Last night, C & I tried Winterland Restaurant.
The entry into the restaurant is a large but sexy lounge, with orange ottomans, steel art fixtures and bright red walls. The restaurant tables are to the right, with maybe 60 or 70 seats. We were seated promptly, but it took about 10 minutes to get our waiter's attention.
We each ordered a glass of Gruet Blanc de Noirs ($7), which is a lovely sparkling wine. I was kind of put off when our waiter pointedly "corrected" my pronunciation (Groo-ay) and said, "OK, two glasses of the Groo-ett, then?" (He would commit the same faux pas again, when I ordered a bottle of '01 Domaine Joblot Givry ($55) and he would "correct" me to Give-ree.)
As we turned our attention to the menu, C & I both felt that the typeface used made it really hard to read... despite that, the offerings were intriguing, and we settled on a few choices. Our waiter was quite helpful when I was torn between a few dishes, and didn't automatically recommend the most expensive dish.
We were brought an amuse-bouche of Beet Gelee with Golden Beet Puree & Goat Cheese, which we found delightful. First, Winterland is not the type of place you expect amuses and mignardises, but we got both. Second, the flavors were just strong enough to intrigue, without being too overwhelming so early in the meal. The texture of the gelee was softer than I'm used to, in a nice way.
Next, we shared a bowl of Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Confit Duck and Poached Quail Egg ($8). I watched as our waiter picked up the pitcher and bowls, and headed to our table only to see our empty amuse dishes still in front of us. He found another staffer to clear those dishes, and he first set one bowl in front of C, and another in front of me - at that point, he realized that only one bowl was prepped with the confit/egg/pear that the soup should be poured over, so he said, "Do you guys just want to eat out of one bowl?" Well, yes, we did, but we didn't like the awkward way it was presented as a "non-option".
The soup itself was fabulous - it's amazing to me how Chef Morales is able to take what are normally very strong, overpowering flavors and make them somehow more subtle - the smoky confit, along with the egg and diced bits of pear were a stellar partner to the delicate soup.
Having just barely finished our soup, our next dishes were brought out. C's Poached Organic Egg in Asparagus Broth, Bacon Ice Cream & Parmegiano Reggiano ($9) was startling - the broth was topped with asparagus foam, and the ice cream was simply delicious. A beautiful pairing of traditional flavors with the most unusual textures.
My Skate Wing Roasted with Hazelnuts, Brown Butter Sauce & Spring Mix Salad ($12) was my single favorite dish of the night. Skate is notoriously easy to overcook, and I've never had a piece so moist and delicate. The sauce was delectable, and the small kumquat peels filled with kumquat gelee were amazing with the fish & sauce. The salad was dressed with hazelnut oil, and made a lovely compliment to the fish (even if the single slice of small sour pickle on top made me scratch my head... Perhaps my palate just isn't refined enough?).
We had a bit of a wait before our mains, and inexplicably, our wine glasses went unfilled for a full 10 minutes - yes, I know we could have filled them ourselves, but I was curious as to how long it would take. They were finally refilled when we were brought our steak knives. Along the same vein, our water glasses were not refilled even once all night.
C's Seared Aged Black Angus Rib Eye with Jamon Serrano, Potato Terrine, Spring Vegetables, Red Wine Sauce ($28) was good enough, though I think that it was lacking flavor. To me, the beauty of a rib-eye steak is its marbling and fat - I wonder if cooking it sous vide as Chef Morales is supposedly very fond of drives that flavor out of the meat? It was inordinately tender, but hardly tasted like filet, let alone aged ribeye. The potato terrine seemed dry to me - there was no fat holding it together; pairing it with the roasted red peppers brought it to life, but on its own was lackluster.
My Lamb Loin Baked with Pistachio & Lemon, Black Trumpets, Artichokes & Eucalyptus Jus ($29) was more successful. The pistachio crust was amazing, and the presentation of the dish was ridiculously beautiful - Chef Morales used artichoke to replicate frenched rack bones, and it took me totally by surprise. The eucalyptus paired with the artichokes was a total success. I think my only wish of this dish was that there was something a little off-sweet on the plate - everything was so tannic and acidic that it would have been nice to balance it with something with a hint of sugar.
By this point, we were trying to decide whether to stay for dessert, and the Coconut Tapioca with Mango & Brulee ($8) called our name. At the same time, I asked if it would be possible to get just a small taste of the Olive Oil Ice Cream I'd heard about (and which was on the menu as part of a larger dessert).
The tapioca dessert was a hit - coconut foam atop pearly tapioca pudding, atop sweet, diced mango. Really lovely. However, instead of a small taste of ice cream, I was brought three medium-size scoops... It seemed a sweet gesture at first, but the ice cream was so rich that it was impossible to eat more than one of the scoops.
Finally, were were brought a little dish of mignardises - a passion fruit pate de fruit which was the best I've had in the Bay Area, a pralined macadamia nut which was also delicious, and a mediocre biscuit that was so eggy I couldn't taste anything else. Coffee was French Press ($5) , and exceptionally good.
When the check came, and we were charged nearly as much for my ice cream as C's full dessert, I was floored. That $6 charge made me feel "ripped off" - really, such a shameful way to handle a small request on a $200 bill. Then, when I handed the waiter our valet ticket to have the car brought around, he said, "Oh, well you should have given this to me so I could put it on your check. So, you'll have to pay cash for this - it's $8."
I really wanted to love Winterland... and, the truth is, I did like it a lot. I know that it's only been open a month, and so I expect the snafus like dishes not having been cleared by the time the next dish is on the pass... but I don't expect my wine and water glasses to go unfilled, and I don't expect my waiter to be a young snot - the days of dot-com San Francisco dining establishment snobbery are long passed.
Would we go back? Sure. But we'd need to wait several months and hear some additional reports about service improvements. I wish Chef Morales all the luck with this venture - his restaurant Salt (in Philadelphia) was amongst the most well-regarded in that city.
Winterland Restaurant
2101 Sutter St., at Steiner
415.563.5025
Starters, $8 - 15, Entrees, $19 - 29, Desserts, $6-9
Corkage, $15
Valet, $8
