this guy's food blog

Archive Page 4

Lunch at Blackbird, Chicago

When filling in the schedule for my short trip to Chicago with Rocky last week, I needed a good lunch spot, and I wanted to return to Blackbird. Since Paul Kahan’s flagship is among the few restaurants in the city on my list that offer lunch service, it only made sense.

Though I didn’t think it would happen, I had inquired about the possibility of us being served a chef’s tasting for lunch. On arrival we were told that the kitchen would happily split and course out anything from the day’s menu for an extended lunch. Perfect. While we were looking over the menu, it seemed prudent to get started with a bottle of bubbles. So we ordered the Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs. Lively elegance, bright bubbles, and flavors of apple and citrus. A fantastic lunchtime Champagne. Rocky and I made a few choices from the menu, asked for a few suggestions as well, and got a nice little meal lined up.

Green and white asparagus with charred spring onion, goat cheese, cured egg yolk, peanuts, and chamomile. The plate of grilled spears of green with blanched white asparagus and beautiful early onions was a nice celebration of spring. The rich yolk and tangy goat cheese played well as condiments.

Smoked arctic char with ‘nduja, cauliflower, pear, and rosemary. A pretty piece of smoked fish. I loved the cauliflower, served both pickled and fried. The sliced pear was nice for some fresh sweetness. The spice of the ‘nduja pate was nice to enhance the arctic char.

Duck liver sausage with honeyed eggplant, pickled delicata squash, peanut, and dandelion greens. The sausage had a nice smooth taste. The setting was extremely dynamic: the sweetness of the eggplant, the acid from the squash, and the super bitter dandelion greens somehow managed to stay in balance.

Lamb tenderloin tartare with sprouted lentils, cured rhubarb, spicy marrow, and chickweed. The melted chili bone marrow tied together the sweet rhubarb with the strips of lamb. I love eating most anything that is just sprouted. These lentils, some of which were fried, were very special little legumes.

Cauliflower soup with seared tuna, pickled shallots, and toasted pepitas. A great cauliflower soup. The spiced toasted seeds were a lot of fun texturally. The bites of acidic allium were nice surprises amid the richness. The tuna, for me, had no place in the bowl. And some beautiful wild sorrel got drowned in the soup.

Roasted maitake mushrooms with salsify, meyer lemon, and sweet potato. A savory, meaty, wonderfully prepared portion of maitake mushroom over a smooth puree of salsify with red wine mushroom sauce. Sweet potato two ways: batons and chips. With crisp sliced heart of palm.

Goat cheese cheesecake with cajeta ice cream, burnt grapefruit, avocado. Bonus points for Pastry Chef Dana Cree. A nice variety of sensations here. Delicious, lightly tangy cheesecake. A little char from the burnt citrus and toasted meringue. Little pieces of candied grapefruit rind were bangingly sweet and bitter. And the avocado was super cool.

Bittersweet chocolate torte with burnt honey ice cream, tangerine marmalade, toasted sesame, cumin. A decadent serving of chocolate. Fantastic combined with the citrus. Non-coincidentally, a very similar flavor palette to a dessert we had two days prior at Blackbird’s neighbor and relative, Avec.

Overall, a great lunch in a beautiful space. With a beautiful lady.

Also: Bread service. A kick ass oolong tea. And a pinot noir from Meursault.

Date of visit: April 1o, 2013

Blackbird. 619 W Randolph. Chicago, IL 312.715.0708 blackbirdrestaurant.com

Kitchen Table at The Aviary, Chicago

Published April 16, 2013 Chicago , The Aviary , USA Leave a Comment
Tags: Grant Achatz, Kitchen Table at The Aviary, The Aviary, The Aviary Chicago

I had a lot of cool stuff planned for my three days in Chicago with Rocky last week; drinking, dining, and otherwise. What I was most excited about before we left home was our visit to The Aviary. Now that we’ve been back into our routine in NYC for a few days I’m looking back over our little trip and what I’m most excited about is..our visit to The Aviary.

The experience at the chef’s Kitchen Table is billed as a 10-course cocktail tasting with food pairings. That’s f*cking sweet. We arrived, curious and eager with anticipation, and were escorted to a small round high-top table in the corner of the kitchen, facing the pass.

Amuse. To start, an amuse of pisco, grappa, and pineau des charentes. Pleasantly fresh and mildly fruity.

Moon River Shrub. Huckleberry, champagne vinegar, white armagnac. A little tart and very viscous.

Sun Also Rises. Absinthe, sloe gin, cava, with Peychaud’s ice. Named after the Hemingway novel, a tribute to his drinking style, and in strong contention for my favorite of the night. A great balance of bitter herb and fresh botanical flavors.

Bowl of Chips: Polenta, lotus root, bonito, white rice with squid ink, nori, tapioca saffron, chicharron, white cheddar with yellow cheddar, and parmesan. The bonito, nori, and squid ink chips had honest flavors of the sea. The parmesan was light, crumbly, and strongly cheesy. The tapioca was luxuriously endowed with saffron.

