"Where-To-Wednesday" Adventures: September 2012

Think back. What do you remember about getting Detention in school? Perhaps two hours of a snooze-fest, requiring reading, or worse yet: memorization.... *Shudder* Well this August, just like all the kiddies in the neighborhood, Where-To-Wednesday took a trip back down memory lane and went to "Skool", and boy were we in for a surprise. At a place that boasts an outdoor lunchroom and celebrates detention with a happy hour cocktail list, I beg the question: where was this Skool when I was growing up? At this latest Where-To-Wednesday adventure picked by Elizabeth – me, Becky, Melissa, Neva, Lindsey, Chelsea and the newbie Anna got checked off the attendance sheet and were in for an after-Skool lesson. So...how did our trip back to Skool fair? Read on to find out how WE graded Skool (don't you wish we could have done the same growing up) on the 0/10 report card.

Ambiance 9: The atmosphere in here is a mainly modern theme with a touch of comfort that brings an overall coziness to every aspect of the restaurant. Chairs and benches built of wood and a touch of steel, are adorned with pillows scattered across various seats to enhance the comfort. The tables these chairs are pulled up to, are full of sleek, straight edges yet are alive with radiance from the gentle, warm track lighting above, shining upon them. Large, square, symmetrical windows up front, give the glow of natural light from the outside - providing a comforting backdrop as you see the twinkle from light strands adorning the outside area, take over as the sunlight fades to darkness. The open, airy kitchen is set apart only by blocks of wood, separated every few feet in a vertical pattern. And as you bask in this ambiance before you, and catch the detention hall specials listed on the chalkboard in the bar area, it's not too hard to see why this place calls to so many different kinds of people - - and how they all find their way through a maze of one-way alleys and desolate streets to get here...but we’ll get to that when we talk about the area. For now...relax and soak in the ambiance....it's time for detention.

Wine 9.5: You know the drill. The long lists of wine that get scoured over, only to end up still ordering at random....no idea what sort of wine you are in for. Good surprise, bad surprise....flip a coin. Not at Skool. Even though detention sounds so good it seems impossible to go wrong here, they take the chance of any bad surprises right out of the picture, with...wait for it...tastes. I'm amazed at how simple this is, and how little I find it being offered. Not only were we given a taste of the wine we were thinking of ordering, but with so many girls...we've got many unique ideas of what "tastes" good. We noticed that there were more white wines to choose from, but not as many red - very likely because Skool specializes in fish, which would lend itself a little nicer to white wine. But alas, taste both we will. So...many and multiple tastes we were given, and happy we became. So happy that when the category of "price" comes up later, we'll have come full circle - but I'll get to that in a bit. We ordered both a white and a red...us being equal opportunity winos and all. The white was a Georges Deboeuf Chardonnay from France, which translated to a delicate, crisp chardonnay without the heaviness of oak. Which normally for me - the more oak, the better - but at a dinner setting, it's nice to have a light wine that pairs well with almost any dish. Per usual, my attentiveness to the wine I wasn't drinking (the red) lacked tremendously, and even though I know it was good....I forgot to take notes. Failure on my part. Sorry girls. Heading to detention....tehehe.

Food 8.5: With a focus on fish and flair for the Japanese style, Skool presented a different style of food than we are used to going to. We were about to get "skooled" on a cuisine that put us out of our element. Get it???? I know bad joke, BUT, you may need some vocab definitions with these dishes. Ahem, we'll begin.....

- Fried Baby Eryngii: See? I told you. Unless you're a little fungi farmer you're probably scratching your head here. Or thinking we're chomping down on babies. Just like I would be without my handy, dandy notes. Definition: Mushrooms! (I can hear your sigh of relief). Coated with a fried goodness that held a faint resemblance to funnel cake (um...yes please), these farm little mushroom fries were a treat. They had a hint of fennel mixed with a kick of lemon and a spicy miso aioli for dipping.

- Shishito Pepper: Here's a little dish I like to call Pepper Roulette. Sprinkled with kelp salt and dried bonito flakes, these seemingly innocent peppers were not all equal. Most were neutral enough with a crisp crunch that gave way to a familiar pepper taste, but some....some made me think that this dish should be renamed “SHIT SHIT THAT’S HOT” pepper. It literally felt like a fire had started in your mouth. An unstoppable force of a fire. And at a table filled with all types of drinks...milk was not one of them. And so, bleary eyed with tears and unable to talk, we cursed ourselves for thinking we could outpace the heat of the pepper. Heed: proceed with caution.

