Debuting October 13, 2022, Rosemary and Pine (R&P) opened in the former Skool space on a sleepy block of San Francisco’s Design District, nestled between SoMa, Mission Bay and Potrero Hill. R&P is the latest restaurant from the Omakase Restaurant Group behind the likes of Michelin-starred steakhouse Niku, Michelin-starred sushi spot, Omakase, and Dumpling Time, all three around the corner from R&P. The space is warmer since Skool days, redesigned by Aya Yanagisawa, in neutral tone like a warmer-than-olive green, with a glowing bar and huge asset of a roomy, hidden front patio.
Chef Dustin Falcon is now over both Rosemary and Pine and Niku, R&P being a more personal restaurant for Falcon (read about its cheeky naming here)… one that feels more neighborhood-y and consummate, with a little something for everyone. You could call it upscale comfort food with California ingredients, very different from Niku in style but not in quality. Falcon was born in New Jersey (where I partly grew up) and raised in southern Florida. He brings touches of his roots to the menu, like an Italian American, mozzarella stick-inspired fried burrata in fra diavolo spicy tomato sauce, pistachio pesto and basil oil. This exemplifies a bit of the fun Falcon is having with the menu, though the end result is refined, calling on his days at the upper echelon likes of Lazy Bear and The French Laundry.
Instead of burrata, I veered straight towards Portuguese bacalhau-tasting cod croquettes in potato chip crust. Malt vinegar gives it fish and chips vibes, but dill ranch reminds of youthful nights at diners in NJ or LA with, yes, mozzarella sticks and ranch dip. Threatening to “steal the show” is a salad of baby chicories in tomato vinaigrette. The vinaigrette preserves the last of summer/fall glories, meeting California winter in chicories, candied hazelnuts and compressed persimmon slices so juicy-intense I could be argued into only eating persimmons this way from here on out.
Pastas continue the playfulness, namely in tortellini Americana, filled with bologna and Tennessee ham in a creamy Vella dry jack cheese sauce, beloved Sonoma County cheese. In a way, it tastes like a midwest meets TN in a childhood dish your Italian mama made on a Sonoma dairy farm (or something like that). It’s damn comforting and, once again, FUN. Honeynut squash mascarpone-filled agnolotti tastes like pure fall, touched with miso and the ideal contrast of pickled pears, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds.
While it hurt a little not to order the squid ink tonnarelli and clams — not just another squid ink pasta but an East/West Coast play on classic linguine and clams in a sauce inspired by San Francisco clam chowder — I couldn’t resist the roasted Gulf snapper. Falcon fished the Gulf as a child and here serves the light-yet-filling fish atop a lively corno di toro (Italian sweet pepper) ragu and romano beans, crowned with a lobster raviolo pasta.
A large Pasturebird chicken stays beautifully tender with crispy, blackened skin in a honey soy vinegar brine, but its accompanying green chile sweet plantain hash sets the dish apart, adding sweet, green contrast.
Michael Hart (formerly of 25 Lusk) created the cocktail menu and is already rolling into his next seasonal iteration. I tried four cocktails from the initial menu and two more about to hit in the menu. Chalk & Cheese was an initial favorite with Hart’s thoughtful blend of local legend (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year) St. George’s Botanivore and Terroir gins, a touch of mezcal, rosemary, pine, lemon and egg white for a frothy top, the special ingredient being fresh juice from vibrantly sweet Jimmy Nardello peppers.
The Diner Scene was my other top cocktail pick from the initial menu. Espolon Reposado tequila, mezcal, Strega (an Italian herbal liqueur), lime, rhubarb and PX sherry kick of the drink’s herbaceous layers, but it’s strawberry oat milk orgeat that surprises with subtle creamy notes (sans cream) and that tart interplay of strawberry and rhubarb using preserved late summer fruit. It’s as crushable as it is interesting. On the upcoming cocktail side, a sipper of Espolon tequila, coffee liqueur, cinnamon, lemon and clarified milk resulted in a layered yet light cocktail that would work pre-dinner as it did post-meal, topped with mulled wine for a classic New York Sour look.
In further drink, there are a few local and broader California beers on draft. When it comes to wine, it’s all California, including the sparkling section, ranging from local Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa and Central Coast, further south to Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. Best of all, they offer the option for 3- or 5-ounce pours, a move I always value as trying more side-by-side is more exciting and how one develops and grows their palate.
Though we had no more (stomach) room, we ordered dessert, forgoing a pear crisp or bread pudding for sunchoke crème brulée. Crème brulée has always been a dessert I care little about, fun as it is to crack that burnt sugar top. But I couldn’t resist the earthy call of sunchokes and this brulée delivered, creamy and pudding-like, but tasting fully of root-y sunchokes, enchanted by malt whipped cream and fried sunchoke chips.
The patio offers sunny openness most days, and they have thankfully kicked off immediately with weekday lunch and Saturday brunch in addition to dinner. One of the cool things about Rosemary and Pine is that it’s more of a neighborhood restaurant, but unlike many such blessed spots, it’s not safe or boring even as it sticks to comfort food. It’s surely a win for SF’s East-side locals, but if you cross town for it, you’d be glad you did.
// 1725 Alameda Street, www.rosemaryandpinesf.com
