Acquerello

1722 Sacramento St
San Francisco, CA 94109

Occasion: Instead of having a nice dinner on Valentine's day, we decided to celebrate the weekend after. We both chose from 4 courses and it was definitely a satisfying and filling meal.  We got different things so that we could share everything we had. Impeccable service, scrumptious food, beautiful presentations, romantic ambiance and delicious departing gift of a box of biscottis. This is only the beginning of our fine dining adventures.  There's Vday, his birthday, my birthday and all the celebrations in between.  I can't wait. 02.18.12

*1 Michelin Star*

Complimentary shot

It was a shot of something that tasted citrusy.  Not much alcohol in it, but was quite tasty.  I barely caught my breath and the waiter had this at table already.

Amuse Bouche

Some kind of fried risotto cake that was flavored with some kind of truffle aioli. It was a bite to remember! Golden fried crispy skin with a warm risotto cake inside. Oh and the truffle aioli added the extra touch to to this delectable bite.

Complementary bread

Smoked Saikou salmon in Abruzzese olive oil,salted capers, blood orange, horseradish, and chive

It's something relatively new on their menu. 

So glad we chose this dish because it was absolutely delicious.  The combination of all the ingredients were perfect.  Just a tiny bit of horseradish, enough to give your nose a little sting, the tart and saltiness of the capers, sweet and juicy blood orange with the hint of chives with the salmon soaked in olive oil. Between the first two appetizers, this was my favorite.

Pear and foie gras raviolo

Dry-farmed, organic Warren pears filled with truffled torchon of foie gras

I love foie gras.  They're banning it here in California as of July 2012.  Because the next few weeks will be our once a year fine dining adventures, we're trying to enjoy it while we still can.

Another very beautifully presented dish.  The ravoli was made with thin slices of pear wrapped over a creamy and tasty foie gras torchon.  Though we both enjoyed it very much; the texture and the marriage of flavors: sweet pear with the umami foie gras. Like the salmon, it was a cold appetizer.

 

Ridged pasta with foie gras, scented with black truffles and Marsala   

This was probably my favorite dish of the night.  I love the sweet flavor of the marsala combined with the flavor of the black truffles and foie gras.  It was a very rich and flavorful dish that made me want to lick everything off of their plate.  I don't mind the sweetness of the marsala, but I read of a dislike for the marsala sauce on yelp. I have to disagree because it was really good. I know it may look simple, but try it and it will change your mind.

The waiters were so nice, since it wasn't what I ordered, they brought out a little tasting for me as well because I shouldn't have to watch him eat something so tasty and not have a bite myself.

Rabbit ragù and Castelvetrano olives with Sardinian malloreddus

I like trying different things on a menu or things that seem unique.  Henry not so much, but he was open to trying rabbit meat.  So proud of him.  The meat was all ground up and tasted a lot like beef, but softer and not as tough.  It came with roasted carrots and potatoes, which were delicious.  We both thought it was a good dish, Henry even liked it more than the Lobster panzerotti. He thought the taste of rabbit would be gamey and was thrilled that it wasn't.

Lobster panzerotti in a spicy lobster brodo with “Diavolicchio”

I thought it was delicious, but since Henry had lobster overload the weekend before, he didn't think so. I did not find the sauce spicy at all, as I am a person who seems to be very sensitive to spicy food.  I loved that there were lobster pieces in the middle for us to enjoy with out the pasta over it.  Flavorful and filling.

Seared filet of dorade, stuffed calamari, and fried mussels in a saffron-tomato sauce

I love seafood, so this dish definitely appealed to me.  The filet of fish was cooked perfect, soft and tender.  The skin on top was flavorful and crispy, which definitely adds a great texture to the fish.  Saffron tomato sauce goodness went perfectly with the fried mussels.  Oh and the calamari was stuffed with some kind of meat that I can't recall at the moment, but it wasn't anything to special.

Pancetta-wrapped scallops, thyme-scented apples, red kuri squash, and hazelnut foam

We both love scallops, so we had to order this. The pancetta definitely added a great savory flavor to the sweet scallops.  The foam, was a little weird, but innovative I guess.  I don't exactly know how I feel about foam on my dish.  Reminds me of a cappucino and even soap sometimes.  Aside from that, I enjoyed my scallops.

Espresso panna cotta with hazelnut-gianduja praline and teeccino granita

Delicious. Glad that we shared it because it's a little rich, espcially the hazelnut praline crunchy goodness.  We were very happy with our choice of dessert.

Then they come with more sweets.  Their house made truffles and jelly.  We got to choose two.  I chose one with earl gray and green tea and the white chocolate.  It was absolutely delicious and a great way to end our meal.

Our box of complimentary biscottis, which was freaking amazing. I devoured it for breakfast the next morning.