New chef buffs upscale brasserie
When the impressive Bluestem Brasserie opened four years ago, it seemed like a missed opportunity. Located in a prominent new building on Yerba Buena Lane and designed by the renowned Olle Lundberg, it offered a sleek interior and upstairs terrace overlooking the urban scene around Market Street and Grant Avenue. With the constant parade of pedestrians and streetcars, and the street’s Beaux Arts buildings interspersed with more modern designs, it had a European vibe.
It added up to a three-star interior, but the food could only muster 1½ stars. At the time, moved no doubt by the tech world, waiters tried to manipulate electronic ordering pads, which actually became such a distraction as to impede the service.
Those have been abandoned, and there’s a new chef in the kitchen: Jeff Banker, who with his wife, Lori Baker, earned three stars when they owned Baker & Banker in Pacific Heights. They closed that restaurant last year. (It is now Octavia.)
Earlier this year, Banker put his experience to work in this much larger dining room. While his food does not have the intricacy that it did in his own place, he’s successfully shepherding a populist menu that can satisfy tourists and locals.
On weeknights he creates Plats du Jour — fried chicken on Monday, porchetta on Friday. On Wednesday there is house-smoked beef brisket ($32) on a rectangular cutting board that includes a bowl of smoky baked beans, tangy coleslaw that was more savory than sweet, a sweet mildly spicy barbecue sauce and two triangles of Texas toast. I’ve had better, but this still holds up well in a city that has never been a center for barbecue.
What has been a major influence is produce, and Banker comes on strong with his Star Route Farms lettuces ($12) — whole tiny leaves that have just enough texture to stand up to a slew of toasted seeds, shaved Gouda, a banyuls vinaigrette and a mat of avocado cream. Other appetizers include a vibrant red-beet cured salmon tartare ($16), which is served with horseradish creme fraiche, compressed cucumbers and thin rye crisps.
The selections are meat heavy — even in the small plates, including crispy pork belly ($15) and roasted bone morrow ($14). The 10 large plates include Liberty duck breast with roast figs ($31), lamb on polenta ($27) and seared New York steak ($39). There’s only one fish dish —panseared trout ($27) — and a pasta with vegetables and burrata.
As is the trend these days, there’s a separate category for shared plates. The six items include a half dozen raw oysters ($18), a butcher’s board ($21), lamb meatballs ($15) and a nicely presented mound of seared octopus with melon ($15) in a sambal-sesame vinaigrette. It’s unclear why this is a shared dish, but it’s one of the most interesting dishes we tasted.
Service, along with the food, has also improved. The waiters are friendly and quick to respond to requests, and know the menu.
When it opened, Bluestem was known for desserts. Now the two I tried don’t hold up to the quality of the savory offerings. It became clear why you don’t have butterscotch pudding, ice cream and caramel corn on the same plate: They just don’t work well together. The blond brownie was fine, but not worth the $11 price tag; it was served with a small scoop of lemon verbena creme fraiche ice cream topped with a mix of raspberries and blueberries.
What is clear is that Banker is firmly in charge of the kitchen, and the food is beginning to approach the vibrancy of the modern interior.