this post is filed under Cuisine - Fusion, Location - San Francisco

My dad and I went to Lüx, the new offshoot of Isa that supposedly puts out Asian-influenced small plates. The place was pretty packed, but we got a couple of seats at the bar.

vietnamese red snapper ceviche with cilantro, mango, tomato & onion

tartare of grassfed steak with lemon, shallots, chili & taro crackers

green onion pancake stuffed with local king salmon and zucchini, dill creme fraiche

salt & pepper black tiger prawn tempura with lobster oil & seaweed salad

hama hama oyster beignets with sambal aioli, green onion & cilantro

grilled rack of lamb with baby artichokes, balsamic & sour cherry

blueberry & blood orange semifreddo

Overall, not bad. The place is a bit cramped and pretty noisy. The food was alright though. Ceviche was nothing special. Tartare was pretty interesting - had a bit of kick from the chili oil. The green onion pancakes with salmon were very good I thought. A little bit more like a quesadilla than a cong you bang though. Tempura wasn't very good. The oysters were alright, but I'm not a big fan of oysters. Oyster lovers would think they're great I'm sure. The rack of lamb was great... Lamb was cooked very nicely. The sides weren't too good though. The dessert was a special, and described as a semifreddo, but was sort of more like a zabaglione type of dish... which is good, since zabaglione is probably my favorite of the Italian desserts. This thing was REALLY GOOD... great mix of berries, definite influence from the blood orange. Too bad it's not on the regular menu.

Actually, I don't know where you can find a good one. Zabaglione earned the Italian dessert crown for me at Harry's Bar in Venice. Not sure where to get one around here though.

posted by Arthur on August 3, 2004 07:02 PM