As I mentioned in my recent post about Farallon, I had several fantastic meals last week in San Francisco.  The second wonderful dinner I had was at Bistro Aix in the Marina section of the city.  It was soooooo good.  I was with my aunts from Sonoma and we shared everything.  Every plate was returned to the kitchen clean as a whistle.

The restaurant has a neighborhood gem vibe.  It is not a big space and is thoughtfully but conservatively decorated.  I was early for dinner and enjoyed a lovely glass of wine at the bar while I waited.  It was the first time I had a Beaujolais Blanc, which in this case was a crisp Chardonnay with a minimal oak essence.  It tasted a lot like other white Burgundies that I have tried, however, I would bet it is sold at a much more wallet friendly price point.

For our meal we shared three dishes.  The first commanded silence after we all took our first bite.  The flavors just brought out a sensation of floating above our tables as the light and airy gnocchi captivated our senses.  I forgot to take a photo when the dish first arrived as we dived right in because it smelled as good as it ended up tasting.

We also ordered a salad with goat cheese that was in a class above what is often served with this description.  This dish indicated to me that the chef is so skilled that he can take something simple like this salad and turn it into something wonderful.

I probably would not have ordered the pizza that is shown above, however, the couple sitting next to me at the bar ordered it while I was waiting and it smelled divine.  So much so that there was no discussion about ordering this dish.  And it was every bit as tasty as the alluring aroma indicated that it would be.

We had two lovely wines with dinner.  Both were recommendations and excellent ones at that.  If I ever seen any of the wines again that I had during this dinner I would order them again in a heartbeat.  Especially the Valpolicella.