From the creators of Town Hall and Salt House in San Francisco comes their third restaurant, Anchor and Hope. Just opened in April, 2008. As you can imagine the theme is seafood and the decor exotic/shabby chique. Large black sea-creature fish are painted on the wall above the bar as you walk in the restaurant demanding attention and screaming to all that it is about the seafood. Open and airy, recycled and used timbers adorn the tall vaulted roof and back wall with exposed brick feels comfortable and hip at the same time. The space used to be an auto repair garage and still retains the large openess of a single workspace. It reminded me of a shabby chique decor that ran into Japanese anime on its way to the Bay Area. Very unique, simple and well done (whether you like the screaming painted fish or not).
The wine list is a thoughtful blend of domestic (mostly Californian wine) and a surprising array of Mediterranean styled wines like Vermentino of Sardenia, Northern Spanish Albarino or Viognier from the Var in Provence, France. Perhaps not enough white wine selections as I would like to see since it is a seafood driven restaurant. Some of the dishes that we ate were simple and well executed, but perhaps lacked pizzazz. But the fish stew was magical. Monk fish, mussels, clams, chorizo and a spicy broth all sopped up with crunchy fresh sourdough bread. That was dynamite. If you are a fan of Doug Washington and partners Mitchell and Steve Rosenthal’s Salt House or Town Hall then you must stop by for a visit at Anchor and Hope.
Ask for the “Fries with Eyes.” It is a killer little surprise.
I have to say that when you find something good there’s no reason to keep on looking. My wife and I spent a night in Napa Valley and went back to one of our favorite restaurants, Bouchon. It is the ideal, romantic and exquisitly executed bistro that holds very true to the Lyonaise concept restaurant. Small, traditional, charming with soul filling food. I remember the first time we went to Bouchon 6 years ago and my wife smiled as the waiter placed our bread directly on the table wrapped in wax paper. “Just like in France,” my wife said as we smiled at each other.
Every detail at Bouchon is attended to from the mis en place, custom stenciled plate ware, perfect temperature control of the wines and elegant and charming service. We were excited to start with foie gras (an outlawed dish in our hometown of Chicago, I know, don’t get me started) which was as decadent and rich as you could imagine served with the crunch and tart delight of lightly sauteed rhubarb. We had an excellent Macon (superb value oriented wines that are crisp, chalky and citrus balanced) and an amazing grouper entree as well as the chicken. I remember being told by a chef friend of mine in San Francisco that if you wanted to know how good the chef is at any restaurant try the chicken. If you cannot execute a chicken dish to perfection then all your other dishes are called into question. Not that we were wondering whether the food was going to good to excellent, but the chicken was a magnificent pairing to our Macon white Burgundy. And of course when you are eating traditional food all we wanted was wholesome goodness and satisfaction. Bouchon does it again!
