SPQR

Julius H. nommed at “SPQR” in San Francisco, CA @ 7:33pm on 04/29/10

great! - SPQR is one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants. Featuring an Italian menu, the food is consistently excellent and the wait-staff are attentive but not oppressive. We sat at the chef’s counter this visit which was both entertaining and warm.

• Grilled Wild Salmon Belly, Golden Raisin ‘saor’ & Pepper Jam - great! - The salmon was beautifully cooked. The richness of the belly meat was balenced well with the acidity of the raisin ‘saor’.

• Bone Marrow Sformatino, Smoked Bacon & Spring Onions - AMAZING! - The bone marrow panna cotta was silky smooth on the pallet. The sweetness of the onion and salty crispness of the bacon balanced the richness of the bone marrow nicely.

• Pork Belly ‘croccante’, Sundried Tomato, Olives & Germolata - great! - The pork belly was cut in 2 bite pieces and crisped on all sides. Although the center was tender, I think that the crisping was perhaps a bit overdone. The celery, olive, sundried tomato was very fresh and helped to lighten the dish.

• Ramp Tagliatelle, Sea Urchin, Spicy Tomato & Dungeness Crab - great! - I really wanted this dish to be amazing, but there was not enough sea urchin for it to fully flavor the dish. The pasta was cooked al dente and had a nice bit of spice to it. The two bites with crab and sea urchin were truly wonderful.

• Stinging Nettle Torchio, Garlic Crema, Pancetta & Parmesan - great! - The torchio was a pasta with lots of crevasses to hold onto the cream sauce and had a wonderful mouth feel. The pancetta was finally copped and crispy adding a nice textural element to the dish but, perhaps, contributed to it being slightly salty.

• Ricotta Bavarese, Sour Cherry & Napa Valley Verjus - great! - This ricotta cheesecake was less sweet and lighter then its counterparts at places like cheesecake factory. The topping provided a crispy counterpoint to the smooth ricotta. The cherries were plump and added a touch of sweetness without being cloying.

• Cappuccino - great! - The coffee was strong without being bitter. A great accompaniment to dessert.