Zooming to Zuni

If it's possible to have a love affair with a restaurant, I have one with Zuni. So do many people. Come here at any time during its business hours, and it's jammed. But in the midst of this craziness, you will get a warm welcome, you will get great service (probably), and you will almost always get a great meal (I will explain the modifiers below).

I remember the first time we went to Zuni. It was totally by chance. We had landed in SF and were hanging out with a friend. We were hungry, and went looking. We found a place, it looked interesting, and asked if we could eat. We didn't have a reservation, and I guess at the time we were young and beautiful, and the host put us in the window. We had great food. Did we know we were at a landmark restaurant? NO. We found that out several years later.

We make it a point to go to Zuni every trip, usually on a Friday night, when it REALLY hops. Last night was no exception. We found our way to a table, and a lovely server named Sabrina. The level of service here has gone up in recent years. A time or two, we had servers who seemed more interested in being anywhere but work. That's changed. And while we have had one or two things that made us say "not again," that experience was very limited.

In the past, we've had grilled fava beans so tender you could eat the pods, and we did. We've had citrus and fennel salad that was good enough for dessert. Which is how we had it. Quail and sausage with roasted grapes And oysters. Eating at Zuni and not having oysters should not be permitted. Ask them to pick the best ones for you and slurp them down. We always ask for West coast ones. Why not?

There are certain dishes that define the restaurant, none moreso than the roasted chicken. It's done in a wood oven, to order, and it takes an hour. It says so, right on the menu. It's 48 bucks, with a bread salad and some vegetables. It's worth the wait. They sell hundreds a night. You can get very close to the original with the recipe in Judy Rodgers book, and you should try it. Also, the sheep milk ricotta gnocchi. They are a semiregular item, and Annalena will confess, she has tried, and failed, to duplicate them. So have them if they have them.

Last night they did not, but no matter. In addition to oysters, we had a salad of radishes and cactus paddles, and a plate of spaghetti with fava beans, peas, snap peas, pancetta, pea leaves and lemon. These are dishes that sort of define how the restaurant works. They are awfully "simple in concept," but without drop dead perfect produce, they are not going to work. They worked.

We followed with a roasted duck leg with roasted cherries , salad and hazelnuts. Now, "conventional wisdom" says you do not roast duck legs. This was SUPERB. And Annalena asked "how does the chef do it," and know what? She found out. "Long and slow." Basically, it was a play on the old mode of braising duck legs, only using fat instead of wine, and cooking them for an hour and a half. Annlena will be copying this dish. Also, peppered hanger steak, with potatoes and rapini. Again, drop dead WONDERFUL, together with the signature shoestring potatoes. You know the type: where you say "just one more bunch. Just one more bunch," as you shovel them down your gullet.

Dessert? Well, Chef Rodgers has been clear that this is not her favorite course. It kinda shows. The desserts were good and well conceived: apricot cherry crumble with ice cream, and strawberry sorbet with balsamic vinegar. The crumble was good, but tasted ore of butter than fruit, and the sorbet was as intense with strawberries as you can get, but I couldn't taste the vinegar. Guy did, so maybe my tastebuds were glutted.

DO try it. Everyone else does. You may very well become a "Zuni zealot"