****.
And of course, the popover.
It was hot when I got my bag (I know because I snuck a bite as I was walking down the street), but had obviously cooled by the time I got home. No worries, I just put it in toaster oven for a minute to warm it right back up.
It was crispy on the outside, moist and light on the inside, a classic popover. Slightly eggy, more eggy than I'd like, but not too bad.
It did need butter, which, was not provided in my takeout bag. Luckily, I had honey butter at home, and quickly slathered it in it. I also had some chipotle honey, which I liked even more, as it gave a little kick to the popover.
Still, I think there is a better spread out there for popovers, I just don't know quite what it is. I remember thinking that last time I ate at Wayfare Tavern too ...
***+.
June 2020
My next takeout order was years later, during the COVID-19 days, when restaurants were all takeout only. Wayfare was doing limited takeout via Caviar and their own online ordering, but I choose to visit in person to place my order, so it would be hot and fresh.
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| Open during COVID-19. |
Like most places, they had clear signage to handle the accommodations being made, one person at a time could enter, spots to line up were on the sidewalk, etc.
Luckily, I was the only guest at the time, and literally had my own cook!
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| Sanitize! |
To pick up, you could walk inside, where hand sanitizer was located, but only one step inside the door, everything else was blocked off. I was also able to order from here.
The Food
As I was the only guest at the time (gulp, it was 12:15pm too, so they really clearly weren't busy ...), my food was prepared to order, by a single chef, and handed over as it was ready. Mostly hot and fresh.
I asked for cutlery and a napkin, only to be told they were out. Of all of those things. No forks, knives, napkins ... I was not pleased, as I didn't quite know how I was going to eat without them. (I did end up having utensils of my own in my bag, and tissues, but, minus one point for this!).
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| Picnic Lunch. |
I walked literally less than half a block away, found a bench, in the sun, with no one else nearby, and dug into my picnic.
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| Popover with Whipped Butter. $2. |
The popovers are fairly famous at Wayfare Tavern, normally served complimentary at the restaurant, hot and fresh. I've always liked, but not loved, them. And yes you can normally get refills.
I knew it wouldn't be the same getting the takeout, but I still expected it warm, as it was when I had gotten proper takeout before COVID days. Sadly, this was handed over at room temp.
I was sad that these were not served warm, but it was still *really* delicious.
Pretty much textbook perfection: crispy exterior, super fluffy, nice eggy flavor but not too much ... and, yes, fantastic with butter.
It came served with their whipped butter, salted, good butter, and I was quite pleased it was soft and quite spreadable/dippable. Since the popover wasn't hot, it didn't melt in, but it still was tasty.
I did save a popover for later in the day, was going to have with dinner, or perhaps stuff with sweet things for dessert, but, it really didn't keep well. I heated it up in toaster oven, just enough to warm it, but it still was too crispy, and not great. I grilled a chunk, but also didn't care for it that way. Sadness.
But the original? Great. ***+.
For takeout before COVID-19, you could just ask for popovers included, and they included them. Now, you order individually, $2 each. Which, I'd still do, no question.
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| City Salad (grains and dressing on the side). ($12) |
"Granny Smith apple, wheat berry, red quinoa, blueberry, and pickled red onion with mustard vinaigrette. For every City Salad sold, Wayfare Tavern will donate $1 to SF Marin Food Bank."
I know it sounds boring, and I'm not one to order salads at restaurants, but, the City Salad has been a fixture of their menu for years. And it barely changes in any way with seasonality. To me, this is a sign that the salad must be doing something right, particularly when it has such a non-standard list of ingredients.
I did ask for "the fruit and grains" on the side, but I think "the fruit" part was lost over the phone-in order, so the apples and blueberries came on it. The grains were separate as I asked.
I did this for two reasons - first, I wasn't sure I wanted the grains, and second, I thought I might save part of it for a second meal, and I didn't want the juicy fruit to make the lettuce go bad (I also really doubted I'd want the apple - I like apple in desserts, cooked down, and in fritters, heh, but I'm not a raw apple kind of girl). Anyway, it was fine, just not quite what I intended, and the pickled red onion turned out so juicy the lettuces were wet anyway. And thus, I just polished it off!
Mixed greens are never my favorite (I love kale, baby spinach, romaine, endive, radicchio, etc, etc, but regular spring mix ... just isn't what I'd ever pick), but it was all very fresh and crisp, and a decent assortment of lettuces.
