Hayes Street Grill

Last night after the show, we sauntered over to the venerable old Hayes Street Grill for dinner. We arrived a little early for our 7:45 reservation, so Steve and I went to a nearby Wine Tasting room for a quick sip. Fortunately,  I forgot the name, maybe Allegro, it was next to Absinthe, but we tested four or five different selections, and they were all completely undrinkable. I paid up and left a full glass of some wretched pinot noir on the counter.

It was a short walk to our intended destination. Leslie and I had eaten there several years prior and had an okay meal. Last night was really good. Steve and I met our friends Gary and Melissa, my food mates from last week's adventure at Baywolf.

Hayes St. has been around for over 30 years and I believe a lot of the current staff has been there for the duration. I am not going to wax poetic, because I am supposed to be working and not blogging, so I will just give you a quick run down on the dinner.

I started out with a  Hoffman quail and pear salad in a light vinaigrette.  The salad was good but the flavor of the quail was a bit gamier than usual. Good crusty bread. My entree was Ft. Bragg Petrale Sole with Green Garlic, King Trumpet Mushrooms and New Potatoes. Good but the sole was a tad mushy. The rest of the table had other fish entrees as well as some outrageous fries cooked in duck fat. Drank a very nice bottle of Mendellsohn Pinot Noir. Tried to order another and they were out so I asked for a Bartok. We eventually followed up with a not so good bottle of Morgan Pinot Noir. Melissa had the superb grilled sardines as an appetizer and an entree of Grilled Miso Marinated Bolinas Black Cod with Shitakes, Squash, Japanese Salad & Rice. Steve had Skate. Gary had Hawaiian Ono.

The table had a few desserts which I was too full to sample. I was probably typically loud and obnoxious. Great tall waiter who was kind enough to laugh at my jokes.

The dinner was great, I give it a nine. Hard to be critical sometimes when the company is so good and everybody is having such a great time. We retired over to Dave Jacob's pad for a buzzy nightcap. A great topper and a wonderful evening.

Went to the doughnut store this morning. Had an outrageous caramel number with fleur de sal. Got a tip on a great ice cream outlet up here that I need to check out, Bi-Rite Creamery. No reason not to face the depression with a smile on my face.