Short Reviews: Absinthe, Aperto, Azie

About a year and a half ago, when I realized that I had eaten in more than 100 San Francisco restaurants, I started a project of writing up a series of short reviews. Unfortunately, the project stalled about six months later, after about 50 reviews. However, this Blog gives me a chance to finish in style. But first, I'll start over in order to remove the reviews of the defunct, and to fix a few mistakes I made last time.

Absinthe - Great atmosphere, I am always expecting to see Oscar Wilde and Lord Douglas sitting together in a corner booth. Very creative wine list with a good selection of half-bottles. (One night, I found a 1/2 btl of '01 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf-du-Pape). Fries are good, Coq au Vin is good, and Seafood appetizers are a plus. Good, friendly staff. Highly recommended.

Aperto - Small and pleasant Italian café in Potrero Hill; now overshadowed by Chez Papa and his relatives. But, I ate there and had a good salad and pasta. If this restaurant were in my neighborhood, I'd be happy. Recommended.

Azie - Exquisite industrial/Asian space. Creative menu was once one of the very best in the city. I had an excellent meal here with a heirloom tomato salad, and Steamed Fish with baby bok choy, Thai chili, and scallions in Black Bean sauce, served with Jasmine rice. You can still get excellent food here, but the signs of decay seem obvious. Neither of my entrees is still on the menu. The once renowned butter-poached lobster was replaced by olive-oil poached lobster and now the lobster is gone altogether. Plus, the kitchen now closes at 9:30 on weeknights! Recommended w/downhill watch.