HFF Quickie: Coco500

Ever since this revamped Bizou reopened in SoMa, the food community seemed to be talking about nothing else (well, Range and Myth too). It had an attractive quasi small-plates menu, good location, good prices--so why not?

The space is nice--stylish with an actual waiting area, tables to the right, banquettes to the left and a long bar along the back wall with a few bar tables.

Charlie and I started with a few small plates--the caramelized cauliflower and pecorino truffled flatbread, the delta asparagus with Meyer lemon, and the crispy green beans.

First out of the chute were the green beans. Incredible fresh green beans dipped in a fluffy tempura batter, flash-fryed, and served with a mustard aioli. These were great--as good a tempura batter as I've had, coupled with infinitely better produce than most Japanese restaurants use.

Next up, the flatbread was just as tasty. The crust is rolled wafer-thin and comes topped with the cheese and cauliflower as well as a bit of creme fraiche. The caramelization brought out a lot of great flavors in the cauliflower--I would've liked either more of the almost-minced cauliflower or bigger pieces so that I could really taste the veggies. Other than wanting more toppings, this flatbread was unique and one of the best I've had.

Our asparagus was nice and fresh--twelve meaty stalks. Definitely could have used more of the meyer lemon juice--its sweet/sour flavor tempered the mild bitterness of the asparagus well.

We went for slightly bigger plates for our "entrees." Charlie got the chicken tajine--wood-fired chicken stewed in a small pot with chick peas, zucchini, and cilantro served around a scoop of fluffy couscous. The tagine was nice--the chicken fabulous. The whole dish lacked a spiciness--not necessarily heat (though I would've liked that), but it lacked enough aromatics to make the dish interesting.

I opted for the squid. Three small-ish squid bodies and tentacles with four sweet and spicy grilled szegedi chiles and spring garlic. This was very nice. The squid tender and the peppers were incredible.

Our entrees to a long time to come out (which was acknowledge by our server) and we were given marinated olives on the house. These were very very salty--saltier even than Cesar's which is about the saltiest I can stand. The bigger black olives were nice and the other component herbs and vegetables (orange peel?) were interesting. Nothing exceptional.

Speaking of service--everyone was very friendly, but there were a lot of hiccups. Our water was left unrefilled--including a moment where a pitcher-toting server stared straight at our table, empty glasses perched on the edge, and didn't come over, nor ever return. We were given share plates with the green beans, had them taken away and never refreshed when the other starters came. We got two slices of our flatbread to go and some of the tajine. The tajine came boxed up. We asked about our flatbread, received it finally only to discover when we got home that there was only one slice in the box. Weird. I'm not sure if they're understaffed or just have an inefficient protocol, but in a restaurant that relatively small and well laid-out, keeping water full and plates refreshed should not be that difficult. But like I said, everyone was friendly, especially the host who had to deal with angry patrons waiting for a table when we were sat immediately (we took the five seconds to call ahead and reserve a table).

We closed our night with dessert, eschewing my usual chocolate/fruit foray into trying the Vacherin. A plate coated with a thin layer of creme anglaise on top of which is set a mound of fluffy meringue. A scoop of mild coffee ice cream perches atop the meringue, coated with bittersweet chocolate sauce and candied almonds. I'm not the biggest ice cream fan, especially coffee ice cream, nor do I really like meringue, but somehow I loved this dessert. It had a mix of big complimentary flavors, generous amounts of the wonderfully bitter chocolate sauce (almost a ganache), and the candied almonds (also served in generous quantity) were fabulous. It was nice to experience a dessert where it's component parts are served in a nice balanced ratio so you can experience the mix of flavors as intended.

With its great bar and cocktails (pricey, but fresh and organic) and great desserts, I'll be back to Coco500 to be sure. Probably not for a full dinner, but definitely to drink and snack. Too bad they stop serving at 10PM.

Coco500
Cuisine: Eclectic small plates (Cal-Med heavy)
Price range: $3-$18
HFF's cost for two (five small plates, one dessert, two beers, tax, 20% tip): $80
Reservations: 415-543-2222 or www.opentable.com
500 Brannan St.
San Francisco, Ca 94107
www.coco500.com