We're eating at Home
Reinvented spot succeeds on new formula
San Francisco Examiner
Major restaurants rarely succeed in reinventing themselves. Once business
drops off beyond a sustainable level, they have a tough time bouncing
back. Quite the opposite has happened in the remarkable transformation
of JohnFrank into Home.
Owner John Hurley acted decisively when he saw that his sophisticated,
upscale JohnFrank was losing ground after the dotcom crash and then
the 9/11 disaster. First he hired a new chef, the talented Lance
Dean Velasquez, but even his inspired cooking couldn't restore business.
So Hurley closed JohnFrank on Dec. 31, 2001, and reopened 11 days
later as Home, again with Velasquez as chef - and now partner. The
restaurant has been wildly successful ever since. Hurley slashed
food prices in half. He did away with the white tablecloths and
made the sleek, low-ceilinged dining room feel more casual.
To compensate for the loss of revenue from lowered prices, he built an enclosed, heated patio called the Backyard
on a section of the restaurant's precious private parking lot.
This tented patio with its own little bar, counters and tables has become
the hottest spot in town. People in Upper Market and the Castro
love it. Though the roaring restaurant feels like a party anyway
when you walk in, the VIP party seems to be in the tent in the back.
Frankly, this restaurant deserves to be busy because I've rarely eaten so
well for so little. Certainly inspirational credit should go to
Tony Gulisano's Chow across Market Street, a restaurant that created
the genre of upscale ingredients in downscale dining; the two Chows
in town are always packed. Velasquez does his own version at comparably
low prices.
Some of the Home dishes used to cost considerably more when they appeared
on the JohnFrank menu. I'm thinking specifically of Lance Dean's
braised brisket pot roast with spring onion-potato puree and horseradish
cream ($11.95). It happens to be one of the best plates of food
in all of San Francisco, period.
He uses Niman beef, cooking it ever so slowly until the meat becomes
meltingly tender while intensifying in flavor. The rich gravy runs
into the buttery potatoes, making each mouthful even moister and
more velvety. It's worth battling the crowds at Home to order just
this one dish.
But there are many others. A bowl of soupy, aromatic chileverde made
with free-range Niman pork ($10.95) is another treat. Scented with
cumin, cilantro and green chiles, this meaty pork stew becomes almost
addictive piled into warm tortillas with a lubrication of guacamole.
One dripping tortilla leads to another.
For $12.95, a tasty lesser cut of Niman beef is worth the chew. I like
the way the red-wine butter dissolves on, top of the grilled steak,
mingles with the meat juices as you cut into it and drips onto skinny
French fries.
Another pleasure of eating at Home is the side dish. No domestic god or
goddess could put out a more heavenly, ramekin of crisp tender broccoli
enrobed in delicious sharp cheddar cheese sauce ($4.25) or a similarly
sauced gratin of macaroni with a crunchy topping of rye bread crumbs
($4.75). Though both are scrumptious, you only want to order one
unless you really adore silky cheddar cheese sauce.
For starters there's a grownup iceberg lettuce salad with tangy crumbled
Point Reyes blue cheese, apple and spiced pecans ($6.95); or a piquant
asparagus salad smartly dressed in chunky red pepper and caper vinaigrette
($6.95). Warm dinner sandwiches are distributed all over the menu
- a Sloppy Joe with creamy slaw and fries ($8.95) is the Monday
special; an oyster po' boy ($10.95), a New Orleans-style fried oyster
sandwich, on Thursday nights; or the always-available pulled pork
sandwich with sweet barbecue sauce and fries ($7.95).
Desserts, made by talented pastry chef Claire Legas, play on the homey, American
theme. A classic root beer float in a tall glass comes with crisp
ginger cookies ($5). What could go better after a pulled pork sandwich
or a Sloppy Joe? I'm partial to her warm, custardy banana bread
pudding with toasty edges and bourbon sauce ($5). It's the kind
of dessert you'd expect to pay a lot more for-just like the Lance
Dean pot roast.
As for drinks, Home has a $5 cocktail list, glasses of wine at $6,
most beers at $3.50 and a number of wines by bottle in the low $20s.
You can spend more if you want, but low-cost options are plentiful.
The point is that Hurley and Velasquez have made the new incarnation
of their restaurant as wholesome, comfortable and easy going as
dinner at home. Well, the restaurant is noisier - a lot noisier
- but at your own home you don't have as many mouthwatering choices,
or perky, efficient waiters bringing you your heart's desire.
If the new economy means that we'll have more restaurants like Home-
recession can't be all bad. -- Patricia Unterman
TOP
TOP