Dinner at Zuni Café

Tuesday night was ME and my anniversary (no. 2) so we took each other to our favorite restaurant in San Francisco, Zuni Café. Zuni is not the French Laundry (nothing is like the French Laundry) but it’s the most consistent, high quality, low stress, always a good time restaurant in the city. The food is spectacular and you get a very large “bang for your buck!” Zuni always makes me feel happy. I can come here off the street and order at the bar tables, just a Margarita and shoestring potatoes. Boom. Instant happy.


I always like to start my Zuni experience with this.
A plate of Oysters and a Margarita. Truth be told, I could stop right there. The Oyster selection on this night was vast and fresh, so I tried 6 from the Pacific Northwest that I have not had the chance to sample.

The three big winners tonight… (insert drum roll here) Effingham, Skookam, and Cortes Island. It is with oysters that I believe we Americans get to truly discover terrior. That elusive French term that describes tasting the region, the environment, the very soil that spawned that tasty morsel which pleases you so. Oysters really do taste of terroir. Sometimes sweet, sometimes briny, and in the case of the Cortes, the taste of the actual land that must undoubtedly meet the sea at the point where this little gem was pulled. The Skookam was the sweetest of the half dozen, not sugar sweet, but creamy sweet. The Effingham was very meaty and had more of a grassy scent and taste. (I hope I’m remembering the names and which tastes they went with. You see, I wasn’t actually taking notes, even though we were snapping pictures all through the meal. Doesn’t everybody?) Suffice it to say, when at Zuni, get some oysters.


Mary Ellen had the ceasar. When she ordered it our waiter said something that sounded a bit like a warning. Something about anchovies and a raw egg. Yes, yes, for god’s sake. We are not afraid of a little raw egg. Besides Zuni is one of the only places you’re likely to get a real Caesar, and that means the egg. Creamy light refreshing, with a generous scraping of parmigiano reggiano. Fab-u-lous.



Now the main event. I had a mock-Porchetta. Also a glass of Grenache. Lovely tender pork, generously herbed, with spinach and light soft pinto beans that were obviously cooked in some of that pork fat. Phat. Hmmmm pork fat. The meat was not overcooked, but moist. Yes, hard as it may seem, but it was juicy with flavor. This is the thing about Zuni. The menu changes daily, but it is always fabulous. Comfort food at the highest level. And the service is flawless.
Once I was with a friend of mine who is vegan. (Yes I know. It’s very hard for me to type that word, for I shall never speak it!) No problem. The kitchen made up a plate of pasta that was, I have to say, mind bogglingly spectacular. I ate a good fourth of his plate before being beaten off with a fork. Hey I did offer him some rabbit. Oh well.


Mary Ellen had spaghetti. Not just any spaghetti. Fresh hand made whole wheat (not gritty) with some fresh tomatoes (not a lake of Ragu) bacon and 30 year old balsamic vinegar. It bears repeating, 30 year old. Nuf said.






Next, a little dessert. A pear-frangipane with house made vanilla bean ice cream. It’s pear season, and boy is it. Flaky down home pastry covering I don’t know what kind of pears, but we were very happy, because next came……





Abbaye de Belloc, a French sheep’s milk cheese paired with a conserve of green figs. Zuni’s cheese pairings are one of the main reasons I go …. and go and go. I’m not even going to describe this one. You must go and try for yourself. Tell them the lunatic with the camera sent you. On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t. But you should certainly go.