Oh So French, New Hot Spots & Awards

Ahh the French, they have such a way of making things sound and taste better; it must just be their inherent je ne sais quoi. Let’s take, for instance, the new downtown location Midi at the Galleria Park Hotel. Executive chef Michelle Mah (SF Chron Rising Star Chef 2006) has crafted her menu around cuisine highlighting French influences (Midi, the name of a southern region of France), and touches of a modern California brasserie. It also elevates the interpretation of the area for which the restaurant is located. The corner of Sutter and Kearny is the crossroads of the mid-district, where shopping meets the financial district.

The twenty-five-hundred-square-foot bi-level space was designed and created by designer Michael Guthrie (Myth, BIX, Tra Vigne). Iron railings, beams, dark paneling, and banquettes covered in fabric designed by the uber-hip Paul Smith showcase the ground-floor bar and lounge, while upstairs features an intimate dining room. Some of Michelle’s menu highlights include an appetizer of pan-fried veal sweetbreads with celery root purée, pancetta, royal trumpet mushrooms, celery leaf, and shaved fennel salad. Entrées include pan-fried skate wing with haricots verts, fried capers, brown butter lemon sauce;  or duck leg confit with red camarugue rice, toasted almonds, pea tendrils, fava leaves, and ginger-rhubarb verjus sauce. We had the opportunity to sit down with Michelle in the midst of her hectic schedule, and she had this to share.

Steven Oliver: What was the first food that you fell in love with?

Michelle Mah: Wow, that takes me back to my college years when I remember having French cheese for the first time and realizing that there were these interesting flavors beyond cheddar and jack.

When you cook at home with your boyfriend, who, correct me if I am wrong, is also a chef, what do you cook, and is it a combined effort?

[Laughs] Well, first off, yes, my boyfriend is a chef, but, no, we do not cook together. We have an agreement—he keeps the flat clean, and I do the cooking. Matter of fact, the one meal that he will cook for me is breakfast, but that is after some serious begging! My favorite meals at home are lasagna, braised meats, and stews.

What is the one food that you never get sick of?

One word: eggs! So, I guess I am lucky when my boyfriend fixes me breakfast, because it is one of my favorites.

Do you listen to music in the kitchen when you are cooking?

No, I really enjoy the sounds of the kitchen. The noise made from chopping, the peeler, the mixer, the sizzle from the pans on the stove, and even the banging around of the dishwasher. It creates a pleasant harmony when it is all happening at once. Besides, it also gives me time to connect with my staff, talk about products, and how we are going to prepare them.

What artisan foods are you most excited about these days?

Boccolone, small batch cured meats and sausages from Chris Cosentino, and winnemere cheese from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont. I am a big fan of Mateo and Andy Kehler and what they are doing at Jasper Hill. It would be awesome to visit them and go through the process of cheese making with them.

Travel through France is also imbued with that special something; particularly, there is a magical allure of the train station. So much so, that the new Chanel No. 5 ad campaign, starring Audrey Tautou and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, was filmed at the train station in Nice. Welcome RN74, the new project from the Michael Mina Group located on the ground floor of the Millennium Tower (Mission and Beale). The driving force behind this new venture is longtime Mina Group wine director and expert sommelier Rajat Parr and former Thomas Keller sous chef Jason Berthold.

The wine bar and restaurant is named after Route National 74, the major thoroughfare through the heart of France’s Burgundy region. With an authentic rotating train scheduling board listing some of the “limited” available wines, wooden blinds, subway tiles, and leather covered depot benches, the design team of AvroKO brings a contemporary interpretation of the look and feel of a Burgundian station. The thirty-seat wine bar and seventy-five-seat restaurant is built around a world-class wine list and creative but simple interpretations of regional French cuisine.

“It is designed to be an accessible drinking and dining destination where our guests feel comfortable on any occasion,” explains Rajat. One thing that has Rajat equally excited is the idea of having a venue where fellow sommeliers and related industry types can hang out, while invited “badass” winemakers will have the opportunity to share in older vintages or barrel samples for tasting and one-on-one conversation time with the group. This is the perfect place to solidify the thriving wine community in San Francisco!

