Flour + Water - San Francisco

2401 Harrison Street (Mission District)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel. 415.826.7000
www.flourandwater.com

Flour + Water is one of the new restaurants on the block in the Mission District and is getting high praise from food critics and bloggers. The restaurant focuses on the simplicity of ingredients, hence the name Flour + Water. Just like many of the other Mission District restaurants the style of the restaurant is definitely eclectic. I love that this restaurant has a very unpretentious, yet cool vibe to it.

The restaurant specializes in house made pasta (and who doesn't love house made pasta) and Neopolitan thin crust style pizzas that are baked for no more than 2 minutes at a blistery 427 degree centigrade. According to the website, this is approximately the same temperature as hell, but only heaven awaits as you enter these doors. The prices are definitely reasonable for the quality of ingredients and quality of food your are going to get.

Margherita Pizza with tomato, basil, fior di latte, and extra virgin olive oil (13)
Fresh out of the oven, piping hot, slightly crispy, yet soft crust are some words to describe my initial reaction to the pizza. The pizza has a beautiful crust that is slightly charred but with a fantastic chewy consistency and a wood imparted flavor. Pizza doesn't get any simpler but more satisfying than this.

Maltagliati with brown butter braised duck giblets (15)
At the first bite, it tasted a bit livery and I wasn't sure if I liked it because I never really had duck giblets in my pasta.  It was just unexpected.  But as I took my second bite, and then the third bite, I just couldn't get enough of it.  I really just wanted to lick the whole plate. The freshly made pasta had a wonderful consistency that is only attained through fresh and not dried pasta. Included in this pasta dish was either pumpkin or squash bits that really lightened the dish that could have been too heavy.

Basil granite with late summer stone fruit and prosecco jelly (8)
While perusing the dessert menu, my eyes immediately darted towards this dessert. Basil? Love it..Stone fruit? Love it... Prosecco? Love it.. Did I love this dessert? No....Did I hate it? No... It was a light and refreshing dessert but didn't really taste the prosecco in the jelly and the basil granite was just so-so.  Yet the concept was very interesting and unique.

I like what Flour + Water stands for with their simple approach to food without compromising flavors. There is something so satisfying about a great pizza and perfect pasta; this is my comfort food. The excellent food and the laid-back cool vibe is something I am definitely looking forward to returning to in the future.