The acclaimed fusion place is literally down the block from Sam's place but they'd never gotten around to trying it. My illustrious presence was as good an excuse as any. They gave us a 7:30pm reservation, but we went over early and they were able to seat us without trouble.
The space was industrial in that it had high ceilings, tall windows, with steel braces and cables forming the geometry above. But they also maintained the warmth by building thick wood beams across the room lower down along the wall to add intimacy and still maintain the airiness created by the high roof. The pistachio green walls graced by local art remain muted up close but gives the overall room some pop when you walk in the door. A large bar area makes it a good place to drop in, hang out, or have a sit-down dinner.
The schtick is Asian-fusion small-plate action. They were participating in the Dining Around Town promotion, which in their case was three small plates (each with 2-3 choices) and a dessert for $35. There weren't quite enough choices for each of us to all get a different DAT lineup, plus that'd be way too much food anyway. So Sam nominally went with the DAT choices and we picked three more plats for all to share, avoiding plain things like "Spicy Pan Fried Chinese Long Beans" (a.k.a. 乾扁四季豆, which is good but probably done better at a good Chinese place).
The bar's part of the deal, so it behooved us to have some drinks to complement the food. The Lemon Drop was a bit too fruity for Sam's masculinity, but the Sake Kamikaze was tasty yet manly. Michelle and I split the Varietal Hodgepodge white wine flight, which was four half-pours of very different wines for not much more than the price of a single full glass.
Rich, honey taste without being sweet or oaky. Very unique and tasty.
Austere, minerally, and almost bitter. Not crowd-pleasing but good with the right foods.
Riesling works well with the lighter Asian flavors. Fruity but not sweet.
Light and drinkable South American SB.
The tuna from the Seared Rare Ahi Tuna Tower starter wasn't going to match the sheer purity of the maguro sashimi from 吉園, but the additional flavor and construction of the dish more than compensates. The barely cooked slices of tuna and microgreeens on fried wonton skins flavored by an Asian-style miso viniagrette. A bit more fish woulda been nice, though. The salad was a Japanese-style soy-sesame dressing, over a lacquered bowl full of fresh Californian greens.
Usually not a big squash person. Don't particularly like squishy sweet-ish savory things. But I did like the Red Curried Kabocha Squash, and besides we needed some starch, otherwise it'd kinda hard to fill up on the small plates (emphasis on small). The red curry provided spice and a bit of heat, and the yogurt sauce added richness to make a complex mix of flavors with a little of just about everything. The wild mushroom risotto is pure savory goodness without being heavy at all. Although mom would probably faint at the thought of twelve bucks for a small plate of fancy 稀飯.
The Grilled Korean Style Short Rib (geez, it's SF, people know what kal-bi means) had two big meaty slabs of beef rib meat sitting on a bed of kimchee. The meat is high-grade and the flavor was there, but it's really just a yuppiefied version of a regular Korean dish. And the kimchee was totally weak sauce, which we will grudging accept in the name of harmony with the more delicate dishes. In comparison, the Grilled Green Curry Marinated Mahi Mahi (with pinapple-habanero salsa) was different and good. Even when I was in Hawaii I would run into dry mahi-mahi. This, on the other hand, was an oh-so-juicy piece of fish with grill marks on the outside, but with just the barest hint of translucency in the middle. One bite of the fish just by itself, and one bite with some salsa for an additional zing. Sometimes sharing sucks.
Sam had his eye on the Mango Panna Cotta as soon as he saw the menu. The PC was creamy smoothness with good flavor, but couldn't but feel that the two-dollar mango pudding at the dim-sum places was the better deal. Also got a warm berry-apple cobbler topped with chunks of sugared bread cubes (kinda like sweet croutons) and a scoop of coconut ice cream. Now I usually wouldn't go for such a heavy dessert after a big meal, but the small-plate approach left just enough room for dessert so we could dig in without going bust.
In the end, got to taste a lot of different flavors, and walked feeling pleasantly full with a good buzz on top. And all for a not-cheap-but-reasonable price, at least according to Sam, who picked up the bill. Thanks.
Eos Wine Bar and Restaurant
901 Cole St.
San Francisco, CA 94117-4315
415-566-3063