Q is for: Q {Restaurant Review}

Each week...in addition to my multiple recipe posts, I try my best to also post a restaurant review to coincide with the letter of the week.You can't get much more dead-on for "Q" week than a restaurant called "Q."

Q Restaurant and Wine Bar is a quirky little place in the Inner Richmond, specializing in comfort food. It was also featured on an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Just how quirky, you ask? Besides the giant tree in the middle of the restaurant, the Christmas lights and the moon-like sculpture on the ceiling...all along the metal walls are the refrigerator alphabet letters, allowing diners to leave a temporary mark. Naturally, I took advantage by adding a little self-promotion to the wall. :)

Probably one of the most popular menu items is the Macaroni and Cheezy with Tater Tots. It's listed under "Down Home Favorites," but I think it's best enjoyed as an appetizer. The cheese sauce wasn't my favorite...it had some sort of hot sauce mixed in...and another flavor I couldn't quite put my finger on. Oregano maybe? But it was topped with crunchy tater tots, so you can't really go wrong with that. I would order again just for the tots. (Are you gonna eat your tots?)

The star of the menu is definitely the duck confit. It's made with a dried cherry-pinot noir reduction sauce, topped with Cypress Grove goat cheese and grilled asparagus and served over fried polenta. It's listed on their "specials" menu...but it's been available every time I've been there. I've had it twice, and it was excellent and extremely tender both times. Like falling-off-the-bone tender, and perfectly complimented by the sauce...especially with the tangy goat cheese. And I can promise you I will never order anything else for as long as I frequent this place.

My friend Kim ordered the grilled salmon from the build your own dinner section, where you can choose the type of sauce and side you receive. She got the "hot" BBQ sauce...but it really didn't have much heat to it at all. The salmon was OK...a little dry. She was on the fence between this and the fried catfish...so next time she will go with the catfish. And some grilled corn on the cob with jalapeno lime butter. We really wished we had gotten that. But overall, a great little gem in the Inner Richmond...don't miss the duck and you won't be disappointed.

Labels: American, BBQ, comfort food, diners drive-ins and dives, macaroni and cheese, Q, restaurants, San Francisco, tater tots