Top Tastes is my usual run-down of tastes over the past two weeks, (scarily) revealing just how much I eat. Rather than being a list of all-time favorites (another thing altogether), it’s highlights since my last newsletter, often from new openings. Many don’t make the cut, either a revisit or simply just not as stand-out as the dishes mentioned.

I’m head-over-heels for Jannah, with so many “top tastes” there in the short week it’s been open – going back for more and will share soon.

Enjoyed an opening party at Five in Berkeley’s Hotel Shattuck (striking historic space with Corinthian columns, giant windows and chandeliers, redone in black & white with hints of red), but was only able to try a couple bites (hooray, truffled egg salad!) Looking forward to getting more acquainted with the Scott Howard menu.

I hit the new Moroccan spot, Aicha, spent a late night at Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oakland (can’t wait for Gussie’s to open here in SF!), yet another lunch at Schmidt’s (opening all day starting this week, from 11a-11p, Tue-Sun), dug the gorgeous space, if not subpar food at Horatius (but nice stop for Ritual Coffee and Sweetie Cups cupcakes), had decent pastries and caramels at Sweet (tasty but WAY too hard caramels), and umpteenth visits back to Tartine, Pirate Cat, Dosa on Fillmore, La Mar Cebicheria, Spicy Bite, Bittersweet, and Saturday mornings with Juicy Lucy’s and El Buen Comer at my ‘hood’s (Noe) Farmers Market.

SAVORY – VEGETARIAN

• A meal at the house remains among my favorite possible meals in the city. Seafood and Asian fusion reach their pinnacle in this tiny restaurant whose daily specials are often as memorable as their standards. Any meal here should always include the rightly famed Seabass ($24), and this visit, specials included heartwarming Grilled Monterey Squid ($10), silky Hamachi Sashimi Salad ($11), and Seared Albacore ($25) with creamy mustard sauce and a fresh crab California Roll draped atop. But this time I want to wax eloquent about the house-made Udon: the Sea Bass always comes with Garlic Noodles, but you can order a side if you’re not inclined to share. Classic Wasabi House Noodles with Flatiron steak ($17), are equally as good Vegetarian ($14), loaded with veggies and savory tofu. This is “comfort food” fully realized.

SAVORY – MEAT

•  Mojo himself is reason enough to get thee to the alley next to Nickie’s in the Lower Haight, but there’s also his hot dogs and Mission Poppers (bacon-wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese). Aptly named Hot Dog Alley (on Haight near Fillmore) with home-made sign, he’s been in operation just a handful of days, describing his hours as “always here”. Hot Dogs are named after SF ‘hoods and come simple, wrapped in bacon, topped with chilis ($3.50). Those Mission Poppers ($1) are dangerous. Mojo grills ‘em up as you watch, singing along to hip hop tunes blaring on the radio as his ebullience radiates. “If you’re even thinking about getting yourself into some trouble, you come and talk to me”, he tells a pre-teen boy picking up a dog, encouraging him to stay real. Spreading the love, uplifting spirits, all with a skillet, a makeshift tent and hot dog stand.

•  Dinner at sexy, sensual Gitane… gets better every time. From Piquillo Pepper stuffed with Dungeness Crab ($13) to Sardinas en Escabeche ($1o – how I adore sardine filets!), the effect of the Moroccan/Spanish cuisine is in keeping with magical surroundings. My taste buds were happiest with the Bastilla ($12), usually a favorite of mine, served here in three empanada-like phyllo wraps with shredded duck and chicken with pine nuts and golden raisins.

SAVORY – SEAFOOD

• Swell recently moved into my beloved Bar Crudo’s (now on Divisadero) charming closet of a space on Bush Street. Carrying on the crudo tradition, the menu is half raw specialties, half “warmed”/cooked dishes. I find dishes tried from the latter average but raw plates very good to exceptional. Top two are Salmon Carpaccio ($12) with wasabi mascarpone, yuzu tobiko, green onion, basil (lovely variation of traditional cream cheese and salmon) and dynamic looking and tasting Scallops Roulade ($9.50), raw scallops wrapped around julienned Granny Smith apple, topped with yuzu aioli and wasabi tobiko. Sitting at the minuscule bar with European regulars and effusive staff is transporting.

• Despite a memorable dish of plump, little squids stuffed with chorizo, Calamares Rellenos ($18), I’d return to Bernal Heights’ Peruvian haven, Piqueo’s, just for warm and filling Humita Dulce ($13), a huge sweet corn tamal with a slightly spicy mole and bits of Tiger shrimp. House Sangria is the perfect partner.

