And the restaurant does it while turning out wonderful food and wine in a snazzy-yet-comfortable room with a very capable staff.
Yes, it patronizes local farmers. And it follows the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch standards for low-mercury fish whose harvest is managed sustainably. But look at what else it does:
Instead of offering bottled water and creating all that glass or plastic waste, it offers house-filtered water in reusable flasks. Its menus are printed on acid-free, recycled paper. All kitchen waste is composted. All glass, plastic and paper waste is recycled. It participates in Recork America, a program that collects used corks and turns them into flooring tiles, building insulation, gaskets, craft materials, sports equipment, and soil conditioner.
It also sends any surplus food to local nonprofits. Its appliances have Energy Star ratings and its restroom fixtures are all low-flow. The chairs and barstools are made from 98 percent recycled aluminum. And they?re applying for Bay Area Green Business Certification, which they richly deserve. ?They? are owner Rich Poliak, a former Intel employee; chef Charles Weber, who was opening chef at the fiercely delicious Zuzu in Napa a few years ago, and general manager Noel Burke, formerly of Julia?s Kitchen at Copia.
Besides being a restaurant, Elements is an enoteca ? or, as we say in English, a wine bar. All 76 wines ? nine sparklers, three ros?, 31 whites, and 33 reds ? are available by the glass and the bottle. The prices for bottles to be drunk in the restaurant are reasonable, with most in the $20 to $60 range. If you buy a bottle to take home, the price is low retail. Corkage is $20, waived for each bottle bought for in-house consumption. Some intriguing samples: 2005 Domaine Gautier Vouvray ? glass $10, bottle for in-house $26, bottle for take-out $20. The 2005 Domaine Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage is $17 a glass, $47 for in-house and $35 for take-out. The 2004 Herencia Remondo La Montesa Rioja is $11 for a glass, $31 in-house bottle, and $23 for take-out.
The sound system plays a nice mix of eclectic music, including John Lennon singing ?Across the Universe,? which was a joy to hear. The wall facing Second Street opens fully, so even those inside the restaurant can enjoy fresh air during clement weather.
As he did at Zuzu, Weber makes mostly small plates, reasonably priced from $5 for olives and herbs to $16 for ?liver and onions,? which in his kitchen is seared foie gras paired with onion confit. But if you?re hungry, he also has seven bigger plates (many of which can be ordered as small or large portions), plus there are always chalkboard specials.
On a recent evening, the pasta special was Cavatelli ($8 small plate/$14 large plate ***), short, narrow, ripple-edged shells made in house and meltingly tender, dressed in brown butter and flavored with bits of butternut squash and fresh sage leaves.
A good way to start dinner is with an antipasti of Cured Meats and Salumis ($9/$16 ***). Paul Bertolli crafts these choice tidbits at Fra? Mani, his salumeria in Berkeley, so most of the kudos for the quality on the plate has to go to him. But Elements deserves credit for providing such a tempting plate of thin-sliced, peppery meats and slices of cured pork. From cured meats, the menu turns in the opposite direction to raw fish: Tuna Carpaccio with Nicoise Garnishes ($14 ***?). The tuna is a fresh, sweet, clean-tasting pave (tile) of reddish pink tuna surrounded by Spanish anchovies, capers, potato salad, green beans, frisee, olive tapenade and a hard-boiled quail egg. Take a bite, close your eyes, and you could be on the veranda at the Hotel Negresco in Nice.
Continuing with delightfully refreshing dishes, Halibut Ceviche ($7 ****) turned out to be the hit of the night. Bone-white halibut is marinated in lime juice, which gives it an acid bite. It?s married to luscious mango, whose sweetness tames the acidity. Then it?s punched up with peppery heat by a sprinkling of minced chiles, and finished with a light herbal touch by a spoonful of microgreens.
Simple doesn?t have to mean unremarkable when a good chef is at work. Weber lightly grills zucchini and slices them lengthwise into very thin strips. He wraps these around gobs of creamy chevre and sets them among ripe, wet tomato slices. A drop of oil and there you are: Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Chevre ($9 ***), oh my!
Oxtail Terrine ($8 **) was less successful. The terrine was chewy and lacked any brilliance in its flavor. A medley of pickled vegetables saved an accompanying salad of summer roots (carrots, celery root) from terminal blandness.
Among the large plates, the Duck Breast ($16.50 ***?) sounded appealing, and it was. A perfectly cooked grilled breast made six generous slices, and was accompanied by ricotta salata ? not ricotta as most of us know it, but a milky-white, salted sheep?s milk cheese with a slightly spongy texture that raised the savory quotient of the duck breast to new heights. Asparagus and green beans, and a fall of individual, cooked brussels sprouts leaves made the plate complete.
Europeans usually have their cheese course after the main meal, and Elements makes it easy to follow suit with a list that includes five sheep, seven goat, and 10 excellent cows? milk cheeses. One cheese is $6, three are $17, and five go for $27. We chose Tomme brul?, Pug?s Leap pave, and a pave d?Affinois. All were delicious.
If it?s still on the dessert menu, don?t miss the Olive Oil and Lemon Cake ($7 ****), a stunning combination of lusciously moist lemon cake, surrounded by strawberries in syrup, and topped with Meyer lemon mascarpone. Talk about dreamy! And who can resist a second dessert of one scoop of Peach Ice Cream ($2 ***), made with rich heavy cream and the last of the year?s peaches? Don?t even try.
To sum up: Elements is a restaurant with an environmental and social conscience, but that doesn?t get in the way of its turning out wonderfully creative and scrumptious plates, small and large, and offering up scads of wine by the glass and some of the world?s best cheeses. It?s a hit in every way possible.
Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review column for A&E. You can reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.
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