Not much to say about the radishes, just, slices of fresh radish, it seemed like less than one full radish though, which surprised me a bit.
The apple chunks were ... well, apple chunks. The size was perfect for a salad, truly nice bites, and I found that I did appreciate the freshness and juicy quality, and tartness, but I still wanted them to be something like jicama or even pear. Just meh to apples, but these were fine apples, freshly cut, perfect size.
Speaking of tartness, then there was the pickled red onion. I had expected slices, but rather this came diced. Very pickled, very tart, but also sharp and harsh as it was red onion. The flavor was pretty complex, and they were a lot if you just ate them on their own, but mixed in ... it all balanced out nicely. There was quite a bit of the onion though.
Blueberries I *adore* and have been kinda obsessed with this season, literally splurging on pints at the Farmer's Market every single week, sometimes twice a week, and vowing to get my behavior under control, but alas, I just can't get enough right now. I eat them by the handful any time of day, throw them onto my breakfast granola, have a bowl full alongside my dessert (or if it doesn't pair, I just have them later in the night), etc. Love them. But not something I usually toss into salad. The berries were ripe, fresh, good berries, but not as good as the ones I've been getting at the market myself constantly. A generous handful provided.
So the salad base? Good quality, fresh ingredients, clearly a thought out salad in its composition. ***+.
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Wheat berries / mustard vinaigrette / red quinoa / ceasar dressing.
(clockwise from top left) |
The rest of the ingredients came packaged separately on the side, as requested. One little dressing container each of wheat berries, red quinoa, the mustard vinaigrette the salad is served with (dressing is always on the side for takeout orders), and, my also requested caesar dressing (they have a caesar on the menu too and I wanted to try both!).
It was nice that they put these in a box in addition, as it meant they didn't get crushed or spill everywhere, and I used the box to make a salad and go for a walk with it the next day.
The wheat berries were the least interesting thing about the whole salad. Just cold cooked wheat berries, not seasoned, just, wheat berries. But they added texture to the salad, and I guess protein and healthy bits as well. I'm not sure if the portion I got was different since packaged this way, but it was a nice amount to add plenty of texture, but I'd probably prefer the salad without. I used the rest mixed in with rice pudding later, and it was a great add for perfect amount of chew.
Speaking of crunch, the red quinoa. This was *not* just cooked and cold, which is what I expected, but rather, it was toasted or fried. Super, super crispy, and I loved it. I could just eat it by the spoonful. It was so hard to resist just eating it all that way, and not taking time to add it into the salad. It was quite good, and I'm glad I had it on the side, as I was able to utilize it in this way. Surprise hit of the salad.
The dressing that comes with the salad, the mustard vinaigrette, was fine. I was glad it was a creamy style vinaigrette, as honestly, the main reason I wanted the ceasar too was because I'm a creamy dressing girl, and usually vinaigrette is not that. The flavor was really well suited for the salad ingredients. It was sweet, it was mustardy, but certainly not a honey style mustard. Overall, good, well matched with the salad.
The ceasar dressing was actually excellent. I'm so glad I added it on. It was probably the thickest dressing I've ever encountered in my life, it did not pour in any way, and it took some serious mixing since it came out as a big glob, but it was very, very good ceasar. Intense, legit, real ceasar. Sooo much anchovy flavor. So very heavy, clearly, but wonderful. Very, very glad I tried it. It didn't go with this salad really, but I saved it and used it to make a ceasar salad at home the next day, and I was thrilled to have it.
So, toppings and dressing? Success. ****.
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| Add Salmon. Medium-Rare. $14. |
To the salads, you can add protein to make a complete meal, a choice of the signature fried chicken (or just grilled if that is your style), shrimp, or salmon.
I don't normally like cooked salmon all that much, I like it raw, I like it hot smoked, etc, but cooked salmon I am often quite temperamental on. I don't mind fishy flavor, at all, but "fishy" salmon I never like. And really fully cooked salmon, either dry, or with tons of albumin all over it, etc, just way too common, and I don't like it.
But a lovely rare to mid-rare roast salmon? Now *that* I can get behind. I still planned to get the shrimp, but after finding out that it was just 3 shrimp (for $12!), and asking the prep method (both are just seared on the flat top), I decided to get the salmon, when I was told you can specify how it is cooked. This gave me hope.
I was pleased to see it came packaged separately, rather than put on top. I was happy to see a lemon on the side too.
