Last night's dinner

Spinach salad with homemade croutons

Coq au vin

Canteen

“I’ll have the root vegetable soup, roast pork loin and chocolate tart.” I told the waitress my order and she wasn’t the least bit amused.  I thought it was pretty funny considering these were the only items on the menu. However, I’m sure our server had heard this joke a million times before.  She wasn’t the least bit amused and never really warmed up to us.    This was first installation of the creatively-called “Dinner Club” with my SF-crew.  I picked the casual Dennis Leary (the chef, not the actor) Nob Hill spot, Canteen.  It had been on my list for a while.  Despite the fact I consider to be pretty familiar with the top chefs, I had not heard of Leary.  I guess he’s pretty famous here.  It was a cold, rainy night, so the intimate setting of Canteen combined with the home-style, upscale comfort food, pre-fix menu was a perfect way to escape the San Francisco “winter”.  Canteen seats about 20 people.  There are a few comfy booths and a long green bar in front of the open kitchen.  

We started off with a bottle of Petit Syrah, which was a nice bold choice to warm us up.  I don’t remember the name.  As this is my first foray into food blog writing, I’ll be sure to take notes on some of these details, but please take it easy on me for the first few.  The soup came out pretty quickly. I’m not exactly sure what root vegetables it contained, probably some turnips and parsnips, maybe some cream.  It was very flavorful and light. It was delicious. Enough said.  Next was the perfectly cooked pork loin with polenta and mushrooms.  Everything about this dish was amazing.  Rich flavors and textures, which paired very well with the wine.  I was very sad to leave a few pieces on the plate, but I had to save room for dessert.  Most people who know me, know I’m not a dessert person. I’m not even a sweet person.  I’m a salty, savory, crunchy, unami person.  But, I had to take a few bites of this yummy, chocolate hazelnut creation, and it did not disappoint.  I’m sure dessert purists could think of many adjectives to describe the delicious-ness of it, but I will keep it simple.  What I will tell you is the best thing about Canteen was the roll.  This was the best damn roll I’ve ever had.  It was flaky, light and buttery.  I think there’s a pound of butter in each roll, but, OMG. Amazing!  We ordered seconds on the roll and again, I was so sad that I just couldn’t finish it.  I’m still dreaming of this roll.

Overall, Canteen was a great experience.  The server, while, prompt, was pretty unfriendly.  She didn’t even crack a smile the entire time.  I think my joke set her off.  Oh well, my fellow diners thought it was funny. Canteen:  4 stars.