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Hats Off to Chapeau!
By Jessica Chan
Contributing Writer
Eating has always been one of my favorite pastimes, and I've ventured
all over the city in my pursuit of new and exciting foods. Although there are
many great places to eat around the city, rarely have my taste buds encountered
a restaurant that motivated me to write about it. Chapeau! is one such restaurant.
My friends and I had wanted to try Chapeau! since we'd seen it reviewed
on Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels show on the Food Network. A friend's
birthday finally gave us a reason to go and try it. A major draw in going to
Chapeau! is their early bird special in which one gets to feast on a three-course
dinner from a prix fixe menu for only $20.95. A variety of choices are available
for your choosing and the menu changes every month to reflect seasonal produce.
The only drawback is that the special is only offered Sundays through Thursdays
from 5-6 p.m. and reservations ought to be made about two-three weeks in advance.
My friends and I found Chapeau! in a quiet part of the Richmond district. The
exterior of the restaurant was nondescript, but once inside, we were greeted
with a soft glowing ambience. The walls had been painted to reveal a quaint
country landscape. The restaurant itself was small but managed to seat quite
a number of patrons without making us feel cramped. We were seated promptly
and while looking over the menus, we were greeted by the owner, who apparently
comes out to personally greet all his guests.
After looking over the prix fixe dinner menu, I picked mussels "à
la marinière" with pommes frites and aioli for the appetizer, salmon
with leeks, potatoes, salsify and red wine butter for the main course, and vanilla
bean crème brûlée for dessert.
The meal began with a bottomless basket of warm, crusty French bread. We were
then offered a pre-appetizer of a tiny cup of split pea soup that was smooth
and bursting with flavor. My mussel dish was almost an entrée in itself.
The mussels were well cooked and there was just the right touch of flavor in
the juices they were sitting in. Although the fries were a bit soggy as they
were spread atop the mussels, the aioli that accompanied the fries more than
made up for their sogginess. My salmon was cooked to the perfect medium rare
and had just the right seasonings and crispness around the edges. It sat on
a bed of mashed potatoes and leeks with delectable prawn pieces nestled inside.
Surrounding the salmon and potatoes was a lake of red wine butter sauce. All
the flavors blended nicely and made my mouth content.
My friends were equally happy with their dishes. They raved about how succulent
the roasted pork loins were and how flavorful the glazed duck tasted. All the
dishes were so visually pleasing that we took a second to admire them before
delving in. It didn't take long to finish everything in front of us. We
even used some bread to soak any extra sauce left.
By the end of the main course, we were pleasantly stuffed but still awaited
eagerly for our desserts. Again, the desserts did not disappoint. The crème
brûlée was creamy with a sugary shell of just the right thickness.
I could taste and see the vanilla bean they used to make the dessert. The French
profiterolles were perfectly made with the ice cream neatly placed in the puffs
and bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzled over the puffs. The Panna Cotta was
rich and creamy and came with a unique strawberry salad with basil oil, which
was surprisingly tasty.
The meal left my friends and I fully satisfied. We were impressed with the food
as well as the service. Although the restaurant was packed, there had been no
feeling of being rushed. Our dishes were brought out at an appropriate pace,
allowing us to thoroughly enjoy the food. Our drinks never dipped below the
halfway point. We even struck up a conversation with one of the waiters and
learned that chapeau is French for "hat" but when spelled with an
exclamation mark, the word means "wow!" After paying the bill, which
had arrived inside a hat, my friends and I left Chapeau! trying to figure out
when our schedules would allow for us to return for another meal.
Chapeau! is a must try for all those in search of amazing French food, first-rate
service and a good deal. It truly deserves the exclamation mark.
Chapeau!
1408 Clement Street
San Francisco
Tue-Thu 5-10 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5-10:30 p.m.
Sun 5-10 p.m.
750-9787
Jessica Chan is a first-year pharmacy student.
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