New Restaurant Claudine!
Forgive my lack of updates lately. I'm playing Lady Macbeth for squirmy seven year olds by day and wrangling picture frames with the cast of Hanging Georgia by night (I'm hoping the "Scottish play" curse doesn't apply to blogs). I haven't had much time to respond to emails or call family members, let alone Occupy Emeryville or pontificate about gastronomics. But a free evening and a friends-and-family invitation to test drive the new San Francisco restaurant Claudine has given me renewed blogging fervor!
Claudine is the newest addition to Claude Lane, the tiny Parisian alleyway of Union Square which also boasts art gallery 5 Claude Lane and restaurant Gitane.
Claudine has a clean, bright, lunch-timey atmosphere, with an abbreviated menu and the entire wine list on tap. I suspect that once things get swinging it will be more of a business lunch destination for the Union Square crowd. A retail section devoted to local products also lent itself a casual daytime vibe.
The food itself was described as "local-global," presumably meaning locally sourced but globally inspired, although to me it seemed standard California fare. All the dishes were clean, simple, and delicious. We wanted to start with 1/2 dozen oysters, but by the time we were seated all the oysters were "86-ed." So we went with the fresh scallop crudo with fennel confit. Lovely combination.
Then came the red oak salad with grana padano cheese. Simple but I got my greens in!
Then a crispy pork salad on a bed of radicchio with chunks of golden delicious apples. I appreciated the generous use of veggies in all of Claudine's dishes, always complimenting the proteins and keeping my digestion happy.
Roasted atlantic salmon with turnips, sugar snap peas and butternut squash. The salmon was perfectly cooked with a delightful crispy-black exterior.
Then semolina dumplings with chard, trumpet mushrooms, and cauliflower cream. I always say you can't go wrong with dumplings, unfortunately these guys were a little on the dry side and the mushrooms were slightly overcooked. The occasional bite with a generous quantity of cauliflower cream was redeemed, but there wasn't enough to save the whole dish.
And the best part...s'mores! For dessert was an incredible s'mores pudding, with layers of graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow cream.
Thanks for giving me a reason to go to Union Square, Claudine!
Claudine is the newest addition to Claude Lane, the tiny Parisian alleyway of Union Square which also boasts art gallery 5 Claude Lane and restaurant Gitane.
Claudine has a clean, bright, lunch-timey atmosphere, with an abbreviated menu and the entire wine list on tap. I suspect that once things get swinging it will be more of a business lunch destination for the Union Square crowd. A retail section devoted to local products also lent itself a casual daytime vibe.
The food itself was described as "local-global," presumably meaning locally sourced but globally inspired, although to me it seemed standard California fare. All the dishes were clean, simple, and delicious. We wanted to start with 1/2 dozen oysters, but by the time we were seated all the oysters were "86-ed." So we went with the fresh scallop crudo with fennel confit. Lovely combination.
Then came the red oak salad with grana padano cheese. Simple but I got my greens in!
Then a crispy pork salad on a bed of radicchio with chunks of golden delicious apples. I appreciated the generous use of veggies in all of Claudine's dishes, always complimenting the proteins and keeping my digestion happy.
Roasted atlantic salmon with turnips, sugar snap peas and butternut squash. The salmon was perfectly cooked with a delightful crispy-black exterior.
Then semolina dumplings with chard, trumpet mushrooms, and cauliflower cream. I always say you can't go wrong with dumplings, unfortunately these guys were a little on the dry side and the mushrooms were slightly overcooked. The occasional bite with a generous quantity of cauliflower cream was redeemed, but there wasn't enough to save the whole dish.
And the best part...s'mores! For dessert was an incredible s'mores pudding, with layers of graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow cream.
Thanks for giving me a reason to go to Union Square, Claudine!
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