August 1, 2009 - Quince

Quince in San Francisco, CA
http://www.quincerestaurant.com/

So we came to Quince for our 2-year anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, this was a while ago now, but I'll do my best to recall what it was like.

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When we went they were sort of in Pacific Heights, but they're actually moving to a new location now in the Financial District/almost Tenderloin area, a block away from Coi. Clearly I can't speak to their new location, but their Pacific Heights place was dark and quiet, with a bit of an older crowd (at least, for San Francisco), good for a romantic dinner. They were very nice greeting us and gave us customized menus that said "Happy Anniversary Kuau and Ellie" at the top of it, which we got to keep (which is why the titles of the dishes actually appear in such detail for once!). It was the first time I'd been to a restaurant that did that, and I thought it was a really cute touch. We got the 3-course meal with dessert, and we each chose a different option for each course so we could try more. Per usual.

Course 1: sea scallops - cauliflower puree, pinenuts and golden raisin; Four Story Hill Farm sweetbreads - chanterelle mushroom, haricot verts and celeriac-truffle sauce

So I ordered the scallops, which were cooked perfectly in an awesome sauce and were really delicious. Kuau's sweetbreads were a little too fried for our taste, I believe.

Course 2: Gnocchi di patate - summer truffle and artichoke; Spaghetti - sea urchin, sea bean and chili

I do remember this gnocchi as being really amazing. Very soft, with a great-tasting sauce, and very clearly homemade. There were some crispy toppings that I wasn't actually a huge fan of, but the pasta itself was great.
Kuau's spaghetti was our version of a "daring" choice because of the sea urchin. And it definitely tasted like a seafood spaghetti, in a good way. It was interesting to have the clearly ocean-y taste of the sea urchin with the spaghetti, but it was a good dish.


Course 3: Liberty duck breast and crispy leg - red cabbage, chaterelle mushroom, apple and radish

By this point I was pretty drunk, so maybe it's the alcohol and the distant memory speaking, but I didn't actually think this duck was all that. It was good duck, but I've had better at a lot of places, notably Ibiza (which may serve my favorite duck of all time ... no matter how they decide to make it). David Burke Fromagerie's duck was also better.

Course 3: Paine Farm smoked squab - sugar snap pea, little gem lettuce and cardamom

Kuau was also disappointed by his squab, but most of that stemmed from the fact that the description didn't mention onions, and apparently onions were a pervasive presence throughout the entire dish. Which is unfair, because Kuau hates onions. Anyway, from what I tried the squab was ... fine, not spectacular. Kuau enjoyed that they left the squab head on the plate, and used the opportunity to sample some of its parts -- I forget which, but I believe he tried to dissect out the cheek, and sucked out the brain. I think he left the eye, thankfully for us all.

Dessert: Beignets - dolce di latte, eggplant and lemon

I actually remember both desserts very clearly. Both of ours had candles in them (obviously), which was a nice little touch to celebrate our anniversary. I had the beignets, which is basically fried dough from New Orleans (well, probably from France originally, but you know. Beignets are to New Orleans what funnel cake is to New Jersey. It's all fried dough). I didn't think it tasted super eggplant-y, but they were good beignets, maybe with a slightly more savory taste than usual. Again, though I remember it clearly this time, I didn't think it was extraordinary.

Dessert: Raspberry clafoutis - black olive oil gelato and earl grey

Kuau's dessert was actually much better. I don't remember the raspberry clafoutis on its own, but I think that's mostly because the olive oil gelato was incredible. It was gelato ... but tasted like olive oil. Since then we have had one other olive oil-based ice cream (I don't remember where), but I thought this one was better. I also remember it blending with the raspberry flavor really well.




As always, Kuau was a big fan of the intricate tea setup that he got. The little rightmost cup had two layers of glass, so that it's not too hot to pick up. I have to admit it was adorable. Although I'm pretty sure right after this I looked online and you can buy this setup, so maybe I'll have to get it so he can get a gleeful look on his face at home as well.

So to be honest, while all the food here was pretty solid, I think we've been to better meals for this price range. There was nothing revolutionary about the food. There was nothing revolutionary about David Burke either (wow, that restaurant got two shout-outs in the same post), but I think David Burke's food had more refined flavors and better cooking. Sorry, Quince! I'm sure you'll still do awesome in your new location.