RAVE - Lafitte

Do all great restaurants take this much blood, sweat and tears to get off the ground?

Having been a neighbor of Russel Jackson's for a couple years, we saw the planning, the years, the heavy lifting that went into this fabulous new place, and it reminded us how lucky we are to be on the consuming end of this ride from Dissident Chef, through Subculture Dining to this perfect location on the Embarcadero.

Two rooms - one promenade French bistro, the other a natural wood beamed dining room with a proper open kitchen (not something where you can just see the culinary artistes' heads).

A friendly, not-at-all-haughty-or-pretentious staff, a healthy but not overpoweringly noisy vibe, and that means nothing gets in the way of the food.

Russel is one of the most creative chefs you could wish for. There's no Ahi Tuna, Niman Ranch Rib-eye or Sonoma chicken here. That might've sounded appetizing 10 years ago, but every man and his dog is serving that fare in San Francisco now.

At Lafitte's third opening night yesterday we experienced:

Guanciale with Emergo Bean Puree on Crostini. Guanciale is an unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig's cheeks. I could've eaten a lot more than this amuse-sized tasting.

Root Vegetable soup with Wheat Berry salad. With the berries soaked in the broth, this was a standout dish. What amazed me was that without any sensationally weird ingredients, it tasted like no other soup I could remember.

Fried Artichoke with Boqerones Bagna Cauda. Everyone knows how hard it is to render artichoke edible. Frying it was a new one on me, and it worked. The anchovy paste (Bagna Caude) took some getting used to, but it definitely was original.

Cod and Pork Sausage Stew with Carrot Viche and Green Garlic Broth. The sausage exploded with taste.

Roasted Alaskan Halibut with Dandelion Rabe and Mustard Flower Sauce. I didn't taste this, but Pavey said it was another exciting mix of flavors.

Fuji Apple and Almond Cake with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream. At another table in another restaurant this could've tasted ordinary, but at Lafitte it was delicate and different. A great dessert to cap off a great dinner.

I really hope Lafitte proves to be the success Russel deserves.