Dish on Dining: Jardinière

300 Grove St. (at Franklin), San Francisco
Civic Center
Open for dinner nightly
Related
www.jardiniere.com
In today’s economy, restaurants are doing a variety of promotions to fill their dining rooms. Who am I to pass up a good deal? One of the more interesting specials come from Jardinière, the flagship restaurant of celebrated Chef Traci Des Jardins (a James Beard award and Iron Chef America winner).
Jardinière has been a mainstay for fine French dining in the city for years, and its close proximity to the Opera House make it a popular spot for the opera-ballet-symphony crowd. In recent years, Des Jardins has implemented new formats to keep things fresh, including the casual J Lounge downstairs. And last month, she introduced a Monday, three-course prix fixe dinner with wine pairings for $45 (before tax and tip).

It’s been a few years since I’ve dined at Jardinière, but the overall vibe despite the revamped downstairs still screams out luxury. The large bar still is the central focus of the room, even when dining upstairs in the main dining room.
NOTE: When trying Jardinière’s Monday night dinners, you can only order the prix fixe menu. The regular menu is not available as an alternative. In a way, it’s a smart business formula because – for one night – the kitchen can control the ordering of food because they already know what the diners will order. They just don’t know how many will show up.
Foodhoe and I got there early for dinner and by the time we left, the restaurant filled up with other Monday night diners. So it’s a sign that the Monday night themed dinners seem to be sparking a lot of interest.

The wine was nice and bright, which in a way made the soup seem light. The soup was an intense tomato soup with a really enjoyable bread in the center. I enjoyed the bread a lot because it was toasted, giving a nice contrasting crunchy texture to the soup, almost like a big crouton. But because it was sitting in the soup, it was also slightly softened.
The only oddity about the soup was the clump of green vegetables on top. I couldn’t figure out what it was; it looked a lot like spinach. But it had a strong almost bitter flavor, which did not blend well with the overall flavor of the soup. So it really seemed out of sync and probably would do the soup service by being left off entirely.

Unlike the soup with the odd green component, I thought everything on the pig plate complemented and even played off each other. The tender and fatty pig was cut by the vinegary shaved fennel salad, and seemed bigger in serving size with the sausage stuffing. The side farro salad with braised greens and topping of salsa verde were substantial and did not overpower the pig, instead offering much needed color to the plate.
Foodhoe never had a suckling pig before, but since I ate many suckling pigs with my mom for dim sum (it’s a popular choice among the Chinese), I knew this would be a star. Foodhoe enjoyed the crunchy skin, and I bit into a few pieces too even though I generally stay away from eating skin.
The pig was served with a glass of 2005 “Majus” from Ajello, a red wine from Sicily that was perfect with the meat dish. I really liked how the wine carried through the Tuscan theme for the night.

The flan had a sweet espresso flavor and the candied almonds were so crunchy and lightly honeyed that I wanted a snack bag to take home. And Foodhoe commented how the frothed milk (just like foam that reminds her of cat spittle) really carried a taste that matched the flan.
We were served a dessert wine that had such a beautiful light amber color, called D’Ancona Passito de Pantelleria (2004). It did its job of adding a nice floral taste to the dessert course without being either too strong in alcohol flavor or too sweet.

This Monday night dinner is a smart promotion that I think will definitely win new fans to this San Francisco landmark. Would I be this excited if I paid what would be the normal high prices at Jardinière? I think so because this peek at the quality and talent of the kitchen along with the professional service proves why this restaurant continues to be a perfect place for a special dining experience.
Read Foodhoe’s take on our Monday night dinner here. And again, to get a preview of upcoming Monday dinners, check out the restaurant's Web site.
Single guy rating: 4 stars (Creative Promotions)
Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner
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