Chenery Park

I heard about this place years ago from a friend on mine who went there. At the time I think I was living north of Golden Gate Park and Glen Park was some distant district that I wasn’t very familiar with.

Now I live less than a 5 minute drive from the restaurant but hadn’t checked out the restaurant until now. I had heard that this place was kid-friendly (Tuesday is kids night), served contemporary American cuisine, and a couple of the owner/chefs worked at Boulevard before.

I made a reservation on opentable just to get the points but I think we could have walked in and got a table. When we got there, the hostess greeted us and asked us if we wanted a children’s placemat and crayons for Emma.

The restaurant is two levels and we were seated upstairs. They had plenty of room behind the booth seating for things like backpacks, jackets, etc.

The menu had appetizers, small plates and large plates. The specials were a little confusing since the small plates and large plate were all lumped together on the page. I had to ask her the difference and how it worked with the sides listed.

The regular small plates and large plates were separated out on the menu.

My dad ordered tomato soup and pork belly. I got fried green tomatoes and rack of lamb chops with gratin potatoes. I got a mac ‘n cheese for Emma. The waitress asked if I wanted the bread crumbs on top or left off. We also ordered two glasses of white wine.

The waitress brought out some bread which Emma devoured. So much for getting her to eat her dinner later!

The soup, fried green tomatoes, and mac ‘n cheese came out first. Dad liked the soup. I thought it lacked flavor. Emma seemed to like it.

The fried green tomatoes were small. I was expecting larger slices of tomato. It was in this cheese sauce. It was just ok for me.

The mac ‘n cheese was decent although Emma wasn’t into it.

The rack of lamb tasted good but I was disappointed in how it was cooked. I asked for it medium rare and it came out unevenly cooked.

A close up of the uneven cooking.

I also found the rack of lamb really fatty and had to cut a big chunk of it out near the bone. It probably would have been cleaner if they “frenched” the rack of lamb.

Anna wanted me to order her take out rack of lamb so I asked the waitress what I should order if I wanted the lamb cooked pink. She said that the restaurant tends to cook things on the rarer side and to order it medium.

I had a small piece of the pork belly and it was ok. My dad liked it.

I found it a little pricey when compared to some other restaurants but I would check out the restaurant again given the place is kid friendly, the  staff is really nice, the atmosphere is pleasant, and it’s super close by our place.

Chenery Park

683 Chenery St
(between Carrie St & Diamond St)
San Francisco, CA

Fish & Farm

I got together with some grad school friends for dinner tonight. I had made a reservation for eight via email with someone named Michael at Fish & Farm. It was fast and efficient. No phone calls necessary. He hooked us up with a private room to boot!

Fish & Farm is inside the Mark Twain hotel. I went to check in and the hostess directed me to come back out to the hallway and to the other side where they had the private room set up. It felt a little weird but worked I guess.

Once inside and after we got settled the waiter took our drink order. I ordered an Anchor Steam which was one of a few beers on tap. We also ordered our dinner. No one except for one person ordered an appetizer and he had the fixed menu which costs $41.95.

I was expecting to see the burger on the menu since it got a lot of press in 7×7′s 100 Things to Try Before You Die article but it was nowhere to be found. I ended up choosing the Roasted Pacific Halibut (Green Garlic Puree, Spring Vegetable Ragout, Wild Mushrooms, Port Shallot Reduction). The fish was cooked pretty well and had a good taste.

Others ordered Liberty Ale Fish & Chips, Potato Gnocchi, and Chef’s Daily Cut of Beef (can’t remember which cut it was).

After the main course we got some desserts to finish off the meal. I ordered a Cheesecake in a Jar. There were two orders of this fruit tart with vanilla ice cream and a couple of chocolate sundaes.

I didn’t really like my dessert. I found it a bit grainy. I liked the cranberry jam and the butter crumble on top. The fruit tart and sundaes were a hit. The tart was HUGE.

The service was a bit uneven not terribly so. For example, the bread came out way after we got our drinks. We had to wait a bit for one of the main dishes to come out when everyone else had theirs. They forgot a chocolate sundae. At the same time, they kept my water glass filled throughout the night and the waiter was friendly so can’t complain.

All in all a successful and fun evening! Got a chance to catch up with everyone although would have been great if we could have spent a bit more time together.