On Friday, Katt and I went to Flour + Water for dinner. It's at the corner of 20th and Harrison, right across the street from Cafe Gratitude. My friend Jen had taken me there a few months ago and we had a spectacular meal and I wanted to go again. Katt had never been and wanted to try it out as well. So on Friday, we made the quick drive over and waited for a table.
One of the things I like about Flour + Water is that they only have a portion of their tables available for reservation. That way you can always eat there if you're willing to wait. When I went with Jen, the wait was about 45 minutes. This time it was 90-100 minutes. Kind of long, but I kept telling Katt it was worth it.
In the spirit of the dinner, I will take this time to explain a little bit more about Flour + Water. The chef has worked at La Folie, Gary Danko, and Quince and also in Germany and France. To say that he knows his stuff is quite the understatement. The restaurant opened last year and won the SF Weekly's Best New Restaurant award and also made it on Michael Bauer's top 100 restaurants in the bay area.
We got two seats at the bar which is as nice a spot as any. The acoustics in the room are actually pretty good and it never got TOO loud, but I also didn't think that anyone else would be able to listen in on my conversation.
Katt and I ordered food to share:
- Alaskan hailbut cheek with marinated artichokes, spring onion, watercress, and capers
- Asparagus, roasted and raw with duck prosciutto and mixed greens
- Emilia Romagna pizza - mortadella, melted leeks, parmigiano, and ramp pesto
- Tacconi verde with fennel, lemon verbena and prosecco braised mussels and clams
- Macerated strawberries with fromage blanc, pistachio black pepper tuile (essentially a cracker) and aged balsamic - for dessert
When I came with Jen, I don't remember everything we ordered, but I think we also got the halibut cheek, but also ordered the minted papardelle with braised lamb and taggiasca olives.
The halibut cheek was good although I did not like pairing with the watercress. I found the watercress to overpower the halibut, but everything else on the plate worked really well together. Plus the bartender recommended a Marisa Cuomo Ravello that complemented everything we ordered.
The asparagus and duck prosciutto was spectacular. I had never even heard of duck prosciutto before, but it was very delicate and tasty. Mmmmmm. I want more.
The pizza we had was good and *definitely* tasty. But here's the thing, a lot of places do the neapolitan style pizza thing and they do it really well. Flour + Water's pizza is really good, but it doesn't distinguish itself from Gialina's or Beretta's pizza. I've never been to Delfina, so I can't make a good comparison there.
BUT THE PASTA...
Oh my freaking lord, this is by far the best pasta I have ever had. I still remember the taste of the pasta I had with Jen (the papardelle with braised lamb). The tacconi (which was like a more delicate papardelle) with clams and mussels blew my mind. The only way I can describe the pasta here is "sexy". I seriously felt a little weak in the knees with each bite of the pasta. It is amazingly delicious - all of the flavors mix together perfectly. Words cannot do it justice.
After a description like that, how can I even talk about dessert. Well there's always room for dessert. Dessert was strawberries with cheese and these very delicate pistachio and pepper cracker-type cookies. When the cracker was eaten first, I could taste the blend of pistachio and strawberry in perfect harmony with each other. When I had the strawberry first, I lost the pistachio - it got totally overwhelmed. Either way, it was a terrific end to the meal.
My recommendation to you is to go to Flour + Water with one or two friends. Be prepared to wait (you can have a couple glasses of wine). When you order, pass on the pizza. Do a couple appetizers and then at least two pastas. I wouldn't come here with more than a total of three people in your party unless you have reservations.
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