First Time at A16 Rocked
I have been wanting to go to A16 for forever. For one reason or another, every time I had planned on going, something would come up and I couldn't make it. (Is there a Murphy's Law for restaurant reservations?)
Well, last night I finally made it over there. Like so many things (movies, books, restaurants), I was more concerned that my overextended, hyped expectations would be let down by a merely excellent dining experience. This has happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. But it didn't happen last night at A16.
It was superb.
I didn't take pictures and I didn't remember much about the wine we had, unfortunately. (I was with my in laws and didn't want to live blog it or take notes; besides, I was loving the food too much to care.)
But I do remember exactly what I ate:
Starters - For the table.
We started out by splitting the Ciccioli (house-cured) salumi and the Bianci pizza. I probably wouldn't have picked them together (and didn't), but really loved each. The salumi was a perfect example of the resurgence of house-cured salumi in the SF Bay Area. The pizza (online controversies notwithstanding) was very good with a nice spicy kick.
It went well with the glass of Emanuele Scammacca, 'Murgo Brut', Sicilia 2004 (Nerello Mascalese) we had; and, a bit later, with the Greco di Tufo too. (Sorry no additional details there.)
From there we moved on to the Sardines al beccafico with oranges, fennel and golden raisins and the Roasted beets and Full Belly Farm farro salad with roasted cipolline, mint and ricotta salata. The Sardines were terrific -- make sure you like sardines, these were huge. The beet salad was tasty too (which means, in my book, that it didn't taste like beets).
Wine
I'm sad to say, I didn't get the opportunity to see which red wine we were drinking. The sommelier was out on maternity leave (gave birth that day!), but the acting sommelier was terrific as well. We trusted her (per the recommendation of some friends) and were rewarded with a rich, floral southern Italian red. (Next time I promise to pay attention.)
Entrees - Split with my wife
I had the Beef braciole in red wine sauce, with a side of polenta. The red wine sauce was rich and full without being overdone.
My wife had the local petrale sole. It had a nice flavor, but swapping between that and the sole probably didn't do it justice.
Both were very good, although I had a preference for the braciole.
Dessert
I had the Chocolate budino tart with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil, and the table split an almond ice cream, almond crusted almond thingy. Both were really good, but I'd avoid the desserts and order an extra side if I had to do it all over again.
Service
Service was great. Non-intrusive but prompt and efficient and polite. Special accolades to Ryan (at the front + bar) and "the new girl" Ella.
A16 lived up to my expectations. My expectations were huge, so that's quite a compliment.
