Acquerello Review

Yin and I went to Acquerello. The food was quite good. I'd even say excellent. But no one thing really blew me away.
Me:

• grilled sardines with trio of eggplant (the pickled eggplant was amazing)
• lobster ravioli (very rich. good, but not spectacular)
• pork chop with nectarines and polenta (the pork chop was cooked perfectly, as in not overcooked, and the nectarines and polenta were a great compliment to it)
• caramel semifreddo (this was probably our favorite part; subtle and fantastic)
• glass of 2006 pinot nero. Excellent. Light and dry.

Yin

• figs wrapped with duck prosciutto accompanied with a different type of prosciutto and a rather large piece of foie gras (excellent all around)
  
• penne with a foie gras, black truffle and butter sauce (this was, unfortunately, way too buttery for Yin though she did eat some of it and said it was quite good. I hate black truffles but I had a taste and even for me I'd say the butter content was almost excessive)
• fresh pasta with a veal ragu sauce (excellent, the ragu wasn't rich at all but was excellent, so it was perfect for Yin after the previous dish)
• my dessert (dammit!)

4 solid stars for food. Almost 4.5. Amazing wine list, especially for the Italian wines. Though we only had one glass.

The service was good, but not spectacular. They brought Yin's veal ragu out with cheese grated on top when we had made it clear to not do that. They didn't blink however and quickly substituted with a fresh one with apologies. Everyone was nice, and they did the regular "fancy restaurant service" stuff like serving both our respective dishes at the same time witha 1 waiter per dish and laying our napkins on our laps for us (actually, I did that myself, I find that silly). They even offered Yin the choice of a black napkin to match her skirt. Also, like at Gary Danko, at the end of the meal they gave Yin a sack of chocolates "for the lady." Kind of sexist... where the fuck are my chocolates?

But after the service at Gary Danko's, really this seemed only like 3.5 star service. No valet parking which is kind of surprising. Street parking was doable but not great and there is a parking lot across the street. But being in the Tenderloin they really should have valet.

Decor was nice, if reserved. The room was quiet, though it was pretty empty being a Wednesday night. No view or anything... no windows in fact. 4 stars.

Overall, I'd give it a solid 4 stars. It was a very nice experience and I'm glad we went there for our 2 year anniversary. But, for the price I think I'd go to Gary Danko next time... though there are other places I want to try!