Sweet & Savory

SF Dine About Town: Part I-A

After hearing nothing but laudatory comments about Dine About Town over the past two or three years, we were not about to let another year of the program pass us by. So this year, the countdown to the new year was also a countdown to a month of feasting. Since the "world class dining" deal - $21.95 for 3-course lunch and $31.95 for 3-course dinner - is only valid for the month of January, we spent last week narrowing down the over one hundred available places to feed down to four that we felt caused us to drool the most with their posted menus.

For our first Dine About Town experience, we went to Ana Mandara, situated at the edge of the bay, in Ghirardelli Square.

Decorated in the style of French Vietnamese colonial, the interior was breathtaking. Unfortunately, the low-light setting did not present the best conditions for photography. The seemingly-authentic facade of traditional architecture and the simple elegance of their furniture remind us of the lost beauty of that bygone era. Couple that with the chic modern styling of their upstairs lounge and you get a feel for the intimate social atmosphere. Diffused red-orange lighting, natural wood and rattan-woven chairs, and familial portraits adorning the walls were all details which served to complete the romantic ambiance.

Shortly after being seated, we ordered three courses each. J stuck with the prix fixe menu while I simply could not resist some of the regular dinner fare.

My first course was the Sonoma Duck Sausage with Foie Gras, Pinenuts, and Spicy Ginger Sauce. The exquisitely-seasoned melange of ground duck, foie gras, and pinenuts was wrapped in what looked like roasted seaweed sheets, and then pan-fried, such that the juices flowed out only when I bit into these sausage-shaped packages. Savory all by itself, the flavor of these duck "sausages" were enhanced by the tangy-spicy ginger sauce and accompanying pickled julienned carrot and daikon. A sprinkling of roughly-chopped peanuts completed the arrangement of this dish.

My second course - Grilled Rack of Lamb, with Vietnamese Cinnamon-Star Anise Rub and Spicy Tamarind Sauce - tasted as good as it sounds. Cooked to medium well and showing just a touch of pink in the center, the lamb was tender and juicy. This was served atop a bed of raw pea sprouts decorated with fried garlic chips. I was pleasantly surprised by the tangy-salty flavor of the normally-dull pea sprouts and surmised that they may have been wearing a light sauce combining fish and soy sauces and sugar in some secret proportion. There was more than met the eye to this dish, for when I was close to finishing my delightful pea sprout salad, I was greeted with what looked like a potato croquette, hidden beneath and peeking out coyly. I couldn't detemine the exact composition of said croquette, but the mingled flavors spoke of sweet onion, potato, and Japanese yam.

Rounding out the meal, I ordered the Roasted Banana Boat, with Caramel-Walnut Sauce and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. This was a new interpretation on the typical fried banana, served à la mode, that seems to dominate the dessert menu of every southeast asian restaurant in the area. The banana was roasted peel-on, then carefully opened lengthwise and set in a pool of caramel sauce replete with chopped walnuts. The walnuts' crunch played a great duet with the soft warmth of the gooey banana. Served with a scoop of smooth vanilla bean ice cream, this rich flavor combination was the perfect way to end my dinner.