Star Belly did not provide this. Unfortunately for them, hardship during dinner does little to improve one's palate. Remember the Donner Party? Yeah. They got so cold they didn't realize they were eating EACH OTHER. With that being said, I don't remember much of the meal.
The things I do remember, are less than flattering. Our waiter, a young peppy Filipino chap, was generally flippant and unresponsive. When I asked about the "Lonza" on the charcuterie plate, he declared it was, "Good. A little fattier than other meats, but house-made and delicious." It was, in fact, not delicious. It was 90% fat, 10% lean; exactly the opposite of what a lonza stagionata should be. House-made or not, it tasted like crap.
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| Lonza (left) was a letdown |
The mussels were pedestrian and unimaginative. Fresh, but slathered in an oily "house-made" chorizo (suddenly the most ubiquitous meat in San Francisco), jalapeno and cilantro. Zero imagination.
Even the pizza failed to live up to expectations. Squash, sage, and pepitas (another omnipresent SF menu item, as chefs ride out their Fall gourd stocks), sounds a whole lot more interesting than it actually was. The crust was overly salted, the flavor profile unoriginal.
In fairness to Starbelly, the arctic temperatures are out of their control. However, proper heating elements and placement is certainly not. If you, as a restauranteur, book reservations and seat people in an outdoor environment, their relative comfort is a primary concern. Heat deprivation does nothing to enhance my appreciation of your restaurant. Rather, it gave me ample opportunity to focus on the other aspects of the dining experience that I didn't like, elements that no doubt I would have overlooked had my tootsies been warm.
So, will I try Starbelly again? Most probably I will be forced to: my girlfriend loves this place. But next time? I'm wearing fucking electric socks.
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