The duck à l’orange is truly formidable. Or make that duck aux double oranges, double rutabega. Caramelized mandarin orange segments join a pool of a thick demi-glace evoking- orange and duck jus reduction poured tableside as the dish's base. Together they tag-team to gently accentuate the pleasantly gamy notes and right-on target tender and medium-rare (on the border of blood rare) twin thick duck breast medallions ($27).

Wait, this is on Polk Street at the base of Russian Hill and not from haute French stalwart La Folie? Nope. Then the curveballs. The accompaniments certainly aren’t typical of duck à l’orange. Stir-fried rutabaga and a refreshing baby lettuce spring roll meant to soak up the excess sauce baguette-style hail from the opposite side of the world from Place Vendôme. Rutabaga shows up again in a purée with coconut milk, making lowly mashed potatoes shed tears in their butter. Rutabaga has never had it so good.

Restaurants sometimes just need to shake it off, shake it off, and fix the grammar with a reverb instead of a noun. That is why the much-loved Verbena is now Reverb.



After the chef Sean Baker and his fascinating vegetable- centric compositions departed early this year, ownership brought in chef Ryan Shelton who previously spent time as chef de cuisine at Palo Alto’s Michelin two star “molecular gastronomy” temple, Baumé, and his brief tenure afterwards at the Bonny Doon Winery’s tasting room restaurant in Santa Cruz was as strong a winery and chef duo as it gets. Shortly after Shelton joined Verbena, the switch was made to Reverb nodding both to Verbena and a rejuvenated, more casual concept, far from Baumé high-wire molecular gastronomy foams.

The menu bounces around. Kabocha squash “tots,” a burger with white cheddar, and fried chicken with amaranth waffle “dude food,” contrast with imaginative housemade pastas and an artistic autumn salad of “raked leaves.” Popcorn and kale are white hot right now, so on cue there is a bowl of kale chip- flecked popcorn. For all who waver at $4 toast, welcome to $13 carrots. But, those carrots come in myriad forms with chicory dirt. It’s as good as carrots get but won’t move mountains or gardens. Dessert means excellent doughnuts with rotating fruit compotes. Yes, Bob's is steps away but these are a different fried dough animal.

As you’d imagine, cocktails play a key role and major praise for having Scholium Project’s “Gardens of Babylon” red blend on tap. Reverb boasts a gorgeous space with soaring ceilings, brick, lots of wood, handsome bar — exactly like a chic 2015 restaurant with some money backers and high-level designers involved. Overall on the Buccaneer and Green Sports Bar-bro to La Folie-elegance Polk scale, Reverb hangs out smack in the middle, with Saint Frank's cool factor and as a bar-restaurant, upscale-comfort hybrid with Leopold’s, minus das boot.

Ardent Verbena fans won’t ever be pleased because the restaurant absolutely belonged on the short list of most creative, different in a very good way establishments city-wide. Reverb cares about pushing the envelope is subtle ways but wants to only go so far. It should be interesting to see how it develops — towards the Verbena direction or a full rewind. Right now, Reverb feels exactly right for the neighborhood. That’s the best reverb, I mean, adjective I can give.

Reverb, 2323 Polk, 415-441-2323.