TBD–Totally Beautiful Dinner

The second San Francisco restaurant in SoMa from the entrepreneurs, Matt Semmelhack and chef Mark Liberman, TBD –“To Be Determined”– serves a very different menu from AQ (their first restaurant located next door). The menu focuses on wood-fired small plates, mostly served in cast iron pans, prepared on a custom hearth and grill in an open kitchen in a more casual setting than AQ.

Each dish was amazing. We started with warm Josey Baker bread with corn, cotijo and espelette, followed by a beet salad with grapes and walnuts just touched by a subtle fresh horseradish.

Then the heartier plates arrived: arepa (duck) with tomatillo, apples and manchego, roasted sunchokes in a red brick mole and grilled leg of lamb with carrot and mint (both part of the three-dish prix fixe menu), honey glazed brussel sprouts, octopus ceviche with lime and avocado served over a very light bed of hashed brown potatoes, and finally a shared desert included in the prix fixe selection–the lightest, fluffiest doughnuts resembling beignets and more than enough for the three of us.   All the dishes were amazing and made with loving attention to detail, encapsulating all the flavor a recipe could possibly have!

Moderately priced New American fare, TBD has totally beautiful dinners with a reasonable wine and beer list. (We had a delightful bottle of dry sauvignon blanc by Bodkin of Lake County.) As the acronym TBD connotes, the flavor and style of this restaurant is constantly evolving with an original menu, seasonal and artisanal freshness, and a culinary philosophy emphasizing experimentation!

For reservations–TBD, 1077 Mission Street, SF tel. 415-431-1826.