While University Avenue's outdoor retail pavilion corrals the herds,
the area around Homer and Emerson may even have parking spaces on the
street. Good grief, Charlie Brown, there's still an auto shop on this
block.
Back in bakery and Waiting Room days, St. Michael's was dark-wood
funky. Now the walls are a sprightly sponge-painted mustard, covered at
the moment with big and interesting paintings by local artists. One
looks like Caravaggio's ''Bacchus.'' Two look like Picasso, Miro and
Dali on a date. Fresh flowers, white tablecloths and overdressed
chandeliers lend an elegance.
The wine list is splendid. Mostly local wines live happily in a
neighborhood cafe. Also fitting, they are categorized not by varietal
but by price (up to $20, $21-$30, $30 something, $40s and $50-plus).
There are a lot of wines you'd like to try. The '97 merlot ($26) from
the hometown Page Mill Winery has depth and a touch of fruit. Many
mid-priced merlots are smooth, but this one also has a nice aroma and
aftertaste.
Our companions arrived first, sat at the bar and ordered glasses of
wine. Meanwhile, we arrived and all were seated, Very good breads
from Acme and Dolce Firenze are served on a cutting board. Mineral water
is mentioned, but lots of tables have bottles of iced tap water. What is
incredibly unusual these days is the pleasant buzz in the room. It is
quiet enough to talk.
Chef Ryan Anderson's version of California modern cuisine also has
generated a buzz. Diners have oohed about his Chilean sea bass, stuffed
chicken breast and seafood pasta.
Appetizers, however, may have overshot the mark. Mango ceviche
($7.95) had only bite-size bites of seafood in with the fruit,
surrounded by a plate of chips. The large Moroccan salad ($6.95) had a
tasty cumin citrus vinaigrette, but was a bit expensive for the size.
The wild mushroom cake ($5.75) would have been dull without its top of
crispy leeks and pool of garlic sauce. Together, they were
delicious.
Two fish entrees were OK. A filet of salmon ($15.95) was a bit
overcome by chili-breaded crust. Its side dish of cilantro rice,
however, turned heads. The ahi filets ($21.95) had no reason to be
boring, coated with pepper and just seared. But their fine
ahi qualities were not greatly enhanced by the potato pancake.
Entrees took a great leap forward with the New York steak ($19.95,
not a bad price). Tender, juicy meat was complemented by grilled onions,
roasted potatoes and crisp broccoli. But the best of all turned out to
be the cheapest, the beet root ravioli ($13.95). These were translucent,
just slightly chewy packets with the red root gleaming through. Topped
with arugula, toasted pecans and goat cheese in a white wine sauce, the
ravioli dish was a harmonic convergence.
This made me think the pastas could be the way to go. Or the fresh
potato gnocchi, which will remain on the autumn menu, coming Oct. 15.
Vegetarians can also look forward to a butternut squash tart.
Desserts were excellent. Apple crisp ($5.50) was really a crisp, not
a mushy cobbler. It was steaming hot, with lovely sugar-butter-flour
topping and vanilla ice cream. Chocolate cake ($4.75) was light but very
chocolaty, with great frosting.
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