MICHAEL BAUER HAYES VALLEY NEWCOMER NIGHTBIRD SPREADS ITS WINGS.
Kim Alter’s solo project is finally here — and it’s good
Stepping into Nightbird was a flashback to 2003 and the opening of Quince. At the time the interior of Quince — then located in Pacific Heights — was an anomaly, avoiding the industrial motif that drove most dining rooms for a more finished, serene feel.
Now 13 years later, hard-edged designs are still in vogue, and the new Nightbird offers a refinement that is a refreshing change of pace from what’s around it. It took nearly two years for Nightbird’s chef and owner, Kim Alter, to remodel the two Hayes Valley storefronts that formerly housed Stelline and Las Estrellas.
It would have been expedient to strip the walls, floors and ceiling and replicate what most other restaurateurs do. Instead, Alter made the interior feel like a home by laying wood floors, adding a box-beam ceiling and painting a trio of horizontal metallic gold accent strips that give the interior a subtle, but beautiful, finishing detail. Fawn-colored wood tables and upholstered chairs make it feel like a living room.
The only thing the designers didn’t anticipate is the noise. With all the hard surfaces, the 37-seat dining room is as loud as any warehouse restaurant. It’s an oversight that distracts from the more polished elements of the experience.
The look of the restaurant, and Alter’s decision to offer only a single fixed price menu for $125, add up to a very personal restaurant. During the night, diners will see her delivering plates to each table, keeping an eye on what comes out of the kitchen and even working behind the bar — the restaurant includes an adjoining, cozy 10seat bar called the Linden Room, which serves exceptional classic and creative cocktails.
Alter, who worked at Plum and Haven in Oakland, changes the menu weekly. Wine pairings add $65 to the tab.
On each of my three visits, the menu changed completely — save for the first bite, a quail egg topped with brown butter aioli and caviar on a bed of fried leeks. But this dish is so good it will likely become a signature.
Each course is intricately conceived, featuring interesting combinations and techniques. Different preparations of tomatoes are paired with oysters. Hearts of palm are combined with lobster and burgundy truffles. A symphony of corn arrives in various guises: pudding, roasted, grilled and popped. Even the corn silks are used to complete the dish.
On every visit, Alter baked a different bread. On one visit, it was warm Parkerhouse rolls swaddled in burlap, delivered just before the first official course: spot prawns. The shellfish were arranged in a row on squash puree enriched with seafood stock, orange and marrow, and topped with delicate leaves of tatsoi and pearl-size balls of butternut squash. While the presentation was artistic, the elements blended like five great basketball players who don’t work as a team.
I experienced similar issues on other dishes, where each element was precisely prepared but the ingredients just missed in finding the synergy to make the combination truly memorable. Squab breast, rare and under-seasoned, was showcased with a salty confit leg and both raw and cooked beets. They were joined by fermented oats with creme fraiche and chocolate oil that sounded more interesting than it tasted.
Steak was equally well displayed. Beef that had been roasted in its own fat was sliced and then grouped on one side of the plate with fried Brussels sprouts leaves. Unfortunately, the meat didn’t have much flavor beyond the outside char.
There’s no doubt that Alter is immensely talented, but it feels as if she may be intellectualizing rather than personalizing some combinations. The combinations are still excellent but if she can rise above the techniques and add more of herself, the food would be even better. When she connects, as she did with some dishes, it is truly magical.
Meaty matsutake mushrooms glistened in a smoked egg wash, served on a clear glass plate that caught the light like diamonds, making for a dazzling contrast with the earthy ingredients. Pickled and smoked shiitake mushrooms, various preparations of turnips and a salsa verde reinforced the glaze, creating a visceral combination that hit on all levels.
As a palate cleanser before dessert, the waiter brought out a scoop of grape sorbet with slices of fruit, tiny pomegranate seeds and a viscous Meyer lemon gelee that added an acidic intensity and balanced
the sweetness. The thoughtful combination of ingredients had the type of checks and balances that distinguishes a memorable dish.
The main dessert, also made by Alter, included chunks of date cake arranged around sticks of Asian pear, a scoop of buttermilk ice cream and the mediating bitterness of Teeccino.
The best course was reserved for last — the mignardises. Brought right before the bill, where a 16 percent service charge is automatically above a space for an additional tip, the final plate held two shards of toffee topped with chocolate and smoked almonds, and thyme shortbread that crumbled like sand with each bite.
It is clear that Alter has meticulously thought through every element, right down to hiring consultants to help her crew master the finer points of service. While it’s not yet as polished as it could be, the elements are beginning to align, as is the food. It seems apparent that once the crew settles in, Nightbird will soar.