Zazie is supposed to be a San Francisco classic.
Well, I wasn't feeling it tonight. Maybe we ordered wrong...but I doubt it.
Mediterranean roasted vegetable plate with basil, feta and aioli.
Clockwise from left: spiced mushrooms, roasted peppers, sliced tomatoes, feta cheese + aioli, eggplant, garlicky green beans, roasted potatoes.
Charcuterie plate.
Clockwise from center: mixed olives, prosciutto, toast points, mixed green salad, pâté, salmon rillettes, cornichons, mustard.
The pâté tasted like nothing mixed with cream and the salmon could have come out of a can. Everything else was "fine".
Wild Coho salmon, pesto Parmesan crust, toybox tomatoes, sugar snap peas and cauliflower purée.
This is a very good example of a kitchen that doesn't understand "less is more". Why put a crust on a fish that doesn't need it? For $29.
Bourride.
Easily the best thing we had all night. This version had sea bass, clams, mussels, leeks, fennel and tomatoes. Can't really go wrong with fish stew. No aioli which is the traditional accompaniment.
Brebis des Pyrénées, figs poached in port wine, walnut levain.
Worst version of tarte tatin ever, served with crème fraîche.
I couldn't help but compare this to what I had at Buvette in NYC (see the next pic) with each and every bite. Barely caramelized apples and not very buttery puff pastry which was more of a vol-au-vent, come to think of it.
This is more along the lines of what I was expecting. Pity.
I might not have been so harsh above were it not for the fact that we were forgotten about for nearly 10-15 minutes after having been deposited at our table. Getting the check was equally as difficult, as if we were at the dentist and having our teeth pulled.
I now see why Zazie is recommended for brunch, not so much for other meals.
Zazie
941 Cole Street (Parnassus Avenue)
Cole Valley
San Francisco