Roland Passot, owner and executive chef of La Folie, is smiling from ear to ear with excitement about his new venture, La Folie Lounge, located adjacent to the restaurant. The small room is adorned with Tiffany-blue walls, pressed tin ceilings, leather sofas and chairs, and an ivory-topped bar. It is the perfect spot to meet for drinks before dinner or if you are looking to do some sophisticated bar slumming in the Russian Hill/Polk Street area. As you may have guessed, Roland has crafted a bar menu that is all La Folie style, but without the La Folie price. The Bar Bites menu includes such personal pleasures as truffled popcorn, house-cured salmon lollipops, duo of yellowfin tuna tartare, and the real crowd pleaser, lobster croque monsieur. Ohh yes! Casper Rice, formally of Michael Mina and via a year hiatus working the winery circuit in Burgundy, France, is behind the bar doing what he does best—making amazing crafted cocktails. Worthy of tasting is his lavender blueberry mojito, cucumber caipiroska, or his classic spin on the Sazerac, Vesper, or Hayden Manhattan.

 E & O Trading Company is happy to announce the arrival of Arnold Eric Wong as their new executive chef. Arnold, as many of you know, comes with over twenty-one years of experience, most recently as chef partner at Bacar and Eos Restaurant and Wine Bar.

“The opportunity to elevate the already successful dining and culinary experience E & O offers is endless,” says Arnold. “We have only scratched the surface of modern Asian food’s potential here in the U.S.” Arnold’s menu is drawn from fresh, seasonal ingredients, and it concentrates on small plates that reflect the authentic flavors of Southeast Asia.

The beloved North Beach classic 15 Romelo has reopened after its January-thru-March closure for a face-lift and newly inspired beverage and dining menus. “Aaron [Gregory Smith] and I are both devoted to seasonality and quality in everything that we do in the kitchen and behind the bar,” says Scott Baird, who runs Romelo with Aaron. “Pairing delicious, not precocious, cocktails with a new food menu in a warm, relaxed, and fun space is exciting.”

The hardworking duo will be bringing in local and sustainably grown ingredients to a frequently changing cocktail and food menu. A few of their signature items are the pulled pork sliders with pasture raised smoked pork, and topped with Napa cabbage slaw, and sauce (arguably one of the best sliders in the city); and jambalini croquettes with creoli sauce. They have paired their handcrafted cocktails with the menu items, presenting unique taste opportunities you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. What is already becoming an industry favorite, and for good reason, is that the kitchen serves until 1:30 a.m. daily—a good option when you are looking for late night munchies!

Drum roll please—can we please have a round of applause and congratulations for two of our local industry crew: Nate Appleman and Michael Engelmann. Nate, of A16 and SPQR fame, garnered the James Beard Rising Star Chef Award last month in New York. At 29, he earned his gold medal for his accomplishments of two successful restaurants, an award-winning cookbook, and two soon-to-open restaurants: an A16 offshoot in Tokyo, and, locally, Urbino, opening in November.

Sommelier at Restaurant Gary Danko, Michael, 26, won the title of Best Sommelier in America 2009. Michael is a native of Alsace, France; he has been with Danko since 2006. He will go on to compete for the Best Sommelier in the World title, given by the World Sommelier Association, next year in Barcelona, Spain.

Thanks to our friends at the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, "Dine About Town" is back in action for its 8th year and being offered June 1-15.  This highly antipicated event is playing out at a host of dining spots around town where special three-course, prix-fixe menus will be offered.  Prices are $21.95 for lunch and $34.95 for dinner per person (beverage, tax, or gratuity not included).  For a list of participating restaurants: onlyinsanfrancisco.com/taste/dineabouttown or opentable.com.

 San Franciscan Steven Oliver is a restaurant manager and wine buyer.