Give Me Some Food

Yes folks, that's what Felix said midway through our dinner at Terzo Friday night. And if you are lucky enough to know my husband, you'll know that that is one of the highest compliments he can bestow on a house of food.

The picture above is all you get on Terzo's design concept...their card photographed on my kitchen table. I know...you're blown away.  See, we had 10pm reservations and the restaurant was emptying out, so without the hustle and bustle of the crowd, I became a lot more shy about my camera. That and the recent article in the Chronicle chiding food bloggers who are too promiscuous with their cameras. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll get over it soon.  But you can actually tell a lot from just that business card. The color palate in the restaurant is the same as the one on the card: oatmeal, tan and black. For being an Italian restaurant (or at least, Terzo means "a third place" in Italian)- the design looked awfully like something out of Sweden. Minimalist, wood, sleek, geometric...kind of like that business card! I hope whoever designed that card comes across my blog- this is probably all the props they'll publicly get for it...

But down to business- the food. Felix and I usually have a huge disagreement about venturing out for tapas- Felix doesn't want to go because he gets nervous that he'll leave hungry, but I love trying as many different dishes as possible which is tapas' forte. Btw- (and I know I've mentioned this before) single guys: this is the place to pick up women. Forget the bar- go to a nice tapas restaurant and send that cute table of single women a order of the Serrano wrapped figs...you won't be disappointed.

Felix was won over pretty fast with the arrival of our first course:

The Heirloom Tomatoes with Avocado and Tahini Sauce. I loved this twist on a classic because I really never venture from tomatoes and mozzarella. Yet the avocado has a great fatty consistency just like cheese, and the tahini had a subtle punch just like balsamic vinegar. I need to start thinking more like this so that I might venture away from recipes and do my own thing.

The House Cured Wild King Salmon with Creme Fraiche and Cucumber was the second piece of evidence that the man behind the stove might be possessed by the Muppet's Swedish Chef. My favorite thing about this dish was that the cucumber was peeled in long strips to match the thickness of the salmon. It made every bite the right proportion of fish and veggie.

The Roasted Beets with Yogurt Garlic and Dill. This was Felix's favorite dish- I could tell because he kept a small pile of them on his plate to eat after everything else. He saves the best for last- I'm more of a eat-dessert-first person.

I know I really am enjoying a dining experience when I forget to take pictures. That's what happened with our next course- The Roasted Niman Ranch Beef. About a bite and a half after destroying the lovely presentation, I remembered. This actually isn't too much of a tragedy because it was our least favorite course. It wasn't bad, but after the three amazing courses before- it was just...fine.

This was our surprise course: The Paparadella. When we sat down we were told that six tapas is a good number for two people. We immediately decided on five, and then I asked our waitress (who was wonderful) to surprise us with the sixth. I think I'm going to start doing this at all tapas joints because the wait staff knows best anyway. This pasta was perfect. It also makes me believe that I need to take a cooking course on pasta. It seems like no matter what I do, I can not get my sauce to stick to the pasta like it did in this dish. And it really makes a difference with every mouth full.

Here is the Duck Leg with Figs and Onions. Amazing how it just fell off the bone. Neither the jus nor the leg was laden with fat. Yum. But, we were getting really full...

Never mind- order dessert anyway!

Ok!

Here is the Warm Berry Cobbler ( Peach and Blueberry). Yum.

Roll me out of the restaurant...I'm full....

Terzo
3011 Steiner (at Union)
San Francisco
415-441-3200