"Where-To-Wednesday" Adventures: December 2011

Zero Zero, you master of disguise, you. I thought I knew you, though we met only once. A cold, blustery San Francisco afternoon you welcomed me through your doors to entice me with your sizzling pizza and sandwiches. A lunch fare that left me satisfied, yet a bit unimpressed. How was I to know you had so much more to offer? Growing up in the Midwest, pizzerias were a’ plenty. We grew up with the likes of Chuckie Cheese and Major Magic, only to graduate on towards the “adult” pizzerias years later, serving up – yes, you guessed it - pizza. Offering exactly what steered you towards their piping hot oven in the first place, and nothing more. Perhaps they were honest, perhaps they were lacking, perhaps we just didn’t know what more we could have. Enter Zero Zero. For when the sun sets, the ambiance here kicks up a notch, the menu changes, dinner is served and pizza ain’t the only dish on there. Like Super Man exiting the phone booth, Fiona finding true love’s kiss (do I watch too much TV?), Zero Zero waves bah-bye to it’s former lunch facade, and embraces the tantalizing dishes and buzzing atmosphere that dinner will embrace. Many thanks to Joce who chose this latest adventure of Where-To-Wednesday, that myself, Elizabeth, Chelsea and our newest Where-To-Wednesday gal Neva enjoyed! So…what saucy little extras did Zero Zero serve up? Did Neva enjoy her cameo enough to keep a reoccurring role on the W2W crew? You, my friend, will just have to read on to find out. 0/10 scale as always…the magic happens at 10.

Ambiance 8: As dusk settles outside the doors of Zero Zero, the lights dim inside and soft overhead lights delicately glimmer across the restaurant. The bar in the front is highlighted by a perimeter of “up lighting” illuminating the wall lined with bottles behind the bar. If alcohol wasn’t already attractive..it is now. Set into the bar itself are individual lights, casting a soft glow onto patrons and their drinks, as they sit at the bar awaiting their tables. I can imagine a worse place to wait… The restaurant is set up in a bit of a loft style, so the bar area in all of its wondrous illumination, is viewable from all areas of the restaurant. If you’re sitting upstairs and feeling left out, there’s a mini-bar up there too. Don’t fret. The lighting, the bar…it all had a bit of 1920’s feel to it. Minus the wine on tap. Hello revolution. 21^st century…we have arrived.

Wine 7.5: Red? White? What’s a girl to choose? Oh come on. You know us well enough by now to know that’s a trick question. Why both of course. After sipping on a few glasses of the wine on tap (how do I get this in my apartment?) we settled on a Saintsbury Chardonnay and a Cannonau Grenache. The Chardonnay was crispy, a little tangy but smooth. Not my favorite type of Chardonnay (love the buttery ones) but still pretty good. The Grenache I didn’t try but…the bottle was drunk so I am under the assumption it was agreeable. Not a ton of wines by the glass here – about 10 per white/red that span only Italy and California. So, if you’ve got a favorite..y0u may want to bring it along as your plus one.

Food 8.5: Like too many magazine articles I get sucked into, the start of the meal quickly pulled me in with it’s robust and unique apps. And then…I got lost, somewhere where they direct me to page 276 to finish. The main course...dare I say it, since they hang their hat on their pizzas? Eh. A little forgetful. It could be that the apps set the bar too high. And if that’s the case, the desserts were all for doing chin-ups, because we ended up right where we started. Phew. Article complete.

