Cuckoo for Coco500?

Pictures from Coco500 in San Francisco, where Top Chef Season 4 contestant Jen Biesty is the chef. We were unable to catch a peek or her and her faux-hawk.

Moogle's purslane salad with radishes, boquerones and fried capers. I wasn't so much into the purslane as it had a bit of gumminess a la okra and fiddleheads. She's a vegetarian so she asked for the anchovies on the side. The table carnivores did not let those go to waste. Let's talk about fried capers for a moment - holy cow, what an unexpected bite of warm, salty, deliciousness.

The cheeseplate. I would tell you specifically what kind of cheese, but the server never told us, nor did she really give us a chance to ask, which I found annoying. We also had to ask for bread. I really like my cheese with bread or some other sort of carby vessel. Don't we all?

More cheese plate. I thought the blue could be a Point Reyes but I think the veining is a little different. There was also a wedge of manchego and some sort of aged chèvre with some ash which I am almost certain was a Cypress Grove Bermuda Triangle.

I'm not sure how I felt about the ahi ceviche, which was marinated with coconut, scallion and lime. I think I needed the temperature of the fish to be colder and the flakes of coconut smaller or maybe completely out of the recipe.

My chimichurri pork special! Halfway through it, I realized I was eating radicchio and not chorizo, which is what I misheard the waitress say. The pork was cooked wonderfully and worked nicely with the bitterness of the radicchio.

Moogle's asparagus pizza, featuring spring garlic, goat cheese, lemon zest, pink peppercorns. I had a bite and it was very springy and yummy.

Rob's whole fish of the day: a branzino with herb salad, capers, anchovies, lemon. I was too busy porking out to try a bite, but it looked really good.

To drink I had a couple of these Presbyterian cocktails: bourbon, ginger beer, lemon and seltzer. I need to recreate these this summer, they went down nice and easy, let me tell you. Anyone have a bourbon suggestion?