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I was up in San Francisco for a Carina Cellars wines sales trip, which is where my parents live, and they asked me if while I’m there I would be interested in seeing the musical Wicked - and of course I said yes! So after spending a day selling wine in San Francisco with our rep, Vanessa Smith, I asked her what her favorite place to eat was and her immediate response was: Jardinière. Featuring award-winning French-California cuisine by Traci des Jardin, Jardinière is located in an historic 2-story brick building with a very unassuming exterior. But when we walked in we were greeted by a gorgeous 2-story bar with a floor to ceiling arrangement of wine! We were then led up the spiral staircase to a circular dining area with windows overlooking the city. Once seated at the table we were immediately given fresh bread warm out of the oven! We placed an order to share a couple orders of the “Little Gems salad” with citrus, avocado and farm eggs with a green peppercorn vinaigrette, and were amazed by the intense flavors. To enjoy with dinner I ordered a glass of 2006 Saint-Joseph, J.L. Chave "Offerus", my mom ordered a glass of 2006 Freeman Pinot Noir from Sebastapol, and my dad ordered a glass of 2006 Burgundy, Château de la Maltroye from France. The dinner menu gives you the choice to do a 5-course prix fixe meal, or you can order á la carte. Given we had a limited amount of time to eat before the show started, we opted to order a few different items off the á la carte menu. My dad ordered the prime ribeye with creamed ramp greens, fingerling potatoes and crispy artichokes in a bordelaise sauce, and it was cooked perfectly. My grandma ordered the Alaskan halibut with roasted asparagus, fingerling potatoes and smoked bacon in a mustard beurre blanc. The fish meat was incredibly moist and flaked off with a mere touch of the fork, and the mustard sauce was subtle and delicious. My mom and I decided to split the carnaroli risotto with asparagus, morel mushrooms, ramp greens and fontina d’aosta with an aged balsamic, and this might have been the favorite meal of the night! The mix of greens in the risotto with the sharp cheese and slight sweetness from the balsamic was a mélange of flavors unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before! Needless to say all three entrees were amazing! Dessert was a must, so after asking our waiter Michael which items were his favorite, we decided to get an assortment of 3 items to share. The first was the bonne bouche platter-an assortment of coconut crème brûlée, opera cake, petite tarts, cookies, fruit jellies, chocolate truffles and candies. We also split the panecotte, an Italian custard dish with a vanilla cream sauce. We left for our show feeling satisfied and excited about finding this fantastic San Francisco gem. We also learned that Jardinière has started a new fixed menu program on Monday nights. For only $45 you receive a 4-course menu with each item paired with a wine chosen by their sommelier. This is a fantastic deal and a must for those of you passing through or living in the San Francisco area! |
