THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Chez Spencer

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Chez Spencer Restaurant Review:

The chic industrial space that once housed the first incarnation of Citizen Cake had lain dormant on a quiet block of the northeastern Mission district for years until chef Laurent Katgely, formerly of Foreign Cinema and the now-shuttered Alfy's in San Anselmo, got into the kitchen. An outdoor garden with tables and heat lamps leads to a room with soaring ceilings, a small bar, linen-topped tables and, right in the center of it all, a wood-burning oven. Chef Katgely can regularly be seen beside it carefully supervising the crisp pizzas or squab stuffed with morels as they near completion. The French menu takes into consideration the restaurant's California residency only in its use of seasonal ingredients. Otherwise, dishes stand out with adventurous combinations. Heirloom tomatoes match wits with yellow peaches, juicy oranges and Bing cherries, bringing a composition of natural sugars and acids to the tongue. An entrée of filet mignon comes perched atop a column of nutty hulled barley flavored with the essence of finely diced vegetables.