Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/490558
100 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2015 Mid-Market Street destination AQ lost its sister restaurant TBD to fire last year but, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, work is underway on both renovating the interior and the concept. Wine Director Allegra Angelo joined AQ last year by way of Miami and has refocused the beverage menu there while she readies a program for the June opening of Bon Marché, a casual oyster bar concept in the nearby Twitter building. Serendipity and the allure of wine country brought Angelo to San Francisco when owner Chef Mark Liberman was looking for talent to head up AQ's wine program. "I've tasted more wines in the last nine months than in the last three years," she says. Inspired by AQ's prix-fixe tasting menu format, which offers à la carte at the bar, Angelo has overhauled the list of 350 wines. "At least half of our customers opt for the wine pairings, and whatever we open, we can sell." The list places more emphasis on Old World wines like Northern Rhônes and includes classics that sell evenly, but Angelo mixes it up. She lists a "Beyond Zin" page of old-vine California Zinfandel and quarterly features producers like Peay and Copain from Jon Bonné's book The New California Wine. "I want reds with a little more stuffing, wines that fit the happy medium," says Angelo who sells plenty of Grüner Veltiner and crisp whites. "I like to be experimental and pair a glass of Chablis rimmed with truffle salt for the first course of the tasting menu," she says. In creating the list for Bon Marché, which will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, Angelo drew from previous experience consulting for an oyster bar. She's chosen 50 labels and sorted them by pages that are themed by color, style, place, price and food. "Each page is designed to guide customers by the way they think about wine," she says. "This is brasserie-style and inspired by casual-concept lists that are more approachable and user-friendly." In other words, a roadmap for navigating the wine list without a GPS. R u s t i c a n d R e f i n e d With its carefully edited menu and wine by the glass-selections pitted evenly against cocktails and craft beers, Urchin Bistrot (that's the Old French spelling) epitomizes modern French bistro dining. Located in the original Slanted Door space, it feels right at home in the vibrant mix of ethnic restaurants that line the Valencia corridor. Under the direction of Susan Naderi Johnston, who was General Manager at Amé and partnered with Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani on the concept, Urchin's intentionally rustic interior stands in contrast to generous portions of refined cuisine. "The concept is based on bistonomique, the fun, casual trend in Paris of food-driven menus and low-key surroundings," says Johnston. While Urchin's clientele tends to skew younger—late 20s and early 30s—the restaurant attracts families in the early evening and Johnston has seen the late night bar business change along with the gentrification of the neighborhood. Her one-page list has 16 wines by the glass and is 70 percent French, with the remaining 30 percent devoted to the rest of the planet. Taking a cue from the Parisians, she offers still wine and bubbles by the half bottle Erlenmeyer flask—a vessel more commonly known as a beaker. "Twelve to fourteen dollars is our sweet spot for wine by the glass," says Johnston, who caters to a wine-savvy crowd that also has a demon- strable appreciation for cocktails. "The interest in cocktails surprised me," she says. With bistro staples like gougères, baked mussels and steak frites, the French-Cali menu by Executive Chef Michael Morrison, formerly of Amé and CoCo500, is tech- nique- and seasonally-driven. Retaining those classics helps insure that a future genera- tion of restaurant-goers won't lose sight of the fundamental goodness of basic French fare. Johnston buys wines to elevate the food and she looks to lesser-known producers: "I've gravitated towards organic and biodynamic wines based solely on their quality." Susan Naderi Johnston skews her list toward French offerings at Urchin Bistrot. PHOTO: STEPHANIE SECREST PHOTO: STEPHANIE SECREST S e a s o n a l B r a s s e r i e Allegra Angelo has refocused the list at AQ and is also planning the wine program for soon-to-open Bon Marché.