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Woodward is inside the sleek new Ames Hotel, which opened about a month ago. It’s supposed to be a “modern-day tavern restaurant” but instead comes off as trying too hard to be like a trendy bar in New York or LA. Dark interior, sharp angles, and a whole lot of noise. As we were led upstairs, I thought “oh good, it’ll be less noisy up here”, but it ended up being just as loud. On both floors, the dining tables are all lined up along a crowded bar – a very poor layout for a restaurant. There were so many people at both bars that we had to scream at each other to be heard. I don’t mind a noisy, bustling restaurant, but this was too much.
At least the food was interesting and just as lively…
Roasted Squash, Blue Cheese & Caramelized Apple Flatbread – excellent flatbread. It was thin and crispy with a nice char-grilled flavor. The ratio of toppings was just right. I always love the interplay of pungent blue cheese with sweet fruit flavors, so the caramelized apple and squash puree were seasonal matches for the cheese.
Short Rib Tortellini with Madeira and Truffle Butter – the best dish of the evening. The thin tortellini skin was perfection…delicate, silky, fresh pasta. The short rib filling was tender and moist, while its meaty flavor was accentuated by the prominent truffle flavor. The sensual textures and flavors of this dish superbly embodied the pasta’s original inspiration – a woman’s navel. 
Monkfish Tail with Lobster and Sweet Potato Hash – there wasn’t very much lobster in the dish, but the monkfish was so meaty and succulent that it felt like I was eating more lobster. The monkfish was well seasoned and tasted magnificent with the rich lobster sauce. The sweet potatoes complemented the subtle sweetness of the seafood.
Seared Scallops with Warmed Greens and Pickled Citrus Vinaigrette – the scallops were impressively large, but should have been seared more to contrast the textures. The spinach was almost too salty, but the bold citrus vinaigrette and lemon zest provided enough acidity to balance the salt.
Chocolate & Almond Bread Pudding with Burnt Sugar Ice Cream – really dry bread pudding with hardly any chocolate inside…tasted like pieces of plain, old bread lumped together. The sweet, milky almond cream should have been poured all over the dense bread pudding instead of sitting at the bottom of the bowl. The burnt sugar ice cream was good…tasted like caramel.
Overall, Woodward has good food, but it’s difficult to fully appreciate the cuisine while eating next to a crowded, noisy bar. Woodward unsuccessfully straddles too much between a restaurant and a bar – either be a restaurant with a small bar or be a bar where food isn't the primary focus. Trying to be something in the middle doesn’t work and the experience of their patrons get mixed up in this identity crisis. Regardless, the short rib tortellini was so good that I'd come back…but maybe during lunch or as a “snack” during happy hour.
BITE METER: Woodward – 3.5 bites (out of 5.0)
Tataki serves high quality, sustainable sushi. Their mission to only use seafood that is caught/raised in an environmentally friendly manner is commendable. Not only can you feel good about eating their food, it’s also (more importantly) good to eat!
Tri-Vegetable Sampler: Lotus Root Tempura, Skewered Potato, Spicy Burdock Root – a plethora of tastes and textures. The lotus root tempura is perfectly fried – light and crispy. The soft, smoking hot potatoes are drizzled with a sweet sesame sauce. The burdock root is salty, sweet, spicy, and chewy…almost like Chinese beef jerky. YUM! 
Arctic Char Carpaccio – bright and refreshing. The tart yuzu sauce perk up the buttery, seared arctic char. The many capers overpowered the fish, but just remove a caper from each slice and it’s just right. 
Uni and Toro Nigiri – my two favorite kinds of sushi so I’m most particular about these, and Tataki did not disappoint. The uni was sooooo fresh, sooooo sweeet, soooooo creamy...soooo sublime. The toro was remarkably light and melted in my mouth. 
Spicy Tuna Roll – average. We only ordered this because it was on the happy hour list. Their pickled ginger was really good though. 
Sashimi Deluxe – beautifully presented shiro maguro (white tuna), iwana (arctic char), maguro (tuna), hotate (scallop), katsuo (bonito), kodai (snapper). Overall, the sashimi was pretty good - the arctic char and scallops were excellent. The arctic char was so rich and silky that you don’t even miss salmon (which is only available a few months). The scallops were plump and sweet. 
Calamari – the best calamari I’ve had in a long time. The batter was super light and crispy, while the squid was tender and warm. I loved the smoky, black pepper seasoning. 
Chocolate & Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream - hard and grainy mochi. It must not have been fresh and/or frozen too long. I could get better mochi ice cream at Trader Joe’s! 
Kinako Mochi – toasted mochi in soybean flour. The texture of this mochi was better than the the ice cream mochi's, but I still wouldn’t order this again. It’s not sweet and quite bland for a dessert. [Recommendation: See my Benkyodo post if you want incredible mochi.] 
Although San Francisco literally has hundreds of sushi restaurants, Tataki is one of the few that has *really* good uni (which is why this was my 2nd dinner here in a month). It’s a very small place and they don’t take reservations, so be prepared to wait if you’re coming during peak times. Their tataki and nigiri items are fantastic, the calamari is a must, and they have a great sake list (stay away from the Samurai sake though, unless you like the taste of cedar and turpentine). Oh, and go somewhere else for dessert.
BITE METER: Tataki – 4.0 bites (out of 5)
Patisserie Philippe is one my favorite places in San Francisco for dessert. The place doesn’t have a lot of character (although the folks there are nice), so I usually pick up items to take home or share.
Since I was feeling nostalgic about Paris, I decided to get some macarons – raspberry, hazelnut, pistachio, and passion fruit (not pictured because I couldn’t wait to get home before eating one!). The passion fruit and raspberry macarons were especially scrumptious. Those flavors are often too intense in desserts, so I was surprised by how well they worked with the delicate macaron. They were bright yet still mellow and smooth. Patisserie Philippe’s macarons are about 3x larger than traditional macarons, but still maintain the crisp shell and chewy almond meringue center. Although they’re not as fluffy, their generous melt-in-your-mouth filling more than made up for it. 
Patisserie Philippe also makes one of the best Napoleans (aka: mille feuille) around - alternating layers of crisp, flaky pastry and luscious, sweet cream…Mmmm! I also recommend their fruit tartlet and tart tatin.
[NOTE: I’ve never had any of their savory items, so my rating is just based on the desserts.]
BITE METER: Patisserie Philippe – 4.0 bites (out of 5)
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