201 Franklin St, San Francisco, California 94102
Items ordered:
- Tuna Tostada (Ahi tuna, red curry aioli, tamari, avocado, crispy jalapeños from Flor de chile)
- Hearts of Palm Ceviche (Orange, lemon verbena, red onion, cilantro, sunchoke, leche de tigre, corn)
- Short Rib (Short rib with Posta Negra sauce, rich, slow-cooked and deeply caramelized, served with sweet plantain puree, grilled asparagus, and a fennel and red cabbage salad)
My wife and I were able to sneak in a quick dinner with just the two of us after a music recital we attended in the city. With no planning, we showed up at Pacifico, which was just a couple blocks from our concert. The restaurant was a little weird – it sits within the lobby of the SF Jazz recital hall, and all the signs are for “B-Side”. It’s a little unclear to me still whether the restaurant is called B-Side or Pacifico, but the waiter told us that Pacifico is new, with a new chef and new menu. The inspirations are Colombia, Peru, and California cooking, which was very appealing to us.
We ordered two items off the specials menu (Tuna Tostada and Short Rib) and one from the permanent menu (Hearts of Palm Ceviche). The Tuna Tostada was both of our favorite. It was light, refreshing, and there were these little pops of flavor from burnt, deeply fried jalapeños. The Hearts of Palm ceviche was interesting and unique (a completely vegetarian dish, but made in the style of ceviche and with leche de tigre). Ultimately, it was more interesting than appetizing. Finally, the Short Rib was well cooked, but unfortunately just way too sweet for our palate.
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