I Left My Pot de Creme in San Francisco’s Outerlands

Should We Have a Sing-a-Long Now?  C’mon! “I left my Pot de Creme … in San Francisco”

Who knew that I could find DeathbedFood in San Francisco’s super foggy, ethereal Outer Sunset neighborhood?  Well, I’m happy to report that I did – at Outerlands, located at 4001 Judah Street.  I had the pleasure of dining there recently after it came seriously recommended by a major SF Foodie.

Apparently, I’m not alone in loving this place:

• The New York Times wrote a glowing review saying, among other things, that they loved its casual, cozy, homey feel with an epicurean vibe.
• Frommer’s believes that this may the “place that makes the Outer Sunset District (once a culinary wasteland) a destination dining neighborhood.”
• SF Weekly who gushed about their brunch, saying that groups of three or four should prepare to wait an hour.
• KQED’s Bay Area Bites raved that it’s their favorite restaurant in San Francisco – hands down.  They also nicely detailed one of the restaurant’s claims to fame – their bread, saying that their bread-making technique was learned from Tartine’s Chad Robertson, leading to loaves that are “dark on the outside with a surprisingly tender crumb on the inside. They somehow straddle the line between the best sourdough you’ve ever tasted and a really nice loaf of whole-wheat bread. The folks at Outerlands serve it in fat wedges alongside soups and salads. It’s also, obviously, the foundation of many a sandwich. Or order it straight up with a bit of homemade butter or Cowgirl Creamery Mount Tam cheese. I’m not sure it gets much better than that.” (I agree!)

The night I was there, we enjoyed a few select choices from Chef Brett Cooper – all super fresh, local and sustainable. First up, a Little Gems Salad with turnips, egg and dill.

I don’t typically even like salad but I loved this!

Next up, Local Petrale Sole with Dashi … a “rock solid” fish dish if I ever enjoyed one.

We also immensely enjoyed the fresh house-made cavatelli (semolina flour, all-purpose flour, eggs, crème fraiche) with wild mushrooms and rapini greens, served atop a triamble squash puree (roasted squash, fresh pressed olive oil) with parmesan and fresh horseradish grated over it … let me assure you, this was to die for!

Meantime pastry chef Zoe Dering served up unquestionable DeathbedFood level desserts, beginning with a Dark Chocolate masterpiece … Dark chocolate?  Dulce de leche?  Caramel?  I’m in!

… as well as a DeathbedFood Maple Pot de Creme, made with bruleed pink lady apples, bacon sable and toasted hazelnuts … probably the absolute best pot de creme I’ve had to date.

Is it just me or are more restaurants serving desserts with bacon in them?  Most recently, The Elvis at Manhattan Beach Post comes to mind (another DeathbedFood find comprised of chocolate pudding, peanut butter mousse and bacon brittle).  Personally, I’m all in favor of mixing this savory delicacy in with the sweet.  Bravo.

All in all, I’m dying to get back to the Outer Sunset … for Outerlands!