Ginger. Shiso, peychaud’s, vodka. Ginger and lime made into a snow, courtesy of liquid nitrogen, with shiso, fresno pepper, and lemongrass. Rocky was told to add vodka and stir. The drink had a great ginger root spice.

Tea in Trinidad. Rum with rooibos, verjus, and benedictine, served warm. Holy smokes. I think this was the best warm drink I’ve ever had. Like a boozy tea with honey, but better.

Corn. Guacamole cannoli in corn flour shells with sour cream and fresno pepper. Great stuff. Full flavor guacamole in a super delicate shell.

Infernal Imagery. Barolo, maurin quina, rhum. Served in a smoky treasure box.

Lava. Mole, chocolate, scotch, rum. Sweet on the nose with a woody vanilla palette.

Potato. A warm potato custard covered with malt vinegar chips, chives, and black pepper. The malt vinegar was nice with the rich custard.

Rob Roy. Scotch with 1985 pedro ximenez served in a bag of lavender air. Like a dark, earthy, herbed caramel.

In the Rocks (second edition). Benedictine, vermouth, cognac, rye. A vieux carre on the rocks, served in a rock. Presented with a circular sling shot to place atop the glass and crack the ice sphere to release the cocktail.

Bacon & Date. With purslane, greek yogurt, and thyme. On a sumac and walnut base. Sweet and rich, broken up by the yogurt and thyme.

Aviary One, Aviary Nine. Two beers from a series made in collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing. ‘Plantation’ had citrus and stone fruit flavors with subtle creeping bitterness. ‘George T Stagg’ was smooth with berry and light wood.

Thai Mountain. Saffron, rooibos, maraschino, reposado. With orange peel and tonka bean. Served not quite hot. A great depth of warm spices.

Wagyu. With smoked paprika toffee, pumpkin seed, and yogurt. A bangin little bite.

Cranberry. Gin, rum, absinthe, allspice dram, lemon, rosemary, cranberry, orange, tea leaves, and apple served in a porthole. An incredible infusion that intensified with each pour.

Duck. Duck rillette sandwiched between hazelnut crackers with carrot, parsnip, and puffed rice. Fun, gamey little bites.

Avenue. Grenadine calvados and bourbon with passionfruit sorbet.

Lollipops. An assortment of ‘lollipops’: rice krispie and tonka bean, banana peanut butter, rooibos pate de fruits, malted nougat, raspberry with balsamic foam, coffee toffee, and chocolate hazelnut.

Foie Gras. With pomegranate, gingerbread, and charred onion. Delicious.

Root Beer. Rum and sassafras caramel with fernet and angostura foam.

Brioche. A burst of super buttery chocolate.

Snake Charmer. Yerba maté, ambergris, amaro, smoked whiskey.

Damn. That was a lot of booze. But an amazing and unique experience. The work The Aviary does is astoundingly impressive. From the obvious talent behind the pass to the super-cool floor staff. The creativity in the production and presentation of their cocktails and the attention to detail in the execution of service makes for an engaging, lively, and pleasant night of drinking. I was happy that throughout the night new glasses and ice cubes kept showing up to replace our water. I probably should have chugged a little more of it.

Date of visit: April 9, 2013

The Aviary. 955 W Fulton Market. Chicago, IL 312.226.0868 http://theaviary.com

Avec, Chicago

Published April 15, 2013 Avec , Chicago , USA 2 Comments
Tags: Avec, Avec Chicago, Avec Restaurant, Paul Kahan

Last week, Rocky and I flew to Chicago for a few days to have a few meals and do a little boozing. Since I met Rocky I had been telling her of my admiration for Paul Kahan, his restaurants, and the creativity of his team. After a sleepy flight into the Windy City from LGA, we checked in to our hotel, enjoyed the amazingly sunny day for a bit, then made our way over to Avec for an early dinner.

At almost a decade old, the dining room is still as hip and relevant as the coolest spots on either coast. Communal tables along the west wall. To the east, counter seating facing the kitchen. The space surrounded by cedar, oak, steel, and glass.

We took a couple seats at the stainless steel bar, started with some bubbles, looked briefly at the menu, and dinner was underway.

English pea-ricotta crostini with mint, watercress, lemon vinegar and bottarga di muggine. Our first peas of the season..Hooray! The peas and ricotta were pureed and spread on toasted garlic bread. Fresh flavored and lightly bitter with clean, sharp acid from the onions dressed with the lemon vinegar and salinity from the sliced bottarga.

Chorizo-stuffed medjool dates with bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. Full mouth flavor. Not too spicy. Super rich with balanced sweetness. Served with beautifully light and crusty bread.

Marinated chicken thigh with brussels sprouts, ginger-currants, potatoes, sumac and cilantro. Rocky said ‘This chicken is super awesome!’ and I agree. Juicy and meaty with crisp delicious skin. The brussels sprout salad was tossed in a strong acid and carried some pretty decent heat.

