Restaurant Review: Amarena
So, a few nights ago Lisa and I went out for our non-Valentine's Day dinner to a beautiful romantic Italian restaurant in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco. Amarena (formerly Baldoria Restaurant) recently changed it's name due to some trademark disputes. However, the ownership is the same as it has been for a while (not that this matters to me since I had never been there; but in case you have).
Walking into the dimly lighted restaurant I noticed two thing: First off, the place was small, romantic and really made us feel like we were in a restaurante Italiano somewhere in Northern Italy. Secondly, the place was dead! Initially I am usually set off by any eatery that is completely dead at 7PM on a Thursday. But, since Valentine's Day was just a few days earlier, I knew it would be a slow restaurant night.
upon arrival we were seated in a cozy corner close to a window. Being that it was a rainy night it seemed appropriate to sip wine by candle light aver a few glasses of good Wine. As I am not versed in good wines and Lisa is, I asked her to choose something that caught her eye. She chose a really nice dry Sangiovese from (where else) Italy, and we ordered our food.
Upon arrival of the wine our waiter also left a basket of bread. Now I'm not one to waste my time talking about a basket of bread; but let me tell you, Holy Crap!!! It was a light, soft house baked wheat bread that came with a side of awesome, high-quality Olive Oil and balsamic Vinegar that could have been aged no less than 10 years; perfect! The appetizer we chose was a mozzarella Con Bruchetta which is basically toasted bread (same wheat bread) topped with diced fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil Chiffanade (sliced fresh basil) , mozzarella Fresca, and Sun-dried Tomatoes. Again, Holy crap! It's rare that a Bay Area restaurant allows the food to speak for itself as opposed to trying to over do it. This course was simple, well executed, and bursting with fresh flavors.
For our main course I chose Ravioli con Pollo (chicken ravioli) and Lisa had Tagliolini con Osso Bucco (veal shank and fettuccini in a rich Porcini mushroom sauce). Both dishes arrived in relatively expected intervals; the food took long enough to know they were putting care into it but not too long as to be looking at your watch. Both entrees consisted of well prepared, fresh ingredients that spoke volumes of the chef's passion for flavor.
I loved every aspect of the Amerana experience. All said and done, the check was still well under $100 (before tip). Although this might seem like a lot to many of you, this was some of the best food that I have ever had in an area where you can easily pay $50 a plate for food of much less caliber.
Walking into the dimly lighted restaurant I noticed two thing: First off, the place was small, romantic and really made us feel like we were in a restaurante Italiano somewhere in Northern Italy. Secondly, the place was dead! Initially I am usually set off by any eatery that is completely dead at 7PM on a Thursday. But, since Valentine's Day was just a few days earlier, I knew it would be a slow restaurant night.
upon arrival we were seated in a cozy corner close to a window. Being that it was a rainy night it seemed appropriate to sip wine by candle light aver a few glasses of good Wine. As I am not versed in good wines and Lisa is, I asked her to choose something that caught her eye. She chose a really nice dry Sangiovese from (where else) Italy, and we ordered our food.
Upon arrival of the wine our waiter also left a basket of bread. Now I'm not one to waste my time talking about a basket of bread; but let me tell you, Holy Crap!!! It was a light, soft house baked wheat bread that came with a side of awesome, high-quality Olive Oil and balsamic Vinegar that could have been aged no less than 10 years; perfect! The appetizer we chose was a mozzarella Con Bruchetta which is basically toasted bread (same wheat bread) topped with diced fresh heirloom tomatoes, basil Chiffanade (sliced fresh basil) , mozzarella Fresca, and Sun-dried Tomatoes. Again, Holy crap! It's rare that a Bay Area restaurant allows the food to speak for itself as opposed to trying to over do it. This course was simple, well executed, and bursting with fresh flavors.
For our main course I chose Ravioli con Pollo (chicken ravioli) and Lisa had Tagliolini con Osso Bucco (veal shank and fettuccini in a rich Porcini mushroom sauce). Both dishes arrived in relatively expected intervals; the food took long enough to know they were putting care into it but not too long as to be looking at your watch. Both entrees consisted of well prepared, fresh ingredients that spoke volumes of the chef's passion for flavor.
I loved every aspect of the Amerana experience. All said and done, the check was still well under $100 (before tip). Although this might seem like a lot to many of you, this was some of the best food that I have ever had in an area where you can easily pay $50 a plate for food of much less caliber.
posted by Mike | 11:17 AM
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