Open kitchen with Berthold & Mina

Following the Patterson/Linch dinner at COI, the latest Bocuse d’Or fundraising event took place at Michael Mina’s trendy SoMa restaurant. This time, the spotlight swayed between the kitchen and the dining room as Bay Area culinary celebrities gathered to support the US team in the famous French competition. For everyone else, it was a sort of dining with the stars.

A couple of hours before service, the staff gathered in the middle of the long dining room for a pre-shift meeting. The event was explained, the dishes described, VIP reservations made known. Tonight RN74 will be serving a Bocuse d’Or tasting menu under the direction of Mina and Jason Berthold, the restaurant’s executive chef. Berthold describes each preparation with enthusiasm, Rajat Parr follows suit dwelling about the exclusive wine pairings that, according to him, you’d have to be crazy not to order. It is business as usual, but they all know there is nothing usual about tonight.

Back in the kitchen preparations are well under way. Berthold oversees the work while sipping a cup of hot tea. The atmosphere is calm; the calm before the storm.

As the first tickets emerge from the small kitchen printer, the quietness is overtaken by an energetic atmosphere that resembles the engine room of a war submarine; the air filled with steam, people in constant motion, orders called aloud.

While the dining room VIPs included the likes of Tre Cool (a.k.a. drummer of punk-rock band Green Day), the A-list food celebrities gathered backstage. For a moment, Berthold’s kitchen looked like a rock concert green room. Heavyweight chefs (no pun intended) included Michael Mina, Timothy Hollingsworth and Richard Reddington.

Berthold and Hollingsworth worked together at The French Laundry but tonight, Tim, as his friend calls him, was Jason’s guest. After all, the chef is sort of a poster child for The Bocuse d’Or having defended the US in Lyon last year. And even though that was not the first time his country competed, Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud’s involvement brought greater media attention to the event. The grueling quest for the Olympics of cooking is documented in the book Knifes at Dawn. With Hollingsworth back at his day job as chef de cuisine for Keller’s flagship restaurant in Yountville, he can help mentor the next US team before next year’s competition. But tonight, champagne in hand, the chef celebrates. On the house, of course.

Open kitchen with Patterson & Kinch

Last week, two of the best chefs in the Bay Area united to cook a fundraising dinner in San Francisco. Daniel Patterson from COI and David Kinch from Manresa, both Michelin 2-star restaurants, prepared together a 7-course meal with proceeds benefiting the American team competing at next Bocuse d’Or—the Olympics of cooking. A few lucky diners had the chance to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event. And now, in a rare look behind the scenes, from prep to plating, so can you. Eat vicariously.

Two hours before service, the final prep work is underway. Stainless steel rulers mark precise cutting templates, cooking times are tested, mise en places are set. Chefs make final seasoning adjustments for every ingredient exercising the kitchen’s most important act—tasting.

One hour before service, wine boxes, folded linens and jackets still hang around the dining room. The staff eats the family meal—chicken stew, rice and salad. A hearty dinner that gives them the needed energy to perform. And in a matter of minutes, all is gone. The dining room is staged, chairs are aligned, lights are dimmed; it’s show time.

Fifteen minutes before service, the adrenaline is high in both back and front of the house. Servers are trained on how to present and explain each dish; Daniel and David taste each other’s food. There’s a mix of excitement and healthy anxiety in the air. Everything is ready, everyone is prepared; but tonight, more than any other night, nothing can go wrong.

“Two first!” The chef kicks off service calling the evening’s first amuse bouches. “Yes, Chef!” Answers one cook. And so it begins. Course after course, each dish is called aloud, fired and expedited with great efficiency and sense of urgency. Like a relay race, the peak of activity in the kitchen moves from one station to another following the progression of dishes on the menu. The baton is passed with the chef calling the next order. “Two oyster!”

Throughout the night, a ballet of tweezers and Sharpies can be watched in constant motion. Each dish is carefully assembled by sometimes many chefs, heads down, tweezers in hands like a group of surgeons around the operating table. Focused, until the last sprig of fresh herb, plucked à la minute, is precisely laid down on the finished plate. And there, another artful dish is produced. “I need hands!” Calls the expediter, a server quickly takes it away. With Sharpie in hand, he crosses it from the list and moves on to the next thing, not a second to spare.

Tickets are lined up on the wall that divides the kitchen from the dining room. Written in a language cooks and servers are fluent in—efficiency. As the night progresses, dozens of the same dishes are produced flawlessly, making the kitchen a well-oiled machine. But that’s no excuse to relax; everything is constantly tasted, checked. Daniel and David join their staff jumping from station to station to offer help where most needed.

On the other side of the wall, the dining room is filled with excitement and anticipation for every dish that arrives. Beautiful presentations engage diners creating awe and surprise, like an oyster that begs to be opened revealing a gift inside. Flavors that layer great complexity out of the simplest of ingredients, like a chicken and an egg. The food is exciting, outstanding, unforgettable.

And while guests are suspended in a moment of delight, back in the kitchen, chefs and servers move at full speed. The show must go on.