Wood-fired squid amatriciana: san marzano tomatoes, guanciale and fideo with fennel aioli. This was bad ass. Tender squid over thin, short fideo pasta amatriciana baked and barely crusty. The fennel aioli was fun for a slight cooling against the spice, but I preferred it without.

Lamb bolognese with hand-cut tajarin, swiss chard, mint and pecorino romano. I prefer tajarin to be sheeted a little thicker for a more dense bite, but the broad thin noodle did well with the oily lamb sauce. The swiss chard tossed in was fantastic.

Affogato with pistachio zaletti. Just as it should be, with a nice buttery texture. The zaletti were incredible.

Chocolate & tangerine sorbet. Chocalte sorbet, almost chewy in texture, accented with light tangerine.

Burnt honey semifreddo with orange carmel and cumin sesame. Inside a chocolate dome. From Rocky: ‘Oh boy…this semifreddo is where it’s at’. A little salt was nice with the richness. The orange, cumin, and sesame were all apparent, but none were overbearing. A tasty dessert.

Nutter butters. These little guys were effing awesome. A crunchy, buttery, striated base studded with cocoa nibs with a caramelly top.

Housemade chocolate crisps. Milk and dark chocolate tempered and sheeted with feuilletine. Simple enough. Nothing not to like here.

The food at Avec is delicious. Full-flavored, accessible, and exciting. A week later, Rocky and I are both still craving more.

Date of visit: April 8, 2013

Avec. 615 W Randolph. Chicago, IL 312.377.2002 avecrestaurant.com/

The Catbird Seat, Nashville

Published March 20, 2013 Tennessee , The Catbird Seat , USA 2 Comments
Tags: Catbird Seat Nashville, Catbird Seat Restaurant, Erik Anderson, Josh Habiger, The Catbird Seat

I had never been to Nashville. After learning about Chefs Josh Habiger and Erik Anderson and their restaurant The Catbird Seat, I decided I should pay the Music City a visit. It seemed to me that halfway through a road trip from the Midwest back to NYC would be as good a time to visit as any. So after a graceful night in Chicago Rocky and I hit the road, soldiered through a snowstorm, checked into our hotel, then made our way to dinner(conveniently a three minute walk).

Porcini & Parmesan ‘Oreo’. A faux Oreo of earthy porcini mushroom cookies and savory parmesan cream.

Island Creek Oyster. With kimchi gel and lime foam that did well to highlight the oceanic flavor.

Shiitake Cracker Jack.

Hot Chicken. Fried chicken skin brushed with sorghum topped with cayenne, paprika, and wonder bread puree. A one bite homage to the Nashville classic.

Scallop. Sliced scallop in oak dashi with Fresno pepper, chicken skin, salmon roe, shiso, and mustard greens. Good layers. The texture of the chicken and the salinity from the roe were great companions to the scallop.

Roasted Sunchoke & Caramelized Yogurt Soup. With black garlic, black olive, black truffle, fennel, and artichoke. Many facets of earth flavors laced with good acid and astringency. The pairing of Viura with green Chartreuse was compelling against artichoke/olive taste.

Arctic Char. A fantastic piece of fish with amazing ricotta gnudi, meyer lemon puree, sorrel, dill, and ramp capers. Rocky was floored. First she called it ‘ballin’, then simply ‘beautiful’.

Palmetto Pigeon. From Palmetto Pigeon Plant in South Carolina. With chestnut puree, celeriac ribbon, sugar cured egg yolk, smoked butter, sage, and huckleberry. This was f*cking delicious. Again with the layers of flavors. Superb richness between the sauces. A little sweetness used and not abused.

Beef. Wagyu from Northern California. With endive, hen of the woods, asian pear, black walnut cream, black walnut liquor sauce, brown butter chives, hibiscus leaf, and nasturtium. Damn son. These guys can cook. Bold, impactful flavors that maintain coherent balance.

Rush Creek Reserve. Coming from Wisconsin, washed rind raw cow milk cheese wrapped in spruce bark. Served with curried granola, apricot puree, and honey. Rocky said ‘This is the coolest cheese course we’ve had’. Certainly an accomplishment in tastes and textures.

Coffee & Tea. Coffee ice cream with red tea foam, chocolate molasses cake, orange gel, and hazelnut.

Egg. I’ve always liked eating small servings out of egg shells. Maple custard, maple syrup, thyme, and bacon. Rich. Really rich. Breakfast for dessert?

Bourbon. Oak ice cream, vanilla cake, pineapple gel, Bulleit bourbon spheres, cherry crisp, cherry powder. Yet another solid compilation of flavors. I thought the bourbon was going to be too strong, but the boldness really set off the vanilla and fruit.

Coffee & Cream ‘Oreo’. To finish the meal, as we started, another faux Oreo. This time staying true to the original’s sweetness. Chocolatey, creamy, coffee bites.

