Food review blog from San Francisco.

Restaurant: Plouf (San Francisco)
Food description: Steamed Prince Edward Island mussels in a shallot, bacon, and white wine cream sauce
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Plouf is one of the better joints on Belden Lane because they know how to do one thing well: mussels. Plouf's mussels come straight from Prince Edward Island, which are cultured (farmed) rather than wild. Because they never touch the ocean bottom, the mussels end up sweeter, more tender, plumper, and sand-free. Yum! So now that you've got the low-down on P.E.I., let's get into the sauce. Since Plouf serves mussels galore, you can choose from a selection of seven sauces, from traditional to mariniere, to even gratinee. I wanted to try something different and chose the "poulette" sauce, which I unfortunately would not choose again. The mild flavor of the mussels was no match for the heavy smokiness of the bacon and the intense sweetness of the shallots. Not to mention the heaviness of the cream. I prefer a sauce that's much more subtle because I actually wanted to taste the mussels, ya know? That's not to say the sauce wouldn't be great on a pasta or something else, just not with this dish. It was a shame too, since the portions were very generous and the sauce just got too sickening for me to finish it. So there you have it: great mussels + not-so-great sauce = a 6.0. Better luck next time!