Trev's Bistro

The 200th Article: Restaurants: Range, San Francisco

In the daunting world that is the restaurant industry, the few restaurants that succeed beyond their first half decade have clicked with some specific formula. The formula might be as a tourist trap where the attraction is an enormous aquarium wall, or it might be about the exciting nature of a completely changing menu daily à la Charlie Trotter. Teamwork and leadership are critical. Everybody needs to be all in. The vision needs to be clear.

The now seven-year-old Range is truly the consummate restaurant. If I were to be teaching a course about a restaurant with a clear vision and equally clear purpose, this would be it. Range is a professional restaurant. Every surface is sanded, no corner cut. O.K., the cold butter and unexciting bread aren’t worth filling up on. But, that’s it.

Back in the summer of 2005, husband and wife team Phil and Cameron West opened Range on Valencia Street in a rather challenging part of San Francisco’s Mission District, when the likes of Delfina and Foreign Cinema had put the neighborhood on the dining map, but long, long before the 2012 Ritual Coffee-Four Barrel Coffee-fueled Valencia Street corridor became San Francisco’s “it” street.

It’s extremely hard to spot Range from the street with its tinted windows and the only label being a small street lamp above the door that says in small print “Range.” I remember my first visit after it opened, doing a curious double-take, squinting my eyes, seriously thinking I must have completely had the wrong address.

Now Valencia Street seems to have at least a dozen restaurants per block. The once dicey block Range resides on now has only a slight bit of edge and a very welcome new playground and park right next to the restaurant.

Times change around Range. Time hasn’t changed Range too much. People come, people go. The menu has its constant stalwarts, but many dishes have evolved over the years and seasons. Through it all, after seven years, at least the equivalent of 70 years in human age, Range remains one of San Francisco’s stalwart modern day establishments– in its own way a 21st century Tadich Grill. If I were to open a restaurant, I would model it after Range.Continue reading “The 200th Article: Restaurants: Range, San Francisco”

Plat du Jour, Tuesday November 6, 2012: Your Romney and Obama Election Dinner

As the results come in on this Election Tuesday evening, let’s imagine a dinner put together by both candidates most beloved foods.

Start by with the finger foods, snacking on hummus and pita chips like Governor Romney would, and President Obama supports trail mix and chips with guacamole.

We start with Governor Romney and his favorite meatloaf cakes, with the recipe from his wife Ann. Governor Romney is also a leading advocate for peanut butter and honey sandwiches…does that count as savory or dessert? We’ll call it savory.

Then to the other candidate’s courses. The President loves chili, especially on cool Autumnal nights like this Election evening. He loves the half-smokes at D.C.’s famed Ben’s Chili Bowl, but you should follow the Obama family recipe for chili. Apparently, it’s President Obama’s favorite dish to make.Continue reading “Plat du Jour, Tuesday November 6, 2012: Your Romney and Obama Election Dinner”

Plat du Jour: November 2, 2012: The Perfect Sandwich, The Not-So Perfect Restaurant Location, and Menu Terminology

It’s the first weekend of November and APO is very much in the air. This time of year always brings such wonderful produce and comforting treats from autumnal ingredients. The past few weeks I’ve been delighted by the exceptional brussels sprouts dishes on menus (usually with bacon, guanciale, or pancetta involved), the pumpkin beers on draught, the pumpkin caramel whoopie pies I baked a week ago, almost anything with cranberries or apples involved, and some stellar dishes involving chestnuts, chanterelle mushrooms, end of season figs, and Bartlett pears.

But, the streak had to end. Let’s just say I won’t be asking for another round of the pumpkin frozen yogurt I sampled today. The chalky consistency and harsh, almost bitter squash notes were not exactly pleasant, especially with a topping of dried fruit compote and (very acceptable soft) chocolate chip cookie crumbles. I’ve never been a vocal advocate for frozen yogurt like I frequently am with sorbet, gelato, and ice cream. Frozen yogurt certainly has its merits. At times, it can be spectacular, even at this certain purveyor.

Pumpkin frozen yogurt…we’ll stick to chocolate next Autumn.