I had come into The Catbird Seat expecting a good meal. Habiger and Anderson over-delivered. I was astounded at how much I loved their food. It’s honest and not over-the-top, yet bold, passionate, and fascinating. I would happily fly to Nashville to dine with them again.

Date of meal: December 29, 2012

The Catbird Seat. 1711 Division St. Nashville, TN http://www.thecatbirdseatrestaurant.com/

Grace, Chicago

Published March 12, 2013 Chicago , Grace , USA Leave a Comment
Tags: Curtis Duffy, Grace, Grace Chicago, Grace Restaurant

My first encounter with Chef Curtis Duffy was at the chef’s counter at Avenues in the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago where The Bro and I had a strikingly beautiful meal in fall of 2010. We were floored by his precise, thoughtful, and gorgeously presented plates. We made tentative plans to return but not long after Curtis left Avenues. My second run-in with Chef Duffy was a year later at a Friends of JBF dinner hosted at The American Restaurant in Kansas City where he contributed a course of Nuac Mau braised short ribs that I still crave occasionally. After the dinner, Rocky and I made a promise to pay him a visit when he got his next venture up and running. Moving forward another year: after spending most of 2012 following the progress of the opening of Grace in Chicago with anticipation, Rocky and I made good on our promise. We had decided to make our holiday trip home to the Midwest from NYC into an extended road trip, with a stop in the windy city on the return leg to spend an evening with the team at Grace.

The menus offered are ‘Flora’ and ‘Fauna’ tastings. Typically I would have leaned towards the vegetable focused Flora menu, but the dishes on the Fauna side looked more compelling. We ordered the Fauna with supplements from the Flora.

Canapés. Crisp and bright rolled cucumber and green apple ribbons. Smoked banana and gruyere pastry. Mandarin orange with smoked paprika taffy. The smoke was good and the crispness of the taffy over the juicy segment was fun. The chip was great, though I don’t remember what it is…tapioca chip possibly?

Parsnip – dried pineapple, tarragon ice, FENNEL. Light and cool. The tarragon ice beads were fantastic. The dehydrated pineapple was not too sweet, though the parsnip very sweet to start. The fennel had a good crunch. Parsnip chips added some needed salt.

Osetra Caviar – meyer lemon, kumquat jam, CHIVE. The kumquat jam had a good bitterness. The meyer lemon custard was nicely tart and sweet. Breadcrumbs were crunchy and toasty. And the salinity from the osetra rounded out a great balance of flavors.

Carrot – iranian pistachio, whipped mascarpone, CARROT TOP. Roasted carrots, candied carrots, braised pistachios, whipped mascarpone, carrot top puree, passionfruit, over a carrot gelatin base. Amazing. Pure carrot flavor presented in brilliant sweet textures with darker flavored hearty roasted carrots. Acid from the passionfruit and the savory pistachios keep plate of carrots lively.

Kampachi – golden trout roe, pomelo, THAI BASIL. A dish that has received a lot of attention and I think can be called an early signature dish of Grace. Kampachi in a ginger ice sleeve with coconut rice pudding, brook trout roe, candied pomelo, and pomelo segments. Another fantastic course. Certainly something special. A beautiful piece of Kampachi(on other sites I’ve seen different fish with the same setting) accented on all sides: ginger spice, bitter citrus, the pop of the roe, and the vibrant thai basil.

Sunchoke – braised mustard seeds, freekeh, cippolini onion, LOVAGE. The sunchokes were great. Mustard seeds and mustard cream were good also. I adored the charred cippolini onions, and the little cippolini chips were delightful. For me, the astringent celery didn’t have a place here.

Chilled Scallop – hibiscus tea, FIVE LICORICE FLAVORED HERBS. A cooled seared scallop, black tapioca flavored with licorice, a tapioca chip, and herb foam served in a pool of hibiscus tea. The hoja santa foam was served warm over an otherwise cold plate of food. The strong multi-herbal energy made a success of the dish.

Scottish Salmon – crispy red cabbage, citrus pudding, MARIGOLD. A nice cut of cold smoked and sous vide salmon. With Napa and Savoy cabbages, potato, mushroom emulsion, a tapioca chip flavored with beet, and a base of meyer lemon.

Grilled Wagyu Beef – matsutake, salsify, MASHUA LEAF. A gorgeous, perfectly prepared cut of wagyu beef. With preparations of salsify and matsutake mushrooms, and a base of bonito dashi and lime. The finger lime made for a very potent tartness that broke the richness. The varied flavors of black salsify were outstanding.

Poached Chestnut – perigord truffle, roasted almond milk, RED SORREL. With black truffle meringue and truffled sherry vinegar. If by this time in the meal I wasn’t yet starting to get full, this richly decadent chestnut puree would make sure I was well on my way. This hard hitter made me wish I had done a pre meal workout.

Veal Cheek – red wine braised endive, black grape, BLACK MINT. With brilliant sunflower seed risotto and crispy white anchovy tempura.

