With an atmosphere of contemporary elegance, plus excellent service and trays of succulent small bites coming in spectacularly focused trios, Michael Mina restaurant is certainly worth the special occasion splurge. Tables are distant enough for your group to feel safe and uncrowded. You enter the room–hidden within the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square–by climbing a small flight of stairs, perhaps accurately representational of the culinary temple that Michael Mina has enjoyed since its inception.

Michael Mina has many offerings of multi-course (prix fixe) dinners. The standard three-course dinner sets you back $105. Expensive, to be sure, but it’s a wonderful experience. Six-course tasting menus are $135, and a great three-course pre-theatre meal is $55.

COURSE ONE – PASTA, BRAISE & CONFIT

Course 1 - Michael Mina SF Prix Fixe Dinner - Pasta, Braise & Confit

LEFT: Fettucine, Rabbit, English Peas

A beautifully rendered meaty pasta, rife and verdant with variegated greenliness. Few American chefs seem to really honor rabbits effectively; the chefs at Mina certainly do. Tastes like Spring and Summer in a dish; simply delicious.

TOP / CENTER: Orecchiette, Pork Short Rib, and Fava Beans

Perhaps the only faux pas moment of the meal. The potentially rich flavor of the pork short rib was nowhere here, and not supported by typically chewy orecchiette (ear-shaped, dense, and spongy pasta), and born-to-be-mild fava beans. Blah.

RIGHT: Ravioli, Duck Leg, Radicchio

Wow; utterly phenomenal. This is a little triumph: rich duck confit, sumptuous in its dark gravy, magical in its layered tones of smell and taste. If you go this season to Michael Mina, request your waiter if you can get a single large portion of this instead of the trio; I surmise they would oblige you. This is the best meaty ravioli I’ve eaten in 2009, and among the best meaty pastas of the year. I’d like to have a big bowl of it and a glass of Super Tuscan; that would be a perfect meal.

Duck Confit Ravioli, Radicchio - Michael Mina SF

COURSE TWO – BRANDT FARM BEEF and SPRING VEGETABLES

At first, the tiny bites of steak on the tri-partite plate seem light. But the incredible flavors from each steak made every bite fulfilling, worth enjoying slowly. Each of the three steak dishes was excellent. 

Course 2 - Steak & Spring Vegetables - Michael Mina restaurant

COURSE TWO, LEFT:  FILET MIGNON with Sauce Bernaise, Sacramento Delta green asparagus

Beautiful little stacked portion of filet mignon with a perfect bernaise sauce, paired with slivered green asparagus. Cleverly piled like a double-stack…not sure if this is a wink on a double burger but it was great, either way.

Filet Mignon with sauce bernaise - Michael Mina, SF

COURSE TWO, CENTER:  DRY AGED RIBEYE, wilted spinach, morel jus (plus potatoes)

If you’ve ever wondered why people pay so much money to get dry-aged beef, wonder no more. This is a tiny piece of steak that packs a wallop of flavor. Another perfect presentation, and a great piece of steak.

Dry aged ribeye steak, Michael Mina SF

COURSE TWO, RIGHT:  BRAISED TRIO, young leeks, horseradish vinaigrette

Our waiter described this as “Tongue and Cheek,” so there’s beef tongue, beef cheek, and something else equally tender and delicious. A great balance of the beef parts with the earthiness of both the leeks and the brightness of the horseradish vinaigrette.

Braised Trio (beef and cheek), Michael Mina - SF

COURSE THREE: CHEESES – GOAT, SHEEP, COW

For my last course, I opted for the cheese plate and it was again a small triumph of three. Savory with sweet, earthy and salty; everything well paired. 

  • Minuet, Pear Purée, Hazelnuts 

  • Pecorino Ginepro, Port Cherries, Juniper Balsamic Vinegar 

  • Pianoforte, Porcini Syrup, Puffed Wild Rice 

There are some great options for sweeter things, but I like cheese to finish a languorous meal. Mina’s renowned for amazing desserts, and anything you order will be pretty great. 

THE GRADE: AWESOME (highest grade)

THE DAMAGE: $105

THE INSIDE TIP: Get a very similar three-course meal at Michael Mina for $55. (Each course will be single, not trio, servings but most of the dishes for the regular prix fixe will be available at the beginning of dinner service for the lower price.) Make your reservation for between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. for their special pre-theatre dinner price. Go-go, early birds. 

