October 3, 2007

Southern Exposure

South Food + Wine Bar Opens

You might be an Australian if: in any given two-hour period you’ve eaten a three-bean salad, a chop, and two serves of pav washed down with someone else’s beer flogged from a bath full of ice.

To translate that, take a walkabout to South, the new SoMa hotspot devoted to Antipodean fare.

The intimate 50-seater feels like the home of your hippest mate Down Under. Blue leather ostrich benches, wooden chandeliers, antique bird prints, and Maori-inspired tiling on the bar define rugged chic.

Owners Anna Weinberg and Liz O’Connell imported Sydney superstar chef Luke Mangnan (Salt) to create the menu. The result: clean, simple dishes with subtle Asian flavors and ingredients from both near and far.

Start with salmon sashimi drizzled with curry oil or fig tart with Roaring 40s blue cheese. Fragrant mint chimichurri goes with lean NZ lamb chops; drool-worthy salsa verde dresses grilled snapper. Off-menu specials are not to be missed: This week it’s barramundi tempura and chips with wasabi mayo. Wrap it up with a palate-cleansing licorice parfait.

With twenty Aussie, Kiwi, and South African wines by the glass, you’ll be back before you can say fair suck of the sav.

South Food + Wine Bar, 330 Townsend Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets (415-974-5599 or southfwb.com).