Dinner at The Progress

Tonight's outing takes us to San Francisco's Western Addition, located just west of the Civic Center area / Van Ness Avenue. On Fillmore street, in the heart of this neighborhood, lies two of San Francisco's top restaurants: State Bird Provisions, and - the topic of this post - The Progress.

Outside of The Progress and State Bird Provisions
2017 San Francisco, CA

The Progress is a New American restaurant featuring a family style format. The menu features three set starters, followed by fourteen options broken into two groups of seven that differentiate between lighter and heavier fare. For $62 per person, guests are asked to select four dishes for the table from the fourteen. Additionally, the menu includes four options guests can add to their meal that are seasonal in nature. Dishes are then served scaled up for the size of the party.



The restaurant's outer façade is very subdued: large glazed windows accented with off-white trim. The entrance, located on the far right of the space, opens to a small entryway with reception desk. An opening to the left leads one to the bar area, which features a few tables for casual dining, and an impressive bar. The palette is very much warm woods and copper-hued metal.

Walking through the packed bar area, I was lead to the main dining area featuring a vaulted ceiling of two stories. The rear of the space features the kitchen, over top of which is an upstairs dining area. As I sit down, I notice that above the bar is another upstairs dining area. Both upstairs dining areas are accessed by large stairways along right wall, under which are some cozy booths.

The opposite wall features a bank of two-tops - one of which I find myself seated - and the middle of the space consisted of larger tables for family-style seating. The palette of the restaurant continued that of the bar, with warm woods and copper-color metal accents. Walls feature a wood paneling, giving the restaurant a modern-rustic vibe.

After seated, the maître d' introduced himself, and gave a little spiel about quality cocktails being churned out by the bar. I opted for a Sunny Jim cocktail, featuring: gin, lemon, vanilla, pineapple, kaffir lime leaf and soda. Refreshing and delicious, the tart lemon was balanced perfectly by the sweet of the pineapple. This allowed the subtle vanilla and lime undertones to make themselves known on the palette. Absolutely excellent.

While enjoying the cocktail, I used the time to reflect on the menu and make my selections. After some deliberation, my selections included: 1.) Lamb tartare; 2.) Fried Cauliflower; 3.) Point Reyes Toma-Sauerkraut Pierogi; 4.) Octopus Fried Rice 'A La Plancha'; and 5.) Applewood Smoked Squab. For drinks, Eric my waiter suggested a delightful 2015 Chablis from Christophe et Fils.

First up was a selection of three starters from the kitchen to get the meal going. The first I tasted was the fennel credité, served with ramp top 'gribiche'. On its own, the fennel was al dente with classic fennel flavor: that of mild licorice. The gribiche is essentially ramp tops blended with oil and eggs (i.e. mayonnaise), with hard-boiled eggs added afterwards. This offered a creamy richness with undertones of egg and onion. Finally, the sesame seed cracker crumbs lent their smokey flavors to round out the bite.

Starters for the table (clockwise): fennel crudité, sour beer bread, smoked beef
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Next on the tray was sour beer bread, served with fermented cabbage butter. By itself, the bread was soft with a nice yeast/hops flavor. The fermented cabbage butter added salty, earthy cabbage flavors that were just delightful. The final bite was smoked beef with horeradish oil. The roast beef was tender, taking me back to younger days of Boar's Head london broil and cheddar sandwiches that Mom would make for lunch. The horseradish oil provided that signature flavor reminiscent to Lawry's Prime Rib in Chicago. The fresh sugar pea for garnish offered a nice fresh flavor to compliment.

Lamb tartare
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Next came the lamb tartare, served with sesame tahini-spicy chili oil, bronze fennel and potato fry bread. This dish spoke to me, because while steak tartare is somewhat common, this had been the first time I had seen a lamb preparation. After the first bite, I marveled at the subtle differences imbued by the lamb.

The tahini and chili oil combo was a huge win, imparting both smokey sesame and spicy notes that paired perfectly with the lamb. Bronzed fennel was almost beet like, with rich earthy notes. Finally, the potato bread capped off an extremely balanced dish with some overt sweet and starchy elements.

Fried cauliflower
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Batting third was one of the items from the "western additions" list: fried cauliflower with preserved June garlic miso-zuke, meyer lemon and brown butter. Garlic miso-zuke is garlic that has been pickled in miso paste. This is done to partially temper the garlic notes, but also to imbue the garlic with miso flavors.

The cauliflower itself was a nice marriage of earthy herbaceous notes with richness from the fry. Brown butter added additional richness, yet the presence of the meyer lemon did a nice job refreshing the palette. Miso-pickled garlic added garlic and briny notes, while brown rice added a nice texture differential for the dish.

Point Reyes Toma-Sauerkraut Pierogi
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Tonight's final selection from the top half of the menu was Point Reyes Toma-Sauerkraut Pierogi. This dish featured smoked jowl bacon, ramps and black butter apple sauce. At first observation, the pierogi was prepared perfectly: firm but not overly fried or greasy.

The potato filling was creamy, without being overly rich or decadent. Ramp fried with peppers and spices, along with the savory elements from the bacon, did a nice job pairing with the potato filling. Finally, the flavor profile was rounded out by the sweet complimentary notes from the brown butter apple sauce.

Octopus fried rice 'a la plancha'
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Tonight's first entrée in the bottom half of the menu was octopus fried rice 'a la plancha.' This was served with ramps, kimchi and spring peas. The octopus was perfectly prepared: al dente, with charcoal notes partnered with the sweet and subtle brine flavors of octopus.

The rice itself was perfectly fried, with rich flavors imbued from the wok. Kimchi adds a nice earthy spicy element, while spring peas add nice texture bumps of fresh herbaceous flavors. Put it all together, and one has an excellent take on a typical fried rice dish.

Applewood smoked squab
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Tonight's final entrée tonight was an applewood smoked squab. This was served with gingered potatoes, smoked chili vinegar and spicy peanuts. The squab offered subtle smokey notes - that in all honesty - reminded me of childhood breakfasts up at the cottage featuring smokie-links.

Greens captured the delightful flavors of the chili vinegar perfectly, while the potatoes - cooked to a perfect al dente - added a nice texture difference. Finally, the spicy peanuts and herb garnish offered a kiss of different fresh and nutty flavors.


Turning to desert, I first want to recommend ordering the shot of State Bird Provisions peanut milk. Taking a sip, my mind wanders back to another childhood favorite: Peanut butter pie from Russ' Restaurant (a west Michigan institution). While not overly sweet, the liquid offered nice rich peanut flavor. Overall, a fun little shot to prime the sweet tooth for the main desert course.

Saffron cake with blueberry-lemon compote
2017 The Progress. San Francisco, CA

Tonight's main desert option was a saffron cake served with blueberry-lemon compote. Fun fact: the saffron and spices for this dish are provided by a lady who facilitates fair trade with Afghanistan. The cake itself was quite dense, akin to pound cake, and complimented by some cream. The saffron and spices offered subtle notes, complimented by sweet elements of the cream. Blueberry compote, with hints of lemon, was excellent. All the various elements combined in total balance to result in a tremendous desert.

Overall, The Progress deserves to be included in the short-list of San Francisco eateries that combine impeccable food with incredible value. Entrées are heavily influenced by seasonal ingredients, and the kitchen does a nice job being creative with their preparations. Spanish 'a la plancha' is combined with fried rice, Mediterranean/Middle Eastern lamb and tahini flavors are melded with classical European tartare. Combine that with exceptional service, a smart casual atmosphere, and the $68 per person price tag makes The Progress a great choice for a fun night out in San Francisco.

Dining Date: May 13, 2017