The Richmond

Restaurant Review of The Richmond

I recently ventured out late on a Friday night to check out the highly praised restaurant emphatically known as the "The Richmond" The restaurant is fairly isolated from the busy city and resides in none other than the Inner Richmond in San Francisco. The chef is from New York and prides himself on making euro influenced, organic California cuisine

When you enter there is a bit of formality and stuffiness to the place. The walls have neutral colors with, maroon curtains to balance the effect. There is nothing to excite the eye everything is prim and proper which makes you feel that this restaurant means business.

As we waited for appetizers we were served bread which came in 3 types of butter olive spreads, chive and sweet cream. The bread was warm and moist with the olive spread being the definite winner.

Then came a sampling of famous potato leak soup which was excellent. A great composition rich in flavor that disappeared as quickly as it came to the table.

Things looked promising but it turned out to be a hit or miss night for the reset of the dishes

The Flat Bread Sloppy Joe, a flat bread with whipped goat cheese, Italian Sausage, & watercress salad was a very mediocre dish. It fell apart before even reaching my plate and just did not have the zing I was hoping for. Although it was a creative idea on paper it did not come out so well on the plate. The ingredients were a mish-mash with not discernible flavor.



Then came our entrees.

The Roast Pork Tenderloin with Macaroni & Gruyere Cheese was another poorly executed dish. I had high hopes for a gourmet mac and cheese but it turned out to be very bland. What made it worse was the pork was placed on top of the mac and cheese and smothered in gravy. Everything mixed to together and became soggy leaving and unsatsifed taste in my mouth.



The Seared Alaskan Halibut with shrimp, butter, lemon & dill was the dish of the night. The fish was fresh with a subtle hint of seasoning and thin layer butter that just worked. I would highly recommend this dish.



Overall I had expected a lot more from this classy establishment. The dishes were just too ordinary and unflavorful for the price. The menu does change and there were other dishes that might have been better, however the consistency of dishes is something that will probably make me wait several months before I return here again.

Ambiance: 3.5 bites
Service: 3.5 bites
Appetizers: 3.1 bites
Entrees: 3.2 bites
Overall: 3.3 bites

Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
615 Balboa St
(between 7th Ave & 8th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

(415) 379-8988

www.therichmondsf.com

Helmand Palace

Review of Helmand Palace
Afghan cuisine

Hearing great things about Helmand Palace, I decided to give my palette a try.

The restaurant is small and unassuming, but very well decorated. They have done a great job of giving the restaurant traditional feel. From the red blood red carpeting and blue felt chairs, to soft yellow pastel walls that are adorned with ethnic Afghani. The vibe is very homely.

We sat in the far back and had a nice a view of everything that was going on around us. It was family style ordering and one of my friends who had already been here started ordering several dishes as we sat their salivating.

The Kaddo a unique dish was a pan fried and then baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar served on yogurt, garlic sauce, and topped with ground beef sauce. An interesting combination of ingredients but it worked pretty well. It was definitely the most interesting and exciting dish of the night. A sweet and savory combination that left your tastebuds asking for more.



The aushak, a ravioli filled with leeks and scallions served on a sauce of yogurt and topped with ground beef and mints, was a one of the more disappointing dishes. The composition was just a mess and you could not taste any unique flavors.


The Seek Kabab a half a rack of lamb marinated grilled was excellent. A nice set of seasonings and high quality meat.


The Bowlawni homemade pastry shells one filled with leeks and scallion and other with spice potates showed promise. The potato one was pretty solid but the leeks one had no discerning flavor. You had to douse it in the sauces to get some taste.

The Kourma Challow a lamb sauteed with Afghan seasonings was also another winner. Nice tender meat packed with flavor.

Overall. The experience was enjoyable. One notch was the service which was terrible. Being all the way in the corner it took forever to ask the waiter anything and to get the bill. I would encourage you to give this place a try. There seemed like a lot of other great dishes. I would stick to the meats and away from the vegetarian and pasta-like dishes.

Service 2 bites
Ambiance: 3.5 bites
Appetizers: 3.5 bites
Entrees: 3.5 bites
Overall 3.2 bites

2424 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 345-0072

www.helmandpalace.com