Cafe Chez Maman Review

Last week we had quite good burgers and decent crepes at the Cafe Chez Maman in Bernal Heights.

Getting to Chez Maman was an adventure in itself. We had planned to meet at the original Chez Maman in Potrero Hill, but when the first part of our group arrived and looked inside, we realized we had the problem in addition to the fact that it was packed: it was a narrow restaurant filled with one long counter and there were only two tables (with stools) at front, and these tables could barely seat three.

Happily, I remembered that Chez Maman opened a sister restaurant in Bernal Heights in the last few months, so we carpooled there. This one was packed also but it didn't have the long counter of the former; rather, it had over a dozen normal-sized tables. (It also didn't have the same type of crowd as the former -- surprisingly, the crowd in the Bernal Heights one was overwhelming female.) We added our name to the list and waited.

When they called our name, they sat us in the back, up half a flight of steps, in a cozy room with one long booth seat. The booth sat eight -four on each side- and was an odd experience because it meant the server had to constantly hand us plates and drinks to pass all the way down the table. It was also odd in that right at the top of the steps, a mere five feet from one end of the booth, was the entrance to the bathroom, so people occasionally climbed up the steps to our booth to use the facilities. On one hand it was a nicely secluded area for us to talk about whatever strange topics we desired in privacy; on the other, it was disturbed by the unusual table layout and intermittent interruptions from bathroom-goers.

But you don't want to hear about our adventures with getting to the right restaurant and getting seated. You want to hear about the food.

Our appetizer, baked camembert with roasted garlic and wedges of toast, was quite good. The camembert, a soft creamy cheese, was served hot and went well spread over the crispy pieces of toast. It also worked well as an accompaniment to the regular soft bread that came with the meal. I'm glad we had a number of people with whom to share the cheese -- if there were only three people trying to finish it there would've been too much rich creaminess. As for the garlic, it came roasted in a partially opened bulb. Picking out a clove and placing it on a piece of toast and biting yielded a juicy explosion of garlic in one's mouth. Quite flavorful, and not too overwhelmingly garlicky.

One crepe entree we got was grilled chicken with mustard sauce. Served in a buckwheat crepe, this was slightly dry and so just okay.

Under recommendation from chowhounds who all loved the burgers, we ordered a few of them. All the burgers were served on good ciabatta bread with a choice of salad or fries; we all choose fries -- they turned out to be unremarkable. While the burgers with chicken patties were decent, the beef one really stood out. The beef, served medium-rare, had been either marinated in or melded with a mixture of herbs and the difference from an ordinary burger was tangible. Tasty and juice and full of extra flavor, this burger with the goat cheese I selected to go on it was truly a high-class item. (I did, however, have to push around and remove some of the goat cheese to get it properly distributed and to not diminish the taste of the meat.)

For dessert we chose two crepes endorsed by the chef: one a nutella and banana, the other a berry (assorted types) with creme fraiche. Both of these were served in regular (non-buckwheat) crepes. The people who liked nutella thought it was quite well done, but then it's hard to mess up chocolate and banana. As for the berry crepe, most of us didn't appreciate it; we just didn't like the cream. (It may have been tart?)

In addition to crepes, they also serve an assortment of quesadillas. One vegetarian attendee tried one, but I don't know how it was, nor did any of us try it so I can't report on it.

The total came to a reasonable $20/person, counting tax and tip.

I'm tempted to proclaim we should return at some point, because some wanted to get more of the beef with goat cheese burger for themselves and I want to try some of the real entrees. (The friend that originally recommended this place to me told me the main basis of the recommendation stemmed from some particular entrees, not what we ordered.)

Original Announcement

This Wednesday at 8:00pm we'll continue our voyage to restaurants with good values at Chez Maman, a very casual French restaurant in the Potrero Hill district. In addition to generally good French food, it's known for serving one of the best burgers in the city as well as having a wide assortment of top-notch crepes.

http://www.chezmamansf.com/

Come, and find out what makes a burger French. But please tell me if you are coming! (Like usual, we will still do some amount of sharing.)

Comments from Other Attendees

Seth's Recollection:

My own dish was disappointing, but the French hamburgers at this joint are just to die for. They were better than New York's much more expensive DB Bistro modern $29 hamburger, which is a similar concept not executed as well for a much higher price tag. [For something similar in NY, try the braised short rib sandwich at Starwich, which is slightly less of a hamburger but equally superb version of this kind of food.]

Now that I know about sous vide cooking, I'm inclined to think the hamburger meat may have cooked this way, since it had a consistenly moist texture I doubt you can get by conventional grilling.

-Seth

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