Before heading into the final notes before the weekend, we again want to send our thoughts and best wishes to those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. The good folks at Eater National have put together a map of restaurants nationwide, from Bainbridge Island to D.C., who are sending proceeds from meals to the relief efforts for those affected by Sandy. Thank you to Eater for putting together the list and to all the restaurants taking part in the recovery, as we all hope to do whatever we can to help the hurricane hit areas re-build as quickly as possible.Continue reading “Plat du Jour: November 2, 2012: The Perfect Sandwich, The Not-So Perfect Restaurant Location, and Menu Terminology”

Cocktail of the Week: The “Emerald Monk,” Dosa on Fillmore, San Francisco

You’d be forgiven for ignoring the cocktail menu upon arriving at the spectacular, grand second outpost of the modernized Southern Indian inspired restaurant Dosa, on Fillmore between Japantown and Pacific Heights. It has to be at least twice the size of the cozy original on Valencia on the Mission. The lengthy food menu will mesmerize you for a good fifteen minutes. I’ll point you you towards the Chennai Chicken, the Dahi Vada lentil dumplings, and obviously, any dosa, for starters.

For now, focus on Dosa’s riveting “Spice Route” cocktail list. It’s possibly San Francisco’s most underrated and one of its most ambitious cocktail programs. Curiously, Dosa has a unique specialty in gin cocktails and barrel aged gin flights. Yes, this is the place to enjoy a Gimlet, albeit a “Bengali Gimlet” with curried nectar added. No, you don’t want the signature “Peony” cocktail unless you want a lassi with booze. Yes, it’s pink, but it’s no Cosmopolitan. I didn’t mind it. It’s just that a screeching sweet, thick, coconut milk based drink just doesn’t hit the spot like the rest of the menu. Have it at lunch. Then again, at least nine out of ten drinks crafted at the bar seemed to be the “Peony,” so it’s popular any time of day or night.

Seriously, the drink deserving the spotlight and the accolades is the “Emerald Monk.”

O.k., it’s not gin based, but we’ll more than survive. Served up in a chilled coupe, you first notice the mellow, slightly kiwi-syrupy nature of Green Chartreuse, balancing out Wodka Polish Rye Vodka. Some lime juice is added, then the flash of chili agave syrup. Continue reading “Cocktail of the Week: The “Emerald Monk,” Dosa on Fillmore, San Francisco”

Plat du Jour, November 1, 2012: Food and the November 6 Election

The election is now just five days away and the campaigns now intensify even more with the calendar having turned the corner to the month of November.

Foreign policy, the economy, balancing budgets, values, and individual rights are all of course taking their appropriate positions as the headline subjects the Presidential candidates are covering in the last days as they criss-cross the country’s “battleground” states.

How about food with the Presidential election? Well, we do know that President Obama loves Chicago style pizza (though rumor has it his favorite actually is from Pi in St. Louis) and he enjoys a Ray’s “Hell Burger,” a spot in Arlington, Virginia, from time to time. But we’re not voting on who prefers burgers to roasted chicken.

Food safety and the role of government in food safety inspections, along with deciding what we can eat in schools or purchase with food stamps are the more important food-centric subjects debated between Governor Romney and President Obama.Continue reading “Plat du Jour, November 1, 2012: Food and the November 6 Election”

Happy Halloween!

From your spooky friends at Trev’s Bistro, we wish you a most safe and happy Halloween!!! May it be full of wonderful cheer, costumes, and many tricks and treats.

So far, I’ve avoided the candy in favor of sampling more pumpkin ice creams, but a Snickers bar is staring me down from across the table.

Sorry Snickers, but in these parts, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups will always be the Halloween candy of choice until a candy with banana added to the dynamic chocolate and peanut butter comes to the candy store shelves. Kit-Kat, Crunch, and Twix all would tie for second with their excellent, consistent wafer-chocolate combination. For some reason I go for the candies without nuts despite my adoration for the chocolate covered macadamia nuts mentioned in the Smithsonian Magazine‘s look at regional candy favorites across the country.

Having lived in Ohio, I would love some of those buckeye candies shipped to me (much preferred to the local favorite It’s It).

What is the most frequently handed out candy this year for trick or treaters? Surprisingly, it’s Candy Corn.

We also want to send our best to those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast and we’d like to send you all packages of the magnificent Atlantic City saltwater taffy to help brighten your Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Urban Wineries? Yes, Just the Grapes Aren’t Urban

When you think of Wine Country, the rolling hills of Sonoma County, the chateaus of the Loire Valley countryside, and the (congested) floor of the Napa Valley come to mind where happy grapes grow for happy wine drinkers. There, visitors sample the eventual product of those aged and stomped grapes in the adjacent tasting rooms. This…this is the Wine Country.

An urban industrial neighborhood? Perhaps a fine location for a chic wine bar in a re-designed brick warehouse.

But, this is where the wines are made?

It’s happening now. Urban wineries are sprouting up everywhere across the country, from major cities near major wine growing regions, such as Seattle and San Francisco to cities not associated much with wine, such as Brooklyn, Dallas, and Cincinnati.

