The State Bird at The Progress

Friends were in town, so you know what that meant. It was time to eat and eat well, especially when these friends are your food loving friends. No, I wouldn’t call foodies. They don’t go seek out the next novelty bite. They simply depend on the culinary history of the chefs or their protégé to find that perfect meal. Our destination for tonight? A place called The Progress, a restaurant from the creators of State Bird Provisions, which is only next door. The restaurant has the similar family style dinner and incorporates ingredients from the same sources. However, the menus are completely different. Another thing the restaurants have in common are the lines outside before opening.

Onto The Progress itself.

The restaurant is modestly sized with tables for various sizes. The upstairs areas (notice the plural and notice where I took the shot from) have room for larger parties. I’d recommend getting a reservation to secure a seat. But if you don’t have one, there’s bar seating and some tables around that are open for walk ins. Judging from the lines outside, I’d go with rezzos, which we had.

One thing I overheard before getting seated was that fans preferred this restaurant over the other. That set my expectations pretty high. And given that the style of dinner was similar I couldn’t fathom how they could top my Fillmore favorite, State Bird Provisions. But you know what? They did. There wasn’t a miss in any of the dishes we had. The ravioli was close, but it still tasted good. And on the flip side, I usually like one or two dishes. Here, about half the dishes were my top notch in my book. They were so good, when I come back, I’m not sure if I can try anything else on the menu. I just can’t pass them up. Great job keeping this on my list to eat when I’m in the city.

So, who’s coming to visit next?

The Progress

1525 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 (415) 673-1294
theprogress-sf.com

Verdict: I definitely recommend this place.