I had an enjoyable dinner at Stoa in the Lower Haight. Stoa is located on a corner of Haight and Pierce, in the former home of Fort Point and Black Sands, both of which featured beer. Stoa is more of a cocktail bar with small bites. Eater blurb here:
For cocktails I had the
Hedge Maze ($15)
St. George Terroir Gin, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, Green Chartreuse
Which was nice, spirit forward, like a martini with herbal notes from the Chartreuse.
And the
Surfer Rosa ($16)
Hibiscus Mezcal, Punt e Mes Benedictine, Lemon Soda
Refreshing, like a long Jamaica mezcalita.
Mostly small plates on the menu. For food I had
POTATO CHIPS & DIP $8
Aonori powder, miso onion dip
House made potato chips dusted with seaweed powder, with a creamy light onion dip spiked with miso. A nice snack.
GRILLED MOCHI $13
Bacon, corn, tomato, peppers, black garlic aioli
Nice mix of textures and flavors. The mochi was a slab on the bottom of the dish, pleasantly chewy with a little more crispy texture on the grilled exterior. Sweet ripe cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon bits, and peppers.
CUMIN LAMB TACO $14
Green hummus, serrano, onion, cilantro, Chinese salsa macha
Yes this was a $14 dollar taco, but it was quite large. A bit of Chinese influence with the cumin spiced lamb and the chili oil. Thick slab of nicely spiced tender fatty lamb. Difficult to eat with hands, I ended up using a knife and fork. The green “hummus” that may have been made with soybeans, could have used a bit more seasoning.
More pics:
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