Another Hyde Street Gem: Stone's Throw

Russian Hill's Hyde Street stretch is one of my favorite parts of the city. Aesthetically, it's a beautiful street lined with trees and San Francisco Victorian-style building, with the cable car chugging down the main strip. Even though it's only a couple blocks up from Polk Street, it's avoids the Marina spill-over bar scene by sticking with wine bars, cozy brunch spots and steadfast restaurants that avoid becoming over-hyped. It's home to some of my favorites in the city, including Elephant Sushi and Zarzuela. Continuing it's trend of working it's way into my heart (and stomach), Stone's Throw opened in November on Hyde and Green.

The restaurant is smaller in terms of available seating. We had a 6:45 reservation but tables weren't leaving at the rate expected, so we ended up standing at the bar for 35 minutes. However, the host was extremely cognizant of the situation. After 10-15 minutes he brought over some complimentary sparkling wine. After 20 minutes, we were starving so we put in a small plate order, which was also comped. Issues like this happen in restaurants all the time, so to know that they cared and were working on a solution put us in a good mood on what could have otherwise lessened our entire meal experience. While we were waiting, I did order the Tai One On cocktail, which was reminiscent of a French 75, tart with just the right about of bubbly. For the small plate we ordered the puffed potato & eggs, served atop cauliflower puree, chives and crispy chicken skin. The chicken skin almost tastes like bacon, so it's no surprise this dish also appears on the brunch menu.

When we got seated we order some wine after requesting recommendations from the server, who was very helpful. We ordered pretty much every small plate on the menu. My favorite after the potatoes was the salt roasted beets with burrata, lemon and crackers. I hadn't had beets served with a citrus twist before and it really complemented the sweetness of the beets. The Dungeness crab salad with artichoke chips, garlic cream and anchovies was surprisingly flavorful. The duck pate and mousse was a pleasant surprised. The pate and mousse were layer and it was server with warm pretzel balls, so the pate melted right on like butter. The starter plate we ordered (not to be confused with the "small" plates) was the squid ink pasta and was my favorite dish of the night. It was well balanced and even though the dish included calamari, clams and capers it wasn't overwhelmingly seafood tasting. My second favorite dish of the night was actually their burger. It comes with all the fixings and thick layer of cheddar cheese. The end result is that it basically melts in your mouth the second you bite in. If you're a burger fan, this is not one to miss. I wouldn't be surprised if it starts popping up on "Best Burger in SF" lists in the future (along with the totally under the radar burger from Bistro AIX). The burger comes with stuffed tater tots, which are amazing. We also ordered a ravioli main dish which looks like it's not longer featured on the menu, which is fine because it was under-whelming and forgettable (I think it was pumpkin or chestnut maybe?). We didn't end up ordering any dessert as we were way too full by this point but I adore their concept behind the dessert menu. All patrons are asked to fill out a piece of paper at the end of the meal with their favorite childhood dessert. If the chef feels inspired by your suggestion, an upscale, modernized version could appear on the menu. Current desserts include chocolate bananas foster, apple pie and peanut butter and jelly donuts.

Overall the meal was pretty affordable if you're following the "sharing is caring" philosophy. We ordered about half the menu plus several glasses of wine and didn't feel bad when we say the check. I'm adding Stone's Throw to my list of favorite neighborhood spots and can't wait to go back any see what kind of spin they take on brunch.

Spanish in San Francisco

Last week my best friend since I was two came to visit San Francisco for the first time. This of course puts the pressure on me to pick the perfect restuarant, which is hard to do in a city filled with amazing food. I opted for Zarzuela, a Spanish tapas restaurant on Hyde, toeing the line between Russian and Nob Hill. This ending up being the perfect choice. The neighborhood is cute, the restaurant is cozy and warm, the food was authentic and amazing and the service was charming.

The restaurant is so warm and inviting. There's a front room, so it looks like a smaller establishment but there's more seating in the back. We got a nice corner table and promptly ordered a bottle of cava (when in "Spain). They bring the cava out to your table with a bucket of ice so it stays perfectly chilled the entire time. From our waiter, I learned that cava served at the perfect temperature will only have bubble near the top of the glass. Now to the food, oh the glorious food. I spent a week in Madrid a couple years ago and this is the best Spanish-style tapas I've had since. We got so many small plates and each seemed better than the next. We sampled the mejillones al zazfran, which are mussles sauteed in white wine, garlic, tomatoes, onions and saffron. We got a side of one of my favorite traditional tapas dishes, patatas bravas, which is basically chopped, fried potatoes with spicy tomato dip (ala french fries Spanish style). When at a Spanish restaurant, you have to get paella, which is Spanish style rice with a medley of seafood, chicken and vegetables, flavored with saffron. Another dish that was one of my favorites in Madrid is the chicken and ham croquettes. These delicious fried rolls and filled with meat and cheese, a combination that rarely goes wrong. We also got the braised quail (because clearly we had not ordered enough already), which was juicy and well cooked, but didn't have many memorable flavors.

The service was really what made the evening memorable. Our server was actually Spanish and very charming. He was knowledgeable about all of the food and wine. He was always there to fill out glasses when they got low and lead a toast. At one point in the evening, he knew man dining at the restaurant and burst out singing this beautiful song from Spain. My friend actually speaks fluent Spanish, so they got to chit chat for a bit in his native tongue. The prices are pretty good too, the bill only gets high because you want to try everything on the menu! I will definitely eat here again and recommend this place to any tapas lovers.