Marga's Foodblog

A couple of days ago Mike had dinner with a friend at Le Charm in San Francisco, at my suggestion (I saw good things about it posted online). He didn't come home happy. The overall meal wasn't bad. As an appetizer he had the House Made Boudin Noir Sausage with Toasted Walnuts, apples and Currants ($8). The sausage was not cased and had a funny texture (but perhaps that's the case for blood sausages) but it was very tasty and he gave it a thumbs up. His friend had the Hot Goat Cheese and Smoked Salmon Terrine ($8) and she seemed to like it, ate it all without making any comments. As a main dish, she had the Confit of Wild Boar Shoulder with Spaëzles, Mushrooms, Chestnuts And Red Currants ($19) - referred to by the waiter as "the pork". She also was very happy with it.

Mike's unhappiness came with his main dish, the Filet Rossini with Foie Gras and Truffle Sauce ($25). As a lover of foie gras and truffles, he had built up his expectations about the yumminess of this dish throughout the dinner and was more than disappointed when he received a steak topped by the least appetizing foie gras ever. The great allure of foie gras, which makes us forget for a moment that ducks have to be tortured to create it, comes from its buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture and sinful richness. This foie gras had a jelly-like consistency, somewhat reminiscent of congealed fat. Its taste also lacked richness, it failed to contribute anything to the beef. I've made foie gras several times, and it's difficult to understand how they can mess it up cooking it (you just sear it on an ungreased pain for a couple of minutes and voila!), so I wonder if they used a low-graded foie gras (the ones usually reserved for sauces and terrines). The steak itself was OK, he asked for it medium rare and it was a bit too much in the medium side for his taste. The truffle sauce was the overall saving grace.

The restaurant itself is quite small and the tables are crowded together. It's located in a bad part of town. Service was fine. Mike cannot see himself going back.