As I mentioned earlier, Bastille Day is on Monday, and (suprise, surprise!) there's no shortage of dining options in town. Eating and drinking are, after all, what the French do best. Cassis (2101 Sutter at Steiner) is offering a four-course prix-fixe menu that includes a lobster and baby artichoke salad; pan-seared duck foie gras in port wine reduction with caramelized apples; and pan-seared dorade filet with sauteed vegetables in an antiboise sauce, among other options. Check the menu here. And it's reasonably priced at $49.95 per person. For reservations call 415-440-4500 or visit www.restaurantcassis.com.
Over at La Folie (2316 Polk) Chef Roland Passot has a pricier five-course Bastille Day-inspired menu in the offing at $115 per person. No word yet on the specifics. In the meantime, frog legs anyone?
For something a little more decadent head over to Chouchou (400 Dewey Blvd. at Laguna Honda Blvd.) where word has it the staff will be doing their best pre-guillotine Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette with ornate period costumes and, we can only hope, not too much Laissez-faire when it comes to the service.
And, of course, Cafe Bastille (22 Belden Place) in FiDi is getting in on the action with a special menu that includes some delicious French classics like foie gras terrine with brioche and orange-honey reduction, coq au vin with fettucine and white mushrooms, and braised lamb shank with spinach risotto, wild mushrooms, and black pepper sauce.
-- Brian Bernbaum
By Catherine McCulloch
Souley Vegan is simply brilliant! Its appearance may be deceiving, but this downtown Oakland hole-in-the-wall restaurant will blow your mind. Overall, one of the most enjoyable eating experiences I’ve had in a long while.
On a steamy summer evening two friends and I decided to check out this vegan soul food restaurant we’d heard so much about. At first sight, the restaurant didn’t seem to be anything extraordinary. Inside and out, its décor is modest, to say the least. But, when I stepped into the restaurant and the sweet smell of baking yams filled my nostrils, I changed my mind.
The heat of the evening and the mellow hum of soul music playing over the sound system transported me from the Bay Area to the Deep South.
