Medjool

Certainly not a classical French restaurant by any stretch of the imagination. Rather a fabulous establishment with the famous rooftop deck with a lot of Moroccan and French-Moroccan inspired dishes and cocktails. Among the dishes, I spied the classical Steak-Frites, so decided to see how this place would interpret the classic bistro fare.

The steak was a traditional hanger steak, which I asked cooked rare and which they successfully delivered. The sauce, however, was overwhelming. I could barely taste the meat because the sauce was nearly as thick as a barbecue sauce with a strong yet difficult to place flavor. Not very subtle. The menu said there was a harissa marinade involved, which I don't think came through at all. The frites were a bit lifeless, dutifully shoestrung and fried, but not terribly inspired. The best thing on the table was the fried brussels sprouts appetizer, tossed with capers and garlic, which truly brought these frequently misunderstood mini-cabbages to life. The rest of the menu didn't really inspire. As for the rest, this is Medjool after all, so the ambiance was one-of-a-kind and the cocktails out of this world.

So Steak gets 3 points, Sauce gets 1 point, Frites get 2 points, Other menu items get 3 points and Ambiance gets 5 points.

Total 14 points.

2522 Mission Street (near 21st Street) in the Mission District.