216 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 896-2120
The moment I set foot in District, I knew immediately that it was one of those important places. You know, the type of place where everyone is talking animatedly to one another about some extremely salient topic while simultaneously eying each other's designer footwear. The type of place where everyone knows everyone else because they all run in the same fabulous social circles, and if they have not yet met they are at this very moment engaged in a crucial introduction that will surely lead to ever-lasting friendship, romance or possible career advancement. The type of place where all of the tables and seats at the bar are full, but people choose to stay and stand rather than seek out a less trendy place to rest their feet. That type of place.
Under normal circumstances, I might have rolled my eyes and dismissed District as yet another pretentious San Francisco restaurant filled with superficial yuppies (in attempt to feel better about my own anonymous social status, obviously). However, on this particular evening, four cohorts and I were meeting at District to discuss some important business of our own: our brilliant idea for a website. Obviously, a business dinner and drinks were in order.
Judgment on its patrons aside, District is a beautiful venue. The interior is spacious and warmly lit, and its high brick walls are adorned with Brian Barneclo's intriguing artwork. At the center of the dining room sits an imposing circular bar of polished wood that would be very inviting if not for the throngs of people already competing for the bartender's attention. Luckily, thanks to a combination of good timing and shameless poaching, we were able to grab a table. A server appeared right away to take our drink order--she must have recognized that we were people who were going places.
Excited about what would be the first in a series of business rendezvous, we ordered the wine. The wine list at District is just the right size; not so large as to intimidate, but full of variety nonetheless. I started with a Weingut Seebrich Scheurebe Kabinett, Niersteiner Oelberg 2006 (aka a tangy, fruity white wine), and after a couple of those moved onto Pinot Noir, my usual favorite. My policy is usually to order the second cheapest wine on the menu and hope for the best (should I be publicly admitting that?). In any case, this resulted in the waitress bringing me the McKinley Pinot Noir, a rich and spicy wine from Oregon. Due to the celebratory nature of the meeting and the accommodating nature of said waitress despite a busy dining room, I failed to monitor my wine intake, so I am unsure exactly how many McKinley Pinot Noirs I ended up drinking. More on that later.
On to the food! We started with the creamy Cambozola cheese fondue; served with soft, warm baguette pieces and apple slices. I consider myself an expert of sorts when it comes to any food involving warm cheese, and this most definitely receives my stamp of approval. It was perfectly seasoned and textured. The bread served on the side was of perfect consistency--soft enough to adequately soak in the fondue, but not so soft that it became soggy.
Our entrees arrived shortly after, thanks again to the prompt service, and we dug in as we bounced around name suggestions for the aforementioned website. I had the stuffed chicken breast with chickpea fries. It was difficult to tell what exactly the chicken was stuffed with (it doesn't say on the menu), and I'll admit it was a little bland. The chickpea fries, however, were amazing: they tasted exactly like those French toast sticks served at fast food restaurants. This could be seen as a bad thing, but what I mean by it is that they were syrupy sweet, crunchy, and delicious. I also tried the Ahi Tartare with lemon Dijon dressing, which was fresh and velvety smooth, and the truffle-scented sea scallops, which were a bit too rich for my liking.
By the time our plates were cleared, hours had passed in this warmly lit restaurant, countless glasses of wine had been consumed, and our business plan was looking rock solid. Despite being too full to even consider dessert, I felt amazing, unstoppable, in control of my own destiny. Even splitting the bill went smoothly, and that has never happened before...but things were different now that I was a (basically) legitimate business owner and soon to be rich and famous entrepreneur. We grabbed our coats and headed off to celebratory drinks-- yes, more celebratory drinks.
This is where reality ruins the story, as usual. I was jolted awake the next morning by waves of nausea, thanks to the rookie mistake of mixing white and red wine (followed by vodka-lots of it). The business plan that we had all been so passionate about stagnated over the next couple weeks, then screeched to a halt upon the discovery that another website had beat us to it, and one-upped us with an iPhone app. Everything that had seemed so promising and exciting and important while we were sitting around that table turned out to be fickle, fleeting and inconsequential.
Ah, well...such is life. At least now I know where to celebrate the next time I have premature delusions of grandeur.
by Jessica Bari
