Last Friday night, C & I found ourselves famished after a record release party we attended. Normally, this would be cause to haul ourselves to Globe. Instead, we headed to Ola Fendert's new venture, Oola.
There have been plenty of reviews of this place - the general consensus seems to be that there are some fantastic winners on the menu, but that there are some inconsistencies, too. That, of course, is my impetus to wait a couple of months before trying any new place, and I'm usually willing to forego "scoop" for "stable".
C had a Blood Orange Margarita to start, which he really enjoyed, but was a bit too tart & pungent for my tastes. I had ordered a glass of Columbo Viognier "Les Violettes" '03, but hardly took a sip as we'd had a couple of martinis at the party, and really just needed to rehydrate.
Of course, after all the hype, we had to order the Baby Back Ribs ($10/$18) in the large portion. These were absolutely amazing - they are glazed with cilantro, ginger & soy and the meat literally falls off the bone.
We also ordered an appetizer portion of the Chicken & Foie Gras Ravioli ($10/$18) which was drizzled generously with truffle oil and roasted chicken stock. These, again, we absolutely delicious. The pasta had a perfectly toothsome texture, and the flavor of the foie gras, while slightly subdued, was really well-paired with the chicken and roasted stock. We shamelessly sopped up the bowl with the lovely bread provided.
C ordered the Creek Stone Farms Hamburger ($10) and upgraded to truffle parmesan fries. This was the only dish we thought missed the mark - the meat was simply too lean to make a properly flavorful & juicy burger. The fries, however, were amazing - crisp outside, tender inside, dusted with enough parmesan to hold a few of them together, and more of that pungent truffle oil.
Finally, I ordered the Oven-dried Tomato Tart with Onion Jam & Goat Cheese ($10). The flavors in this dish were really amazing - rich, luscious tomatoes paired with sweet onions and tart goat cheese... I loved that Ola didn't try to use fresh tomatoes while they are out of season. The crust was too chewy and even hard to cut through, an unfortunate thing because it had a lovely, buttery flavor.
For dessert we shared an order of Coconut Creme Caramel ($7) and enjoyed it. However, it really was much denser than creme caramel should be, and the almond macaroon it was served on suffered from the same overly-chewy affliction that my tart pastry did. Regardless, the flavor of the custard was wonderful and rich, and we enjoyed it.
Service throughout was warm and friendly, and the space is really beautiful. I've heard people complain about it being too loud, but these two loft-dwellers didn't find the noise level daunting.
Overall, I'd say that Oola is a fantastic and welcome addition to San Francisco's depressing late-night dining (non)scene.
