Maverick, San Francisco

We went to Maverick the other day to celebrate the 29th birthday of our good friend, John. I haven’t been to this spot on 17th Street between Valencia and Mission since it housed the original Limon Peruvian restaurant. Though the restaurant is quite small and intimate, they were able to accommodate a reservation for eight on a Thursday at 7:30PM that we made just two days earlier on OpenTable. That was lucky.

We’ve known John it seems like forever! And it’s always great to have an excuse to get together with a larger group to socialize and try someplace new for dinner. Still a little on financial slapdown, we used corkage at Maverick after first confirming that they offer it. The fee is just $20 and it gave us the chance to try a bottle of red Burgundy, Nuits-Saint-Georges 2004 1er cru “les Vaucrains,” that I’d stashed away in my cellar for a year or two. I’ve been on a pinot noir home tasting kick lately and this seemed like a great opportunity to taste a “fancy” version.

nuits saint georges les vaucrains

I was a little annoyed with the waitress when she spilled the wine all over my menu. Then she asked a few times whether or not she should pour it or if I’d like to try it first. S at work tells me that the latter is common: perhaps the bottle had gone bad? I don’t know. My philosophy is that if you bring the bottle then there’s no point in tasting it as it’s not like you can send it back. The wine was good, though I think that I enjoyed the 2007 German Nelles just as well and it was a fraction of the price. Oh well!

Maybe I was feeling so peevish because I was hungry? With these large groups and everyone coming at slightly different times, it doesn’t always pay to arrive promptly. Eventually Hegui, Carey, John and I ordered about five of the starters. As the others came, these little plates poured from the kitchen.

They’ve got an open kitchen at the restaurant and the large table that we sat at is just in front of it so we had a good look at what was going on during our meal. Maverick is famous for its batter fried chicken, but we didn’t try that. I must have seen two dozen orders of this leave for the dining room though. They also make a number of traditional Southern and American country-style dishes like fried green tomatoes, stuffed flounder and mac n’cheese.

random view of Maverick's open kitchen

Several of the salads are exciting mixes of traditional ingredients kicked up a notch. Our table liked the grilled peach and corn salad that came with blue cheese, the terminally trendy little gem lettuce and grilled red onions in a honey mustard vinaigrette. The fried green tomatoes were a hit though Hegui wasn’t that thrilled. They came to the table piping hot and burned my lip but I was so greedy that I couldn’t wait for them to cool. The Baltimore crab fluffs with chicory salad and spicy remoulade came deep fried and burned both because of the heat and the spice. I loved it.

Some of our group tried the antelope tartare, which looked alarming to me, though perhaps I’ve been pescetarian long enough now that I’ve mentally adjusted. Others weren’t drinking alcohol so ordered these colorful glasses of lemonade. I stuck with the wine.

For the main course, Hegui and I shared the gulf shrimp stuffed flounder and three of the sides: roasted cauliflower, German butterball potatoes and Padron peppers. The flounder was a disappointment. It came covered with this very dull buttered breadcrumb crust that added nothing to the flavor. I never saw one Gulf shrimp either. The dish was very reminiscent of things that I had as a child in Massachusetts with my family. So the fond memories that it brought back were nice. The side plates were all tasty, particularly the fried Padron peppers.

Maverick's fried green tomatoes

Baltimore crab puffs with the nuits saint georges

Several people ordered the mac n’cheese. It too was good though we wanted ketchup and Tabasco for ours. The first waitperson that we asked about that wasn’t sure that the place even had ketchup! Finally when our annoying waitress came back, she said they didn’t have Tabasco at all even though we could see as clear as day a large bottle of the spicy sauce sitting on a counter in the kitchen! She did manage to find the ketchup and an alternative spicy condiment.

For dessert Carey brought a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! She left out the pineapple for me. Thank you so much! It was amazing! The restaurant charged a $20 cutting fee.

Carey posing with her homemade carrot cake sans pineapple!

As we talked and tried to honor John as irreverently as possible, I couldn’t help admiring the restaurant’s décor. It’s very small, painted in rich warm colors: chocolate brown and orange. There are little kitchy elements that are quite winning; for example, the “Maverick” magazines framed in the bathroom, and what appeared to me to be a metal car label from a Ford Maverick (see above). My parents drove a blue Maverick in the 1970’s that was really cool. It was just a two door so you had to climb over the front seat to get in back. I haven’t thought of that car in ages!!

butterball potatoes and Padron peppers

Maverick, the restaurant, was a fun experience. The company was fantastic! It is comfortable and casually elegant. However, a lot of the food was more geared for carnivores or people with no fears of cholesterol, so in that sense I don’t think that it was the best choice for us. I’m glad I tried it but don’t think that I’d go back on my own.

Carey and the man of the hour!

Maverick put a letter on our table about the San Francisco Healthcare Security Ordinance that essentially said that they chose to “pass these additional costs through by adding a $1.00 ‘Healthy San Francisco’ service charge per guest.” I’m not sure what I think about that really. Should I be charged more because the restaurant doesn’t want to provide health care for their employees?

Christian and Heguiberto

make a wish!!!

Maverick dinner menu July 2009

too much Nuits Saint Georges!

James Garner and side-kick

Mireille Guiliano “there is nothing noble in failing to discover and cultivate your pleasures.”