Garçon!, San Francisco, for Professor T’s birthday

Garçon! was our choice for Prof. T’s recent birthday dinner out. We had driven by there a few times and did a double take when we saw the place over on Valencia near 22nd Street in the Mission.

It always looked so intriguing and FRENCH, which I love. Maybe I was influenced by the startlingly grand exclamation point? Even though it was not my birthday, Prof. T let me pick the venue. I wasn’t worried since I know my darling honey so well: he loves French food, too.

enjoying French wine and arugula salad at Garçon!

Happy Birthday, Professor T.

Although we really like Jardinière for birthdays and very special occasions, the prices are so high that we cannot justify it right now. Maybe once I’ve finished grad school and get a job, we can go and really splurge. Garçon! was much more affordable (e.g. cheaper). Really about half of what we’d spend at J. For two glasses of wine, two salads, and two main courses and a shared dessert, we spent around $100, which is a deal in San Francisco for fine dining.

quaint Garçon! interior

Here’s what we ordered:

Jasmine’s salad: arugula, shaved d’anjou pear, blue cheese, honey pecans, lemon vinaigrette. Prof. T’s salad: beets, endive, watercress, goat cheese fondue, crispy shallots, sherry vinaigrette.

Jasmine’s main: shellfish bouillabaisse with mussels, clams, scallop, shrimp and cod, fregola pasta, basil, paprika aioli. Prof. T’s main: “steak frites,” marinated and grilled hanger steak, truffle butter, pommes frites, watercress. (I know, unmentionable meat consumption, but we can’t judge him for being on his own food path, plus it was his birthday.)

The fries were damn good and I ate half of them, being the wild animal that I am when I see fries and dipping sauces! The steak wasn’t cooked enough so he had to send it back to the kitchen… twice, to get it more well done. Apparently the French like it kind of raw. I know, spare the details…

tasty Garçon! bouillabaisse

The bouillabaisse was very generous with the seafood, and that was the first time I tried fregola. It was really good. The dish had a special herbal flavor like tarragon or something unusual and unusually good. I soaked it up with lots of bread and butter. I think we got like three orders of bread… I hope my acupuncturist is not reading this because he would lecture me on eating too much white flour which turns to sugar in the body…oh no! And the three orders of bread doesn’t sound very French at all. Maybe American. Oh well, sometimes I feel this irresistible urge to overindulge, and with some tasty wine in my system I can easily get carried away.

warm soft french bread with butter: you'd probably order more of this, too

Dessert, we shared, but I ate most of it: warm dark chocolate fondant, with caramel sauce, salted peanuts, and brandied-orange crème. This was amazing: so rich and melt in your mouth chocolaty. It came with a candle because before we started dinner I told the lovely waiter, “Jeff,” it was my husband’s birthday. He replied in this perfect French accent, “Oh I will take care of it, Madame!” (“Madame,” that’s so darling!) He was so nice. He also recommended a nice French wine to go with our meal, 2006 Château La Grave, Pomerol. This was a medium bodied red with a fruit forward but not overpowering taste. It was lovely.

The meal was an absolute indulgence but well worth the experience. Garçon! Is a lovely place to celebrate a birthday.

: warm dark chocolate fondant, with caramel sauce, salted peanuts, and brandied-orange crème