That's right. SFist classed up its act last Friday when we jumped into a cab, threw our hair back, and deadpanned to the driver, "Take us to the Ritz." Yes, we went to the famed and supposedly inaccessible Mobil Five-Star awarded The Ritz-Carlton Bar and Dining Room, and thank God we did. It was remarkable -- surprisingly so.

See, in an effort to make their critically-acclaimed fare more affordable to the average eater, the Ritz-Carlton, like many Bay Area restaurants as of late, came up with a deal that's (more or less) easy on the purse strings. It's called "Small Bottles/Small Bites," and it gets you just that: a tiny bottle of wine (from a wine and champagne half-bottle list boasting 111 choices, concocted by charming sommelier Stephane Lacroix) and a selection of small tastes created by mega-name chef Ron Siegel. (For those of you who don't know, Siegel is best known, outside of gastronomic circles, as the first ever U.S. citizen to win in Kitchen Stadium on Iron Chef.)