Zuni Cafe
1658 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.552.2522
Zuni Cafe is one of those "must" dine at restaurants in San Francisco. It is always packed (reservations a must for dinner and a good idea for lunch). The food is fresh and generally well-prepared (although I have had an over-cooked pasta before), the space is interesting covering two floors in a triangular-shaped building, there are always a few vegetarian choices and the homemade bread is wonderful - so much so that it's one of the rare places where I eat the bread.
I've eaten there several times for dinner - one complaint would be that it is noisy - but made it for lunch this week. The lunch menu is a little lighter, but stays true to the fresh ingredients that are well-prepared ...and there is the bread. The bread is a homemade peasant-style bread. It's crusty, but chewy on the inside.
For starters, I had the wild arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, mint, walnuts and sheep's milk ricotta (above). What I liked about this salad is that the ricotta and pomegranate seeds could have easily been lost in the dish, but they added plenty of both so that the flavor was in every bite.
Polenta is sort of a fancy word for cornmeal, but I like it anyway on a crisp winter day, especially with a cool dollop of mascarpone (above). The texture was good - like a firm porridge.
The tagliatelle with chanterelles, nettles and pistachio picada benefited from the homemade noodles. The flavors of the main ingredients were a bit overwhelmed by butter, but it was still enjoyable and worth ordering again.
Parking can be a bit difficult in the evenings here, but valet parking is available for $10. Any nearby lots are the same price.
1658 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.552.2522
Zuni Cafe is one of those "must" dine at restaurants in San Francisco. It is always packed (reservations a must for dinner and a good idea for lunch). The food is fresh and generally well-prepared (although I have had an over-cooked pasta before), the space is interesting covering two floors in a triangular-shaped building, there are always a few vegetarian choices and the homemade bread is wonderful - so much so that it's one of the rare places where I eat the bread.
I've eaten there several times for dinner - one complaint would be that it is noisy - but made it for lunch this week. The lunch menu is a little lighter, but stays true to the fresh ingredients that are well-prepared ...and there is the bread. The bread is a homemade peasant-style bread. It's crusty, but chewy on the inside.
For starters, I had the wild arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, mint, walnuts and sheep's milk ricotta (above). What I liked about this salad is that the ricotta and pomegranate seeds could have easily been lost in the dish, but they added plenty of both so that the flavor was in every bite.
Polenta is sort of a fancy word for cornmeal, but I like it anyway on a crisp winter day, especially with a cool dollop of mascarpone (above). The texture was good - like a firm porridge.
The tagliatelle with chanterelles, nettles and pistachio picada benefited from the homemade noodles. The flavors of the main ingredients were a bit overwhelmed by butter, but it was still enjoyable and worth ordering again.
Parking can be a bit difficult in the evenings here, but valet parking is available for $10. Any nearby lots are the same price.
