Zingers at Zuni – San Francisco

I was told that Zuni is an SF institution. I think they meant the dictionary definition of “established law, custom, etc”. But the dictionary also offers an alternate, less desirable definition: a place for the care or confinement of inmates, especially mental patients. And you’d have to be mental to bottle your own wine.

Zuni is a bit of an institution in both respects. Their roasted chicken is an established culinary custom, and their menu is a place for the confinement of all sorts of bizarre ingredients that no one at my table ever heard of. I may not care for the word institution, but I definitely cared for most of the insanity on Zuni’s menu.

When I saw the Piccolo Fritto, I knew I had to have it. Mostly because I had no idea what it was. After a brief description from our server, this dish promised to be as crazy as crazy gets. The puntarelle is a sharp, fresh bite of bitterness, and the sweet wildflower honey draws out the bitters like fat to foie. There is something luxurious about the bittersweet, and I went nuts for this combination of veg and honey.

Zuni may have crazy ingredients, but this week’s theme is indulgence in the lap of luxury. And nothing screams luxury like silky little Nantucket Bay Scallops. The scallops tasted like they went straight from the ocean onto my plate, and a deep green spinach lightens the butter sauce.

I expected the Risotto to be insanely over-the-top, but in that respect, I almost went crazy with disappointment. Then again, this rendition of risotto turned out to be a little kooky too. Instead of predictably hard, buttery grains surrounded by a parmesan colloid, this risotto swam in a chicken-stock-like-soup. The stock is rich, the rice is plump, and the barely-detectable bits of squash add some barely detectable blow-your-mind. Just be prepared for a soupy rice instead of a ricey soup.

I don’t know who Rymee is, but if he thinks he’s creative, then he belongs in an institution. His Finocchiona is simple slices of some sort of salumi next to a glorified salad. The salumi is tasty, but despite quality over quantity, it’s just a smaller, more delicate version of your childhood sandwich topper. The salad with chicory and sunchokes is crisp and crunchy, but it’s really just sliced roots.

The brick-oven-roasted Chicken is supposed to be the stuff of legends, but don’t forget that most legends are just tall tales. The chicken is tender with juicy roasted flavor, but the skin tasted burnt, with no trace of any herbs or spices. Everyone at the table raved at the warm bread salad underneath, but it tasted more like warm oil salad to me, and two sickening bites was more than I could stomach. Still, this chicken may be a legend…of the urban variety.

I love Zuni, and I’d be crazy not to. The ingredients are top-notch and the dishes are loaded with all variations of the high-end and exotic. There are at least 6 words I can’t pronounce and far more I can’t define. But the thing I can define about Zuni is that all these ingredients come together as a compilation, rather than a combination. And no matter how powerful the compilation, I’d still rather have a good combination.