Poached Quince – elderflower, tamarind juice, BRONZE FENNEL. The cool fennel and the spice of green cardamom made for a nice small plate of quince.

Caramelized Sudachi – toasted cashew, asian pear, NASTURTIUM. With celery and burgundy sorrel. Quite an amazing dessert with a strong dynamic range of sensations. Bright sudachi citrus with crisp pear, peppery nasturtium, crunchy and sweet cashews, tangy earthy celery, and acidic sorrel. A thrill.

Bitter Chocolate – raw chestnut, persimmon, LEMON MINT. Balanced with vanilla creme fraiche and espelette spice. Beautifully bold and captivating.

Mignardises. Chocolate sphere with caramel popcorn. Yuzu chocolate.

Bread service:

Duffy has a knack for pairing a progression of bread along with his meals. Amish butter two ways: with sea salt, and herbed with black lava salt. Hibiscus brioche with fennel. Pretzel bread – Rocky’s favorite. Rosemary focaccia with wagyu fat. Sweet red wine and black grape bread(I think).

For being two weeks old at the time, this was an impressive accomplishment of a meal from Chef Duffy and his team at Grace. I look forward to returning to see the progression and growth of the beautiful restaurant. I’m certain with a little time, tweaking, and refinement that Grace will have a spot among the elite restaurants in the country.

Date of visit: December 28, 2012

Grace. 652 W Randolph St. Chicago, IL. 312.234.9494

http://www.grace-restaurant.com/

Benu, San Francisco

Published March 4, 2013 Benu , California , USA 1 Comment
Tags: Benu, Benu Restaurant, Benu San Francisco, Corey Lee, Michelin *

I maintain a fairly lengthy list of restaurants in the Bay Area that I want to visit. Each time I cross the country from East to Left I seem to be overly constricted by time or budget, which makes for very slow progression through my ever increasing line-up. Last November, by the generosity of The Bro, I was able to make a decent little advance through my SF roster.

After a run along the water, a kick-ass lunch at Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese Food, a tour of really long staircases, and a hike through the Sutro Baths, The Bro and I were amped for dinner at Corey Lee’s Benu.

The Menu:

Thousand-year-old quail egg, potage, ginger. A two week preserving process yielded a superb quail egg. The potage of cabbage and bacon was a nice supporter. Of the dozen+ quail egg openers I’ve had at as many restaurants over the past several months, this was easily my favorite.

Oyster, pork belly, kimchi. A great contrast of the cold oyster to the hot belly. A good pepper-like spice with the lingering pork richness was great.

Potato salad with anchovy. With celery and caramelized Fresno Chile curls. Another fantastic contrast, this time of the sweet crunchy anchovies to the soft starchy potato salad.

Homemade pumpkin tofu. Soy bean and butternut squash tofu with pumpkin seeds, pumpkin juice, and Korean sea salt. Not a particular standout for me, but the pumpkin seeds and juice were very enjoyable.

Chilled porridge, abalone, matsutake mushroom, pine. The abalone had a good texture. A thorough chew of the mushroom rewarded with great earthy flavor. The pine nuts were a nice little surprise.

Monkfish liver, persimmon, turnip, mustard, brioche. We were told this used to be made with duck liver before the foie ban. I thought the monkfish liver had a bitterness that made the dish more interesting than I imagined the foie to be. Good compliments of mustard spice and sweetness from crystallized mustard seeds. The crunchy turnips were nice to break up the flavors and cleanse between bites.

Sake lees, chestnut, green apple, yuzu. I thought this dish was terrific. The frozen sake lees were phenomenal; very exciting when paired with rich chestnut puree and sweet apple gelee. The yuzu foam had a vibrant, bright energy that heightened the ensemble.

Eel, feuille de brick, crème fraîche, lime. Beautiful umami combination of eel wrapped in filo. To be dipped in a cooling, tangy creme fraiche with lime zest.

Omasum tripe, scallop, yellow chive, lovage. The dish was well-spiced. The tripe in particular was a pleasure, with a great density and snap.

Salt and pepper squid. The Bro was a huge fan of the squid chip. A cracker flavored with squid ink topped with confit squid, pickled serrano, garlic creme fraiche, cilantro, garlic and chile powders. I got pretty excited about the pickled serranos.

Lobster in two courses:

– xiao long bao. Shanghai style soupy dumplings filled with a perfect lobster broth. Contrasted with a potent Banyuls/fermented soy vinegar.

– fresh noodles with fines herbes. Damn! Delicious. Like a refined high-end bolognese. Lobster stock, veal stock, bacon, garlic, red wine vinaigrette, and classic Italian fines herbes.

Rabbit cassoulet with black truffle bun. As delightfully rich as it should be with good starchy beans. Accompanied by a steamed bun flavored with black truffles wrapped around a dense but soft rabbit sausage.

Beef rib, pear, broccoli, burdock, charred scallion, fermented pepper. As expected, a flawless cut of beef rib. I adored the fermented pepper sauce with its lasting smoky heat that was mellowed by the asian pear puree.

