As part of my Fried Chicken Quest and given my affinity for all thing’s truffle, the bf, and two of our good friends, Marc and John, visited 1300 Fillmore. 1300 opened in November as part of the new Yoshi’s complex in the Fillmore District in San Francisco.
Finally, in San Francisco, there is a space that not only features great food but also some LA-like production value in terms of creating a space you feel important in too. The space is big, but dark and intimate. A relatively spacious dining room is filled with great photos of jazz musicians, upside-down black-lampshaded lamp fixtures, mismatched chairs and, most sexily, live jazz gives the place a distinctly non-San Francisco feel. Apart from a initially curt bartender, the service was great, attentive, friendly and fast.
Because we got there early, the bf and I had a drink at the bar before Marc and Jon arrived. While at the bar he had white wine and I had a very fruity Berry Jazzatini. We spoiled our appetites by having Shrimp Hushpuppies, which we picked from an array of appetizers that included a bacon egg-salad and foie gras.
We had cornbread to start with a choice of Pepper Jelly (you could taste the pepper skins) or Honey Truffle Butter (which did not taste like honey nor truffles). The cornbread – perefectlyHushpuppies balanced, although a little moister would be nice. But, before we knew it, the arrived. Warm, crunchy, and filling.
After Marc and John arrived we were seated. While we were next to the kitchen it wasn’t noisy or distracting. It was quiet enough to hear that the couple dining behind us were celebrating their 30th anniversary. (Collectively, we “awwwd.”)
For appetizers, we got the Shrimp Hushpuppies (by this point, I was saying, “they’re good, fried, and shrimp, we get it already,” as it was too much of a good thing). We also go a Poached Egg Salad with bacon (could have used a little more lettuce) and Marc, being allergic to shellfish, got the Arugilla salad.
For entries, we got two portions of the Fried Chicken with Truffled Mashed Potatoes (uh-mazing), the Pork Chop and the Maple Syrup Seared Pork Shortribs.
For the Fried Chicken, the bed of truffled mash potatoes infused the chicken, which was tasty itself, moist and battered in a well-seasoned batter. The batter was even better because the chicken’s shape allowed extra pools of batter to glam together that created extra pockets of goodness.
The Shortrib was on a bed of chived mashed potatoes, which were well-seasoned, earthy and, well, tasted like vegetables. The Shortrib was great by all of our palettes. Glazed in or cooked with maple syrup, the pork shortribs were to tender to the touch and flavorful.
The Porkchop, which made John close his eyes in appreciation, was cooked very well. Served medium, the chop wasn’t tough nor dry, but rather moist and warm. Perfectly balanced between being too chewy and too tough.
Dessert was a small plate of checkered desserts – a Penite Four (how do you spell that?) two scoops of sorbet (Peach and Meyer Lemon – very, very tart) a small pecan tartlet, a double chocolate cookie, pomegranate seeds, and other goodies. That dessert was, however, outflanked by the Chocolate-filled Beignets. Beignets have a special place in my heart given the bf asked me about beignets when we first met, but we’ve seldom had good ones. 1300’s were great. Warm, fluffy and served with a bowl of chocolate sauce and an “Espresso Soda” (which the coffee-drinkers loved) these were a great way to end the meal.
And, today, even as leftovers (which were attentively labeled by our waitress), the chicken retained its moisture, and, if I’m not mistaken, tastes even better today. The pork is still good, but the chicken still takes the prize.
All in all 1300 is a winner, and currently, it’s number in my Fried Chicken Quest, knocking the Blue Jay cafe and Bake Sale Betty's (which is an admittedly different creature) out of that spot.