• “Six Until Seven” Happy Hour (4:30-7pm; 6 small plates, 6 drinks, $6) at classic Farallon is a good excuse to take in the jellyfish lamps, sumptuous raw bar, and pampering service without a full sit-down meal (that works, too). Oysters remain $3.25 each, with or without happy hour, from WA Totten Inlets to New Brunswick Beausoliels. On the $6 menu, there’s PEI Mussels with chorizo, tomato, basil and Dungeness Crab Cakes with piquillo pepper coulis. I’m partial to plump Cornmeal Fried Oysters with lobster relish paired with a strong Cabrito Blanco Margarita.

SWEET

• A marriage of dessert and drink, Venezuela’s Santa Teresa Araku Ron y Coffee Liqueur is an aged rum, rich with coffee notes, distilled from molasses, in memorable, hip packaging. Over ice cream? Divine.

This issue’s Top Tastes in DRINK

Jalisco Flip at Rickhouse

COCKTAILS

• Rickhouse had my number from the get-go. How could it not? From owners of my regular stop over the years, Bourbon & Branch (sans password and reservation) and nearby Cask, this FiDi beauty debuted on July 1st to a packed house, with atmospheric, Old World space (ceilings and railings made from old Bourbon barrels, naturally), and gracious staff and bartenders. I want to cheer just leafing through the awesome menu (visually and in selection) of flips, fizzes, punches (punch bowls for groups), every kind of cocktail one could desire. Stand-outs? Besides being delighted to see the Favala, which I loved as a Bourbon & Branch special (check out “Drinks” in my last Top Tastes), after tasting eight different Rickhouse cocktails so far, my tops are a Rye Maple Fizz ($9) with rye, lemon, organic maple syrup, egg white, Angostura bitters and soda, and a Jalisco Flip ($12), a dessert-like (but not heavy-handed) blend of El Tesoro Anjeo, egg, organic maple syrup, aromatic bitters, freshly grated nutmeg. It’ll  surely be a pleasurable pursuit working my way through this menu (more in my SFBG Appetite column).

• I can’t say happy hour crowds and haphazard, if well-intentioned, service at Oakland’s new Penelope does much for me (currently only open weekdays), but the food is gourmet and mostly under $10 (paninis, salads and soup), with drinks using an interesting mix of fruits and veggies, like the namesake Penelope with tequila, beets, apples, pears. Though not as nuanced as my favorite cocktails, I enjoyed the refreshing heat of a Jicama Reposado ($9) with fresh jicama, habanero-infused reposado, salt rim and cucumber rinse.

• Clock Bar is always a classy experience, from chic, candlelit setting to drink creations from master behind the bar, Marco Dionysos. One of Marco’s greats, which I should have tried well before now but just got to is Snap: Canton ginger liqueur, Hennessey, lime, pineapple, allspice dram. It’s fresh and Fall-like, while redolent with island breezes. Amazing.

CHAMPAGNE

• A bottle of champagne from family-run Ployez-Jacquemart in Ludes, France, is biscuity, bright and earthy all at the same time. I felt lucky to be able to drink a bottle of small batch vintage.

COFFEE

• There’s yet another great coffee house on the way: but for now, Sightglass is our newest source for fine espressos, cappuccinos, coffees out of a garage in its soon-to-open space. I miss Four Barrel’s humble alley service before its slick cafe took over and will eventually have to miss Sightglass‘ friendly garage service.  But there’s much to look forward to when they do open: brothers, Jerad and Justin Morrison’s backgrounds include working with Blue Bottle and Four Barrel, and the open 1924 space will have a Chemex brewing station and a cupping table so us coffee fanatics can ‘geek out’ even further.

• More to come on my new Middle Eastern favorite from YaYa chef, Yahya Salih. It’s called Jannah and on the drink tip alone, the unusual fruit juices and coffees are worth a stop. I’ll focus on coffee for now: though there’s regular and Turkish, my choice is the Arabic Coffee ($2), aromatic with cardamom, the sludge at the bottom a soft mix of almost chocolaty espresso grounds, not overpowering as in some Turkish coffees I’ve had. I ate it with a spoon. As you can see from my photo, a book and an Arabic coffee equal a contented afternoon.

