The decor was so cute, the waitstaff were friendly and attentive. Our waiter actually thought he recognized my husband and I but I’d never been to San Francisco before.

I had: Bagna Calda – (Garlic cloves, oven roasted in extra-virgin olive oil and butter with a hint of anchovy.) I thought it was pretty good, but I liked the oil best, the garlic cloves were too well cooked, they had no bite.

Garlic Hummus Cocktail – (with Toy Box Tomatos and Garlic Crostini) It wasn’t the worst hummus I’ve had, but it needed more garlic bite.

Half a Rack of Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs – The Ribs were excellent. I didn’t even use the bbq dipping sauce because there was so much flavor in them. The Garlic Yukon Gold mashed potatoes were fantastic as well.

Garlic Ice Cream – This was by far my favorite thing of the night. I was really shocked by the pairing of bitter garlic with sweet caramel and ice cream. I loved it.

I am a huge fan of garlic. I scoop spoonfuls into just about anything I make that goes well with garlic. Thus, I’d been looking forward to this restaurant for weeks.

The decor reminded me of Buca di Beppos mixed with an attempt to over-decorate for tourists. As expected, garlic nets and empty chianti bottles were hanging from nearly every piece of available ceiling real estate. Fortunately we don’t come out smelling like garlic… but we may have garlic sweat for the next few days.