Butterfly
Pier 33 at Bay Street
San Francisco
Tel: 415-291-9482
Right, right there on the Embarcadero, Butterfly has a knock-out view onto the Bay.
It would appear that the view is about the only thing going for Butterfly.
It was one of those rare balmy evenings in San Francisco, the sort of evening that announces summer is over, and now, thank goodness, we'll get a break from the August fog. I was keen to head to Jack at Jeanty's but that seemed more of a foggy evening kind of destination. So we decided to give Butterfly a whirl; I liked Butterfly at one time.
When we arrived, there were six tables open by the window. They looked inviting: candles were lit. Our not-so-perky hostess dismissed our idea of sitting by the window (They're all reserved!), and we were seated in the middle of the dining room.
Moving swiftly on to the food. We ordered the Kalua Pig with Butter Lettuce Cups ($9) which arrived looking like a steaming brown mass of gunk plopped on top of warm lettuce leaves. Surprisingly, the pig was delicious. But, really, the presentation was awful. Really awful. Vile looking. We were hungry, the piggie was tasty, and so we tucked in and ate it all. If you go, and you're blessed with a mind-over-matter temperament, order this dish. According to our lackluster waiter, this is one of the restaurant's signature pieces.
Oi lah. Who said that serving food in a martini glass was a good idea? I'm not a fan of having my meal wobbling right there under my nose. Next up was the Hamachi Sashimi Martini ($12) which arrived over-priced, under-loved, and smelling fishier than Tsukiji. Hamachi sashimi is my favorite dish at a Japanese restaurant. Just the thought of it post-Butterfly makes my tummy curdle.
The culinary highlight of the evening were the Garlic Seared Clams & Mussels ($10). Ohhh, my yes, these were really quite tasty. We slurped up the Lemongrass-Curry Broth with the grilled bread, and marveled at how the rest of the meal was such a shambles.
Service is lousy. Our waiter was clueless about the wine, and not attentive at all.
The clientele had a terrific meat head element to it, quite unlike anything I've ever seen in SF. But entertaining, that's for sure! Cell phones, implants and stick-on nails were popular amongst the ladies. Gold necklaces and shiny shirts popular with the men.
The most annoying thing about the entire evening was that ninety minutes after sitting down, those six tables at the window were still empty. Ahhh well.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
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