Isa

Saturday, September 15, 2007
Birthday dinner with Lowell

I had a lovely birthday dinner for Lowell at Isa, on Steiner and Chestnut in the Marina. I found it on Zagat's (25 for food) and had a 8:15 reservation. We had a funny seat -- it was cute in the end because we were on a date, but we had a little corner table where we sat next to each other facing a window.

I ordered the Frogs Leap Zin 2005 ($49) which was really good. They serve everything family style at Isa. We started with tuna tartare with avocado, edamame and radish and crostini- amazing, we loved it. Flavorful, with lots of depth, and a decent size dish too. We also loved the scallop on bed of mashed potato with corn and beans - also amazing with great juicy scallops. Wonderful, seasonal side of summer corn.

We chose the seafood paella over the mushroom risotto because it looked amazing at the table next to us. Unfortunately it was kind of like risotto -- a little soupy, bland, not great. The duck breast was ok. The duck itself wasn't great, though with combination with the beet juice and greens was good.

Dessert brought us back. Grapefruit granite, which turned out to be a sherbet, was just fantastic. Super fresh and not too sweet.

Total cost was $130 (plus tip). I want to go back and try some of their more simple dishes, but overall really liked Isa.

3324 Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 567-9588