THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Dine

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Dine Restaurant Review:

We always liked Julia McClaskey's food at the Universal Café, so when she struck out on her own in the area near the Yerba Buena Gardens cultural center, we got excited. In a space that had been tarted up to look baroque, McClaskey and designer Michael Brennan have transformed the look 180 degrees. They used lots of brick, slate and weathered wood to create a more casual space that appeals to the South of Market crowd. Look for appetizers like seared chicken livers with applewood-smoked bacon, dried cranberries and organic greens. Another alluring starter is the Tuscan bread and mussel stew. The pot roast last winter was rib-sticking and refined; the rib-eye suffered from being too chewy, but the horseradish butter was a great foil. All desserts we tried were winners, especially the profiteroles with coffee ice cream and the butterscotch pots de crème.