartare w/ truffles amuse
A glob of salmon w/ a spattering of truffle and some of that annoying truffle oil (is there actually good truffle oil?) It looked ugly, and it was fairly bland w/ that obnoxious truffle oil taste coating my mouth.

2. Ricotta cavatelli w/ wild mushrooms
Satisfying for your average north beach italian restaurant but the pasta wasn’t as good as, say, Delfina, and the dish looked like something i would throw together in the kitchen (re: not a complement.)

3. Seared petrale sole
the fish was very mushy inside – enough said.

The bill was quite a bit for lunch but fortunately I didn’t pay – I would’ve been pretty upset considering the quality of the food. In retrospect, it’s about what i expected but i’d read a favorable review and thought i’d give it a shot.

Buyer beware – at best, the kitchen is inconsistent which is surprising given the history, legacy, and expense of this famed restaurant.

- chuck