delectation

Restaurant Lulu

Last Friday night I got last-minute reservations at Restaurant Lulu, where I've never dined at in all my years in the Bay Area. At the height of its popularity -- it generated amazing buzz and good reviews the moment it opened in 1993 -- it was difficult to get a reservation, and there were reports of nightly lines of the hordes of diners spilling out the door. Its chef, Reed Hearon, became the quintessential star chef of the 90s in San Francisco, opening in succession after Lulu, Cafe Marimba, the even-more successful Rose Pistola and the now defunct Black Cat Cafe. Lulu's is still very much around, having had a series of ups-and-downs over the years, but it apparently remains a very popular destination. My parents and I got there around 815pm on a Friday night, 15 minutes early for our dinner reservation, but we were seated immediately. The restaurant is huge, with the airy, roomy feel of a vast warehouse, enhanced by the high, open-beamed ceilings. The side of the room opposite to the door is dominated by the kitchen and an enormous rotisserie, where scores of various meats turn upon numerous rotating spits.

I can't say that the service was all that warm -- both the hostess and our waitress had an air of distanced coolness which I didn't quite like. We ordered to start, some of their antipasti, where you are entitled to select three items: we chose the country pate (with mustard & cornichons & crostini), rabbit rilletes on crostini with tomato-onion jam, and a leek, bacon and goat cheese tart. The pate and the rilletes tasted the best; the tart was a little too salty.

Lulu's main courses are served family style. My family, though great eaters, are not known for the volume we can put away, per se... We opted for just 2 dishes: the whole roasted black bass with tomato and fennel ragout, and the Friday night rotisserie special: roast suckling pig with baby red dandelion, bread and roasted onion salad. As a side we chose some broccoli rabe with chile flakes and garlic. I asked for a glass of 97 St. Julien Bordeaux (fabulous!); Mom had an 02 Louis Latour Bourgounne Blanc. The food was good -- not spectacular, but good. And it took a long time in coming. After the antipasti, we must have waited around 30-45 minutes for the entrees to arrive. One of the assistant managers (looking he had just graduated from college) came by to apologise profusely and say that the kitchen was "terribly backed up," but gave us no other concession. I thought at the very least he should have comped us some dessert or drinks...

The roast pig was quite succulent and tasty, and I liked the little bits of crispy cracklings sprinkled on top of the dish. The bread salad with dandelion greens proved to be too bitter for my taste. The fish, which was perfunctorily presented to us in its entirety (yes, we do roast the whole fish!), was whisked away immediately to be fileted by a tall Charlize Theron lookalike who seemed not to know the meaning of the word smile. It was fresh, but by that time I was not terribly hungry, and the wait and service didn't put me in the greatest mood for eating any longer. Still, I was persuaded to taste a decadent chocolate cake with coffee ice cream (ties with the antipasti as being the best parts of the meal) at the end, as Dad has a sweet tooth.

I think I'd like to give it another try, but I won't be hurrying back in a mad rush soon.

411
816 Folsom St. (near Fourth Street)
Tel. (415) 495-5775
Hours: Lunch daily 11:30-3; dinner Mon.-Thur. 5:30-10 p.m.,
until 11 p.m. Fri., Sat. 5-11 p.m., Sun. 5-10 p.m.
Posted by claudine at October 21, 2004 10:33 PM