Breweries or even distilleries? Yes, we’ve had those for centuries in urban warehouses, from Anchor in San Francisco to Brooklyn Brewing Co., but not wine. Wine is for the pastoral countryside, to be grown, made, and sipped where the morning starts when the rooster crows and the evening concludes as the sun sets without neon lights turning on.

It’s now wine’s turn in the urban warehouse renovation trend, that in the previous decade included countless bars, restaurants, and start up ventures.Continue reading “Urban Wineries? Yes, Just the Grapes Aren’t Urban”

Tuesday’s Project: Pumpkin Caramel Whoopie Pies

On this Halloween Eve, the nation’s A.P.O. (Autumnal Pumpkin Obsession) reaches a fever pitch level. Pumpkin lattes with pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bagels covered with pumpkin cream cheese for lunch. Pumpkin bread with pumpkin sage soup then for lunch with a pumpkin smoothie from Jamba Juice. Then for dinner, perhaps a pork tenderloin with pumpkin gastrique, pumpkin cranberry stuffing, and for good measure, acorn squash with maple butter.

What?! Acorn squash? It’s not quite pumpkin…

Then to drink, of course pumpkin beer, or if you’re so inclined, a Manhattan variation with pumpkin liqueur. Let’s hope pumpkin wines don’t arrive in the footsteps of pineapple wine.

Pumpkin pie is très Thanksgiving and it’s not even Halloween for another few hours. Tomorrow you can eat all the Kit-Kats, Crunch bars, and Butterfingers for dessert you can handle without climbing up the walls from the increased levels of sugar in your system, so hold off a few hours for the candy spree.

But with A.P.O. in full swing, let’s enjoy this week’s project, a sensational autumnal whoopie pie recipe from the wonderful pastry chef of San Francisco restaurants Farallon and Waterbar and the newest weekly contributor to The San Francisco Chronicle, Emily Luchetti.

Whoopie pies are much more of a beloved East Coast dessert icon, often given many confusing descriptions as to what a whoopie pie really is. First of all, whoopie pie is not a pie. if you really want to be adventurous, go ahead and translate a whoopie pie into a pie, complete with crust. It certainly would be intriguing.Continue reading “Tuesday’s Project: Pumpkin Caramel Whoopie Pies”

Monday’s Neighborhood: Dogpatch, San Francisco

Last week we covered the ballpark district around San Francisco’s AT&T Park, where the baseball crowds, diners enjoying some of the city’s premier restaurants, start-up venture workers who occupy slivers of renovated warehouses with no heat, and computer programmers who fill airy loft office spaces mingle together for one of the country’s most dynamic neighborhoods of the present day.

Of course, what happens when the renovated neighborhood starts becoming too renovated, and drives those previously attractive rent prices up and space becomes a premium?

The same exact discover then renovate then become the latest “it” neighborhood cycle continues. That certainly is the case as you venture south on the MUNI 3rd Street street car line, leaving AT&T Park, traveling through the UCSF Mission Bay Campus’ new, shimmering buildings that make gritty China Basin’s old maritime based economy a distant, watery memory, and arrive in the Dogpatch.

Whether the Dogpatch becomes the “next” SoMa, influenced heavily by its neighboring tech-savvy neighborhood, or the Mission, its neighboring diverse and culturally focused neighborhood, remains to be seen. The Dogpatch is sandwiched between Potrero Hill and the I 280 viaduct to the west and the waterfront and its maritime warehouses to the east. While the east and west boundaries are very defined, it’s hard to say exactly where the Dogpatch starts and ends to the north and south. My estimate would be 18th St. to the north and Cesar Chavez St. to the south, roughly 10 blocks. Don’t call yours truly the official city zoning planner, though.

For such a small neighborhood, such lavish attention has been given to this latest neighborhood in vogue for San Francisco. Of course that would mostly be for its startling wealth of restaurants, food shops, and bars, being a neighborhood not much larger than perhaps a pirate’s eye patch.Continue reading “Monday’s Neighborhood: Dogpatch, San Francisco”

Plat du Jour October 29: Your 2012 World Champions

Matt Cain might not have thrown another perfect game in last night’s Game 4 of the World Series, but after ten innings, his San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series for the second time in three seasons.

How should we celebrate?

Giants Cocktails — Courtesy:
http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2012/10/25/the-perfect-cocktail/

Last week the bartenders at Hiro Sone’s outstanding Ame in San Francisco’s St. Regis Hotel started crafting this orange and black masterpiece, “The Perfect Cain.”Continue reading “Plat du Jour October 29: Your 2012 World Champions”