THE PROGRESS:
A stellar follow-up to State Bird.
On my first visit I tried to analyze why the Progress, Stuart Brioza’s and Nicole Krasinski’s follow-up to State Bird Provisions, is so compelling.
It’s not the impossibly high ceiling that arches overhead like a wave; the rough lathe that covers one wall like an art installation; or the custom lights that mirror the curve of the ceiling.
Nor is it the finely sanded wood floors; the custom tables rounded on the underside to echo the ceiling; the similarly shaped wood banisters leading to two more dining rooms; or the beautifully designed wood chairs.
These meticulous details unfold as diners sit in the 90-seat room and begin to peruse the options on the six-course menu. That’s when I realized that these elements are a gift to diners, a labor of love from the owners.
That feeling is reinforced when chef and co-owner Brioza, smiling like a father holding his newborn, brings out complementary bites to every table — housemade cheese crackers topped with a snowlike mound of shaved almonds; tempurafried mussels on a pool of citrus sauce; tiny squares of fresh ricotta topped with pink peppercorns; slices of marinated salmon in a creamy sauce; and squares of Asianinspired jerky scattered with crushed peanuts.
The pride that oozes out of every crevice of this century-old building, which started life as a theater, is solidified at the end of the meal when Krasinski, Brioza’s wife, restaurant co-owner and pastry chef, brings out a bergamot sorbet and describes how she’s incorporated green plums she canned in June into the mixture.
More than three years in the making, the Progress is a grand, modern restaurant located next to the couple’s gamechanging State Bird Provisions, which was named the country’s Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation in 2013.
State Bird became a chef’s darling because of the owners’ dim sum approach to Western food. But Brioza and Krasinski opened it almost by accident — they were focused on opening the larger restaurant but were caught up in permitting and monetary issues. State Bird was actually a pre-show for the Progress.
As at State Bird, it’s almost impossible to get a seat. Walk-ins can be accommodated in the 30-seat lounge or at tables on the mezzanine if there’s not a private party.
Dinners are served family style. Guests are offered a nightly changing menu ($65) with 17 dishes, and the table collectively decides on the six dishes they want to order, in effect creating their own dinner party.
A good way to begin is with one of the excellent cocktails that come from the handsome bar. There’s also an unusual wine list masterminded by Jason Alexander, who earned serious credentials working at Cyrus and Gary Danko.
For his menu, Brioza liberally mixes cultures, making porcini-filled dumplings
that look like pot stickers, resting on a thick nest of nettle salsa. An Indonesian crepe he calls pecorino roti is mounded loosely on the plate in a pool of truffled buttermilk. It’s a magnificent blend, with the creamy sharpness of the sauce bringing out the complex notes in the truffle. He might serve curry chicken karaage or Dungeness crab, bok choy and tofu stirfry.
One dish that’s destined to be a signature is the shaved cauliflower and romanesco with herbs and greens, heavily larded with “pig fries” — crisp parts of the ear that are both crunchy and meaty. The bold contrast of flavors and textures exemplifies how Brioza cooks — as does the chop of marinated red snapper paved with paper-thin coins of turnips and dolloped with creme fraiche, or the mix of wild mushrooms with kale and wakame kraut.
Some of the most vibrant dishes might sound the least interesting. I waited until my last visit to order the local kiwi with ricotta, almonds and pickled sunchokes. Kiwi, really? It’s still suffering from its 1980s reputation, but this version, its fizzy sweetness paired with creamy cheese, crackling nuts and pickled vegetables, revealed how good the fruit can be.
Lamb tartare is another surprise. The well-spiced mound of meat is surrounded by sprouts, sesame seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, egg yolk bottarga, bronze fennel fronds, pickled kohlrabi strips and green onions. Diners mix it all up and spoon it onto salty black rice crackers, creating a blend that tweaks every sense and works on every level.
The main courses often include squab, which may also become a signature, much as quail has become at State Bird. It’s rubbed in spices, grilled and served with salted chile paste.
A soup called Treasure Chest comes to the table in a shallow bowl, with sausage, trout quenelles and pumpkin rice dump- lings. The waiter pours on a rich, creamy pork broth, and diners divide it up as they see fit.
Our waiter also pointed out that the lamb merguez dish — lamb sausage with yellow-eye beans, octopus and frilly tentacles of crisp fried squid — was the kitchen’s take on surf and turf.
Service is excellent; the waiters are well trained and professional, even if they don’t look the part. Staff members wear anything they like, which can mean untucked and wrinkled plaid shirts or just about anything you’d see on Fillmore Street. This casual approach works fine at some restaurants but it seems out of place at the Progress, where everything is meticulously designed.
Some form of staff uniform, even if it’s T-shirts and jeans or white shirt and pants, contribute to the overall ambience. What impact would the Rockettes have if they all wore street clothes? The waiters look like the patrons, and with all the staff it feels as if half the dining room is roaming around.
For her part, Krasinski proves with each night’s desserts that she’s one of the city’s best pastry chefs, whether it’s envisioning the cookie-like crust on a pineapple confit tart piped with guava cream and sprinkled with crushed pink peppercorns; or creating bitter cocoa sorbet with lemon curd Floating Islands.
From start to finish, the food is innovative and familiar at the same time. Not every dish is flawless — the dumplings were a tad doughy, the grilled beef with mustard miso lacked brightness, and a few combinations tended to be jarring — but even those show how the kitchen is thinking and that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Brioza and Krasinski have given San Francisco two gems — their “accidental” State Bird in 2013, and now, the Progress. With their passion and vision now realized, the Progress feels like their dream come to life.