potrero view
Photo by Birgitte Gilliland

Photo by Birgitte Gilliland

Horatius’ burger with hand-cut fries.

November 2009

Carpe Diem at Horatius

By Birgitte Gilliland

Horatius opened its doors on Kansas Street, between 16th and 17th, a season ago, and appears to be on the right track in its effort to create a spirited getaway to Portugal and the sun-drenched Mediterranean.  Owner Horacio Gomes has invested a small fortune transforming the former furniture warehouse occupied by Khyber Pass into his dream food and gift emporium.   With offers that range from Ritual coffee to upscale pottery and gourmet sea salts, Horatius seems to be the creation of a wandering mind.   

Whether your mind will wander when you visit will depend on what you’re looking for.  If you’re in search of a casual latte, or looking for a unique gift for a gourmand, you won’t be disappointed.  Gomes succeeds at selling both a shopping experience and a seductive philosophy in these challenging economic times.  Life is hard and uncertain; why not spend $14.95 for a bottle of black cherry balsamic vinegar to spruce up a salad to be enjoyed with loved ones?  Every item in the store, from the miniature cupcakes to the soda bottles to the jams and chocolate bars, has been chosen and displayed in the immaculate space with devout attention to detail for your sensory pleasure.  No doubt, Gomes is a serious and passionate proprietor.

I dined at Horatius on four occasions.  My experiences can best be described as uneven; pleasant, but inconsistent.  A recent Niman Ranch beef burger ($10.50, $2 extra for added cheese, avocado or bacon), that I enjoyed for lunch was sublime.  The juicy burger was a tour de force, dressed with sweet balsamic and red wine marinated onion circles and accompanied by hand-cut fries.  But on another occasion the same kitchen produced a baked chicken leg (the daily special for $12.95) with such serious shortcomings that no amount of sweet red pepper sauce could masquerade its ineptitude.

To be fair, the manager addressed my poultry complaint with perfect graciousness.  She not only promptly refunded my money and offered to provide a new entree of my choice, but also made sure that I departed with a much-improved version of same dish in a to-go box.

I returned for lunch with two dining companions on another day, but experienced the same mixed results.  The falafel wrap ($7.50) was tasty and surprisingly spicy, but the pulled pork sandwich ($9.50) really stumped me.  How could such tender pork with sautéed onions, red and green peppers on perfectly toasted, fresh bread taste so underwhelming?   The grilled shrimp salad ($14) was a much better lunch option.  The good-sized shrimp were well-seasoned, grilled to perfection and served warm atop field greens decorated with shaved fennel and nectarine slices.

Horatius gets dressed up for dinner.  White tablecloths, votive candles and fresh orchids in bud vases soften and warm the space.  The large distressed barn doors are opened to screen silent movies on the back wall.  On the night I dined, the films Chinatown and Casablanca accompanied our Portuguese fare.   Some might find the flickering images distracting, even without sound, but we thoroughly enjoyed these classic films in between bites of salt cod prepared every way imaginable.

Bacalhau, or salt-dried cod, is a key feature in Portuguese cooking and, happily, this is where Horatius excels.  In lesser, inexperienced hands, improperly prepared bacalhau can either be too salty or limp and flavorless.   The Bolinhos de Bacalhau appetizer ($11), three oblong fritters of cod, mashed potato, onion, parsley and garlic, was fried to crispy perfection.  The Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa ($18), was a taste sensation of baked cod, potato slices and onions simmered in a light cream sauce and decorated with mild and heavenly-tasting, chopped black olives.  The evening’s vegetarian entrée (price as quoted), was a mix of sautéed artichokes, peppers, garlic, parsley and lima beans on a mound of mashed potatoes that my friend, while enjoying its initial flavors, felt “petered out at end.”

A new pastry chef started last month; I look forward to seeing the dessert selection broaden.  If her Portuguese molasses and lemon cranberry cookies are any indication, Horatius has seriously upped its sweets game.  If you’re grabbing lunch in a hurry, treat yourself to one of the moist and super flavorful mini-cupcakes as well.  The $2.25 price is steep for two bites, but the ingredients are superior and without evidence of any shortcuts.

There will always be wrinkles that need ironing out in a new dining establishment, but the personnel must have the right skills and attitude from day one.  On every occasion, I received such terrific and attentive customer service that it would be hard not to cheer for Horatius to be a success on Potrero Hill.


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