The UK’s respected Financial Times newspaper has a delirious review of Frances, Melissa Perello’s new restaurant. Melissa is a highly recognized chef who also happens to be a staunch farm-to-table supporter.
From the review:
Named after the chef’s grandmother, it is a family effort. Perello’s father helped her with the walls and the wood finishing. Her mother sewed the big-buttoned cushions that soften your seat, and worked on the aprons worn by the staff. They are made of a rough-hewn fabric that I mistook for burlap – it’s actually brushed silk.
Perello’s “modern California” cuisine is the same: sounds like burlap, tastes like silk. Chew on applewood-smoked bacon beignets to start, or chickpea fritters with Meyer lemon aioli. Then, for your appetiser, pick the unusual, eggy semolina gnocchi with duck confit. I used to think I hated gnocchi; now I realise that I just hated any gnocchi not made by Melissa Perello
For your main course you should order the beef. Alternatively, you could do what my companions did on both visits and order the Soul Food Farm chicken with savoury bread pudding. They practically licked their plates clean. Now we all understand how Perello earned a Michelin star for Fifth Floor, her previous restaurant.
I’ve eaten at Frances. It really is that good! We hope you’ll all go check it out too!