The portion was a full size entree portion, which makes sense, given the $14 price (making the fully assembled salad $26!)
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| Near Sear. |
The salmon really did look good - the top looked crispy, and I originally thought it was nicely seasoned, but then realized that was just a bit of char from the grill. No albumin in sight.
Before adding it to the salad, I of course decided to try it. It was clearly fresh off the grill, still hot. The lemon was not needed if using the salad dressing and actually making a salad, but it made it delicious as a side thing. While salad add-ons are not offered a la carte, I think a lovely meal could be made by choosing 1-2 of their other side dishes (mac and cheese, burrata whipped potatoes, any of the roast veggies, etc), a popover or two, and this. (Or of course you can order the salmon entree, I just don't like the things it currently comes with - artichokes and roast potatoes - meh!)
I appreciated the good sear, and it was clearly a quality piece of fish.
But I really cared about how it was inside. I wanted rare to medium-rare.
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| Definitely not medium rare. |
It ... was not.
It was really nicely cooked ... medium. Which is fine if you want medium salmon. I just didn't want medium salmon. I wanted medium-rare at least!
This was very disappointing as I knew I was the only order being worked on, so the kitchen *wasn't* distracted. And my order slip clearly said "medium-rare" on it. I guess I should have gone for medium.
Again, it was a quality piece of salmon, and it was very nicely cooked medium, but, that isn't what I wanted, and isn't how I like my salmon. I ate about half, and brought the rest home to try cold on a salad the next day.
I wouldn't get this again. ***.
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| City Salad: Perfect Bite. |
I assembled the "perfect bite": mixed greens, a little pickled red onion, chunk each of radish and apple, few blueberries, scattering of each of the grains, a few bites of salmon, and a drizzle of vinaigrette.
It really was a nicely composed salad, I give credit for the thoughtfulness of the ingredients used, the way they were all cut to eat together really well, and overall balance. The dressing was a nice match with the salmon too, and I can see it working well with fried chicken (or grilled).
I enjoyed my salad, but, at $26 I likely wouldn't get it again.
January 2021
7 months later ... yeah, San Francisco back under Stay At Home order. Sigh.
Luckily Wayfare Tavern continued to weather the storm, offering outside dining while they could, doing tons of popups and food truck events and more, and was still available for takeout, and they have definitely improved their operations (e.g. they have cutlery!).
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| Pork Spare Ribs (5 Piece). $18. |
"Sesame soy barbeque sauce, furikake, scallions."
When is the last time you saw me review ribs? Yeah. Definitely not my normal kind of food, but I was strangely really, really, really craving either pork or beef, clearly wanting red meat, and really wanting to gnaw off a bone. I was in a mood, let's just say.
I don't think Wayfare Tavern is really known for the ribs, I am not even sure if they were on the menu prior to the food truck actually, but, hey, they said *furikake*, and that is all it takes to draw me in.
The ribs were ready promptly, and looked kinda amazing as I opened the box. I couldn't wait to dive in.
I ... had really mixed feelings on them.
The ribs were loaded with meat, really quite generous, plenty of meat. They were juicy, tender, moist. The very ends were slightly caramelized and crisp which I loved. Sure there were a few fatty or slightly lack luster areas, but for the most part, the pork itself was good (although not really "fall off the bone").
So what made my feelings mixed? It was the sauce! The part I thought that I'd be sooo into! Sesame soy bbq? Furikake?! Yes! The ribs were very, very well coated in sauce. They were sticky and messy in all the right ways. But the sauce ... was really, really, really, really sweet. It was just too much. I, girl who loves sweet things, even wanted to wipe some off. There was also no furikake, just a sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds.
I felt this needed balance. I'm sure if I had a side dish of their burrata whipped mashed potatoes alongside, the heaviness of the potatoes would cut the sweet nicely. Or even a popover to dunk in or something? I had a salad in my bag, with big hunks of diakon and cabbage, which I pulled out to munch on in-between bites of rib to cut the sweet, but really, that sauce was just too much.
So close to being a great dish though, and the marrow was particularly delicious.
My 5 piece order felt a bit pricey at $18, although there really as a ton of meat here. You may also opt for 10 for $30.
***.
Update: I brought a couple home, and heated them up later, with some sautéed greens and mashed potatoes on the side. And ... I really enjoyed them. Transformed, actually. The key was diluting that sauce a little - I used it on the greens too - and it made the whole dish quite tasty, rather than overpowered. I'm really glad I tried again. The leftovers get a solid ****.
