by Bryan N. on I would give this place a 4 but when the waiter lies about nuts being in a dish, it kind of kills it... Anyways, a good friend and I dropped in here as part of an explore the sf we don't know mission. We started things off with a round of cocktails. I cannot remember the names but they were tasty to say the least. As for the food, we ordered the heirloom tomato salad, calamari and vegetable frito misto, and the porcini crusted tuna. Tomato Salad: The tomatoes were perfectly dressed in an oil and vinegar dressing with a really good piece of mozzarella and zucchini 'nest' on the plate. I'd give this one about a 3.5/5 Calamari Frito: You just can't beat fried food after a few drinks, so this was really good! haha But really, the calamri wasn't over cooked and the batter actually stuck to the squid. The vegetable were the typical zucchini and onions. The remoulade had a nice slightly smokey flavor made it a great sauce. 4/5 Crusted Tuna: This WAS a really good dish. Tuna seasoned with cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper and a touch of garlic seared ever so carefully to keep and even level of doneness on each side resting in a schmear of romesco and grilled green onions. The plate looked amazing and the taste did not disappoint. 4/5. BUT now here's the thing that somewhat kills the whole dining experience. I was fairly sure romesco had nuts in it. Hell, I could see little white chucks of some kind of nut in the sauce. So my partner in dine asks our waiter what kind of nut is in the sauce. He tells here there isn't... Hmmm... We leave it alone and proceed to finish eating. By now the band has emerged from behind their curtain a good time is being had by all... except me. This no nut in a romesco thing is driving me insane. Do not get me wrong, the music was great, i was enjoying it but the nuts! I couldn't stop thinking about the nuts!! I swear those little chucks tasted like almonds... We order another drink and continue to watch the band. As we're about to leave, we ask another waitress about the tuna's sauce. She goes back to the kitchen and i see our waiter get yanked back in there by a man in chef whites. After a short while, our waiter emerges from the kitchen to tell us there was a little bit of almond in the sauce. Yes! Huge victory for my tastebuds! Before this, we contemplated having a fake nut allergy to see where that would take us but after seeing our incompetent waiter get literally yanked into the kitchen I felt a little bad for the guy. All in all this place should be getting 3.5 stars (the food was pretty darn tasty and so where the drinks). But when the waiter (the face of your restaurant) lies straight to the customers face about something that could cause an allergic reaction and possibly kill someone, that just pisses me off. Be thankful that you're getting these two stars and not a lawsuit....
by Mark Stinebuck on I don't know why this place is called "asian fusion" as it is just a thai restaurant with a sushi bar. I got their curry duck, which was made very well. The skin could have been a bit crispier, but all in all, the flavors were very good and the duck was well cooked. My friend got the sashimi dinner, which was definitely enough fish for one person, and the fish was pretty fresh. Service was very good. The restaurant location is not the best, as it's in a shopping plaza. Prices are average to above average, and cost about $25 a person w/o drinks, but after tip/tax.
by Peter Lavani on The Phoenix is rad rock n roll hotel, that caters to bands playing in the city. The few times I've stayed here I have always enjoyed it. The hotel has a private courtyard with a pool and tiki bar. The rooms have no AC, but keep cool enough to sleep. I normally like it cold, but I was just fine with the fan on. Pay your respects to the Sputnik lamp hanging about the front desk.
