Quince (Italian/Californian)

Quince is hands-down my new favorite restaurant in SF.  It is fine dining (read: expensive) but not snobby in the least bit and the food is just downright amazing!  Definitely a good spot to dine if you have something to celebrate.  We took our friends there for an anniversary gift and Quince did a great job of making them feel special on their day with personalized menus, a special dessert and many "congrats" from each of the staff.  We did a 5-course meal and were completely stuffed with goodness at the end of it.  They brought us plenty of goodies on the chef in-between courses as well. 

We started with cocktails.  I got adventurous and went with the "Honey Bee" which is a mixture of honey, tequila and something else usual that I cannot remember the name of (violet water?). 

I started dinner with a Nantucket Bay Scallops dish that was served with porcini mushrooms.  I then moved on to the "Triangoli" which was giant homemade raviolis stuffed with burrata cheese.  I could have eaten dozens of these, it was ravioli perfection!  I am a burrata junkie though.  Then I had a lovely piece of Sea Bass served on a bed of mushrooms, spinach and artichokes.  We decided to go for the cheese course which impressed us more than expected.  They had a good variety of local cheeses, and also from Wisconsin, Vermont, French, Italian, etc.  The waitress made some great suggestions based on our tastes.  The cheese came with a selection of toppings (almonds, honey w/ honeycomb, spicy jelly).  The most impressive thing came out as we were inquiring about the cheeses.  They have a garden and beehives on the roof of the building.  They were serving us honey that was made on the roof!  It is urban gardening at it's finest. 

 We finished up with glasses of vin santo and a chestnut crepe that was served with chocolate sauce, satsumas and milk sherbet.  Yum, I am hungry just thinking about it all again.  A dinner to remember!