Frisee

Imagine this: It's a typically foggy and blustery San Francisco evening, but the Castro is abuzz with people leaving work, young lovers strolling about, and two good friends meeting up for dinner. The friends arrive at exactly the same time, have exactly the same reaction to the restaurant, and order exactly the same thing. The time was 6pm, the reaction was "Hmm, kind of minimal and sparse, but nice" and the order was the Dinner Salad and the Whole Wheat Vegan Ravioli. You have now envisioned last night's dinner experience.

Frisee was a place I've wanted to try ever since finding them on OpenTable. They are perfect for this blog in that they have at least one clearly marked vegan entree at all times, along with numerous consumables for the "others." So, while I still think the overall decor and feel of the place could be much more warm and homey, the menu alone will bring me back. As for my "other": Well, let's just say that if I keep converting people (or at least convincing them to eat LESS meat) at this rate I'll have no "others" in my life. Wouldn't that be fantastic....

Ambiance aside, the food was really good. I mean, the dinner salad was your standard fare, and I had to order mine sans cheese, candied pecans, and butter-brushed crostini, but the balsamic vinaigrette was nice and sweet, which I like, so it was still enjoyable overall. And, yes, it contained some frisee. :) The ravioli (pictured below), on the other hand, was fantastic. Big discs filled with butternut squash encircled a mound of spinach which was topped (cherry-on-a-sundae-style) with dried apricots. The entire dish was then smothered in a rich tomato sauce with pumpkin seeds and basil. A nice combination of sweet and savory, it really hit the spot and warmed me up.

So, while it's not a new favorite or anything, I'm happy to know it's there, and I'll go back - maybe for brunch next time. The tofu scramble sounds really good!