Happy Turkey Day everyone. I'm staying in Boston during this break, so I probably won't be eating any Thanksgiving type stuff. I'm not a big turkey fan anyway. Continuing on with my archive of pictures from the summer... Here is Quince in SF, a relatively new place. The chef, Michael Tusk, won the "Rising Star" award from San Francisco Magazine in August. It replaced the Meetinghouse, which I thought was a very good brunch joint, and had the best biscuits I think I've ever had. I heard that bad business wasn't the cause of its closing, which doesn't surprise me. Too bad it's gone though. Anyway, Quince supposedly has some of the best pasta in the city. 
local halibut tartare with lemon mustard dressing - $12.5 
pappardelle with rabbit - $16 
alaskan black cod with chanterelles and prosecco sauce - $25 
scharffen berger cacao nib panna cotta with toasted pecans and chocolate wafers - $8.5 Very good meal. Did a good job considering how much hype this place has. This was another meal with my mom, Auntie Margie, Auntie Cathy, and the Chus. The Chus were able to book chef's table (sort of) - none of the regular tables can fit 8 people. We sat in the back in an area sort of between the dining room and the kitchen. We saw a lot of desserts being prepared next to us.
Anyway, the food was really good. The tartare was one of the best tartare preparations I've had in recent memory. A hint of lemon and fresh fish made it a simple delight. The goldfish-shaped toast was a funny touch.
The pappardelle was really excellent. There's just not enough to be said about freshly made pasta, and I don't see why they don't just do it in every Italian restaurant. It doesn't seem to take that much more work considering the reward. I had a bite of several different pastas on the menu and all of them were just great. All of them were simple preparations using simple sauces and not too many ingredients, which allows for the fresh pasta to really shine. The pappardelle I had was probably on the more elaborate side already. It was just a delicious simple ragu with very good pasta (it's all about the texture!).
The cod was just alright. Not bad at all, but a little underwhelming after the pasta. It was like many other fish dishes that you could get at a lot of places. The menu sort of pressures you into ordering 3 courses by dividing itself by using the headers "First Course Selections", "Second Course Selections", and, you guessed it, "Third Course Selections" (rather than Apps/Pastas/Mains or something like that).
To be honest, when I return, I'll order an appetizer followed by 2 pastas. The place isn't cheap, and this would be more cost effective and probably result in a better meal. Oh yeah - I forgot to talk about the panna cotta, which was very good. The long cocoa name is I guess a fancy way of saying chocolate, which is fine by me... It had a very chocolatey flavor without being too sugary sweet, which to me should be the ultimate goal of any chocolate dessert. Nice, firm texture, and chilled to just the right temperature for it to even be a little refreshing. Great dessert.