Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Slanted Door (San Francisco) - QQQ

Probably one of the most popular restaurants in SF, Slanted Door was bustling with people the minute I walked in. I hear the hostess tell the two women in front of me, "Oh you didn't have reservations? You won't be able to get in tonight then." The two women left, looking disappointed. Similar things have happened to me before here but fortunately tonight I was there for a business dinner and they had booked the private room. As I walked past the crowded bar and dining room, I saw just a few guys that looked promising.

The private room in the back has a glass wall so we could look out to the main dining room. At the beginning of dinner, I didn't see that many cute guys. But as we worked through 5 different appetizers and 8 entrees, the scene got better. The popular Shaking Beef was good as usual and this one salmon dish was also quite flavorful. The Claypot Chicken was a bit over-cooked, but everything else was a hit. Before they served dessert, our waiter informed us that we are still $250 short of our minimum so we ordered 2 $150 bottles of dessert wine. Hey, we were forced to! I don't know if it was the alcohol or just that hotter people eat later, people definitely looked more attractive out there. There was a table of really cute guys just right outside of our room, and as we walked out, I saw a few more tables with fairly attractive guys. The bar was still happening, but the people there were definitely not as good-looking as the ones in the dining room.

After much debate, I guess I'm going to give Slanted Door 3 Q's, albeit somewhat reluctantly. It seems like the scene at Slanted Door is probably as good as it gets in SF, but I truly feel that SF could do better...