“Shark’s fin” soup, dungeness crab, Jinhua ham, black truffle custard. Chef Lee’s famous faux shark fin soup. The crab lent an oceanic salinity for the ‘fin’ and broth. The grand earthy truffle is always good.

Shiso, white chocolate, almond, pomegranate. The dryness of the frozen shiso was really cool..haha..get it? I loved the herbaceousness of the shiso against the rich white chocolate snow. The pomegranate seeds gave a fun bright pop.

Spice cake, huckleberry, yogurt, oatmeal ice cream. Seasonally appropriate. Possibly a little distracted and disjointed, but a fun dish to eat.

Chocolates. White chocolate with dried fruit. Sesame chocolate with a good crunch. Dark chocolate with cognac. Walnut chocolate with walnut liquor.

Some wines we were served:

Date of visit: November 8, 2012

Benu. 22 Hawthorne St. San Francisco, CA. 415.685.4860 http://www.benusf.com/

Atelier Crenn, San Francisco

Published March 1, 2013 Atelier Crenn , California , USA 1 Comment
Tags: Atelier Crenn, Atelier Crenn San Francisco, Dominique Crenn, Juan Contreras, Michelin *

It seems that a practice I’ve adopted in my life is visiting San Francisco once a year. Different reasons have brought me to the Bay Area during different seasons each year. Last November my annual trip to the Left Coast was sparked by a childhood friend’s wedding. The timing worked out such that I had just quit my job in NYC and hadn’t yet started at my current one, so a few extra days for dining with The Bro seemed like the right thing to do. My first evening in town landed me at my most anticipated table of the trip: Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn.

We had a choice between a five course menu or Chef’s Grand Tasting Menu. Naturally, The Bro and I chose the Grand Tasting, which was presented as a poem. As Chef dubs it: Poetic Culinaria. Each course of the menu matched up with a line from the poem:

Autumn whispers the untold memories

Mellow serenades of colors of red and green

The glowing ocean and light écume de mer

Wherein a moon burns orangey bright

Nature rejoice, chasing childhood memories.

As the breeze caresses

A gentle smell, oceanic, of yummy feeling

A subtle smokiness has arrived, and a new start.

Fallen leaf of crispy autumn scene

Birth which gives its morning mystery.

And birds flying free.

Autumn is here

Autumn whispers the untold memories. A Kir Breton to begin. Inside a delicate white chocolate shell, pressed apple cider. Topped with a reduction of creme de cassis. Following the burst of the shell came a flavor that at once took my mind to the Kirs I’ve been served at Brittany-style creperies in France.

Mellow serenades of colors of red and green. Hamachi with Osetra, fennel, apple and celery sorbet, beet puree, and lardo, finished with a wonderfully savory broth of crustacean shells and beets. The sorbet melted into a bright, lively acidity that heightened the fresh fish and balanced the broth. Bites of fennel lent a cool finish.

The glowing ocean and light écume de mer. Washington Kumamoto Oyster with creme fraiche, compressed cucumber, elderflower sake gelee, sea grape, and wheat grass. The astringency of the wheat grass was compelling against the sweet, mildly briny oyster. The fresh cucumber flavor with the sweet and floral gelee made an excellent setting.

Wherein a moon burns orangey bright. Carrot sorbet, dehydrated carrot, and baby carrot with coconut powder and coconut foam, aloe vera gelee, and rutabaga and grapefruit tea to finish. I enjoyed the texture of the coconut powder with the sorbet as well as their different sweetness levels, which balanced well with the bitter tea.

Nature rejoice, chasing childhood memories. Ginger cured Mackerel atop a jasmine rice cracker with onion marmalade, plum and smoked lardo emulsion, and wasabi leaf. A superb celebration of the fish. Sweet and salty notes surprise and supplement the feature.

As the breeze caresses. Hibiscus granita, meyer lemon sorbet, frozen fennel mousse. Tartness from the meyer lemon and cool herbaceousness from the fennel brought together by the sweet, floral hibiscus.

A gentle smell, oceanic, of yummy feeling. Buckwheat and quinoa grains with pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds, house made bottarga, dashi, and yuzu kosho. Perfect snap/crunch to the grains. The yuzu kosho provided some sporadic pop-up spice. Beautiful layers of savory salinity going on amidst the seeds and grains.

A subtle smokiness has arrived, and a new start. Lamb tartare marinated with beet and shallot and infused with smoked eel, sesame powder, rice tulle, blackberry, creme fraiche cubes, horseradish pudding, cured eel. Many pieces and flavors that all came together to make perfect sense.

Fallen leaf of crispy autumn scene. Mushrooms: king trumpet, maitake, and pioppini: roasted, pickled, pureed, and dehydrated. With hazelnuts, shaved and in a praline, thai basil, pumpernickel chiffon, sorrel, and foraged flowers, all set off by an insane brûléed pine meringue. Three months later, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one.

