I went back to Zuni for the first time in awhile for an early dinner. I sat outside on one of the sidewalk tables.
Started with the
Kentucky Joe
Buffalo Trace Bourbon, St. George Nola coffee liqueur, espresso, sugar, whipped cream
Which was a lot like an Irish coffee but with bourbon rather than Irish whisky and with some coffee liqueur. Nice and fortifying in the cool evening.
I had some oysters ($4.50 each) - from L-R one west coast (Kunamoto from Baja) and two east coast (Saint Simon, Wellfleet). The oysters were as pristine, liquor-y, and well shucked as before. Zuni does oysters really well.
And polenta ($10), which was just a bowl of polenta topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano. It can also be ordered with mascarpone cheese. Simple and comforting.
Also had a side of shoestring potatoes ($4.50)
Rice is great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something. -Mitch Hedberg
Zuni’s shoestring potatoes are great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two hundred of something -Mr_Happy (sorry)
Nicely fried as usual, very small thin fries. This is a half order. It comes with house-made ketchup which is better than Heinz for sure. I’ve found that an effective way to eat them is to spear a bunch with your fork and dip this bundle into the ketchup if desired. Eating them one by one takes forever.
For my main course I had the
Pan-fried petrale sole with Bintje potatoes, sautéed spinach, and caper-shallot browned butter sauce ($34)
Very simple fried fresh tasting fish, perfectly cooked with a little flouring for a bit of a crunchy exterior. In a nice nutty butter sauce with a bit of salty zing from the capers and probably lemon. The vegetables on the side were also quite fresh and perfectly cooked.
Finally for dessert I had the Santa Rosa plum tart with vanilla ice cream ($12), which had a good crust and a nice sweet tartness from the plums. Served with a sweet vanilla bean ice cream which did well to offset the tartness of the plums.
I think Zuni kind of exemplifies the California cuisine ethos of high quality, seasonal ingredients prepared simply. A very enjoyable meal.
