Don’t usually do restaurant reviews since there are blogs and sites like MUS-e-YUM and No Salad As a Meal that describe the food, the chefs, and the ambience far better than i could…and take gorgeous photos of it all.
But for Star Stream i’ll make an exception. My friend Mark clued me in to Goodie Goody, as he does most of my culinary adventures now, and last week i walked up to the window there at 1246 Folsom and bought from Mary a traditional chocolate chip cookie and a cocoa nib with ground olive wafer.
My goodness. Everybody’s right. The chocolate chip cookie is what Mrs. Fields was unsuccessfully trying to do 25 years ago, and the wafer was deliciously bizarre in that i’d never imagined a combination of cocoa nibs, olives, and sugar (and very little else) could be so good.
Mary mentioned that she and Remi had just opened a little cafe/restaurant called Star Stream that you could actually walk into at 1830 Harrison, so last Friday i swung by there on the way to Costco. Had a cup of Blue Bottle drip coffee and the Schiacciata pizza – which had Bellwether Crescenza cheese, arugula, and San Daniele prosciutto – and was superb.
One of those chocolate chip cookies visually assaulted me as i passed the display counter, so i had to eat it in self defense.
Today i made up an excuse to go to Costco so i could have lunch at Star Stream again, and this time i had the Pork Conserve sandwich (shredded pork, fennel citrus salad, and candied fennel seeds). Every bite was a symphony of flavors, and accompanying it was a tiny carrot that i at first thought was merely a garnish but which blew me away by being lightly, perfectly pickled.
To balance the review, though, i’ll mention a minor complaint: they really should put those damn chocolate chip cookies somewhere else other than in a glass jar at eye level right beside the cash register where you’re confronted by them every visit.
Note: I keep going back. On my third visit i had the Stratiatelle sandwich – prosciutto, roasted fig, and mozzarella with three basil leaves sitting on it there looking like decoration but actually providing a perfect counterpoint on the palate.
I realized last summer when Todd was back in town cooking at The Anchor Oyster Bar for a couple of months that if there were anything i enjoyed more than feeding friends my various preserved foods, it was feeding them to chefs. So i’ve been taking things in to Star Stream. The jar on the left is some peppers i pickled.
I took my friend Richard there for coffee this morning and had a nice chat with Remi, confirmed that i remembered the names of Andrea and Alex, and realized that every bite i’ve eaten in there has been perfect.
Since then, i’ve been in and eaten the Pizza Verde (arugula pesto, roasted fingerling potatoes, red onions, toasted pine nuts, and egg), the egg salad sandwich, and a special sandwich not on the menu of mortadella graced with a fried quail egg. Every bite continues to be perfect.
My ambition is to eat everything on the menu. No no, not at one sitting.