The Weekly Eater
GARY DANKO
The Gary Danko interior is sleek and modern.
SAN FRANCISCO >> The most charming aspect of Ron Siegel's win on "Iron Chef," TV's clash of costumed chefs, was his reaction to his win. Rather than looking pleased, he looked like he wanted to disappear into the sanctuary of his kitchen at Masa's in the Hotel Vintage Court at 648 Bush St. Iron Chefs
of San Francisco have
golden touchWell, no wonder. When one hails from a city of Iron, if not Golden, Chefs, one does learn humility. Dining in San Francisco leaves many experiences to savor. Even hamburgers in the bar at Hotel Monaco's Grand Cafe are elegant. From there we could peek at the lines at pop-hotelier Ian Schrager's newly reopened Clift hotel, but we passed on the crowds there in favor of the low-key Cafe Royale on Post Street and the palatial, if somewhat non-P.C. Le Colonial, styled after an Indochina plantation villa.
Back to the food: At Masa's I enjoyed amuse bouches of refreshing chilled tomato consommé and a rich lobster custard topped with Ossetra caviar and whimsically served in an eggshell, but I left with no particular passion for the place. I'd done the tasting menu bit to death in Las Vegas and was feeling quite jaded.
GARY DANKO
Food 
Service Ambience Value Address: 800 North Point at Hyde Street
Phone: (415)749-2060; reservations taken from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call two months in advance. Reservations for parties of six must be credit-card secured.
Hours: Dinner from 5:30 p.m. daily
Cost: From $80 to $170 for two without drinks
Then there was Gary Danko restaurant, which I decided to try on the spur of the moment. If you call the restaurant, you'll learn that reservations must be made two months in advance. A helpful reservationist suggested coming in before 7:30 p.m., when a few places at the 11-seat bar were likely to be open.
Good save. We scored two seats at the bar, where our every desire was tended by a battery of waiters and J.C., whose wine recommendations were flawless. They were all so nice, considering we were nobodies, just out-of-town stragglers who failed to plan ahead.
The amuse bouche offered was a garden-fresh zucchini soup, the start of a whirlwind romance that had me licking my lips through a $55 three-course menu of my choice, including a sweet white corn soup with pieces of applewood-smoked bacon and trout; and roast Maine lobster tail topped with chanterelles, more of the corn and tomatoes and a satiny sauce accented with tarragon.The last time I had food this amazing was at Renoir in Las Vegas, where the kitchen is helmed by Alessandro Stratta, himself slated, along with Roy Yamaguchi, to become one of the American Iron Chefs.
But while Renoir's dining room is old and fussy, Gary Danko is sleek and modern. In fact, both Gary Danko and Masa's eschew trends in favor of simplicity and discretion. Outside Gary Danko there is little to suggest a restaurant exists. Crowds en route to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream in 50-degree weather were oblivious to the real attraction.
We continued to contemplate the Summer Tasting Menu ($74 plus $35 with wine pairings) of glazed oysters; followed by a lightly crisped serving of sautéed snapper in a creamy saffron sauce also made with white wine, clam juice, fish stock and a sprinkling of minced basil; and a seared filet of beef topped with tomatoes, corn relish, basil butter and a dab of pesto.
Just as we were beginning to think things could not be any better, who should breeze in but San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with a dish of his own on his arm, whom he promptly seated next to me. While he worked the room, she tugged at her hemline, trying to stay decent in a mini miniskirt.
We told a bartender at Cafe Royale about the mayor, and she was envious.
"I've lived here all my life, and I never got to see the mayor!" she said.
But the mayor was not the evening's star.
On the surface, Gary Danko's menu didn't seem that different from other chefs of Danko's caliber, but the execution was sublime. There is confidence that comes from relying on superb ingredients and good taste rather than resorting to fussy, nonsensical constructions that cry out for attention.
I came home wishing residents here could sample Danko's fare, and learned that he will join Amy Ferguson-Ota on Maui as a guest chef at the Fairmont Kea Lani Food & Wine Masters showcase Oct. 19 and 20. There will be cooking demonstrations and lunch, $45, and wine-tasting dinners at $110. Call (808) 875-4100.
See some past restaurant reviews in the
section online. Click the logo to go!
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
