Betty's List Departments
Signature Sponsors
Media Partners
Betty's List Columns
|
|
Sauce
131 Gough Street (between Oak & Page Streets)
San Francisco, California 94101
(415) 415-252-1369
www.saucesf.com
Cuisine: American Bistro
Loved: cozy atmosphere, Hayes Valley location
To Die For: shaved steak salad, roasted chicken mac-n-cheese,
Dungeness crab “cake”, cinnamon sugar donuts
Prices: $$-$$$ (Moderate-expensive)
Hours: Dinner: Monday through Sunday 5:00 PM – 12:00 AM
bar open until 2:00 AM
Noise Level: Tolerable
Service: Attentive
Romantic: Yes
Reservations: Accepted, but walk-ins accepted
Good for Kids: No
Good to Know: great place to go before attending the opera or symphony, back room available for party rentals
Recommended / Rating: 3 Stars (0=Don’t Bother to 5=Highly Recommend)
If there is one thing I’ve discovered in San Francisco, it’s that you
can’t always get a cab when you need one. That’s especially true when
you’re in a hurry, or in my case, meeting someone for dinner. Walking
from Nob Hill to Hayes Valley wasn’t exactly my idea of the beginning
of a great Friday night, but I did manage to work up quite an appetite.
I’d heard about Sauce from friends, who said it’s a great addition to
the hip-and-happening dining scene in Hayes Valley. For good measure,
my classy friend Grey decided to join me to see if Sauce was worth all
the hype.
Opened on Thanksgiving 2005, Sauce is a great place to dine if you’re
looking for somewhere to go before attending the symphony or opera.
“The crowd is usually a bit more dressy before a performance,” says
chef and co-owner Ben Paula. “Then our neighborhood regulars stop by
for a drink or try one of our new specials.” Paula’s background
includes training at Endicott College in Massachusetts and banquet chef
and sous chef duties at various hotels in
Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Atmosphere
In a rather charming space in Hayes Valley, Paula and his business
partners have created a lively space in rich earth tones and dark
woods. With seating for 48 in the front dining area, 18 at the busy
bar, and 40 in the back dining area, Sauce is roomy without being
overly grand.
On a rather annoying note, I made a reservation weeks in advance,
confirmed it “the day of”, then arrived to discover they’d still gotten
it wrong and that I wouldn’t be seated for another two hours. Luckily,
a table soon became available due to no-shows, but I would highly
recommend double-checking your reservations. I must say the seats were
very comfortable at our table, and our waiter was prompt in bringing us
fresh water and discussing the specials on the menu. Sauce’s
noise level was also quite tolerable, even with the Winter Olympics
being broadcast on a monitor over the bar.
The Food
With monthly menu changes, Chef Paula and his staff strive to serve
American bistro classics that are quite good. Grey and I tried the
romaine heart salad with candied almonds, feta cheese, and dried
cranberries with a lustrous lemon vinaigrette ($8) and a truly
wonderful shaved steak salad with crisp lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and
a sinful Point Reyes blue cheese dressing ($11).
Other good beginnings include an exotic Asian pear and spiced cashew
salad with Chiffonade spinach and fresh greens ($8) and a classic
tomato bisque with white truffle grilled cheese toast sticks ($9).
As for entrées, the Dungeness crab “cake” was superb with tender, meaty
crab meat bound together with scalloped mousse and layered with olive
oil, poached potatoes, fresh tomatoes, and covered in a delicately
light cream sauce ($19). Other good choices include the
bacon-wrapped meatloaf with individually roasted and seasoned ground
beef, wrapped in apple wood smoked bacon ($16) and the roasted
chicken macaroni and cheese: hand-rolled pasta blended with a tangy
four-cheese cream sauce, asparagus, and roasted chicken ($18). Grey had
a special of the evening, a classic spin on fish and chips. Tender
tilapia was dipped and fried in an oatmeal beer batter and served with
crisp salt-and-vinegar Russet potato chips ($18). Outstanding!
If you’re a dessert lover, don’t miss the cinnamon sugar doughnuts with
vanilla bourbon dipping sauce ($6) or the incredible ice cream smash
with baked brownies soaked in crème de cocoa and simple syrup broken
into and mixed with delectable vanilla ice cream and topped with white
and dark chocolate sauce ($6). Other unique desserts include a Guinness
milkshake topped with white chocolate and fresh cream ($6) and the
over-the-top PB&J: pan seared sponge cake layered with homemade
strawberry preserves and Frangelico peanut butter with a vanilla ice
cream center ($6). It’s so good you almost want to cry.
Bio & Past Articles
Past Articles
|
Betty's List Restaurant Review
Columnist David Grabstald.
An enthusiastic freelance writer, editor and copywriter with marketing, media and daily newspaper experience, David serves as senior food critic for Betty's List. His articles have been published by Macy's Westbound, Mervyn's, The New Filmore, SF Examiner, Marina Times, North Texas Daily, And Baby Magazine and others. He is an experienced writer of grant proposals, documentation plans, feasibility reports, press releases, employee procedure manuals and other formats. David has written news scripts for NBC and produced video packages for the Irving Community Television Network. David can be reached at dgrabstald@gmail.com. His website is http://davidgrabstald.blogspot.com/ |
|