Frances, San Francisco

Although San Francisco is regarded as one of the most exciting dining destinations in America, The Castro is not a neighborhood that often comes to mind. Just a few blocks from the epicure Mission district, in a quiet, dark corner of 17th street, is a newly opened neighborhood restaurant that promises to light up the local dining scene. And attract Bay Area foodies like moths to the broiling flames.



The small dining room has a lineup of sixteen narrow tables arranged closely together like a Parisian coffee shop. Diners squeeze in with an economy-class-like proximity that may upset the eventual claustrophobe. But the charming atmosphere and stellar service more than make up for it. And when you’re eating well, suddenly nothing else matters. When was the last time you complained about personal space while dining in Paris?

On the walls, black & white prints depicting vegetables and fruits look like artful x-rays of edible flora. Perhaps a nod to the chef’s celebration of local ingredients.



Behind Frances is the talented Melissa Perello; a multi-award-winning rising star chef that once headed the fine dining kitchens of Charles Nob Hill and Fifth Floor.


The menu



Perello serves New American fare with local ingredients and Franco-Italian inspiration. Portion sizes are just right, especially if you order four courses. Begin with bouchés, small size starters ideal for sharing; there are five to choose from ($6.50 each). Four appetizers ($8 to $11), four entrées ($17 to $23) and 3 sides ($6 each) may not seem like a lot of options for an à la carte menu, especially if you plan on a few returning visits. But everything I had was really good. So good in fact, I was happy to have it once more.


The meal



While bread is served upon request, Rosemary, sage almonds start every meal.



From the bouchés, Applewood smoked bacon beignets, crème fraîche & chives. Who says you can’t deep-fry bacon? These savory little fritters are crispy and tasty. Definitely a good start.



Panisse frites, crispy chickpea fritters, Meyer lemon aioli. A thin, crispy crust is all that is between you and this creamy snack. Perfect for sharing — although you may not want to.



Grilled calamari, Musque de Provence pumpkin, preserved lemon & currants. A light salad with perfectly cooked calamari.



From the appetizers, Roasted winter squash soup, maple scented crème fraîche. A smooth soup with nicely balanced flavors.



Semolina gnocchi, duck confit and braised cavolo nero. Pan seared for a lovely golden crust, the dumplings are beautifully complemented by tender duck and black-leaf kale.



Chicken liver mousse, frisée, currants and toasted bread. This is the kind of appetizer that has a curious blinding effect on me — the type that makes me ignore all the surrounding dishes. “Order me, order me.”, I hear it whispering me from me menu. It took me 2 visits and a canceled reservation to finally try Perello’s CLM. It was worth it. Served in a quenelle, it has the delectable texture of a semifredo and a complex flavor with hints of red wine and a delicate sweetness. Like Range’s, an appetizer so good you can have it for dessert.



From the entrées, Grilled bavette steak, cipollini onions, green garlic “chimichurri”. This fibrous cut of meat is marinated and sliced across the grain to achieve the tenderness of more noble beef. The result is a flavorful steak, here complemented by sweet onions and drizzled with a fresh take on the classic Argentinean sauce—originally made with parsley.



Caramelized Atlantic scallops, creamy fingerling potatoes, wild mushrooms. Simply put, one of the best scallop dishes I ever had. The sweet mollusks are combined with the earthiness of the mushrooms, a hearty sauce and finished with delicate herbs.



Sonoma duck breast, butter bean ragout, sautéed escarole, cotechino sausage. Tender duck served with beans cooked al dente and slices of lightly spicy pork sausage; an Italian good luck charm.



Lacinato kale and crêpe cannelloni, maitake mushrooms, Andante “Cadence”. Made with a chefs-favorite pungent cow & goat milk’s cheese from Andante Dairy, earthy Japanese mushrooms and dino kale; the only vegetarian entrée on the menu is likely to indulge even the most loyal of carnivores.



From the desserts, Bittersweet chocolate mousse, chocolate sea salt cookies, burnt caramel crème. The chocolaty, creamy mousse is nicely complemented by the caramel and salty, paper-thin cookies.



Buttermilk panna cotta, winter citrus compote and shortbread cookies. Another very good dessert.



Olive oil ice cream, Olivestri Siloro olio nuovo. Frances serves ice cream from Mission-based Humphry Slocombe. But here, chef Perello transforms a good flavor into a great dessert by the simple addition of olio nuovo, a seasonal olive oil available right after the November harvest. Bottle unfiltered, it has a fruity, peppery flavor that highlights and perfumes the ice cream.


In short

Perello’s neighborhood eatery with fine dining pedigree offers flavorful dishes in a casual setting and at reasonable prices. Frances is another successful new restaurant that should be added to everyone’s must-try lists. The kind of place you think about going back before you even finished eating. All the rave reviews following the restaurant opening are guaranteed to make Frances the next Flour & Water — a neighborhood gem virtually impossible to get in. I, for one, with a sort of insider’s trading benefit, already booked my next visit.



Frances is at 3870 17th Street
Online reservations