Kat's 9 Lives

As we are pulling up to 5A5 I had a feeling that I had been here before. I have been to its predecessor. The place has not changed much as the interior decor and design looks almost the exact same. Luckily it was a pretty hip and modern place to begin with. =) My companions and I talked about how the place has a retro feel with a twist. The place before 5A5 would turn this joint into a night club at night, not sure if they do this here too. This was the place that Ms. Lin chose for Dine SF. The price is $34.95 for all Dine SF. I only had enough time for one dinner and this place was it. We had actually come here for Happy Hour a few days before scoping it out. *I'll post that later O=)*
They seated us pretty fast and then the night began... service a bit slow but nowhere near as slow as the service at Bar Tartine. You can wait for the horrid tale later. I have a lot of pent up anger for that post! lol The service was a bit slower but it was fine, we just chatted away as we waited for each course comes up. First they brought us a plate of bread. One is a plain bread and the other was a Bacon bread. Needless to say my ears perked up when I heard "bacon"! ^_^ The breads were not bad and did tie me over for a little bit.
Everyone at the table ordered the Caesar Salad with Spanish White Anchovies. Even this took a while to come out. To my surprise, the lettuce were all huge leaves atop one another. I noted this to Ms. Lin and she told me that is very common these days. It is probably because I don't eat much salad so I don't know this. haha O=9 What happened to the good ole days where they chopped the vegetables for me! lol I feel that when the pieces are so big that they don't absorb any of the flavor or retain any of the dressing. The anchovies didn't quite work so well in this dish. It was a tad too vinegary. At first they were so hard to find but then towards the end I am glad there wasn't that much on the plate.
For the main course we all chose the 6 oz. New York Strip with Miso and Shishito Pesto. The cut was a bit small for my own taste but hey it is part of a deal so what can you deal. I thought the meat was nicely cooked and very tender. The natural flavor was tasty, but I did not care for the components or sauce on top. It was a bit awkward with the ginger and the pesto was a bit sweet. I guess I am more of a savory kind of gal on my steak. Still, the steak was good and I enjoyed it. Maybe one day I will come back for some of their signature steaks or the Wagyu cuts. No sides come with the Dine SF so it is recommended that you order one. Ms. Lin already planned on sharing one since she has been here before. We decided to share the Mac & Cheese that has Truffle Oil inside. The dish came out very fragrant and looked super cheesy! ^_^ yum yum! It tasted pretty good. I mean how can you go wrong with yummy cheeses and delicious truffle oil! lol
Ms. Lin and I decided to get one of each dessert so that we can try both of them out. The Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding with Malted Vanilla Ice Cream was good. It was actually a pretty good size. The bread pudding was tasty and moist. I couldn't really taste the toffee flavor as much. The other dessert was the Banana Cream Tart with Maple Crunch Candy and Maple Cream. This was a smaller portion. It was a small tart on a big plate and decorated sparsely with the minimal components. The maple candy was okay, nothing special. I enjoyed the candied bananas on the side. It reminds me of the Chinese Fried Banana a little bit since it was nicely caramelized. As for the tart, the flavor was not bad and there was a marshmallow substance under that glued it to the plate. Both desserts were good but I think I like the bread pudding more. ^_^
All in all the food was solid. I do wish that the steak was a little bit bigger, but still good. They were pretty booked for a Sunday night, which is a good sign that it is well-received or at least people desire to be there. The salad was probably my least favorite even though I really like a good Caesar Salad. Our server was pretty nice but the food did take a while to come out. Still I will be back again for Happy Hour. Wait for that post and you can see the deals they offer. ^_^
On a funny note, I just had to show our receipts. This happened a few nights ago too at this place. Whenever we say split the bill, they somehow always have a 30 cent difference! lol You got to love their math skills here! O=9
5A5 Steak Lounge
244 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 989-2539