HotelChatter

The menu is a continual taste treat with fresh ingredients flown in from the Bay Area. We were not overly hungry and were looking for some appetizers or starters that would keep us going for a few more hours. The Starters choices were varied - classic fondue, shellfish platter, roasted foie gras, an Asian sampler platter. The appetizer menu included a Dungeness crab salad, marinated Sonoma quail and asparagus salad, truffled macaroni and cheese. We settled for two of these generously portioned appetizers.The first was a fresh tomato bisque with lobster grilled cheese. This was not Campbells soup with your mama's velveeta on white bread. The soup was a heavenly rich tomato soup with a hint of basil. The sandwich, on fresh sourdough, was grilled with a mild white cheese and chunks of lobster. My husband and I almost fought over it, until we saw the charcuterie plate we had ordered. A lage plate covered in proscuito, coppa, blood sausage, parmesan, foccacia, foie gras, along with little bowls of cornichons, warm marinated olives and other small taste treats. We agreed to share each plate to keep the peace.

By far, the biggest hits of the night were the sandwich and the olives. The Napa and Sonoma Valleys, near our home, both turn out superb olives in every incarnation. We love them, and they are a staple of our diet. No stranger to the varieties, our bowl contained at least 5 different types of olives that had been marinated and warmed, making the taste just that much more pleasing to the tongue. We inquired as to where the restaurant obtained the olives, in the hope of buying some when returning to San Francisco, but were disappointed to learn that the chef makes his own marinade and the olives were not available outside the restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised however, when the waitress returned several minutes later with the recipe from the chef. A very generous gesture and one that I will treasure, along with the tasty olives.

We topped off our evening with cappucino and the Scharfenn Berger warm pudding cake. We walked out of there full and happy and determined to go back again and have a full meal, including the wonderful cheese course they offer.