- Kobu-Jime: What's that? You need another glance at the notecards? Thought so. Definition: Snapper. And good thing you know, because you're not going to want to miss this dish. Extremely fresh, the delicate snapper was topped with Japanese cucumber giving a slight crunch, and sprinkled with delicate yet lightly crunchy wasabi infused tobiko (fish eggs). The combination of textures and consistencies, with the freshness of the dish, make this a must-have.

- Crab Bon Bons: These dungeness crab balls were a bit doughy, topped with an herb aioli that kicked in a heightened taste. Meh. I’ll take the 1980’s chocolate version instead.

- Shime-Saba Tataki: Is it time to break out those Cliffs Notes already? Yep... Welcome to the Mackerel! Our waitress explained as we ordered it, that you either love or hate Mackerel. Not ones to turn down an experiment, we, of course, ordered it. It arrived, topped with a pickled ginger, sour cream mustard with a lone slice of peach atop and a sprig of Rosemary beside it. Try as they might, the Rosemary, peach and mustard combined...were no match for the fish. The creamy mustard was the strongest and a nice effort to cover up the Mackerel which, to me, tasted like the most pungent tuna I had ever had. Bad...bad surprise. Skip. I am still yearning for a stick of spearmint gum.

- Four Cheese Flat Bread: By Jove...I think you've got this one. With rather delicate, light dishes up to this point, the flat bread was a welcomed, heartier plate. Topped with fresh tomatoes, arugula, pancetta, and ooey gooey blue cheese with a touch of goat cheese, the flat bread was quite frankly, delicious. With a slight crisp with each crunch combined with the various textures and tastes of the toppings, this was a warm, welcoming delight with every bite.

- Mizore Age: *flip of the notecard*.....Eggplant! Albeit a side dish, this must have taken a cue from the last dish, because it also was heartier than the prior plates. Fried to perfection and resting in a sea of juices, it is topped with snow shaven Daikon radish - giving it a kick. Another perfect combination of textures and consistencies makes this one a winner.

- Skinny Fries: Now I'm speaking your language. And let's face it...in any language, are fries ever bad? These are no exception. There's something about skinny fries that makes you eat even more of them, easily tricked by their small stature. And with a yummy, quickly-addicting miso aioli to dip them in...good luck stopping.

- Squid Ink Spaghettina: I've only ordered a dish with squid ink once. I know, so inexperienced. But when it came, my dish with jet black. Not exactly screaming to be eaten. So when this dish came up as a potential choice, I squirmed in my seat. Really? We wanted to do this? Yes, I was told. Yes, we did. And you know....I'm glad we did because it was definitely the learning experience for me. Yes..."Skool" done gone taught me a lesson. The dish arrived as an extremely appetizing bowl o' fun, with no "ink" black reminders that had haunted me for so long. The noodles themselves are perfectly al dente...although not that exciting. The real treat seems to be everything else in that little bowl. Served in a sea of lemon grass dashi-broth, were Monterey squid and shrimp mixed with red curry, garlic tomato compote, seaweed butter and mushrooms...this one packs a flavor punch.

- Rock Risotto: In a word: amazing. Arriving with a thick, creamy and rich risotto topped with two deliciously seared scallops - this, my friend, was a good surprise. A very good surprise. The risotto was packed with rock shrimp and asparagus, which gave a more complex consistency to the dish. Heads up - there are only two scallops here so... do yourself a favor and order another round!

- Alaskan Halibut: So fresh you'll swear Skool is hiding fishing rods in the back. The halibut is delicious, as is the polenta cake accompanying it, served dripping with creamy burrata. The combination of the smooth halibut mixed with the gritty polenta made a very nice, complex combination of textures - and with rich flavor consistencies, this one deserved a gold star.

- Polenta Salmon: I think we're catching on to their polenta + fish trick.... But the combination is so good, I'll fall for it again tomorrow. This time the fish was encrusted in polenta (points for creativity here) served with a crisp, rich strip of bacon on top. Surf and turf if you will? I will.

