The Dining Scene
By the World's Most Corrupt
Restaurant Critics:
Jillian's
101 4th Street
(between Mission and Howard)
San Francisco
(415) 369-6100
'People
Pleasers'
When I was in high school,
I was a chameleon. I was in drama and choir. I hung out with the jocks and
even went out for cheerleader. I was in all the college prep classes with
the nerds, and got pretty good grades. But I still hung out in the smoking
pit and went to parties with the 'cool kids', the tough crowd. I wanted to be 'cool'. I tried to be all things to everybody.
Sometimes it was great, other times I was just confused. But I did okay, I
guess - people liked me, I had a lot of friends. (I even got voted Sophomore
Princess - probably because all the other 'candidates' who belonged to a 'group'
cancelled each other out.) Where am I going with this? To Jillian's!
Jillian's tries to be many
different things to many types of people,
with varying degrees of success. It's a giant sports bar, with one
of the largest big screen TVs in the Bay Area and sports a 50 ft. bar beneath
it. It's a pool hall. It's a casual restaurant. It's a fine dining establishment.
And after 10 p.m., they move the tables, the dining room floor becomes a dance
floor, a DJ arrives and wah-LAH, Jillian's is a nightclub! The result is a
pleasant, if rather uneven one. But the good news is, no matter who you are
or what you're looking for, chances are you'll find something here you'll
like.
Our mission this evening
was to check out the 'fine dining' aspect, and so we put on our best 'Saturday
night date duds' and arrived a bit after 7pm. The friendly staff took care of us immediately. The dining room/sports bar/soon-to-be-club
was about half full, as we were seated in a cozy booth, facing the gargantuan
TV screen. The unusual booths are designed to seat people side by side instead
of across from each other, which, if you were fond of your date, would be
quite romantic - except it's a giant sports bar, remember? Our pretty, attentive
and very sweet waitress, Vanessa, took our drink order right away: Red Hook
beer for Gene ($4.75) and a glass of Canyon Road Sauvignon Blanc for me ($7.50).
Appetizers range from $5 to $12.95.
Vanessa suggested the Golden Calamari ($8.95) and the Boneless Buffalo
Wings ($9.95). The generous portion of fried Calamari was crispy on the outside
and succulent on the inside, and we both liked the lemon aioli dipping sauce.
The menu claimed the second sauce was spicy marinara, but it was, in fact,
chili sweet Ôn sour sauce, not quite as good a match. The 'boneless' aspect
of the thick, juicy chicken "wings",
spiced just right, was an unusual and welcome touch. They were served with traditional blue cheese and ranch dressing,
carrot and celery sticks. Wanting
to save our appetites for the main course, we opted to skip the salads, which
run $6.50 to $12.95.
Entrees, pastas and pizzas
run $11.95 to $24.95. We chose to go the entr?e route. Vanessa suggested two
seafood dishes for us non-carnivores: the Coconut Seafood Stew ($17.95) and
the Charbroiled Salmon ($16.95), which she claimed as her favorite because
of the red Thai, curry sauce. The Coconut Seafood Stew was like a Thai soup,
with a tasty lime coconut broth and a nice combination of mussels, clams and
assorted fish. But at $17.95, they might have thought to add some vegetables
and made it more of a main dish. I had to ask for bread (none was brought
with the appetizers) and the rolls the busboy brought were cold and rubbery.
I asked to have them warmed up and they were much better. The red Thai curry
sauce on the salmon was delicious, as was the parsley cilantro infused jasmine
rice beneath it. The salmon, however, was overcooked, but I did neglect to
ask for it on the rare side, which I usually do. Again, I must point out that
at $16.95, some type of vegetable would have been a nice touch, or at least
the option to order one at an extra charge.
Deserts run around $6.95. Vanessa
recommended the Boozy Banana: fresh bananas over vanilla ice cream in a filo
dough pastry, smothered in a rum sauce. If we could have licked the plate without getting caught, we
would have. Yum!
The high point of our
evening was chatting with the congenial service manager, Gil Frias. Gil told us
the SF Jillian's has been open for three years, and there are 38 locations
across the country, with a new one opening in Denver, CO next week. Each
'entertainment complex' offers something a little different. Gil started out at
the Norfolk, VA store as a Hibachi grill chef, after a three-year stint in the
Navy. At the ripe old age of 24,
Gil has seen it all, including details in Kosovo and Israel. After telling all
about Jillian's attributes, we egged him on to tell us story after story about
the Navy and we were amazed at his fantastic attitude about every aspect of
life, here and abroad (ask him about the shenanigans on the submarine - unbelievable!). Mom and Pop Frias, you
did a great job - this kid has a good head on his shoulders, he's going to
raise his kids right someday, and he's gonna go far in the world. Jillian's,
you are lucky to have him!
Brave singles: get down to
Jillian's on Friday nights before November 22 and enter their 'Blind Date'
contest. You could win an all-expense paid trip for two to Las Vegas!