Wayfare Tavern

location: 558 sacramento street (between montgomery and sansome), fidi

when tyler florence touches food you can guarantee it will be good. the expectations were pretty high for my dinner at wayfare tavern and they were met and exceeded! from the minute the doorman let us into the restaurant to the time he put us in a town car after our meal i felt like i was being taken care of. wayfare tavern is a dimly lit, two story, homey restaurant on a random corner in the financial district. there is large bar downstairs with brown leathern bar seating and a more formal dinning room upstairs. exposed wood table tops, a fire place and deer heads mounted on the wall give the atmosphere that you're right at home, although it's nothing like my home.

the food at wayfare tavern is american comfort with a little kick. the bread they start each table off with is crispy on the outside like a croissant and flaky and fluffy inside like a biscuit. j and i had the mac 'n' cheese as a starter and we were amazed by how delicious a bowl of mac n cheese could be. it was perfectly crisp on top and cheesy in the middle. the chives & breadcrumbs added the extra flavor that set them apart from other mac n cheese i've had and loved. a simple dish that would be difficult to replicate. for dinner i had the grilled santa maria tri -tip with slow roasted heirloom onion, truffle butter, and Kennebec potatoes. i ordered the meat well done and it was cooked to perfection. very little red but still as juicy as possible. the onion, potatoes and truffle butter all mixed together with the meat on my plate for one of the best meals i've had. ever.

the restaurant is all about wine. with a long list of wines available the menu separates the wines and makes suggestions for the kind of thing you might want for your meal. the cocktail menu has several different artisan choices with fresh and exotic ingredients.

the wait staff at wayfare tavern are there to serve you. like it's homey atmosphere the waiter almost made me feel as if he was our butler. he was happy to answer questions about the menu, the food, cocktails and the restaurant itself.

if you're planning a dinner at wayfare tavern make a reservation and be prepared to open your wallet. we each had only one cocktail with our meal and it was still over $100.

recommendation: have the mac 'n' cheese, no matter what else you do.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Gialina Pizzeria

location: 2842 diamond street (between bosworth & chenery), glen park

gialina pizzeria is located in the cute business area of glen park, a neighborhood i have ventured to only two times. it has been on my list for quite some time so i had to take full advantage of my dinner there, ordering several things on the menu. L took me to dinner for my birthday and we were greeted by a warm, friendly wait staff who sat us at an adorable corner window. even on a wednesday night gialina was crowded but they allowed us to take our time and didn't make us feel rushed. it was a particularly warm october night so we had a bottle of crisp, white italian wine and started dinner.

we started with the farro salad with heirloom tomatoes, basil & burrata which was wonderful. the two pizzas were had were the atomica which had mushrooms, mozzerella, chilies and red onions and the black mission figs with fontina, caramelized onions and speck. both pizzas were fresh and flavorful. we ordered two thinking we would carry something home but finished both. the pizza are traditional neapolitan-style thin crust. we finished the meal with a slice of ricotta cheesecake with figs and pistachios which was, to my surprise, one of the best pieces of cake i've ever had.

gialina is a hidden gem. i'm sure many people are aware of it's amazing food but it wouldn't be the same in another location. it's definitely worth the travel from the other side of the city for a great pizza dinner.

recommendation: make the trek.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: yay! (although i didn't pay the menu is moderately priced)

service: yay!

Woodhouse Fish Co.

location: 1914 fillmore street (between pine & bush), lower pac heights

i've been wanting to try this place for a while now and thought it would be fun to invite l to the city to enjoy some lunch with me. her treat of course! we went to woodhouse for a saturday afternoon lunch and it was very delightful. it wasn't too loud or too crowded and there was no rush for us to finish our meal, so we took our time. both of us decided trying everything on the menu was out of the question although i think we would have accepted the challenge. we opted to share the items we were most interested in so that we could sample the most of the menu.

the fried calamari is accompanied by a fantastic chipotle aioli. it was a delicious starter although l felt it was pretty similar to all of the other fried calamari she's had. we shared a cup of the clam chowder which was nearly perfect. it was thick but still creamy and didn't have an overwhelming amount of potatoes. i was glad we opted for the cup because i don't think we had any idea what was next.

we ordered two different sandwiches because the entrées all seemed like too much for lunch. i had the toasted-buttered dungeness roll while l opted for the bay shrimp & avocado roll. and we ordered a side of onion rings to share, although we never really got to them as we were so full. the crab sandwich was a more than generous portion of fresh crab in a delicious hot, toasted & buttered roll. it required nothing else because the crab alone was amazing. the bay shrimp & avo sandwich was great as well. l couldn't figure out how to eat it because it was such a heaping sandwich. it was covered in a sweet & tangy sauce that accompanied the shrimp and avo wonderfully.

the menu is very reasonably priced ($11-20 for sandos, $14+ for entrées) considering the portions and everything is fresh and delicious. the lunch was paired with a great glass of oyster bay sauvignon blanc.

the view out the window onto fillmore street makes for a lively dining experience and the interior decor brings you right to the ocean. they even have a tv (with a gorgeous frame) showing fisherman out on their boats or docked at land. the wait staff was extremely friendly and they offered suggestions for next time!

this was one of the best lunches i've had in a long time. i'm looking forward to going back for a dinner date.

recommendation: perfect for a date with your mate or your best friend.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: yay!

service: yay!