31st Union Restaurant in San Mateo
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
We
always enjoy dining on the Peninsula and normally go
to Redwood City, Palo Alto or Half Moon Bay. We learned that a
new restaurant, 31st Union, had just opened in
San Mateo which featured ingredients and wines from California.
It is a stylish cozy restaurant in Downtown San Mateo which celebrates
the bounty of California, the 31st State in the Union. The interior
features high ceilings, walls covered with rustic barn wood, large
windows, country furniture, and a semi exhibition kitchen. They
also feature a huge California Flag on one wall. There is indoor
and outdoor dining, counter seating, as well as a communal table.
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The
Comfort Food Menu created by Executive Chef Paul Burzlaff
features small very shareable plates made with seasonal ingredients
from California. The wines and beer are from California, as well.
Our
first treat was the Trio of Deviled Eggs. The Smoked
Paprika was our favorite but the Avocado and Tomato topped eggs
were also quite tasty. We were told that the kitchen was flexible
and that if you prefer, you can order all 3 of any of your favorite
egg, which was good to know.
Our
next starter was a plate of delicious Golden State Spicy Chicken
Wings in a delicious Asian style sauce. We were impressed
by these wings as they were just slightly sweet and nice and messy.
You must also have the Charcuterie which was thinly sliced
and served with pickled onion, spicy tomato ketchup and toast
points. We enjoyed the Salame Toscano which was mild
and the Salametto Piccante, chorizo which was spicier.
Next, we had a small lightly dressed Little Gem Salad
with Applewood Bacon which was perfect between courses. Feel free
to ask for additional dressing if you like. The Taft Street
Sauvignon Blanc from Sebastopol was vibrant and fruity and
paired really well with the starters.
The
Small Plates are actually quite generous portions. We loved the
Lamb Meatball Sliders with Romanesco Sauce and Arugula
which were beautifully plated. Our other choice was the Grilled
Hanger Steak which was prepared rare as ordered with Salsa
Verde, Quinoa and Grilled Endive. The Hanger Steak with Quinoa
was amazing because of the quality of the meat and the paring
with the Quinoa. We can't wait to go back and order it again!!
We enjoyed a Red Flight of Wines that included three 3 ounce pours
with our small plates. We chose the Saintsbury Carneros Pinot
Noir which was our favorite. It was "On Tap" and
served at the perfect temperature the winemaker recommends, which
was cooler than normal. We also enjoyed the Yardstick, Ruth's
Vineyard Red and the Novy Napa Valley Syrah. We appreciated
that each wine had a marker so we could easily see what we could
compare and contrast and know what we were drinking.
The
Desserts were right sized, delicious and definitely worthy of
the calories! We loved both the House made Vanilla Ice Cream
Sandwich and the Strawberry Fruit Tart. In fact,
we have been craving the Ice cream Sandwich ever since, so this
is a must! We had a very enjoyable dinner at 31st Union
Restaurant. The cuisine was delicious and you could tell
that the ingredients were of the highest quality. The service
was exceptional especially since they had only been open for a
few weeks.
They
were quite busy and off to a very successful start. Currently
they serve local Artisan Craft Beers, California wines including
Keg Wines on Tap but by Labor Day, if not sooner, they will start
to feature specialty Contemporary and Classic Cocktails when they
roll out their Full Bar with premium liquors. 31st Union
is open until midnight and has a Late Night Happy Hour which is
great for those that want to stop in after the movies.
31st
Union Restaurant
5 South Ellsworth Avenue
San Mateo, CA. 9
650.458.0049
www.31union.com