Sweet and Sour Spectator

The room surprised me; it is long and narrow, with a few tables near the street, and a few more in the back. I didn’t count, but I’d say there were almost as many seats at the bar, as there are at tables. Most of the folks at the bar were couples, which was refreshing. I took a seat down close to the cook stations so I could see what was going on.

To start, I ordered a glass of the Prosecco Drosian and got to work. I started with the Octopus Salad from the cold small plates menu. Since the waiter was busy when the dish came up, the cook looked at the ticket, and then looked at me, and the served the dish. This is a good sign of everyone in the place working together; plus the cook was also obviously proud of his work and wanted to show it off.

It arrives warm on an oval plate dusted with herbs. The dish consists of thinly sliced potatoes, octopus, and celery with olive oil, coarse-grained sea salt, and perhaps a drizzle of vinegar. When something is good (and this was good) I try to figure out what the secret is. First, was the texture; having everything sliced a similar thickness, but each having a different texture was really interesting – it was like a taste exploration as you lifted up each fork full of food. The celery stood out in the dish providing a grassy counterpoint, and bringing to mind that celery is regarded as one of the basic aromatic vegetables in classic French cooking. And finally, the coarse salt hit the spot. Because there were big crystals, the occasional bite would release a pleasurable burst of saltiness that merged with the octopus, potato and celery just right.

Next came the Swordfish Rolls. These are thin fillets (palliards?) of swordfish rolled around a stuffing of seasoned breadcrumbs and red currants. It is easy to cook such things too long, but these were done to perfection, almost creamy in texture. I suspect they were poached. The dish was dressed with slices of spicy green olives a big handful of sautéed capers, olive oil and perhaps some shaved fennel. This was another good dish. The tartness of the olives and capers provided a nice contrast to the creamy fish. Two dishes, two winners.

The last entrée was the Grilled Sardines (plus another glass of the prosecco: it was amazing how well the sparkling wine went with the bright flavors of the dishes). This dish was a lot more than just sardines. There were two savory grilled sardines in the middle of the plate (another oval one), but there were also Manila Clams, a small (lentil-sized) wheat ball pasta with a made up name which I forget, and a dressing of olive oil and tomato sauce. I thought this dish was a bit heavy on the salt, but it also provided a good assembly of textures and tastes. It wasn’t my favorite of the trio, but I wouldn’t steer anyone away from it, either.

All in all, a fine place. I love seafood, but I have never had a meal from the ocean so artfully and creatively prepared. Some people have said that Pesce is the seafood restaurant that San Francisco has been waiting for. I’d say it is more than that. The dishes are delicious, plus they are creative. The food at Pesce delights the mind as well as the palate.

For dessert, I had a cappuccino and several biscotti, which make the meal an even better deal.

The cappuccino was only adequate, which proves that you can have poor, mediocre, and great execution in almost all areas of food. However, the biscotti, which are imported from Italy, were truly outstanding.

Pesce also serves a Venitian dessert drink, sgroppino. This is cool, smooth, refreshing and worth a visit to Pesce all by itself. It’s made from prosecco, vodka and lemon sorbetto and it is absolutely scrumptious.

(This report is from a visit to Pesce in April, 2003)

Pesce
2227 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109-1815
(415) 928-8025