Free reservations at Michael Mina via OpenTable.com 

THE SKINNY: MICHAEL MINA

Inside the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel

335 Powell Street, San Francisco CA 94102

Phone: (415) 397-9222

Website with menus: http://www.michaelmina.net 

Hours: Dinner: Tuesday – Thursday 5:30pm – 9:00pm, Friday – Saturday: 5:30pm – 10:00pm

Incanto – San Francisco CA

Pork Ragu Pappardelle, Incanto restaurant, SF CA

The Dish: Pork Ragu Pappardelle

Any meaty pasta that Chris Cosentino and company at Incanto prepare will likely be among the best pastas you’ll eat in San Francisco. The wide, flat pappardelle noodles are house-made fresh, and the meat sauce is simply awesome. Full of flavor and slightly chunky, the walloping dallop of pork ragu makes  a great, hearty meal. 

The Skinny: Incanto

1550 Church Street, San Francisco CA 

Phone: (415) 641-4500 

Website: http://www.incanto.biz/

Hours: Dinners only, Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays)

Incanto reviews on UrbanSpoon

Awesome Venison Ragu Pappardelle, Big Sur Bakery

The Dish: Pappardelle with Venison Ragu

I certainly enjoy hearty meaty pastas. And I usually enjoy the requisite napping that follows. As meaty pastas go, the pappardelle with venison ragu at Big Sur Bakery is outstanding. Rich and flavorful, the sauce puts a tingling in the mouth straight away. The venison is slow-cooked, tender, and thrillingly tasty. The pappardelle, long and flat, spotted with olive and basil oil, make a great wrap for the delicate deer meat. This was one of the best meaty pastas of 2008. Congrats, Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant!

The Spot: Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant, Big Sur, CA

Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant is my favorite place to eat in Big Sur, hands down. It transforms from a funky little bakery in the morning that serves up incredible pastries to a lovely and heart-warming little spot for a romantic dinner in the evenings. Every pastry, every dinner I had there was excellent.  Two of the three folks behind this little gem are are an emigre couple from Los Angeles, pastry chef/co-owner Michelle Rizzolo and her husband, chef Philip Wojtowicz.

What’s great about Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant is its straightforward, unpretentious excellence and down-home, rustic simplicity: picnic tables on the patio and heavy little wooden tables and chairs inside.

The service is friendly and sweet and, if any place can demonstrate the inexpressibly tender magic of one of the most magical spots on Earth, Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant certainly does. It’s the gastronomic soul of Big Sur, and Rizzolo & Wojtowicz capture Big Sur’s zeitgeist in every bite.  It doesn’t just get to your stomach; it stays in your heart.

Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant, Big Sur CA

The Grade: Awesome (5 out of 5)
The Damage: $23
The Skinny: Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant
47540 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA
Phone: (831) 667-0520
Website: http://www.bigsurbakery.com

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

The Spot: Sodini’s Bertolucci’s Ristorante, South San Francisco CA

Sodini’s Bertolucci’s is the kind of old-school Italian joint that you would imagine finding in downtown Las Vegas, or in Eastern New Jersey. With its giant signage, black-and-white awning, and exterior murals of Italian landscapes, it’s a holdover from another era, and a surprising discovery off the main drag in South San Francisco. Giant, framed turn-of-the-century European posters, a wraparound gold striped curtain, a garden fountain, and swirling red booths that swallow you like the jaws of Jonah’s whale make the interior like a Sopranos backdrop, but cleaner.

Sodini’s Bertolucci’s is a fun place to eat, with friendly service and hearty lunch portions at a decent price. Sodini’s Bertolucci’s is probably my favorite place to have lunch in South San Francisco thus far.

The Dish: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Along with Joey & Eddie’s in SF, Sodini’s Bertolucci’s makes the meanest spaghetti and meatballs I’ve eaten in a long, long while. There’s a nice amount of hearty ragu across the pasta, efficiently cooked, and the meatballs are slightly firm on the outside and perfectly tender inside. Just a well-done classic that I hope more people will venture to Sodini’s Bertolucci’s to enjoy.