Birth which gives its morning mystery. Corn silk nest, corn and duck fat pearls, chocolate branch with porcini powder, vanilla and apple sauces, served with warm duck consommé. At the first couple bites, The Bro and I both thought this might be a dessert, though a sip of the consommé brings it all full circle and suddenly the sweet flavors sensically melt into savory harmony.

And birds fly free. Sonoma squab cooked sous-vide and seared, liver mousse, fumet beurre blanc, sunchoke chips and puree, huckleberry, squab-madeira-truffle jus, kaffir lime leaf. A well-executed, well-balanced slate of bird. The kaffir leaf seemed to reset the richness with a lasting bitter/fresh quality.

The option was presented for a supplemental cheese course. We of course were happy to oblige. Being that at this point I hadn’t yet been to bed from the night before and had received a steady stream of alcohol, I was starting to get a little fuzzy. Sadly, I don’t remember any specifics. Photo looks yummy though.

Autumn is here. Fall spiced brioche, celery ice cream, pumpkin seed, apple, hibiscus. With an infusion of orange, butternut squash, anise, allspice clove, cinnamon, vanilla. The faux acorn was caramelized sugar with apple puree and nocino. Quite the full-sensory celebration of autumn in dessert form. Beautifully balanced warm flavors and aromas from Pastry Chef Juan Contreras.

Petit fours:

Pate de fruits: Mango celery, guava coriander, strawberry peppermint. Marshmallows: pictachio almond cherry with rice paper nougat, passion fruit. Maldon salt caramel. Chocolate: white chocolate with cardamom, caramelized white chocolate, espresso-chocolate ganache, Valrhona dark.

Some wines we were served(in addition to Champagne):

More than an amazing meal at the hands of Chef Dominique and her team; the experience was cerebral, sensual, and intimate. I look forward to returning with Rocky for this year’s trip out west.

Date of visit: November 7, 2012

Atelier Crenn. 3127 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA. 415.440.0460 http://ateliercrenn.com/

Akelaŕe, Spain

Published February 26, 2013 Akelare , Spain 2 Comments
Tags: Akelare, Akelarre, Michelin *, Pedro Subijana

After a beautiful day of swimming, hiking, and eating at my favorite Pintxo bars, our TomTom navigated us along the 20 minute uphill drive from our hotel on the beach to our next dinner spot, Pedro Subijana’s Restaurante Akelaŕe.

We were seated at a prime table next to a window overlooking the Bay of Biscay(which didn’t really matter since it was pitch black that night and we couldn’t see a thing outside (note to self: if I return…go for lunch)) As we settled in, we got started with some bubbles.

To keep it easy, for beverages we just ordered a solid bottle of Cava, and a bottle of Rioja from my birth year by one of my favorite producers(who we visited the following week). For dinner we had to make a choice between the ‘Aranori’ or the ‘Bekarki’ menus. We opted for the Aranori, which overall looked more appealing. We were really in the mood for some postres, so we asked to be served the desserts from both menus.

Sea Garden. A little sand box to begin. Crispy cod skin flavored with tomato. A cold mussel covered in chocolate that melted away nicely. A savory sea urchin sponge cracker. ‘Beach Pebbles’ of shallot, corn, dill, and parsley. Tasty seaweed tempura ‘Coral’. A bed of edible prawn sand. Good ocean flavors and a fun start to the meal.

Prawns and French Beans cooked in “Orujo” Fireplace. Wonderfully juicy Spanish prawns cooked perfectly table side over lava rocks with Orujo, a Spanish spirit similar to Grappa. Served with green beans, green bean puree, and a crumble of shrimp shells and rice. A strong opener, and probably my favorite plate of the night.

Mollusks in Fisherman’s net. A small selection of supple mollusks cooked over charcoal fire. With rice and borage cream and a rice cracker ‘net’ that tasted like the sea as well. The garlic flower had a nice spice.

Pasta Carpaccio, Piquillo and Iberic with Parmesan shrooms. Sheeted pasta with intense ham and pepper flavor presented as a meat carpaccio. Amazing when paired with the parmesan and mushrooms.

Hake, in Monkfish “Habit” and Mussel’s Beans. Hake breaded with monkfish dried skin that had a texture like rice krispies. Served over ‘beans’ made from mussels and rice. The Piparras, traditional Basque pickled green peppers, really enhanced the dish.

Whole-Grain Red Mullet with Sauce “Fusili”. A flakey fillet of Red Mullet with a praline skin of head and bone served with a paste of liver and onion. Good stuff. The three sauces, parsley, soy, and ajo blanco, were fantastic, but I wish I didn’t have to eat the bland rubbery gelatin-like ‘fusili’ noodles to get to them.

Roasted Pigeon with a Touch of Mole and Cocoa. Slightly crisped, tender pigeon breast matched up with cocoa and mole and a ‘ravioli’ of pigeon leg in filo. A wonderful plate of bird.

