The fancy dinner deal patrol continues this week at another top San Francisco spot, Jardinière (300 Grove at Franklin), where a new series of three-course Monday Night Prix-Fixe dinners is available for the insanely low price of $45, including wine pairings. The menu changes weekly (see the entire month's lineup here ), but the menu for tonight (Monday, March 30) billed as the Savoie Dinner, looks like this: warm asparagus salad with country ham (paired with a Giachino, Roussette de Savoie, 2005); roast Hoffman chicken with tartiflette potatoes (with a Xavier Monnot, Maranges Premier Cru Clos de la Fussière, 2006); and biscuit de savoie (with a Château de Suron Quarts de Chaume, 2000). To make a reservation, call 861-5555 or visit www.jardiniere.com.
It seems a new frozen yogurt shop opens somewhere in San Francisco almost every week. In that kind of environment, how do you distinguish yourself? Trang Nguyen is hoping she's found the answer at her Financial District shop The Chill Cafe (125 Kearny at Post). There's much more on tap than the standard cup or cone, starting with an inviting, airy atmosphere; shaved ice with more than 20 not-so-standard all-natural flavors; dessert crepes; a slew of specialty drinks (frozen hot chocolate, anyone?); frozen yogurt and frozen custard with nearly two dozen original toppings (see: dark-chocolate-covered gogi berries, Valrhona chocolate rice pearls); and Four Barrel coffee. Perhaps the most compelling draw is a recently introduced selection of bánh mì ($5.50), the scrumptious Vietnamese-style sandwiches from her mother's recipe, offered in three variations: ham with pâté, lemongrass chicken, and lemongrass tofu. "This is not a frozen yogurt shop," Nguyen says. "It's a place where people can come to hang out, meet friends, get work done, use the WiFi. I wanted to create exotic, intense, interesting flavors, stuff off the beaten path."
As for Nguyen's personal favorites: "I would go for the rooibos red tea frozen yogurt with raspberry, crystallized ginger, and housemade red tea syrup, and the lemongrass chicken sandwich." The Chill Cafe is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5:30 p.m. For more info, call 433-1233.
Sunset sushi joint Ebisu (1283 9th Ave.) is still under renovation and will re-open on May 7; in the meantime, you can cross the street and enjoy the sushi menu at the sister restaurant Hotei (1290 9th Ave.). The Louisiana Hot Link ($6.50) is a roll of deep-fried bonito fish, fresh ginger and garlic. How the fish that is normally used to make Japanese soup broth can magically taste like a pork product is a mystery, but it really does. It even makes one long for the not-yet-realized: Sausage sushi.
