The heirloom tomatoes are officially disappearing, the days are quickly getting shorter, and everyone’s getting in a fall mood. With that in mind, and because we all need something to get us through this wet weekend, we invite you to check out some of the new seasonal items popping up on menus at Flour + Water, SPQR, and Wayfare Tavern. Let’s start with Wayfare’s poutine: Ever since the S.F. Street Food fest, when Kitchenette was slinging some delicious guinea fowl poutine, we’ve been craving the stuff. Tyler Florence just added a version of the Quebecois delicacy to his menu: fries topped with short ribs, dripping with veal jus and truffle Jack cheese. SFoodie declares it “the perfect drunk food,” and says Wayfare’s poutine is “way better” than Salt House’s.
Wayfare’s fall menu also includes a roasted Kabocha squash soup; a Nor-Cal mussel chowder; wood-grilled bratwurst with sage gravy and savoy cabbage; and a “hunter’s style” Liberty Farms roast duck with bacon lardon and a parsnip purée. Also, just in time for the Sunset Cookbook — one of the centerpieces of which is a trip into culinary history with Santa Maria barbecue — Florence has added a grilled Santa Maria-style tri-tip dish with roasted heirloom onions and Kennebec potatoes.
At SPQR, Matt Accarrino’s latest menu features new antipasti like Spanish mackerel with black raisin purée, golden raisins and saffron pickles; a slow-roasted carrot salad with Umbrian lentils, Medjool dates and house lardo; and a lardo-wrapped local duck terrina with pluot marmalade. For pastas, he’s doing a millefoglie of herb pasta with wild boar ragu and garlic chives; and rabbit-filled cannelloni with crema di zucchini and pecorino.
And at Flour + Water, Thomas McNaughton has a number autumnal flourishes on the daily-changing menu. New antipasti courses include crispy oxtails with roasted chanterelles and celery root relish; and a confit rabbit shoulder with liver mousse, apple mostarda, and castelfranco radicchio. There’s also a roasted rabbit loin entrée with brussels sprouts and brown-butter-sage sweet potatoes. And for pizzas, there’s a speck pizza with braised cabbage, fontina, and crescent potatoes; and a roasted sunchoke pizza with caramelized torpedo onions, pancetta, and pecorino. [Ed Note: We are now suddenly very hungry.]
Earlier: Learn How to Make SPQR’s Friuli-Style Ricotta Gnocchi [Grub Street]