NEW ORLEANS

“As soon as I arrive to how it all fits together, I have to fathom out the ’system’ of the city, have to walk, sniff, observe, sit in the buses and trams, make the city my own.” – Cees Noteboom, “Nomad’s Hotel”

Back for yet another installment on the one and only New Orleans (last article was on French Quarter food and before that, Fauborg Marigny & Treme neighborhoods)…. I write as many of our cities best bartenders and drink writers are there for Tales of the Cocktail – an attempt to assuage my longing to be there. This time, it’s off to the Uptown, Garden and Carollton districts of the city for more incomparable discoveries.

Uptown/Garden District

Uptown and Garden District sit along the East bank of the Mississippi River, easily accessible from downtown by the St. Charles Streetcar line. There’s a wealth of 19th century homes (those front porches are classic Southern), moody, decrepit graveyards and Magazine Street, with its countless blocks of hip shops, spas housed in Victorians, markets and great food. Walking through the neighborhoods, taking in the idyllic homes and laid back feel of Magazine, especially at twilight, made me almost want to move in.

RESTAURANTS

•  Dick and Jenny’s is probably one of my top three meals in New Orleans (saying a lot since I had so many noteworthy ones) – a truly fabulous, down home place worth taking the cab or streetcar (plus a few blocks walk) for. An indoor patio with retro rocking chairs and benches welcomes you for drinks during the wait (note: they don’t take reservations). Love frog legs, fried green tomatoes (always), soups (like Black Bean Chorizo Lime or Creamy Sweet Potato & Sausage), and seafood entrees.  Save room for Key Lime Pie (I always do!) This place feels like a true Southern restaurant: homey, inviting, heartwarming, while playfully youthful.

DRINKS/MUSIC

•  Columns Hotel: musty, creaky old mansion inside (dark woods and old couches), expansive porch with columns, oak trees and the St. Charles Streetcar clanging by outside. I’d heard this was the true Gone with the Wind experience  (which immediately hooked me), with live music (call ahead as there often isn’t) and mint juleps. You don’t have to tell me twice. I have to say these are far from authentic Mint Juleps (not served in julep cups, but in tall glasses, muddled like a mojito – for shame! We’re in the South, after all! Next time I’ll tell you where to get THE best juleps… hint: his name is Chris McMillian). They do invoke the common NoLa habit here of not measuring alcohol pours so it’s heavy on the bourbon and refreshing, though not noteworthy. You’re buying the setting rather than fine cocktails. Paired with a fat cigar and a breeze in the old oak trees, it’s everything I hoped it would be.

•   One of NoLa’s legendary live music venues, Tipitina’s Uptown showcases New Orleans incomparable music, everything from Zydeco to hip hop and blues. And here you see legends (and locals) like Dr. John perform regularly (note: no seating; smoking is allowed – be forewarned!)

ICE CREAM and FOOD SHOPS

•   La Divinia Gelateria is truly divine. Two locations (Magazine Street and the French Quarter) make creamy-as-heck gelato from scratch. Not only serving robust cappuccinos, gelato flavors are unique, even for me, who has many adventurous ice cream options at home (like Humphry Slocumbe). Divinia makes one of the best Bananas Foster ice creams ever – tastes like ripe banana with a hint of brown sugar and rum. Creole Cream Cheese and Louisiana Mush Melon represent local flavors. Lush Sweet Potato? Brilliant. Absinthe Sorbetto? Right on! Saigon Cinnamon, Carrot Ginger Mascarpone, Candy Cane Stracciatella, Aztec (Dark Chocolate, Cayenne, Honey)… the list goes blissfully on.

•   Ah, Creole Creamery. Another brilliant shop with local flavors I can’t find anywhere else, rich beauties. There’s Creole Cream Cheese, Red Velvet Cake, Pink Peppermint Pie, Caramel Chicory Chocolate, and Scotch Bonnet Citrus. Bring on the butterfat.

•   As gorgeous aesthetically as its products are in taste, Sucre confirms this is an ice cream town, though the bakery and chocolates  housed in this pastel dream of a shop are just as good or even better than the ice cream. Chocolates include a Chicory (chicory coffee & dark chocolate), Peanut Butter & Jelly (strawberry jam, PB, dark chocolate), or Meuniere (brown butter in white choco ganache, coated in dark chocolate).

•   The Savvy Gourmet would fit right in here in the Bay Area. Part cooking school (with demos and hands-on classes), part gourmet foods and cookware shop, they also cater, serve and deliver meals.

