San Francisco Eats: Quince

I like to consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world, because part of my job requires a certain amount of wining and dining.  This means that at the ripe age of 27, I have eaten at some of the finest restaurants in San Francisco, and being an adventurous eater and a total foodie myself, I consider this an amazing treat!

Last night, we went to one of my all time favorites - Quince.  It is tucked into this cute little neighborhood - not quite downtown, not quite North Beach - and it reminds me of New York.  Lots of old original brick buildings, and leafy tree lined streets.  Not many people know about it since there are a lot of art galleries, and design studios located in these three blocks, but it really feels like you are in a different city.

In terms of fanciness, this place takes the cake - no suit required for men, but its fancy enough that there is a chauffeur to escort you to the bathroom - that kind of fancy :-)

In my humble opinion, Quince is the best restaurant in this city - better than Gary Danko's by a long-shot, and maybe a hair better than Michael Minna.  Perhaps its the service and ambiance that put it over the top.  As you can see from my sweet pics below (that I subtly snapped on my new iPhone) the food is incredible, and if you go, you MUST get the cheese cart!  You smell it before you even know it has rolled up, there are over 30 cheeses to choose from, and it is just to DIE for!!

Also - wine pairings - it's a bit pricey, but honestly the food is just good food without it... the wine pairings bring out all the best flavors and subtle hints that you just wouldn't fully appreciate otherwise.  Also, hearing the sommelier explain how they work together really changes the experience of savoring your food, and tasting each flavor.

This is the lamb - oh my god - they even took it off the rack for fanciness, and it came with a delicious demi glaze, and roasted root vegetables - half of which I couldn't even tell you.

And the infamous cheese cart - so fancy!

And my cheese selection - from the left, a bleu cheese from Ireland, then a creamy goat from Sonoma, then a fennel encrusted and infused cow's milk cheese from another cool place, and finally the triple creme from France.  Poor guy got cut off in the picture, but it was literally like butter... but better.