Hoa' s birthday at Fringale, San Francisco- 5/18/13

Fringale The food Celebrating w. friends

Two weeks before Hoa's birthday I called a few upscale restaurants in San Francisco and I was so surprised I could not get in or if I could get in they will give me a 5:00PM or 9:00PM reservation which is way too early or way to late and so I declined.

  I was going down the Michelin list and saw that beside the Michelin Stars ranking they also have an alternate less expensive option listed as " Bib gourmand ".

A Bib gourmand translate to Good cuisine at a reasonable price and the criteria is to offer two courses and a glass or wine or dessert for $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included).  Bib Gourmand are often of most value to local residents who regularly dine in neighborhood restaurants.

Bib Gourmand is also defined as "Inspectors' favorite for good value".

After doing my research I decided to give Fringale a try! Fringale [frehn gal') translate to the urge to eat in French.

Fringale is French bistro with a Basque twist.  Reservation is made at 7:15PM and here we are....

Fringale front!

Fringale is located in the SoMa district in San Francisco.

 

Menu posted on the outside of the restaurant.

Waiting for our table to be available.

When you walk in the restaurant what you see straight ahead in the Bar ...

 and on the right is the dining room.

We were told that our table will be ready in about 10 minutes so Hoa decided to order a cocktail.

It is not a full bar so they offered a handful of cocktails and Hoa went with a Cosmopolitan.

Cosmopolitan are usually made with made with vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

 

The Cosmo was actually very light in color, less cranberry juice and heavier on the booze, and they filled it up to the rim.

 

View from the bar is an intimate area that can sit 8 people on each side for a total of 16 people.

Straight ahead in the kitchen.

 

While sitting at the bar we befriended Jean Marie in French, the owner and after talking for 10 minutes he said he was going to give us a table next to a window.

So here we are sitting next to a window!  It is actually really nice.

 

View of the dinning room from our table.

 

Deciding what to eat after reading the menu.

The menu on the left and on the right they also offer a fixed menu for $38 including soup or salad, a main course pre-selected depending on the day, and dessert.

$38 for 3 course is a steal!

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