Tangerine

With seasonal dishes both subtle in character and dramatic in presentation, this Castro haunt offers a colorful dining experience indeed. Elegant flatware, rotating ceiling-fans, Billy Holiday and Eva Cassidy on the speakers all conspire to create a very copacetic vibe. Clever cocktails made from Sake garnished coyly with fresh tangerines or Lychee fruit can accompany a variety of interesting appetizers.

Lemongrass Calamari, dredged in a delicate lemongrass batter, is served with a mild, tomato-based cocktail-sauce enlivened with the sweet warmth of fresh ginger. A piquant Arugala Salad combines orange slices, daikon sprouts, cherry tomatoes and a tantalizing tangerine vinaigrette.

While the Spicy Seafood Gumbo with its generous portion of fresh salmon, shrimp, baby octopus and bay scallops was certainly praiseworthy, it was the Drunken Duck that made the biggest splash. After softening and seasoning for hours in dark beer and coffee, ample slices of tender duckmeat are thinly sliced and then draped over a large rice cake served beside a bouquet of steamed watercress. This ample portion is surrounded by a rich curry sauce artfully colored with a vibrant yellow-pepper coulis.The crispy exterior and glutinous center of the rice-cake provides great textural contrast, the duckmeat is full of robust earthy flavors, and the curry sauce is thick, rich and satisfying.

A local favorite, Zanze's Famous Steamed Cheesecake served with raspberries, was cloud-light and lacked only a better quality of espresso as its consort. Open daily for lunch, and for brunch on weekends, Tangerine, with its stellar service, romantic yet informal setting, and ample portions of artfully crafted Pacific-Rim cuisine, is a very welcome addition to its neighborhood.

FOODISM