April 2021
Wayfare Tavern is reasonably "famous". They are known for many things, like the fried chicken, popovers, and celebrity chef at the helm. They are even known for the burger, their bloody mary, and their creative spins on deviled eggs. But what they aren't known for? The carrot cake.
Yet that is why I sought out Wayfare Tavern, on Easter Sunday. Let's just say, I was seriously craving good carrot cake (after
a mediocre one from Joe & the Juice), and when I saw Wayfare Tavern had it special for Easter brunch, I headed straight there.
The place was hopping, quite full both indoors and in their temporary outside seating. Fried chicken was making its way to literally every table. As were popovers. And deviled eggs. I glanced around, hoping to spy some desserts, but alas, just chicken chicken everywhere.
I placed my order to go, and it was ready reasonably quickly given how busy they were.
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| Easter Brunch Special: Carrot Cake. $11. |
"Cream cheese frosting, pineapple sauce, pecans."
Ok, how cute is this? I loved the decoration, a piped carrot with mint leaves as the greens, chopped pecans strewn about, and, a container of some kind of sauce (that turned out to be pineapple.)
The sauce was sweet and fruity, and a different way to add moisture, but I didn't really find it necessary. I wonder how they plated it in the restaurant, it may have made more sense there?
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| Easter Brunch Special: Carrot Cake - Inside. |
I eagerly broke into it.
It was only a sIngle layer, so no cream cheese frosting between layers. Boo to that. I'm all about the frosting and cake ratios!
But the frosting that was on the outside was generous, including all 4 sides. It was quite sweet, basically, exactly what a cream cheese frosting should be.
The cake itself was extremely orange. I've had a lot of carrot cake, but never seen one quite this orange before. It was kinda pretty, and shocking at the same time.
It was very moist, and, well, carrot-y. It was a decent carrot cake, but the spicing wasn't particularly strong nor interesting, and the nuts used as garnish were the only nuts - I definitely prefer a carrot cake with nuts integrated throughout, but perhaps this is a way they could make a single carrot cake, and serve it to those who don't want nuts too, by just leaving off the garnish? I also do generally prefer to have some kind of fruit inside my carrot cake, usually pineapple, but raisins can be acceptable sometimes (if used in moderation!). Again, nothing inside this one, but the sweet pineapple sauce that came with it did add that element.
So overall, it was fine. I loved the look, it was a nice large slice, but, I wouldn't go out of my way to get it again, and I wouldn't rave about it. Fairly pricey at $11 a slice too!
***+.
May 2022
I don't remember exactly why I wound up at Wayfare Tavern wanting takeout cake nearly a year later, but, um, I did.
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| Chocolate Cake. $11. |
"Orange caramel sauce, buttermilk ice cream."
Ok. Chocolate cake. Not something you see me review often. Not something I generally care about. And, really, a bit of an odd item on the Wayfare Tavern dessert menu. Not that their menu is particularly fancy, but, just, chocolate cake? Still, I was drawn in, having had
fairly mediocre chocolate cake (chocolate crunch cake, with toffee and almond coating, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, at One Market a few days prior). I also was interested in the buttermilk ice cream, having had a
really tasty sour cream ice cream in Munich the week before.
I got it to go, which, as always at Wayfare Tavern, seemed to take quite a while. I asked for the ice cream on the side, so I could slip it into my cooler bag immediately, I'm glad I did.
This didn't look like much. Pretty standard cake and ice cream right? Well, it actually was fairly fabulous. Rich, moist, decadent chocolate cake. Plenty of chocolate fudge frosting. Again, not what I normally go for, I'm usually a buttercream girl, but, this was really quite good. No frills, but, just great chocolate cake and fudge frosting. Basically, what you want every office birthday cake to be, but never is. And definitely leagues above what even your friends who are great bakers make. But it was sweet and it was rich, and on its own, it probably would be far too much after two or three bites.
And that is where the ice cream comes in. A nice size scoop (much bigger than what One Market served!), and slightly tangy. Decently creamy, fairly average ice cream, but, the tang from buttermilk went sooo well with the fudgey cake.
The menu said it came with orange caramel sauce, which seems left off of mine, but I didn't mind. It didn't need anything more.
I really enjoyed this, more than any other chocolate cake in recent memory. Recommend.
****.