Carrollton

Taking the St. Charles streetcar way out gets you to the tiny Carrollton neighborhood which is worth a detour for two reasons: neighboring  Jacques-Imo’s and Maple Leaf Bar. Get off the cable car at Oak Street and hit the dynamic duo, preferably on a Tuesday night (though be forewarned about waits to eat at Jacques-Imo’s) for Rebirth Brass Band’s weekly show at the Maple Leaf. Prepare for friendly body-to-body crowds, a cover charge ($10 when I went, no drink minimum), and in the case of Rebirth Tuesdays, they are miked (?!) so ears will bleed. Even with earplugs, my ears were ringing a good couple hours later. But it’s a quintessential Nawlins’ experience and Rebirth, one of the great brass bands, simply rocks (note: they’re playing here in SF at Great American Music Hall on July 24 and 25). Jacques-Imo’s is similarly quintessential: with swampland decor, Cajun Zydeco music on the stereo and festive diners, it’s a friendly, party-like place for a meal. Hello, Alligator Cheesecake (trust me, it’s one-of-a-kind!), fish entrees and Fried Green Tomatoes with giant shrimp. In fact, everything here is giant so plan on sharing and under-ordering, please, or like me, you may go to bed with a food-hangover that leaves you afraid of food for at least a day. Pace yourself and you’ll have one hell of a meal.

In case you’re in the area during the day (especially a hot one), there’s Gelato Pazzo on the same street with classic Italian gelato, though I prefer all three spots I listed in the Uptown/Garden District for ice cream.

Even when times are tight, we’ve got to eat. There have been a slew of revisits, cheap eats and comfort food keeping me going lately, like Town Hall’s new BBQ-out-back lunch (ribs, sausages, po boys), ever lovable Phat Philly cheesesteaks, maki at Sushi Zen, Belgian waffles at Civic Center Farmer’s Market, always heroic sandwiches at Morty’s (jury duty had to have some reward!), lunch (ok food, but great coffee and snacks) in Horatius’ dramatic, pristine space, shopping at beer kings, City Beer Store & Healthy Spirits, a rowdy German dinner at Schnitzelhaus (“yes” to Black Forest Deer Ragout with spaetzle & red cabbage), and a late night Mission Heat at Urban Burger.

SAVORY – VEGETARIAN

• At a recent Girl & the Fig dinner (a place I always enjoy, but never love, food-wise – I do love the classic bar and idyllic Summer evening back patio, however), the cheese platter included Pleasant Ridge Reserve cow’s milk cheese from Dodgeville, Wisconsin – grassy and firm, a pleasant mix of salt with sweet sides of quince paste and fig cake.

SAVORY – MEAT

• Three days a week I work in Potrero and am rather blase about nearby 18th Street lunch options. Helps to have Dogpatch (and Kitchenette) a short drive away, with The New Spot my stop for pupusas, fresh juices and Mexican food. Now New Spot folks debuted a little sandwich shop on Third called Oralia’s Cafe, which slices some mean pastrami. Get a sandwich for $7.49 loaded with thick, savory cuts of the meat, nicely contrasted with pickles.  Makes me homesick for the East Coast.

• Bar Tartine does me right for brunch every time. Mellow, sweet service, Blue Bottle coffee, excellent food – and no waits (though they just started taking brunch reservations). I tend to overdo it on

the pork belly ’shout-outs’, I know (I can’t help it!), but my favorite recent dish was their Open-face Pork Belly Sandwich ($14), a huge helping of belly, avocado, perfectly-made egg salad, sweet and spicy pickled jalapeno, with shoestring fries and aioli.

• Masa’s is a stellar experience, from service to food – truly a San Fran fine dining classic. Last week, I found myself (for the sake of other diners) trying to reign in my excess pleasure over an amuse bouche of Siberian Caviar atop a Cauliflower Panna Cotta, and a dish of warm, silky Foie Gras topped with Royal Blenheim Apricots on a bed of French green lentils and squab consommé (the latter a tasting menu option).

SAVORY – SEAFOOD

• On a pristine Sebastopol day, lunch at Starlight Wine Bar was a one-of-a-kind experience aboard a gorgeous, original Pullman car inside a barn-like structure housing a cute cafe and Starlight’s partner wine bar. The setting, with big band & jazz classics softly playing, and informed service, impresses, but I also noted ultra-fresh salads and vegetable platter with nearby farm ingredients. Most fun was an appetizer of plump Cajun Shrimp with addictive Creole sauce and (thankfully) bread to soak it up with.

• It was a happy night back at Wexler’s (tried it for lunch last time), working my way through a Slow- Roasted Smoked Sturgeon ($21) with divine Lobster/Bacon/Corn Cake and bartender, Carlos Yturria’s, classically strong, beautiful Mint Julep (yes, in a proper julep cup, just the way it should be!)

