1 Ferry Building #12
San Francisco, CA
Telephone: 415.288.8630
Hours:
Monday to Thursday 11-7
Friday 11-8
Saturday 9-7
Sunday 11-5

	The Connoisseur Taste a "generous" 5-gram portion of: Select California Estate Osetra, California Estate Osetra, Hackleback Sturgeon, Paddlefish Sturgeon and Imported Sevruga. All of the caviars are presented with our homemade buckwheat blini with crème fraiché.
	Infused Sampler Taste a "generous" 5-gram portion of: Brandy Infused Gold Pearl Trout, Ginger Whitefish, Beet & Saffron Whitefish, Wasabi Whitefish and Truffled Whitefish. All of the caviars are presented with our homemade buckwheat blini with crème fraiché.
	Caviar Napoleon Layers of Paddlefish Caviar, Gold Pearl Trout Caviar, and Tsar Nicoulai Smoked Salmon with fresh potato chips and lemon chive crème fraiché.

A Grazer's Paradise
Ferry Building dishes up gourmet eats by the bay
by MICHAEL BAUER (San Francisco Chronicle | Sunday, May 23, 2004)

"One of my favorite stops is Tsar Nicoulai, the company that pioneered domestic sturgeon farming in 1979 to produce caviar. They now have a sustainable agriculture operation in the Central Valley and also import items from producers with a similar philosophy, all of which are sold here.

Diners sit at a U-shaped 15-seat counter decorated with a big silver bowl filled with crushed ice and Champagne. The half-dollar-size buckwheat blinis are made to order, topped with five styles of fish eggs. A 5-gram portion of Select California Estate Osetra, Estate Osetra, Iranian Asetra, Sevruga and Hackleback Sturgeon is $43. It may seem expensive, but few of us get a chance to indulge in a comparison that shows off the alluring bitterness from the Hackleback, the clean sea-mist nuances of the Asetra or the seductive creaminess of the Sevruga. The shop also features a sampling of five American caviars for $15, which are just as interesting.

There's also a potato waffle with smoked sturgeon draped with ginger caviar ($14), accompanied by a silver gravy boat filled with creamy mushroom gravy. Pour it over the waffle like maple syrup. Other lunch items include an egg filled with truffled scrambled eggs and dollops of caviar ($14) or ahi and sturgeon sashimi ($14), arranged in a glass cone set into a round fish bowl with live fish swimming around the base. Talk about being connected to the product -- every time the black chopsticks point toward the jewel-like slices of pristine fish, the neon darts around the bowl as if to fend off an attack. The staff is quick to point out that the live subjects are returned to the aquarium."

[This piece originally appeared in the May 23, 2003 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. Click here to read the entire article and view the accompanying photo gallery.]

© Copyright 2006 Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Site Development: Atlantis 57 Studios