Dine About Town SF: Bisou Bistro

I'm in Taiwan now, but right before I left San Francisco I went to Dine About Town (Restaurant Week), which is going on until June 15th, so make your reservations ASAP! The way restaurant week works is you get a prix fixe menu of two or three courses for lunch ($18.95) or three courses for dinner ($36.95).

Our first appetizer was French onion soup. I felt that this was really well done; it wasn't greasy or overly sour like some can be.

Our next appetizer was salmon tartare (raw salmon) with four kinds of eggs: tobiko (the tiny fish roe), salmon roe, caviar, and a fried poached egg. The salmon was really fresh, and the fried egg is really creamy (although the egg white was a little underdone).

By far my least favorite dish of the night was the escargots (snails), which sit in a sweet potato puree. I really love escargots, but these tasted so odd with a sweet garnish; they end up tasting raw and rubbery.

Our three entrees were filet mignon, salmon, and pork tenderloin. There is a definite pattern with all three; although the proteins are all very well cooked, I just feel like they didn't do enough with the dish. For example, the sauce on the salmon (a veal glaze) wasn't very interesting or unique, and the garnishes are just kind of mediocre. They relied a little too much on the quality of the proteins, but they didn't make the dishes simple either.

Filet mignon

Salmon

Pork tenderloin

In addition to our prix fixe meals, we got a kobe beef steak tartare, which is raw beef with various condiments, which makes kind of a thick, chunky paste (I can hear my mom gagging). They put it together tableside, but honestly, it doesn't even matter what they put in it, because they add so much Tabasco that it's the only thing you can taste.

Our desserts were the chocolate cake, macaron, and creme brulee. I have to be honest: none of the desserts were very impressive, except for the strawberry basil ice cream served with the macaron. The chocolate cake (which is called a "sponge cake" on the menu) is just so thick and gloopy. The macaron had raspberries in it, which was kind of cute, but it was very dry and crumbly. And the creme brulee had an odd, grainy texture, which might have been just air bubbles, but it's a very strange texture to get from something that's supposed to be smooth and creamy.

Chocolate cake

Macaron

Creme brulee

Although this wasn't my favorite meal ever, I think Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try some new restaurants. You may or may not get a deal at restaurants that are usually cheaper, so go to a really expensive restaurant for lunch for the best deal!

Also, I'm really sorry about the awful pictures! I'm working on getting a proper camera in the next few weeks (I use my phone right now, which is deteriorating) so I'll have nice looking pictures soon :)

Bisou Bistro
2367 Market Street
http://www.bisoubistro.com/