Por Frank Sabatini Jr.

Nearly 60 percent of the menu at Parque de Croce Oeste was recently revised by new Executive Chef Russell Rummer, whose seasonal masterpieces have joined forces with solid dishes dating back some 30 years ago when the restaurant originally sprang into a pre-gentrified Gaslamp District.

Ingrid Croce founded the restaurant as a tribute to her first husband, the late singer-songwriter Jim Croce. Since moving it into plushier digs in Bankers Hill earlier this year, the jazzy supper-club vibe remains splendidly intact, particularly as you move toward the rear Cuban-inspired “expatriate lounge” open most nights.

In addition, Jim’s gold albums and early photos have been tastefully re-hung and the meals that Ingrid created and retained from the past, such as maple-glazed pork chops, “perfectly roasted free range chicken” and veal-pork meatballs with white truffles and linguini, confirm that we should sometimes leave good enough alone.

On this first dinner visit to the Bankers Hill address, a friend and I zeroed in mostly on new dishes from Rummer, a Johnson & Wales culinary grad who spent the past 12 years working in top San Francisco kitchens.

Ingrid makes no secret of how she became quickly impressed by his cooking during a couple of working interviews, which included a dinner party at her house. We were equally captured from the moment we forked into our first appetizer.

Truffle ricotta gnocchi with roasted mushrooms tasted magnificent in their puddle of thin leek “fondue” sitting at the bottom of the plate. Though continental in its approach, the combination of the cheese-laden potato dumplings with the earthy mushrooms and buttery, onion-y leeks carried the exceptional (and unintentional) flavors of pierogis — much like ones the Polish side of my family made from scratch for the holidays.

Countless steamed Penn Cove mussels brimmed from a bowl filled also with coconut-curry sauce that was so robust and addicting, it could convert anyone who eschews bivalves into an instant admirer. Just ask Ingrid. It worked for her.

Diverting to one of the restaurant’s longtime standbys, we shared the “Croce’s classic Caesar,” which in my earlier experiences has never failed in its creamy, tangy dressing and crisp, chilled greens. We combined it with Rummer’s soup of the day, a rustic and comforting stew of white beans and broccoli rabe that we felt needed additional herbs or a perhaps a dusting of Romano cheese.

While the acclaimed and dapper Gilbert Castellanos Quintet instilled a jazzy Manhattan-nightclub feel to the place, we dove into a couple of seafood entrees that elevated the flavors of scallops and sea bass without upstaging them in the least.

For the delicately seared scallops, Rummer drapes them softly in what tasted like buttery beurre blanc sauce. The menu description, however, referred to truffle vinaigrette, which became wonderfully discernible as we encroached on a center mound of creamy, expertly cooked risotto containing butter nut squash, mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. It was plate-licking good.

Bits of smoky Spanish chorizo teamed up with meaty gigante (or giant) beans to form the bedding for a hunk of seared sea bass that was both rich and flakey. Ribbons of kale provided occasional moments of bitterness, just enough to keep the overall flavor profile lively and engaging. Yet the final accent mark on the dish was a judicious plop of nutty, peppery Romesco sauce kept at low volume as to not overwhelm the other ingredients.

Most entrees at Croce’s are available in half portions, a rare luxury in most restaurants. Although when the food scores such exemplary grades, it’s difficult to pass up full orders. Other meal choices include crispy duck with pinto noir cherries, shrimp carbonara, charbroiled New York steak and Bordeaux-braised short ribs.

Additionally, wine and beer are in abundance, with the lists covering varietals from across the globe and the suds falling into multiple categories such as Belgium, sour, IPA, lager and more. A wide selection of well-constructed cocktails also plays favorably to the sounds of brass and strings that define Croce’s lounge atmosphere.

For dessert, I chose the daily special: Meyer lemon budino, an Italian pudding that was silky on top and thirst-quenching at the bottom. Needless to say, it’s rare that we exit any restaurant without leftovers. In this case, we walked out hands-free.

—Contact Frank Sabatini Jr. at [email protected].