A refresher at Frances
Chefs may change at Frances, but several other things never will: crisp panisse frites ($8), rich bacon beignets ($8) and, to end a meal, the gooey, rich lumberjack cake ($9).
Melissa Perello opened the restaurant in 2009, and it quickly became one of the most popular places in town. When she opened Octavia two years ago, she put Michaela Rahorst, who had been with her since the beginning, in charge of the Frances kitchen. Rahorst left quietly last year and was replaced by Connie Tsui, who had been at the restaurant for 18 months.
Tsui is an excellent fit for reproducing Perello’s vision, refreshing the favorites and tweaking the menu just enough to keep it interesting. The standby kale salad ($13) is chopped fine enough so the iron qualities of the greens are tamed by anchovy vinaigrette. The salad also now cleverly includes Brussels sprouts, crispy chickpeas and the smoothing effect of grana padano cheese.
Herb-roasted mushroom soup ($14) has an intense, earthy flavor punched with black garlic persillade, chunks of fried bread and a puddle of burrata. Again, Tsui successfully found the balance that made the ingredients sing in perfect harmony.
Pasta is always among the four appetizers; this time, wide pappardelle 3870 17th St. (at Pond), San Francisco; (415)61-3870. www.frances-sf.com. Dinner 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday; 5-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Beer and wine. $4 a person S.F. surcharge. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Difficult street parking. noodles ($16) that look like satin ribbons are tightly wound into a fist with duck confit, broccoli rabe and breadcrumbs.
At many restaurants, main courses are a letdown, but at Frances they’re a highlight. Portions are so generous they would satisfy the clientele of a truck-stop diner, but that’s where the comparison ends.
In one dish, four thick slices of bavette steak ($33) — draped over layers of broccolini and fleshy oyster mushrooms — have a bright accent of cilantro-ginger chimichurri. The thick honeybrined pork chop ($34), distinguished by a perfect diamond-shape grill mark, was strewn with parsley and fennel fronds, accompanied by creamed escarole, shaved fennel slaw and a thick pool of spiced huckleberries bleeding juice in front.
The chef props wild striped bass ($32) on black rice, then adds shiitake mushrooms in a kombu and miso broth, covered with shavings of watermelon radish and lacy Asian greens.
Pastry chef Sarah Bonar continues to show why she’s one of the city’s best — not only with the lumberjack cake ($9), but with the disk of toasted black sesame pavlova ($9), where the meringue is flavored with candied Buddhist hand, sections of mandarins and chicory-root ice cream sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
When Perello opened Frances, she envisioned a neighborhood restaurant near the Castro, but the food was so good it quickly became a destination. It’s just as popular today. The layout of the compact 46-seat restaurant almost forces diners to meet other diners; the tables are as close together as you’ll find in New York. There’s also seats at the bar and around the storefront windows overlooking 17th Street.
The wine service also promotes a neighborly feeling. The restaurant offers a house blend, either red or white, in a carafe marked in ounces. The staff fills the carafe and diners are charged $1.80 an ounce for what they drink. Waiters successfully strike that fine balance of being friendly but thoroughly professional.
While Perello concentrates on Octavia, it’s nice to know that Frances is in good hands.