Luciables' Epic Fat Tour: Day 1

Luciables’ Epic Fat Tour: Day 1

Luciables’ Epic Fat Tour documents my 4-day journey through the restaurants of SF. I’d been wanting to go to a lot of these for a while, and I made it to maybe a third of the places on my list.

I kicked off the Fat Tour with Marlowe and La Fusion.

Marlowe

330 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 974-5599

Lulled by the promise of warmed heirloom tomatoes, I began my Epic Fat Tour at Marlowe with Poulet Vert. The waiter kindly informed me that it would take 20 minutes to prepare, and I gladly waited with a glass of raspberry iced tea. The wait was worth it.

I knew I was in for something special when the waiter, as he brought me my food, excitedly told me that it was one of the best things on the menu. As if to prepare me for the epic dining experience to come, he took my napkin, and with a flourish, folded and placed it in my lap after setting the chicken in front of me.

What a great start to a lovely dining experience.

The chicken, moist and tender, had a delicious green herb paste on its underside, and sat in a sauce that left a delightful, congealed-savory-sticky film on my lips, which I took as a sign that the chef had taken the much appreciated time and effort to heavily reduce a rich broth (YUM! NO MEATY GOODNESS LEFT BEHIND!). I resisted the urge to lick my plate clean and sopped up all the sauce with the onion rings and tomato instead.

Marlowe’s Chef Jennifer Puccio actually semi-demos how to make the dinner version of this dish in this video:

For dessert, I indulged my recent all-things-creamy addiction and ordered Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta Affogato (ice cream/panna cotta/vanilla/coffee? I was slightly intrigued) with lemon biscotti. Though it looked underwhelming, the strong vanilla essence that wafted up from this nondescript glass jar promised a fantastic world of flavor. When I tasted it, I was hit with the strong flavor of the rich coffee sauce (Ding! Affogato!) offset by the sweet softness of the panna cotta.

The wait staff was all smiles as I polished off my meal, occasionally checking in to see if I was enjoying what I was eating as much as they’d hoped I would. Neither party was disappointed. Strong, simple flavors and cleanly executed dishes dominate Marlowe’s moderately priced menu. Given the chance, I would go back in a heartbeat.

La Fusion

475 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 781-0894

For dinner, a friend and I went to La Fusion, a somewhat hidden Peruvian rotisserie in the Financial District. This place is known for its sangria (which I didn’t have but hear is excellent), roasted chicken and truffle mac and cheese. We started with the ceviche, which wasn’t as acidic as I would have liked, and didn’t seem that fresh. The roasted chicken and truffle mac and cheese were great, though!

The chicken came on a bed of bread that had been roasted until crispy and soaked in the chicken drippings. Of the two dipping sauces, the roasted pepper aioli beat out the chimichurri for flavor. The truffle mac and cheese – well, what’s not to like? Cheesy, buttery and slightly truffle-y, it was hands down delicious.

Though I don’t know if I had the meal of my dreams at La Fusion, I do feel like I can’t judge the restaurant as a whole until I’ve tried their sangria. So, I will be back if I get the chance, but I won’t be going out of my way for it.

On the next day of the Fat Tour, I’ll be visiting Wayfare Tavern, Stella Pastry & Cafe, Rogue Ales and Tony’s Pizza Napoletana.

About 

I love to cook and eat, but above all, I love to eat with friends and family.