NOPA

Another checkmark taken care of on the ever-growing list of "To hit" San Francisco restaurants: NOPA. We had a wonderful birthday meal tonight with S & E, at a very reasonable price to boot. NOPA has been described to me as the younger, hipper alternative to Zuni. I wouldn't say it's quite up to Zuni's standards, but it is more reasonably priced and quite delicious!

We started off with drinks. From the left: "The last drop" was a lot like a Revolver (bourbon with a hint of coffee), there was a sherry and huckleberry cocktail, and I had a glass of Nebbiolo Barolo that was actually quite disappointing. I should have stuck to the cocktails and let our server suggest something: all her suggestions were great. In addition to being incredibly helpful, she was also exceptionally nice. One of our drinks took awhile to come, and when we mentioned it she brought it and comped it. In this economy? That is service with a smile!

Amuse bouch: very thin, crackly toasted bread topped with tomato and zucchini. It was a tiny bite, but tasty.

Grilled sardines with fresh English peas and deep fried garbanzo beans ($10). The garbanzo beans were dusted in cumin and some other spices. Nice dish, but not exceptional. We only had one appetizer at the table, but from what I saw at other tables NOPA might be one restaurant where entree quality far outpaces appetizer quality. At a lot of SF restaurants, the opposite is true.

J had the chicken. He rarely orders chicken, but he saw it at the next table as well as spinning on the rotisserie in the open kitchen and the size of the birds sealed the deal. This is half of what is at least a four pound bird ($18). Herbs are stuffed under the skin, which is crispy and salted. The sides included pickled red onions and lightly dressed green beans. J gave half a chicken breast to our friends and a drumstick to me and was still left with enough to fill him. Lovers of roast chicken, listen up: this is a moist, flavorful, nicely seasoned chicken that would be a good meal for two. This was the least exciting dish, but by far the best bargain.

Our friends both had the duck ($24). WOW! I love duck, but not many restaurants prepare it perfectly. I have to say, NOPA came close. The breast piece I tried was juicy and still a little rare in the very center, and the leg bone was somehow cooked so it had a completely different texture and flavor. The polenta with corn and peas, on the other hand, wasn't great. It was oddly sweet to me, though maybe it would have tasted good with the duck.

I had the grilled pork with grilled peaches ($23), which was the biggest surprise of the evening. I'm not sure if they glazed the pork with honey, sugar, or something else, but it took on the sweet charred flavor of Taiwanese pork jerky. This enormous, two inch thick pork chop with a bone at least seven inches long took all my willpower to finish. But finish it I did, right to the tender medium rare bits clinging to the bone. The summer peaches were grilled just long enough so they had grill marks but not be mushy. There's something about pork and fresh fruit that just works.

I was told not to miss desserts at NOPA, but I didn't pick well tonight. The chevre ice cream was good but not great, and the stone fruit galette fell flat for me ($9). The crust, even the part not touching the sauce or ice cream, was soggy and bland, and apologies to pie lovers but I just cannot get behind warm cooked fruit. Fruit, especially peaches right now, are so delicious. Baking it just destroys fresh flavors and turns the texture mushy.

Our friends, on the other hand, scored with their ice cream sandwich ($9). The two chocolate-dipped chocolate cookies had a light airy texture that prevented them from freezing solid, and the cherry almond ice cream went beautifully with both the chocolate and almond milk. Stellar idea and execution on NOPA's part.