The Progress (San Francisco, CA)

The Progress
1525 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115
Dining date: 11/29/15

The Progress is Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski’s follow-up to uber popular State Bird Provisions. Opened for almost a year now, the restaurant is located just next door to State Bird and has also gained mostly positive reviews (though not quite to the same crazy hype as their first restaurant). I was able to dine in with the parents as the last meal in SF over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Food at The Progress is served family style ($58pp); a handful of small bites are first to come to the table while the party chooses four large format plates for dinner.

bahri dates with hazelnut crema

hodo soy tofu with fermented turmeric marinade

crudite with goat cheese and toasted sesame spice

fried chicken karaage with oyster miso

california sturgeon caviar potato cloud

These were all strong. I really enjoyed the hazelnut crema paired with the sweet dates, as well as the chicken karaage with plenty of savory depth from this oyster miso. The caviar dish was a $10 supplement featuring a caviar base and potato cloud.

burgundy truffle ‘roti’ sunchoke ranch & pleasant ridge reserve

Roti was crispy with plenty of sunchoke ranch at the base for dipping. A generous amount of truffles were grated on top, though the earthiness was pretty subtle.

roasted ling cod pea greens, pomelo, aromatic vinaigrette

The pea greens hid perfectly cooked ling cod. The fish was moist and flavorful and paired beautifully with the citrus and greens.

yuba & napa cabbage stir fry steamed manila and littleneck clams with pork belly

This stir fry was surprisingly spicy with plenty of vegetables. Small pieces of clams and pork belly added some extra flavor to this dish.

harissa lamb from don watson charred pepper vinaigrette and chickpeas

Probably the strongest of the large plates, this lamb was delicious. It was tender and very flavorful, aided by the harissa. Chickpeas provided some starch while bitter greens offset the richness of the lamb.

cocoa chiffon cake white chocolate cremeux, huckleberry

We shared one dessert with some surprising maple-like flavor from candy cap mushroom powder sprinkled atop. The cake wasn’t chocolate-forward, balanced more towards fruit and maple.

The Progress was a good meal, though it didn’t have nearly the same chain of hits as State Bird Provisions. Granted it’s very difficult to live up to the hype of its sister restaurant, but The Progress is a nice addition to the neighborhood.