Ame Restaurant

Last year we went to Luce for my birthday; last night we celebrated at Ame. Go to Ame. http://www.amerestaurant.com/dinner.html
The Taste of Ame Sashimi plate is splendid for $39... Lissa's Staff Meal was a composition of freshness, texture, and knife skill; the Sea Urchin Bruschetta with Lardo and uni is melting richness — and the Rhubarb Pie & Ice Cream $10 - can be shared if you are so...+READ Last year we went to Luce for my birthday; last night we celebrated at Ame. Go to Ame. http://www.amerestaurant.com/dinner.html
The Taste of Ame Sashimi plate is splendid for $39... Lissa's Staff Meal was a composition of freshness, texture, and knife skill; the Sea Urchin Bruschetta with Lardo and uni is melting richness — and the Rhubarb Pie & Ice Cream $10 - can be shared if you are so inclined. On Wednesdays, the prix fixe for $55 includes wine pairings and it is a delightful value. We also split the Chawan Mushi and the Alaskan Black Cod. The food is artful and the service is exemplary.

My two favorite restaurants in the City are now La Folie and Ame.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (10 Replies) (by Cynsa, created July 22, 2010)

Four star experience!
The food was not consistently amazing. I had the taster menu - sashimi, lobster bisque, black cod, and a new york sirloin. The sirloin was lacking in flavor. The rest of the tasting menu was exquisite. Two of my dinner companions had the pork chop and the consensus was "it was okay'. The cod was by and far the most interesting dish. The subtleties of the mixed flavors were...+READ Four star experience!
The food was not consistently amazing. I had the taster menu - sashimi, lobster bisque, black cod, and a new york sirloin. The sirloin was lacking in flavor. The rest of the tasting menu was exquisite. Two of my dinner companions had the pork chop and the consensus was "it was okay'. The cod was by and far the most interesting dish. The subtleties of the mixed flavors were an experience to the palate.
The service was impeccable although the staff had to consult with the chef - made us wonder if the chef was a prima dona.....
I would highly recommend this restaurant - but don't order the pork chop!!-COLLAPSE / REPLY (4 Replies) (by JanetAnd, created November 16, 2009)

»AME (San Francisco) review

Hands down, this was our best dining experience in San Francisco. We loved the intimate environment and the friendly, knowledgeable, and straight-up excellent service. (Thank you, Gemma!)

I had the tasting menu- "A Taste of AME" with the wine pairings. (My husband Tom was still pretty full from our meal at Gary Danko the night before so he chose 3 courses a la carte, including dessert) Here...+READ Hands down, this was our best dining experience in San Francisco. We loved the intimate environment and the friendly, knowledgeable, and straight-up excellent service. (Thank you, Gemma!)

I had the tasting menu- "A Taste of AME" with the wine pairings. (My husband Tom was still pretty full from our meal at Gary Danko the night before so he chose 3 courses a la carte, including dessert) Here are the courses and the wine pairings:

First Course: Three preparations of sashimi. 1) Thai snapper with green beans and tomatoes, 2) scallop with sea urchin and cucumber, and 3) and smoked trout with trout roe, apple fennel slaw, and horseradish creme fraiche. Oh. My. God. Two of these were some of the tastiest bites I had throughout my entire trip (this includes our lunch at French Laundry.) All three were wonderful, but the scallop/sea urchin and smoked trout were truly special.

Paired with saki- Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo. lovely.

Second Course: Cream of Sunchoke Soup with Fois Gras Tortelloni. Also amazing. The texture and flavor of the soup, the simple richness of the tortelloni- really, just wonderful.

Paired with Schafer-Frolich Reisling Spatlese 2007 "Bockenauer Felseneck." A very nice pairing.

Third Course: Broiled Sake Marinated Black Cod in Shiso Broth. A definite contrast to the lusciousness of the previous course. Very straight-ahead, clean umami flavors.

Paired with: Fountaine Gagnard Pommard 2006 Premiere Cru "Les Rugiens" from Burgundy France. At this point in the meal I was in a total blissed out state, and don't have a particular memory of this wine, but I am sure it was awesome.

Fourth Course: Grilled Quail on Risotto with DeVaro Beans, Pioppini Mushrooms, Summer Beans, and Fois Gras Sauce. Yum. I think I was post-verbal by this course, so that's all I have.

Paired with Albiouness Sangiouvese 2006 "Game Farm Ranch" from Napa.

Fifth Course/Dessert: I chose the Apple Dumpling in Apple Cider Sauce and Buttermilk Ice Cream, which was paired with a Hungarian apple wine. Very nice- autumn-esque and light after the meal.

Tom had:

1) "Lissi's Staff Meal" as the name suggests, a comfort food jumble of awesomeness. Cuddlefish cut into "noodles," sea urchin, sunnyside up quail egg, trout roe, okra, and fermented soy beans. He loved it.

2) A full serving of the smoked trout sashimi that I'd had a bite of in the first course. Lightly Smoked Tasmania Ocean Trout "Mi cuit" with Apple Fennel Salad, Trout Roe and Horseradish Crème Fraiche. He loved it as much as I did.

3) Sautéed Gulf Shrimp and Ezo Abalone in Garlic Parsley Butter Sauce with Maitake Mushrooms and Preserved Lemon - good, but not as good as the two courses previous, in his opinion. He thought the mushrooms were the best part of the dish. (Man, we had a lot of awesome mushrooms during our trip)

He shared my dessert and we had cappucinos at the end.

The food was really a revelation. Also, this was the first wine pairing of the trip that I had so it was the start of a really wonderful education as far as wine and food goes. I can't speak highly enough of this place, in every aspect of the meal.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (15 Replies) (by noradeirdre, created October 16, 2009)