LA TERRASSE RESTAURANT & BAR OPENS IN THE PRESIDIO

Every so often you want to enjoy a very late lunch that melts into dinner. It is hard to find a restaurant that happily serves lunch after 2:30. And even if you arrive at 2:00 the wait staff stares at you and declares ‘lunch is over at 2:30'. Well, yes, but it is only 2. Then they huff, shrug their shoulders, take you to a table, toss the menu down and practically make you sign a document that says you will eat really fast, and leave a big tip. This happened recently to the Muse at a certain café that I have been frequenting since 1993. I was not amused. But I digress.....

So who will get my afternoon business now? The warm and inviting LA TERRASSE RESTAURANT AND BAR in the Presidio. We rolled in at 2:30 yesterday (lots of parking) and were greeted with smiles and our choice of any table in the house. When I noticed a pair of tipsy Pacific Heights gals finishing off a bottle of champagne I immediately fell in love with the place. I can appreciate any restaurant that hosts this kind of joie de vie in the middle of the afternoon.

And the food? French Bistro fare. We went for the classics. A beautiful butter lettuce salad, steak frites (with the HOTTEST frites I have ever had), and a pan seared chicken breast that was every bit as good as the one at Chez Panisse Café. In the spirit of a classic French bistro, they serve food all day long. The menu changes depending on the time of day but you will not go hungry whatever hour you walk in. And something tells me this is the sort of restaurant that you could order a bottle of champagne at 8 am and they would be delighted to accommodate. The wonderful thing about a bistro is that they are a food oasis for you at almost any hour of the day. We need this in our hectic urban lives. We wish La Terrasse well....

Comments

[Culinary Muse]

Thanks, Carter for the link. Hope you get a chance to enjoy La Terrasse soon!

[Carter]

Hi Muse, Thanks for the heads up about La Terrasse opening up. Many years ago I lived on the Presido when it was still an active military post and my father was stationed there so I like to hear about how it's evolving. I'll have drive up and check out the new joint.

BTW, I put a link to this post in my new media roundup:

www.foodnotebook.com/blog/2006/12/chefs_not_having_a_voice_on_ch.html

Nice blog.