Bacar, San Francisco

Bacar
Fine dining with jazz near Pac Bell AT&T Park in San Francisco

We haven't technically had dinner at Bacar yet. We attended a party there, where the superb appetizers brought it to our notice. We have ended up there twice looking for dessert, because they're open 'til midnight. The first time, we realized we were hungry for more than just dessert, got appetizers and bar pizza, and were too full after that to get dessert. This time, we went right for the good stuff.

They have a pastry chef onsite, so we opted for the "assortment of cookies and confections," and were not disappointed. Eleven little pastries were brought out for us to split, and though we had a few favorites, we weren't disappointed in any one of them. Our waitress confided that she found it hard to resist sneaking one or two of them from the back when the pastry chef wasn't looking, and we could understand that. If we had to pick just one, we'd be hard-pressed, but I think it would be between the ginger-lemon cookie, the chocolate chip walnut cookie, and the coconut rice pudding with caramel (served on a little spoon, also available as its own dish on the menu). We're suckers for ginger, and the cookie had just the right blend of spicy ginger with sweet, tart lemon. A good chocolate chip cookie is a joy forever, and this one was crunchy, sweet, and dark, the walnuts adding a nice depth to the flavor (and I usually don't like nuts in my chocolate confections). And the coconut rice pudding: creamy and sweet, the caramel setting it off, a caramelized banana on top. Lovely tropical blend of flavors, with the caramelization of the banana providing enough crunch to offset the softness of the other ingredients.

We took turns dividing up these and the others, choosing the easy-to-split (cookies) and trying to leave the hard ones for each other (like the pudding). Besides the three listed above, there were: a white chocolate almond haystack, a marshmallow, a chocolate tart with kumquat, a meringue layer cookie, a cigar with chocolate creme, a fruit jelly (like a Sunkist one, only softer, smoother, and with a gentler fruity taste), a dried apricot coated in white chocolate with pistachio, and an almond tea cookie.

After that, we had just enough room to try a cheese plate, and decided to sample the Testun Occelli al Barolo, a cow and goat's milk cheese aged in must of Nebbiolo Grapes. It's almost as sharp as a blue cheese, with a nice purple shading on the outside where it sat in the must. It came with small slices of bread, some quince jelly, and marcona almonds, which were perfect to go with the sharp flavor of the cheese.

Mark got a dessert wine flight, too: the one we both liked best was a Gróf Degenfeld 2000 "Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos" from Hungary (from the website, I'm guessing that "Tokaji Aszú" is the type of wine and "5 Puttonyos" is the specific label). It was a nice, sweet wine, not overpoweringly so, but sweet enough that I enjoyed it.

Someday we'll have to go to dinner at Bacar, but in the meantime, it's a great option for appetizers, cheese, or dessert. We'll keep going back and recommend it highly to anyone who might want a quick bite after a ballgame or a Moscone event.

Empire Tap Room, Palo Alto

Empire Grill & Tap Room
California cuisine, moderately priced

Two of the places we visit most often in Palo Alto are Buca di Beppo and Gordon Biersch, across from each other on Emerson between Hamilton and Forest. Next to Buca's is a little place called the Empire Tap Room, which we'd often said "we should try" and never did. A while ago, we tried it and liked it, so when we had a friend in town, we went again and were not disappointed.

Inside, it looks like an upscale bar. The patio was crowded, so we opted for the table inside right away rather than the 20-30 minute wait to sit outside. I've since read glowing reviews of the patio--will have to give it a try for next time. But the inside itself is not too bad, though our table seemed to be a favored stopping point for some gnats, maybe residents of the large plant next to us. The staff were all friendly and helpful, and the tables neat and clean.

The food, overall, was excellent. They brought some fresh bread, with oil and balsamic vinegar upon request. Service was a little slow, probably because the outside patio was so crowded, but it was nothing that bothered us much. Our companion ordered the New York steak (sorry, I'm awful about remembering steak types--it was flank or strip) and we split the halibut special (accepting the $2 split plate charge), topped with red pepper puree and accompanied by roasted potatoes. Both dishes included assorted vegetables julienne, and we ordered the parmesan roasted asparagus on the side.

The steak was (I understand) good. The halibut was delicious, tender but firm with good flavor. The red pepper puree was okay, but didn't really add much to the fish from my perspective. The potatoes were excellent, not too soft and really flavorful, and the roasted asparagus was really good, hot and crunchy and tasty. We also ordered their french fries, which were very good, crispy and well-seasoned, though the homemade ketchup tasted a bit too much like spaghetti sauce and the aioli, though tasty, was a little runny. We ate comfortably and weren't too full when the meal was done. For a place called a "tap room," the Empire has a good selection of wines, which were consumed without complaint and seemed to go well with the meal (I had a Diet Coke myself, which was also good).

It's a little pricey, but the food is good, the service is good, and if you want to sit outside, there are few places with as large a patio. If you just want good brew pub food, it's hard to beat Gordon Biersch across the street, and I think eight times out of ten we'd go back there rather than return to Empire.