Author: jean komatsu
Last saved by: ENU

Cotogna
490 Pacific Ave., San Francisco, CA
http://www.cotognasf.com/menus.html  
Review date: November 2012

Cotogna is the "little brother" to the celebrated Quince restaurant, and located right next door in the historic 490 Pacific building in Jackson Square. It's a more casual, low-key dining experience, with heartier, simpler food. Chef/owner Michael Tusk runs both kitchens, which are connected by a back hallway.

My friends Tulay and Ilkay joined me, but my niece Suko unfortunately had to cancel her plans to attend. Our previous meal together was at Commis/Oakland, so this was going to be quite a contrast. On Sundays, Cotogna does a set menu of four courses for a modest $55/pp. A fifth course of cheese is optional, adding $8. Service is friendly and accommodating, but a little below top-level.

The first course was a salad of Fuyu persimmons with pomegranate and endive. The baby endive was thinly sliced lengthwise, the bitterness offset somewhat by a mild balsamic dressing. The persimmon wedges were briefly griddled, softening their firmness and accentuating the natural sugar. A light sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds along with some chopped candied walnuts accented the persimmon puree on the plate. 

One problem we encountered was the level of salt sprinkled on the endive spears differed between the three plates. Ilkay's salad had such heavily salted endive she couldn't eat it – and like Carlos, she likes salty food. My endive only had a little bit of salt, in contrast, so it tasted well-balanced if a little generous with the persimmon puree. If the kitchen had properly tossed the endive with the salt in the dressing, it wouldn't have been a problem. As it was, it showed how impossible it is to evenly sprinkle salt over multiple plates of food.

I was a little surprised by how much fruit puree was on the plate – many chefs skimp on such expensive components – but this turned out to be indicative of Tusk's cooking. All the plates were generously apportioned with sauce or gravy. You do have to request bread if you want it, however. It's a soft, spongy foccacia, sprinkled with salt and rosemary, and very fresh.

The next course was beet tortelloni and broccoli romanesco. Although the web menu listed a Pecorino fonduta (cheese and cream sauce), the kitchen was serving the pasta with a Gorgonzola fonduta instead. Unfortunately Tulay and Ilkay don't care for Gorgonzola, and the bowl had been generously ladled with sauce before placing the tortelloni in it. I really like Gorgonzola, but it is a very strong cheese, especially melted with cream. The pasta dough was thin and delicate, and the beet filling was mildly flavored. Such a strong, rich sauce overwhelmed the tortelloni. This sauce would have been a better match for the hearty bucatini pasta Zza's served Carlos a few days ago. The broccoli were the tiniest of crunchy little sprigs, one atop each tortelloni. With a milder cheese, this could have been an amazing dish.

The entree was beef short ribs with parsnip and Savoy cabbage. The boneless short rib was thick cut and very tender, set atop parsnip mashed with butter and cream into a super-smooth puree. The gravy was dark, rich, and luscious. The Savoy cabbage was done two ways for our table, as Ilkay and Tulay don't eat pork. For them, the kitchen grilled the cabbage. I had the planned braised cabbage with bacon. It was tasty, although I don't think I've ever seen such a small Savoy cabbage leaf. It looked the size of a large Brussel sprout! This was a fine 'comfort food' dish, although nothing creative or exciting.  But sometimes that's precisely what one is in the mood for. If you are, then Cotogna does a fine job of it.

Dessert was a small D'anjou pear half, roasted in their wood oven, served with red wine jus and spiced almonds. It was nicely done, although the wine syrup was a bit on the sweet side. The almonds were thin-sliced and very crisp, adding just the right touch of texture. A spoonful of a dessert cream – something in-between a panna cotta and a whipped cream – was a well-balanced accompaniment.

Ilkay was the only one of us who has been to Quince, where she said she had a fabulous meal. She felt Cotogna was good, but nothing compared to its upscale sibling (which isn't open on Sundays, thus our ending up at Cotogna). I thought the food was very good, but in the style of a neighborhood hang-out. 

Cotogna (which means "quince" in Italian) is a restaurant I'd be happy return to if I were in the area. But it's not intended to be, nor is it, a destination restaurant in itself, the way Quince is. For the modest price, however, the food is well-executed if a trifle on the rich side. A nice dining room and satisfying food are harder to find than one might think, even in the SF Bay Area. 

Service was good but slipped a couple of times. Most noticeably, Tulay only finished half her beef and asked that it be packed up. It was, but the waitress neglected to tell her that the box would be left at the hostess' station. It's a minor detail, but it always amazes me when with all the restaurants in SF (3500 just within the 7-mile city limits), that service is more often amateurish than not.

Three people, prix fixe dinner: $262 approximately, with two glasses of wine and two beverages, including tip.