I was taken by an article about eating in restaurants that started like this:
It’s extremely rare I can pony up for a meal at one of San Francisco’s illustrious Michelin-starred restaurants. Not only because it’s tough to get a reservation, but with tasting menus ranging from $375 at Benu to $475 at Atelier Crenn, they’re more prohibitively expensive than ever.
I can't imagine anything (not even Dungeness crab) that I would be willing to pay $375-$475 for. But then I am so out of it where it comes to food that most of this article was like reading a foreign language (and I suppose given the names of some of the foods, it probably was.
The author goes on to talk about the one Michelin starred restaurant in the city that is affordable, only $74 for a 4-course tasting menu.
Marlena may be several degrees cheaper than many of San Francisco’s other Michelin-starred restaurants, but the service is certainly on par. It’s the kind of attentiveness I’ve only ever seen at restaurants like Californios, which has 2 Michelin stars: fresh plates and silverware in between each course, your napkin neatly folded on the table for you the second you get up to use the restroom, not to mention very friendly and knowledgeable servers.
But then it talks about the food to be served for starters and it lost me. I didn't have a clue what most of this is.
the farro verde, its toothsome grains served with sliced asparagus and chives and smothered in a surprisingly light ramps hollandaise; and the Hokkaido scallops, served raw with a chilled Coachella corn sauce, jalapeño granita and sea grapes.
I was also lost when he talked about the pasta course.
The Provençal white asparagus risotto with green strawberry, sunflower sprout and nasturtium felt a little repetitive after the farro asparagus starter, although the addition of strawberries was a welcome twist. I preferred the more deeply flavored charcoal cavatelli, with little hot dog bun-shaped pasta pieces swimming in a smoky burrata sauce with apricot and spring onion.
Reading about this restaurant, though, reminded me of one of the most memorable restaurants that Walt and I ate in a gazillion years ago. Robert Charles was French and I don't remember the cost--probably expensive for us, but nothing in the rank of $375 or even $75 each. The first thing I noticed was that there were no prices on the menus for women (today that would be an offense, I suppose) since I guess that women are supposed to order whatever they want without worrying about how much their partner is going to spend.
The restaurant was full, but the tables were spaced so far apart that you never were bothered by the conversation at another table. Also, every table seemed to have its own waiter, who was not at all intrusive, like at the Olive Garden, where my friend Kathleen and I used to lunch once a month. The waiters came to the table at least every 5 minutes to ask if everything was OK and if you wanted anything else. It got to be extremely annoying.
But at this place in San Francisco the waiters were close enough and attentive enough that if you wanted something or needed something, they were right there, but never interrupted you otherwise.
The one strange thing is that when I left the table to go to the restroom, the waiter accompanied me to and from.
Oh yea--and the food was wonderful.
I'm not sure why it shut down eventually, but Robert Charls opened a less formal place at Lake Tahoe. We never went there, but they probably didn't have waiters escorting women to the restroom
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