SWEET

• A late night pizza feast at Giovanni’s was already satisfying after Caprese and Mexican pizzas were devoured. But a Banana & Cinnamon Pizza (order any size from small to extra large), with slivers of baked banana on top of a blend of four dry cheeses (including Parmesan) for a subtly savory touch, is one of the more comfortingly good desserts I’ve had in a while. When the generous owners came by offering everyone a slice of a hot-out-of-the-oven Crab Apple pizza, I dug the contrast of savory cheese with ultra-sweet crab apples. They told me they’re working on a Guava dessert pizza next. These aren’t gooey sweet, but rather light, unique desserts worth trekking to Outer Mission/border of Bernal for.

• Wexler’s deserves a second, and even a third, mention as I recently got to try the two desserts ($6 each) I most wanted to order on opening day but which they were out of… both were winners. Sour Cream Japanese Pear Pie looks thin, but is just the right amount of flaky, buttery crust with Winchester Gouda for a savory hint to the pears and spices, while sour cream rests as a light, tart whip on the side. Inside-Out Root Beer Float is a delightful mix of house-made vanilla soda with Humphry Slocumbe’s root beer ice cream (in which I distinctly tasted ginger), topped with whipped cream and two boozy (soaked) cherries.

DRINK

• Bourbon & Branch does it again (no surprise) with a new Summer creation from bartender, Andrew Mitchell: a Favala ($12 – hint: they’re also serving it at fabulous Rickhouse, their second bar which just opened tonight!) This beauty is a refreshing burst of Cachaca, Mint, Lemon and Orange Bitters, that surprises with a hint of Arabica Syrup giving it a mint coffee finish. Hello!

• One of my favorite wineries, Matanzas Creek, with its complex wines, French owners and lavender fields, is always a dreamy respite for me. At a recent tasting, I sampled some lovely reserve and limited edition wines, but my favorite is the $29 bottle of complex and comforting 2007 Chardonnay, layered with pear and apples, creamy, with a mineral finish.

• Basil Canteen, where I go for a brick-walled, New York loft-like setting with my Thai food, has some fun cocktails. I really liked bartender, Russell’s, robust variation on an Old Fashioned ($9): Knob Creek w/ orange bitters, tangerine, a touch of lemongrass syrup.

• I gratefully took a Beretta bartender’s suggestion and ordered a Kentucky Mule ($9), a classic variation of their listed Agricole Mule, which I’d had a number of times before. Substituting rye whiskey for the Agricole’s rum, with a mix of ginger, mint and lime juice, makes a bright, smooth cocktail I’d have over and over again.

• At Masa’s, Master Sommelier, Alan Murray, knew the ideal pairing for each course, perfectly orchestrating a symphony of tastes from sake, to whites, reds and sparkling wines. Dessert reached an apex when he paired my Chocolate Sacher Torte with Bugey-Cerdon Sparkling Rose, Patrick Bottex’s “La Cueille”. This 80% Gamay/20% Poulsard blend from Savoie in eastern France, is a rosy beauty, sparkling with wild strawberries, not too sweet. Tangy acidity and the brightness of berries makes this one to please a range of palates.

• At a Nirvino party at RIGHT Gin’s chic SoMa Loft, Josh Harris, of 15 Romolo, shared two of his cocktails (happy a match is made between absinthe and strawberries), while Danny Louie, of Dosa, served a new creation that may make it’s way to the Dosa menu (ask for it!), The Peony: RIGHT gin, homemade Hibiscus Masala nectar (an enticing mix of black peppercorn, cumin, mustard seed, chili, hibiscus, coriander, sugar), lime juice, orange flower water, with a creamy touch of coconut milk and kaffir lime leaf garnish. Quite drinkable, I must say.

301 Mission Street (at Beale)
San Francisco, CA 94199
415-543-7474
www.michaelmina.net/rn74

RN74… Michael Mina’s latest project, named after a highway running through Burgundy. Much has been said since its April 24 opening, most of it raving about the unparalleled 3000+ wine selection, heavy on the French, with treasures at every turn (and every price range). Responses to the food have been more mixed, including an early menu change that was actually a response to feedback on sizes being too small (I respect a restaurant that takes immediate action on input). I’ve also heard debate on it being “too fine dining” (those prices do add up), in “typical” Michael Mina fashion, for as casual a setting as it is, or if they should focus on small plates rather than multi-course options. Since I finished writing my review, Michael Bauer’s buzzed about three star review came out (on 6/28), giving it high marks.

