Maverick Eatery & Wine Bar - San Francisco, Ca

Why:
I've been to Maverick once before and I really enjoyed the food, service, and space--including a brief chat with chef/co-owner Scott Youkilis (who was acting as waiter/manager that evening). After a modest review in the Chronicle (seemingly downgraded by Bauer's tiresome criticism of the noise level of the restaurant), I was curious to see how the restaurant had evolved in the last few months.

What I love about Maverick is they take a premise--neo-American comfort food--and run with it in an innovative and successful way. It's concept and execution, which is rare in a restaurant with a focused theme.

Who:
Me and Chef Scott

The Space:
One of my favorite rooms in the Bay Area--a cramped, wood-paneled dining room with thick wood tables and comfy heavy wood chairs. It's very very dark (so dark that I couldn't take pictures) but lit well enough to see the food and decor well. Also one of the coolest bathrooms in town.

The Wine:
Scott opted for a pinot noir flight--two from the Willamette Valley and one from Carneros. All were pretty straight forward. The Willamette pinots having a bit more spiciness. I'm not a red wine person, so it's not my strong suit.

I opted for a Russian River trousseau gris, which was nice and mellow, fairly light-bodied but had a nice spiciness that picked up as the wine warmed. My second glass was a central coast gewurztraminer that was pretty boring--missing the minerality on the finish and the floral nose that makes this varietal work for me.

Maverick's wine list is almost entirely American, with a big list of California wines (along with bottles from New Mexico, Oregon, Michigan, Virgina, New York, and Washington). Being a white wine fan, I just can't enjoy most American whites because, for whatever reason, we don't seem to produce whites of a top quality and complexity (exceptions being chardonnay and sauvignon blanc--both of which I don't really care for, and the reliable viognier, which can be quite good).

Interesting service note: glasses of wine are poured at the table.

First course:
What drew me to Maverick were the buffalo "wings"--frogs' legs sauteed in Frank's Red Hot Sauce with carrot and celery crudite and ranch dressing. I'd only had frogs' legs once before and been wanting to try a top-rate preparation. The legs, which were very very small, were nice and tender with a delicate flavor--not the bland chewiness from my previous frogs' leg experience--and Frank's Red Hot Sauce was what it was: one of the best and most flavorful hot sauces out there. Great mix of flavors and a great, well-executed concept.

Second appetizer was a beet and goat cheese tartlet with prosciutto. The roasted beets were fresh and incredible. They were also actually served warm, the first time I'd encountered warm roasted beets in a dish. The goat cheese was nice and pungent and the crust was salty and buttery--almost like a delicious Ritz cracker. The big problem here was that there simply wasn't enough cheese or crust to hold up against the pile of incredible beets. You could get very few bites of cheese and crust (let alone the nearly absent prosciutto [which, when tasted, was also fairly flavorless as prosciuttos go]). Luckily, the beets were pretty fucking great. But why take the time to carefully craft this nice mix of flavors if you're not going to provide them in a ratio that'll let them shine together?

Entrees:
Scott opted for the seared Liberty duck breast with Israeli cous cous and brussels sprouts. The duck was rich and flavorful (though, as Scott noted, cooked more medium-rare/medium than truly "seared") with moderate fat and a delicate gaminess. Scott found the accompaniments to be overcooked--I agreed on the cous cous, finding it flavorful but mushy (far from al dente), but I thought the brussels sprouts, while softer than most preparations I've had, were still tender.

I ordered the steelhead with swiss chard, once again violating my general rule about ordering seafood out. This time I was not disappointed at all. The steelhead was perfectly cooked to where there was just a sliver of pink in the middle, lightly seasoned, incredibly moist, and very flavorful with the mild creaminess of the fresh Pacific salmon without the hints of briny fishiness. Steelhead's great right now and this dish was cooked perfectly. The swiss chard (one of my favorite greens) was just barely wilted, pairing nicely with the restrained forcefulness of the trout. The only odd spot was the warm sherry vinegar sauce which tasted just the slightest bit scorched.

Dessert:
Here was our one strikeout--the "hot fudge brownie sundae" had either heat nor fudge, instead being a slightly sweet (and dry) brownie with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, brandied cherries (actually, cherry as far as we could tell) and peanuts. It was a decent dessert flavor-wise but what the fuck? It wasn't even hot! Or warm! It wasn't a rich and gooey hot fudge brownie sundae at all! Come on! You could've AT LEAST just called it a chocolate brownie sundae or something like that. Don't call it "hot" and then not serve it with some real hot fudge. Boo Maverick, boo.

In conclusion:
Maverick once again impressed me with its innovation and bold flavors. I have some concerns in the direction I see it heading--service was friendly but more casual than on my first visit, the servers are no also wearing wierd TGI's-ish logo polo rhists instead of a simple black-on-black uniform. They're also now offering a $25 three course "tasting menu" on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday--which looked more like the usual boring prix fixe that lesser restaurants offer to get lame cheap people to come in and eat. A green salad, roasted haddock, and bread pudding is not a terrible interesting or innovative tasting menu. This restaurant is better than that. One fun promotion: Monday nights, all bottles of wine are 50% off.

Maverick Eatery & Wine Bar
Cuisine: Neo-American comfort food
Entree price range: $15-$28
HFF's cost for two (two starters, two entrees, four glasses of wine, dessert, tax, and 20% tip): $126
Reservations: OpenTable.com or 415-863-3061
www.sfmaverick.com
3316 17th Street (at Mission)
San Francisco, Ca 94110