monday nights at Jardinière

Jardinière, the California/French style restaurant in San Francisco usually costs about a 200 dollars for two people but lately they’ve been offering an amazing prix-fixe menu on Mondays for only 45 dollars per person.  Maybe the special rate is due to the the challenged economy but it sure makes for a really good deal and gives you a chance to eat at the “Jardinière” with out breaking the bank.

Each week has it’s own theme.  Last Monday was “San Francisco.”  The featured cocktail had a Bay Area story to its beginnings.  It was called the Martinez, apparently because a guy from Martinez, CA used to order it when coming into San Francisco.  (Another version suggests that the drink is a predecessor of the martini and was invented for a traveler from San Francisco to Martinez). This one was gin and some other hard alcohol mixed together but with a subtle sweet tone so it was drinkable. My husband and I shared it because it was a little too much alcohol for one person along with all the wines that were served during the meal.  Since it was featured, the cocktail was on special, only ten dollars,  as opposed to most of the 13-dollar cocktails and 15-dollar glasses of wine on the drink-menu.

We had part of it at the bar while waiting for our table. The bar is amazing: if you look up it gives you the illusion you are in a champagne glass or bottle or something because the roof is all sparkly and round!

The meal started with a warm calamari salad with lettuce and other greens, warm goat cheese and, obviously, warm calamari. Wine pairings were included in the price so the salad came with an Italian style white wine from Lodi California. Hot sourdough buns were also served with fresh cream butter which was quite a treat right before the salads arrived. The courses were a great thing because a little time goes by where your body is allowed to digest and further enjoy the salad and wine: “very French-like.” We had time to chit chat and be romantic before the Cioppino was served in a big bowl with fresh Dungeness crab, a San Francisco speciality; with white fish; fennel and other subtle herbal flavorings so special to Jardinière.  A tasty red French Beaujolais was paired with the Cioppino, a traditional San Francisco dish fisherman’s families used to make when they combined all kinds of fish they and their friends caught.  It’s really a kind of fish stew;  a sort of mish-mash of a bunch of different seafood in a tomato broth. I ate all my soup and was so grateful for what seemed like little extra fresh pieces of Dungeness crab. The whole time we were eating I was saying mmmm—mmmm internally so as not to make too much of a spectacle of myself as I savored the outrageously good flavors.  Dessert came later: a generous piece of tiramisu accompanied by a sweet Italian wine and Irish coffee (another San Francisco classic).

The overall ambiance of the restaurant was nice as usual, but I miss the live music and red velvet décor from before the recent renovation. Upstairs was packed full of romantic couples and groups of friends and families which added a special liveliness to the environment. The service was top notch as usual at Jardinière.  Go to the Jardinière website to check out the Monday night prix-fixe menu.  I overheard from one of the managers that they are going to continue the Monday menus into June 2009.  Make your reservations soon as it’s getting quite popular.  What a nice way to start the week with a wonderful three course dinner from a fantastic restaurant!