- Steak Ichibo: I think there may be some unwritten rule about not ordering steak at a seafood restaurant. Well folks, it's time to write that one down. The steak was forgettable - - not very flavorful in taste at all...but shame on us for ordering meat at a restaurant with a symbol of a fish in its name. Hint: We. Do. Fish. At least it was served with a side of polenta.... wait, where did I see that before?

Dessert: Once we hit our limit of seafood at this "seafood restaurant" we did not stop there. We ordered the steak. And once that was down the hatch and the regular menu was done, do you think we stopped there? Rhetorical. Of course we didn't. Our dessert side was empty. Bring it on. Polenta cake! Or am I just toying with you.... read on and find out. I will say this, the dessert was damn good and my notes were pathetic due to the fact that I was stuffing my face as fast as my little hands could get that fork to my mouth, so you'll have to excuse my lack of details here. I'm going more off of memory since "delic" in my notes...will simply not do.

- Blue Cheese Cake: It looks dainty...but don't let that fool you. This small dish makes up for it's size ten times over, with the richness of its flavor. Its rich and creamy, and served with a sprig of Rosemary that gives the dish a sweet depth. Succulent honeycomb and almonds wait on the sidelines - perfect combinations to swoop up with your spoon, that pair perfectly with the cheesecake.

- Lavender Panna Cotta: My notes read: "tastes like a spa. In a good way." Ah yes...that must be the lavender that so quickly escaped me when the wine clouded my pin-pointing skills. Spa it is. And spa you will like. Light yet creamy, with hints of lavender it's a refreshing way to end the meal.

- Cardamom Chocolate Cake: Light panna cotta? Thumbs up. Light flourless chocolate cake? Why? Why would you do such a thing? That’s what the panna cotta is for! Pack this cake with hundred dollar bills because chocolate cake should be rich! It should make you sit back in your seat and rub your tummy, as you eat that last bite and simultaneously claim you shouldn’t have. That’s what chocolate is for, people. So, in my humble opinion...this could have been a little more rich. Did I mention that? Adorned with mint leaves and orange confit, it gave the cake very unique yet complementary flavor combinations that worked well.

- Ice Cream: The daily flavors were Kahlua with mint, and Blackberry with Cabernet...both were delicious and creamy. Don't let the boring "ice cream" title on the menu fool you. Delicious!

Service 10: It seems that our last restaurant experience beckoned help from the gods of restaurant karma. And oh, were we blessed. Words like “please” and thank you” were thrown out with a smile, along with fantastic recos of dishes that I would have been otherwise left scratching my head and slowly mispronouncing…all the while wondering just what the hell I was ordering. But alas, Heather set us straight with her recos on apps and mains…which led to a crowd pleasing dinner. And when the wine arrived, my faith in wine courtesy was restored as she poured a taste before actually filling the glasses. What a concept. Presidio Social Club…I hope you’re taking notes. The service was impeccable and at times even felt like a friend was helping us out. So much so that we even extended an invite to her to join us at our next where to Wednesday. How often do you leave a restaurant with a full stomach AND a new friend? Rock on, Skool. Another bonus? The manager even came out to say hello to us and thank us for coming. Love the service here!

Price 7: Oh wine. You do it to us every time...and yet we keep coming back to you. For a total of $86 per person, wine being the obvious main culprit here, it was on the more expensive side. That's not to say that the dishes and wine themselves weren't priced good individually...just that ordering each like they’re going out of style, put us at the $86 mark. Step aside banks, it’s W2W’s time for a bailout. At least we give the people a review they can use. Not just checking fees. Damn those banks.

Noise Level 9: It's a very open atmosphere in a small space, yet the acoustics are pretty darn good! Well..at least at our little table off to the side from everyone else. Okay...I'm realizing this part of the review may only apply to the corner table in the back by the bar. So...if you get that table...two thumbs up. Even with eight loud noisy girls talking at once, we could all still hear each other and conversation was always flowing. Just like home room. Oh memories.

All About The Area: I can't even really say for certain what area this is. I think it's SOMA...but not the cool/trendy SOMA area...more of the "am I on the right street? Where are you taking me?" part of SOMA. Oh hell, we could have even been in Mexico. I don't know. It was a long drive. I will say this - plan in advance because there no cab drivers hanging out by the corner of "you're lost" and "where the hell is this" to conveniently take you home. Call ahead, drive or...bring a compass. Or never leave. I did tell you they have an outdoor patio...just saying. Hold on to those good surprises, people.

Overall Grade: 8.8