The Grade: Excellent (4 out of 5)

The Damage: $14

Partner with a glass of Stracali Chianti ($7.50)

The Skinny: Sodini’s Bertolucci’s Ristorante

421 Cypress Avenue, South San Francisco, CA

Phone: (650) 588-1625

Website: www.sodinisbertoluccis.com

THE SPOT: OSTERIA LA BUCA, LOS ANGELES, CA

The décor at Osteria La Buca is charming and warm for an urban conversion, with high ceilings, exposed steel beams and brick walls. The interior blends simple sophistication into an overall feeling of a neighborhood joint and since that part of L.A. doesn’t have many, it’s a nice feeling to be there.  The place has three dining sections: two downstairs and one upstairs. The little front garden room where people want to sit most looks to me like a sad terrarium or after-thought of a smokers’ lounge in a forgettable foreign airport. You’re too close to the neighboring tables, which is OK if the food is stellar. It just depends if you like that room enough to sit close or if you have the L.A. gene that requires you always be seen. I prefer the front wraparound area downstairs, which feels more like  a bustling neighborhood cafe.

The all-Italian wine list is a nice touch, but most diners would need some waiter assistance with selections from a list of grapes and blends uncommon to the typical American palate. Unfortunately, my waiter at Osteria La Buca automatically pushed the most expensive glasses to us. I knew two other choices were equally good and about half the price, so this was a bad takeaway. Pushing higher priced menu items without consideration for the customer is just a pet peeve of mine regarding restaurant service. Hopefully, that guy’s not working there anymore.

THE DISH: MEATBALLS (appetizer)

The most recent night I dined at Osteria La Buca, meatballs were a special appetizer. They were excellent and perfectly cooked, the way an ancient family recipe warrants. It was a bit odd that the meatballs didn’t sit on, say, some polenta or something to make the appetizer a bit heartier. But the meatballs properly hit the spot nonetheless, with fresh-baked crostini to soak up the ruddy marinara sauce.

THE GRADE: EXCELLENT (4 out of 5)

THE DAMAGE: about $14

THE SKINNY: OSTERIA LA BUCA

5210 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles CA

Phone: (323) 462-1900

Website: http://www.osterialabuca.com/

The Spot: Joey & Eddie’s Restaurant

As one of the few restaurants in North Beach that are really good, Joey & Eddie’s won me over the week it opened. The décor is comfortable but low-key, with a large, spacious and open main dining room of deep booths and dark wooden tables and armless, captain’s style chairs. The service is good, friendly, and professional, and the bartenders are sharply attentive and make nicely stiff drinks. 

The family style concept of Italian food, made popular through restaurant chains like Buca di Beppo and, on the higher end, Maggiano’s, is nothing new. But Joey & Eddie’s brings the family style Italian meal and makes it feel like a North Beach restitution, like it returns something lost and lovely to one of America’s great neighborhoods. 

Spaghetti & Meatballs, Joey & Eddies, San Francisco CA

The Dish: Spaghetti & Meatballs

When many people recall the comfort foods of their childhood, spaghetti and meatballs is a most frequent memory on that list. Basic spaghetti and meatballs is one of those dishes that young, inexperienced moms can generally pull off, but like any apparently simple dish, the difference between good and great is profound.

It’s about the sauce, whose greatness and thickness can vary by regional or familial preference. And it’s also about the meatballs, which take a considerable talent, or love, or patience. Or a great recipe from a great great-grandmother.

Joey & Eddie’s restaurant is on target again, serving up one of my favorite spaghetti & meatballs in San Francisco. It’s a giant plate of great sauce, perfectly cooked pasta, and magnificent meatballs. And it’s fun to dig into that big platter and share it, maybe like your family used to during your childhood. 

The Damage: $20 or $27 (“a little to share” or “a lot to share,” respectively)

The Grade: Excellent (4 out of 5)

The Skinny: Joey & Eddie’s Restaurant

1652 Stockton Street, San Francisco CA 94133

Phone: (415) 989-7800

Website: http://www.joeyandeddies.com

The Dish: Roasted Veal Meatballs

There are meatballs that are forgettable (Chef Boyardee, and his ilk in many mediocre restaurants), and those that inspire drool when remembered. The roasted veal meatballs at Town Hall in San Francisco are the drool-y kind. Creating meatballs with veal instead of the more traditional pork-beef blend was inspired, and ladling rich peppercorn gravy over potato puree instead of pasta pushes the dish to perfection. This meatball dish is fantastic, and just one of many reasons I love Town Hall.

Roasted Veal Meatballs, Town Hall SF

The Damage: $12

This is a high-value appetizer for the price. It’s rich and complete, a generous portion that’s great to share.

The Grade: Awesome (5 out of 5) 

The Skinny: Town Hall

342 Howard Street, San Francisco CA 94105

Phone: (415) 908-3900

Website: http://www.townhallsf.com/ 

Lunch weekdays, 11:30 to 2:30

Dinner nightly, beginning at 5:30 pm