Jardiniere is a relatively new restaurant with Tracy Desjardin in the kitchen. She was at the Mount View in Calistoga and then at Rubicon, but now she has a place of her own. The two story restaurant is lovely, with a starlit dome, ornate iron works about its open center and many romantic corners.
The cooking was what we had hoped for, with flavors of straightforward intensity, all derived fresh, high quality ingredients. We particularly loved the John Dory, a white fish, usually served for breakfast in England. It was covered with truffle oil and served with salsify. Another favorite was the bacon and cabbage soup, with its rich smoky aroma. The artichoke salad had very thin slices of artichoke, which otherwise can be prickly in salads. Here it was easy to eat and the flavors were extremely well balanced. Another great dish was the beef short ribs with creamy celeriac. This is a classic preparation, and here it was very well done, with the rich beef flavors balanced by the slightly sweet celeriac.
We lingered until the live music began to play, something you might want to take into account, but we plan to come back.
San
Francisco Restaurants