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Checking In At Jamie's Place

Where: 398 Hayes St. [map], San Francisco, CA, United States, 94102
January 8, 2009 at 9:05 AM | by | Comments (2)

The Top Chef judges have been awfully harsh this season, and we know they love the drama, but they seem genuinely disappointed in their chef-testants this year. (Aside--does anyone else hate new judge Toby Young? Not feeling it at all.)

Anyway, the one person they seem to be giving a lot of face time too is Jamie Lauren, the 30-year-old executive chef at San Francisco's Absinthe Brasserie and Bar. They've been making a big deal about her all along, and even when she screws up, it's kinda obvious they're not gonna kick her off. She won her first elimination challenge last night, and we're betting she's got a decent shot at winning it all. But what about her restaurant?

Absinthe describes its food as "American-influenced French and Northern Italian," which is maybe the least descriptive description we've ever heard. On closer inspection, the very lengthy menu is actually pretty out there, with dishes like fried duck egg and andouille sausage sandwich for brunch, red wine braised beef cheeks for dinner, and a whole lot of crazy drinks like the Galapagos 9--Pisco, Kaffir lime leaf muddled in pepper syrup, lemon-lime juice and a splash of grapefruit juice, served up with sunken brandied cherries.

Damn. Maybe "American-influenced French and Northern Italian," isn't so boring after all. We're putting Absinthe on the to-eat list for the next SF visit. Anyone been?

Related Stories:
· Absinthe [Official Site]
· Top Chef Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Absinthe]

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scallops?

does the restaurant have scallops on the menu? ;)
juliana on January 8, 2009 at 9:09 AM #Permalink

absinthe is yummy

Absinthe rocks. Have the pork or duck confit salad if it's on the menu, with fries, and you will be in heaven. You can also spy Jamie at the coffee place next door sometimes.
jetboyds on January 23, 2009 at 6:30 PM #Permalink

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