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Girl and the Fig

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Any reports on the Girl and the Fig in Sonoma? Favorite dishes?

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  1. Had lunch there last week. I had the pate sandwich (don't recall the exact name), and it was delicious. It was served with wonderful little piquant caper berries, that look like miniature picked baby figs; in fact, that's what we thought they were until the waiter clarified for us. My friend had croque monsieur, which she always likes very much. No chardonnay (our wine of choice), so the waiter brought us tastes of the two closest whites. We ate outside, and it was lovely.

    1 Reply
    1. re: Marsha
      Pamela Ellman

      Thanks! Looking forward to going.

    2. I was there a number of months ago prior to the remodel, for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that the bar had Pineau des Charentes, which was a pleasant aperitif. Dinner was an absolutely excellent duck confit with French green lentils with bits of bacon and some vegetables. Very good rustic French food. The wines are mostly Cal-Rhones, a style which generally doesn't work for me - the producers tend to deliver massive fruit-bombs with no character to speak of. However, the two we tried (a carignan and a carmenere) were acceptable.

      On our advice, my brother went there fairly recently and was disappointed in the food - he reported that it was bland and uninspired, though I don't know what he ordered. I think it may simply be a bit hit-and-miss.

      1 Reply
      1. re: Jeremy Tavan

        That hit and miss business is what makes girl & the fig third in my Sonoma restaurant picks. It can either be spot-on wonderful or just average. Not that anything is really wrong, but there is no wow factor.

      2. The wife and I just had Sunday Brunch there. I had the signature duck hash and she had the quiche o' the day. We also shared their daily special appetizer. Everything was awesome and we'll definately be going back.
        The duck hash was tasty and well prepared. The only thing I didn't really care for was the crunchy bits of carrot that kinda spoiled the smooth unctiousness of the hash. Not a complaint, just a slight mar on perfection for me.
        My bride's quiche was wonderful - it was a full 3 inches deep and so light and creamy it was closer to a souffle than a quiche. It was made with white chedder and bacon and was very rich and delicious. It came with a nicely dressed salad and a mountain of perfectly done shoestring potatoes, flavored with chopped basil. I thought the potatoes were a strange combo with quiche but they worked.
        The appetizer was really, really good. It was "blintzy" - three puff pastry "raviolis" filled with creme freshe and fruit compote and then topped with huckleberry syrup and berries. Yummy. The total cost was $35 plus tax & tip

        1. I do adore the girl and the fig, but this "hit or miss" business has me wondering whether I've simply been fortunate enough to have ordered only the "hits."

          A couple weeks ago I feasted upon sea bass, baby clams, and celery puree and was quite impressed. The fish was delicate yet hearty, and the clams and their accompanying sauce added just the right amount of briny zip, especially when combined with the soul-food-gone-green puree. I suppose it wasn't particularly original or complex, but the flavors spoke for themselves, and I left truly satisfied.

          One word of advice: the fig salad is easy enough to imitate at home (especially if you have the girl and the fig cookbook), but somehow it always tastes better at the restaurant. If you're planning on getting and entree and dessert (lavender creme brulee!) or simply hoping to avoid doing the post-dinner waddle, ask the server to split the salad between you and a friend.

          2 Replies
          1. re: lemonfaire

            Hope this is the right (of many) threads anyway another MISS

            Really disappointing food, indifferent to rude service, condescending manager - but really friendly and helpful "lower" staff - maybe they should invert VBG

            Food - lovely soup served in a hot bowl with lukewarm soup, sent it back - it came with an even hotter bowl and soup that wasn't any warmer!!!!! Leek and ?potato with tiny bits of tasty crab and slivers of fried crisp potatoes Really rich - loved it and would have liked to have bread to wipe up the last bits - but that didn't come until after the soup was cleared and bread was requested.
            Lamb sirloin ordered rare was served with overcooked dry ends and middle pieces that were cooked on the outer bit and totally raw for the inner 1/2. Beans were undercooked and seasoning was absent.
            Lamb crepinette over polenta - was described by waiter as like sausage with the wrapping. It was coarsely chopped pieces of lamb shaped into a patty. Seasoning was nice, but again this dish was served with a mere saute of ?30 seconds to turn the outside brown and crisp but the inside was again raw. If I'd ordered a lamb tartare maybe it would have been okay, but this was seriously undercooked - and tough and gristle. I spit out over half the meat b/c it was unchewable :(

            Dessert was the high point - an apricot tart tatin (with a puff pastry base instead of the traditional cookie like base but this worked fine) with a lovely lemon ice cream.

            Almost empty dining room so no excuse for the problems with service, nor for the 45 MINUTE wait between soup and entree. Oh well......

            1. re: estnet

              This is why I only go to TG&TF for a drink at the bar. And even that is rare these days.
              Next time try Estate. Down the road to the West a bit.

          2. I went to The Girl and the Fig yesterday (Sunday) with three friends. Two of them ordered the quiche and were very disappointed. As others have mentioned, it's very fluffy, but also rather wet. It had a few tiny green flecks and a few undercooked pieces of bacon and the crust was too tough to cut with a fork. I had the duck confit hash (this is all brunch menu; no other menu till after 3 pm) and it was ok. Nothing spectacular. The 4th person had a goat cheese sampler and was pretty happy. We shared profiteroles and once again, the pastry was amazingly tough. The ice cream was mediocre.
            We all agree we would not go back.