text: Chef Matt Carter already known for Zinc Bistro and the yearold The Mission restaurant is getting a lot of buzz for his latest venture Nine nnNamed for its location at N Fourth St the Asian restaurant occupies the former home of Fate Carter and his team have completely changed and modernized the venue into an ultracool hip modern spacennThe outdoor bar is great and it comes with a weekend night DJ The dining space outside is fairly large and can accommodate decent sized parties With the cooler weather coming this will be a good place to hang out for a drink and a bitennService at Nine is what I like to call triple A amazing attentive and attractive During two visits my party felt so welcomed and taken care of we almost wanted to take off our shoes and stay longernnOn my second visit manager Jennifer Mara even remembered my favorite beer from my first visit Xingu It is this kind of attention that shows in the service and every aspect of the experience including the well planned menunnPlate presentations are some of the prettiest I have seen in quite some time During both occasions we shared appetizers then each ordered an entree which can be shared family stylenPortions are generous and the chef does a fantastic job keeping things from getting too heavynnThe crisp clean flavors of the Cucumber Salad was a great way to get things moving The bright and light Octopus Sashimi had a wonderful flavor from the pickled chilies more sweet than spicy yet balanced though the octopus was a little on the chewy sidennFried items were piping hot starting with the Tomato Katsu which was lightly breaded and nicely crisp Beware of that first bite these were hot hot hot The heirloom tomato was nice and ripe resulting in deeply satisfying flavorsnnThe Rice Cakes had a nice crunch but these were really to show off the tasty cilantrolime coconut yogurt drizzled onto the plate If I had a bowl of that yogurt I would have dipped everything into it Good stuffnnDuck and Foie Dumplings were good but I wish the foie flavor would have been more pronounced It is a personal tastennThe Korean Chicken Wings were tender crispy meaty and interesting with the topping of chili threads I have actually never had a chili thread before so small and thin but wow what a flavor explosionnnEntrees were a blast beginning with n ample bowl of Red Curry Mussels These plump bad boys were made for the fragrant coconut and lemongrass curry broth The chef also piles on thick slices of bread so as not to waste even a single drop of the complex elixirnnEating the Pork Belly Fried Rice was a pleasure savoring each bite of tender hog and sweet spiked caramelized pineapple I asked for a side of their pickled chilies to add a spicy sweet dimension to the tender ricennBe sure to use the chilies also on the Tonkotsu Ramen A huge steaming bowl of richly flavored broth and noodles topped with pork belly scallions and an egg You know how I get when there is egg yolk involved the flavor just drives me wild while it adds a certain richness to just about any dishnnDesserts each are limited to only a few thoughtful selections The Blueberry Mochi Cake was moist and chewy adorned with fresh berries and a scoop of lychee sorbet was refreshing However I would have preferred a different flavor of sorbet since I am one of those few people who think lychee tastes like soap It is just a preferencennThe Coffee and Chocolate Torte was more my style With its fudgelike texture and smooth and flavorful chai ice cream it is real winnernnWith great attention to detail delicious food and a superb staff I think you will find plenty to be happy about after a visit here On my way out I could not help but think of an excuse to come back then I was told that the lunch menu is outstanding What a perfect reason