Having been three times since opening week, for dinner (food priced at $9-31), lunch ($11-21) and in the bar, I’ve had a solid initial sampling, taking immediately to the industrial chic space with warm splashes of red and wine bottles highlighted on a French train station board. I find, in some ways, you can make RN74 what you want it to be, from special occasion meal to a post-work stop for bites with a glass of wine. I feel the space and service allow for all these scenarios.

The food? Well, a starter of  Smoked Sturgeon Rillettes ($9) is a pot of creamy heaven: smoky-fresh sturgeon mixed with creme fraiche, herbs, meyer lemon and toasts to spread it on. A highlight, to be sure.

Yes, I’m partial to Pork Belly, and RN74 does right by theirs, at turns decadently fatty and crispy. I had the dinner version ($19) with butter lettuce, cherries, pearl onion, black truffle cream and hazelnut vinaigrette.

Applewood-Smoked Sturgeon ($15) with fingerling potatoes (prefer the Sturgeon rillettes) and Italian Yellow Cornmeal & Mascarpone Agnolotti ($16) are both satisfying enough dishes, but what blew me away was the Foie Gras Terrine ($22). Currently, they’re serving it with Dijon mustard and grilled peach (works for me!), but when I had it, it was a divine melding of strawberry with buttery toasts, celery and poppy seed marmalade.  Sweet and silky.

A generous Organic Chicken Breast ($26) is pricey for what is certainly a less exciting meat, but trust them to elevate the bird: juicy, enlivened with fennel, apricots, brioche bread pudding, green peppercorns and watercress.

But, oh, those scallops! A supremely done scallop has to be one of the finer things and at dinner, three hefty, perfectly-cooked Maine Sea Scallops ($29) with tender Rancho Gordo beans, grilled Swiss chard, Meyer lemon were a among the best I’ve ever had. RN74’s Foie Gras and Scallops could follow me home and I would not turn them away.

Then there’s the wines… many a better expert than myself can wax eloquent about the glories residing in RN74’s extensive wine list from brilliant Sommelier and French wine expert, Rajat Parr. Some may get a rush from seeing the last remaining bottle disappear off the train station sign after they order it. I felt privileged to taste truly exceptional wines by the glass I can’t afford by the bottle (though there are many reasonably-priced bottles). Since my goal was to taste wines I may not always get to, my top picks (barring the Tissot Classique) are on the pricier end, but, once again, there’s a range on the menu:

• 2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Chardonnay from Burgundy ($8.50 taste/$17 glass) – Citrus crisp with notes of rose and vanilla.
• 2006 Tissot Classique Arbois Chardonnay from Jura, France ($6 taste/$12 glass) – Reasonably priced but intriguingly complex and spicy; tops for taste vs. value… and from a woman winemaker, no less.
• 2004 Domaine Lejeune Pommard “Poutures” 1er Cru from Burgundy ($10 taste/$20 glass) – For someone who can tend to find many California Pinots, for lack of a better term, bland (I usually prefer Zins, Syrahs, Cabs), this French Pinot blew me away with subtle cherry and plum notes and an earthy mushroom complexity. Nothing like any other Pinot I’ve tasted.
• 2004 Betts & Scholl Hermitage Syrah from Rhone, France ($9.50 taste/$19 glass) – This captivating wine (92 points in Wine Spectator) has butter almond notes with a creamy finish.

Cocktails didn’t fare as well with me, though none I tried were poor by any means. All nice, they didn’t quite stack up to the ever-growing list of craft cocktails to be had in this town. At least, not yet. Ingredients are of top quality and recipes intriguing – it’s just not a cocktail destination. Especially with all the wines you must try!

Desserts ($9 each) are a happy finish, though not as striking as starters and entrees: I like tart Kumquat Confiture with coriander sponge cake, yogurt and white verjus sorbet, or rich Chocolate Delice with roasted banana and brown butter cashew ice cream.

Though costly, a meal at hip-but-low-key RN74 is cheaper than Michael Mina’s flagship and namesake fine dining destination (which remains a special occasion favorite for me).  If money is no object, there are dozens of revelatory taste discoveries here. For the rest of us, it’s a place to escape into vino bliss (from Mr. Parr to the waitstaff, trust them with informed wine recommendations), whether treated as a wine bar with fine food accompaniments or a fine restaurant with a stellar wine list.