The Rustic [San Francisco, Duboce Triangle]

Mr_Happy · July 22, 2024, 5:10am

I had a very enjoyable dinner at the bar at the Rustic tonight. The Rustic opened in December 2023 and does Cal-Italian cuisine. It’s on a corner of Church and Market. Hoodline has some more info:

I had the Fried Olives ($10) which were addictive. They were lightly coated olives stuffed with anchovies and fried. They were crispy little umami morsels.

I also had the special pizza of the day ($27), which had bits of briny Castelvetrano olives, soppressatta, caramelized onions, and a large hunk of creamy burrata cheese in the center. It was a very good pizza, and quite substantial. The crust was thin and crispy.

The menu:

honkman · July 28, 2024, 8:54pm

First visit to The Rustic https://www.therusticsf.com/ - Cal-Italian cuisine with wood-fired pizza, all pasta made in-house etc. We sat in the nice covered backyard with a tree in the middle and enjoyed the ambience and good service.
Dishes were all really well made ranging from the fried olives filled with anchovies to daily special of sourdough toast with grilled peaches and burrata to the braised lamb shanks or the hazelnut affogato. Prices are, especially for San Francisco, very reasonable for the quality.

Complimentary focaccia

Fried olives - anchovies filled spanish olives

Spanish octopus, piquillo pepper, cannellini beans, herb salad, salsa verde

Sourdough toast, grilled peach, burrata, red wine reduction

Chicories, radicchio, frisee, grilled nectarine, toasted hazelnuts, balsamic vinaigrette

Pappardelle & oxtail ragu - 6 hours nebbiolo braised oxtail, pecorino sardo

Orecchiette, mild Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, spicy chili flakes

Lamb shank, potato puree, rainbow chard, white wine jus, gremolata

Affogato - hazelnut gelato topped with espresso

Panna cotta, blueberry sauce

Tiramisu, mascarpone, ladyfinger, espresso

Mr_Happy · August 5, 2024, 4:09am

I had another enjoyable Sunday dinner at the Rustic tonight.

FRITTO MISTO ($16)
shrimp, seasonal vegetable medley, aïoli
I started with the Fritto Misto, which had fried shrimp, zucchini, another orange squash, broccolini I think, and fried lemon slices along with aioli to dip in. It was good - everything was nicely fried and crispy.

PAPPARDELLE & OXTAIL RAGÙ ($24)
6 hour nebbiolo braised oxtail, pecorino sardo
And then the pappardelle as a main, which was delicious. The pappardelle had a very nice toothsome texture, and the oxtail ragú, which was braised in Nebbiolo wine, was tender, beefy, and had a bit of sweetness. There was also shaved Sardinian pecorino cheese on top which added some pleasant funkiness.

honkman · September 8, 2024, 4:45am

Another very good visit to The Rustic https://www.therusticsf.com/ - well executed dishes combined with great service make for a nice dinner. It was fun to briefly chat with our server who is from Italy about our recent trip including places close to his hometown. He also recommended the last “dessert”including the Vin Santo to dip the biscotti.

Focaccia

Fried olives - anchovy filled Spanish olives

Beet Salad - baby spinach, roasted beets, gorgonzola dolce, candied walnuts & sherry vinaigrette

Burrata Caprese - early girl tomatoes, burrata di buffalo, prosciutto, basil pesto, toasted pinenuts

Orecchiette - mild Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, spicy chili flakes

12oz spiced ribeye, grilled broccolini, roasted potato, herb butter

Panna cotta, blueberry compote

Chocolate budino - dark chocolate pudding, creme chantilly, strawberry, candied walnut

Vin Santo del Chianti, almond biscotti