- Brussel Sprouts: If only they served these at Chuckie Cheese… Whoever doesn’t like Brussel Sprouts, I challenge you. Take a bite of these puppies. Sweet marries salty, as sugary Asian pear meets refreshing lemon zest and rolls around with pancetta, kicking it into your mouth with a hint of chili. Fried to perfection these are delicious with the perfect combination of fresh and savory. Mmmmmm.
- Aranchini Balls: Stuffed with taleggio cheese and black garlic aioli, these warm, delicious treats hold a meaty cheese that packs a punch. Smothered with garlicky goodness, these salty garlic balls would have Chef himself singing a new verse. Did I mention we were close to South Park? Buh-dum-chi. Where’s my drum?
- Broccoli Di Ciccio: Seriously? Where was this broccoli when I was growing up? Mixed with toasted garlic and lemon…this dish got a kick with the Calabrian chili.
- Meatballs: Hearty and savory, these pork and veal meatballs are covered in a gravy-esk tomato sauce. Delish!
- Cavatelli: Good mix of textures with the soft butter beans, crunchy broccoli, and chewy pasta. Yes, a little chewy. If it weren’t for it’s buddies beans and broccoli, this pasta would be a sad loner.
- Margherita Pizza: Baked with a thin crust, this pizza held a tomato-based sauce with dollops of buffalo mozzarella peppered throughout. Pretty good. Not spectacular like the brussel sprouts (I feel this is the only time in my life I will ever type this sentence) but good.
- Townsend Pizza: Head into this with a glass of water. Salt, salt and more salt. This pizza was very rich and salty, with potatoes, sopressata, and lots of mozzarella. Very thick, rich and heavy it could have used more of a contrast with ingredients. Or a scheduled nap.

Now..we could have stopped here.Easily. Not because the meal was heading downhill, but because we couldn’t even finish the dishes. Which is a Where-To-Wednesday first. Leftovers? Unheard of. Watch out Guinness Book..here we come. So when the dessert menus came, we almost passed. Almost. Thankfully, the glutton within all of us could not be dissuaded. On to dessert we went. But it’s not just a normal menu. No. This dessert course requires an interactive menu. You don’t just sit back and point, you check off lots of little boxes on a pretty piece of paper that ultimately dictates just what delectable dessert concoction you are about to enjoy. From ice cream flavors, to bases of cake for your ice cream to sit on, to toppings and syrups and more toppings…oh my!....this unique take on dessert gives you the power to make your own dessert!
- Where-To-Wednesday Dessert: That’s right. We made it our own. Simple vanilla soft serve ice cream is piled high, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt…our combination, frankly, rocked.

Price 7.5: To get our fill of the main food groups we heart the most: pizza, pasta and vino…we ponied up $62 big ones. Pretty average for our outings..although with four people it seems a little high. In which case…have another glass of vino and fuggetaboutit.

Noise Level 8: You can easily hear your party both next to you and across the table, which is…both good and bad. I love being able to hear just as much as the next person. Probably moreso, because I’m that person who you’ll find nodding and smiling, hoping you don’t ask an open-ended question because I haven’t heard a damn thing you’ve said. All that aside, I think the reason the noise level is much lower is because the tables are spaced apart more than you find at other restaurants. It could be that we’ve become so accustomed to the European close-vicinity style seating that San Francisco has been slowly evolving to. It could be that the opposite evokes a sense of standard suburban chain-style eateries in us now, that we’ve moved so far away from. It could also be that this subtly is lost on everyone but me. In which case, I’ll end my rant, and you can disregard. But..if you feel what I feel, pepper in some fun and chuckle to yourself as you’re eatin’ good in the neighborhood; because when you’re here, you’re family. Okay, now I’m seriously done with this. Sit, eat, and listen away with your uninterrupted hearing.

Service 8: You know when you’re ready to order, and you look around for your server only to realize that you’ve only seen them for so brief a second that you can’t seem to recall what they looked like? Didn’t happen here. But you know when they’re stationed at your table, in full-force borderline stalker mode awaiting your final dish decision with a constant flickering of their pen? Riiiight, not here either. This was your average, good, service. Damn you service. There will be no fun installment of “seriously” in this posting. Bar Agricole servers…need a place to grab dinner with free training?

All About The Area: Oh SOMA, our dear friend, we find ourselves here again. You’re pocketed neighborhoods can make us nervous with each corner we turn, but excited when it’s a good one. This part of SOMA is definitely a go-to. Next door to it’s neighbors Lulu and Oola, there are additional dinner choices amongst this street filled with modern little lofts and bustling companies like Twitter. Lofts, Twitter, and dinner…how can you go wrong?

Overall Grade: 7.9

So…next stop? Glad you asked…it’s Neva’s pick! See, that’s how we treat our newcomers. Arms wide open, and full of pressure. Many thanks to Elizabeth for bringing Neva into the world of Where-To-Wednesday! We love new additions to the group, so if you’re interested just contact any of us to join. Prefer to vicariously travel via armchair to these destinations and voice your opinion? No problem. Read, laugh, comment and leave your mark without ever leaving your house.