Around this time some of the staff started to shuffle around furniture and carry tables in and out of the dining room. I would expect that from a corner bistro towards the end of the night setting up for the next day’s brunch, but it was pretty surprising for a half full three star restaurant still in the middle of service.

“Xaxu” and Coconut Iced Mousse. An egg and almond donut-like pastry served with light, aerated coconut ice cream. Rocky’s portion was at most half the size of mine and when the server dropped them, he teased her for having such a small serving(which she is still upset about). At the same time, Chef Subijana was ~~arrogantly~~ generously gracing us with a visit to our table and he also joked about how small Rocky’s dish was. Thanks Chef. I didn’t know what real hospitality was until you made fun of my girlfriend and the measly plate you served her.

Milk and Grape, Cheese and Wine in Parallel Evolution. ‘Grapevine, curded sheep milk and walnut’ tasted like a bad egg dish. ‘Powdered fresh cream with chive and grapes’ was nice and clean. ‘Quark cheese with nutmeg and pink pepper aroma, must of tapioca and tomato’ was full flavored with good spice and season. ‘Idiazabal semi-matured with quince jelly and wine dust’ was my favorite part, with great fruit balance. ‘Brandy sirop with Gorgonzola cheese ice cream’ I loved the blue cheese ice cream. ‘Torta of Casar’s grape with soaked raisins in Pedro Ximenez’ had a good sugar to acid ratio.

A Different Apple Tart. Hiding under a tasty fruit-rollup-esque ‘apple paper’ was a gorgeous apple tart. Toasted puff pastry layered with apple cream with a nice praline, apple cider sauce, and a ‘mini apple’. Quite a skillfully made pastry. Bravo.

Layered Strawberry and Cream. A reconstructed strawberry. The chocolate shell was good. Basil seeds in a strawberry liquor were fun. The basil leaf gave a great herbaceous pop; I wish they had given me more leaves.

Petit fours. Almond madelines. Pineapple pate-de-fruit. Green tea-red fruit-lime marshmallows. Vanilla candy. Chocolates.

Date of visit: September 22, 2012

Restaurante Akelaŕe. Paseo Padre Orcolaga, 56. San Sebastian, Spain.

+34 943 311209 http://www.akelarre.net/

Mugaritz – Two-a-day, Part 2

Published February 6, 2013 Mugaritz (2) , Spain Leave a Comment
Tags: Andoni Aduriz, Michelin *, Mugaritz (2), Mugaritz Restaurant

After finishing up a nice lunch at Mugaritz, Rocky and I wandered back to the beach for another swim in the ocean, then got cleaned up again, and journeyed back to the restaurant to finish out our two-a-day(click here for part one). Once again we enjoyed the ideal Basque weather with a glass of Txakoli on the patio before moving into the dining room.

“Satiation eludes bread and olives…” An edible message, served with olive spread and apple juice to begin.

“Fishbones” with nuances of lemon, garlic and cayenne pepper. Just as crispy and dynamically flavored as at lunch.

Carrots and their smeared flowers. Perfect little carrots with cilantro flowers. Amazing.

Edible stones. Potatoes covered with clay served with garlic mayo. Amazing again. Rocky was instantly won over after the carrots and these potatoes.

Crispy bites of Shiso and Rau-Ram dyeing. A shiso leaf cooked tempura style with Rau-Ram ‘dye’. Delicious.

Grapes of melon and spiced seeds. Pieces of melon presented as peeled grapes, topped with dried tuna, wading in a fantastic consommé. Rocky nailed it right away that the ‘grapes’ were melon.

A sequence of wild and cultivated herbs with pickled vegetables, and creamy dressing. A good mix of herbs, leaves, flowers, and vegetables with a little oil, salt, and what I thought was described as ‘egg yolk vegetable milk’. Solid dish.

Scarlet prawns, fresh pasta and tomato. Simple and well-balanced. The prawn flavor a good match with the tomato. The rice pasta had a gummy density that was nice.

Green cheek peas(chickpeas) in a gelatinous stew with resinous perfume. Great stuff. The chickpeas, picked in summer, vacuum sealed and frozen, then cooked for a day were wonderful and had a good firmness. Served with cow tendon in a rich, strong, and sticky Iberian pork broth. The richness was almost too much for the vegetal legumes but the two tugged at each other just enough to stay in balance.

“Bonding… ” Toasted seeds and spices served in a Mortar and vegetable broth. The same setup as during the lunch service, but this time the dining room seemed to be more energized and having more fun. For this round, instead of cod, Rocky and I were given radishes. I thought this was much better because the fish at lunch was difficult to cut and eat out of the mortar, and also this prevents having three white fish in a row. For a drink pairing they subbed out a spiced beer from the same producer as the pairing from lunch(Bob’s Beer). The beer complemented the spice of the radishes superbly.

Daily catch with acidic sprouts of amaranth and vanilla. Daurade with subtle vanilla flavor that was really brought out by the Cava paired with the dish. The grains, buttery and tasty, were a good companion.

Coastal fish with crunchy trimmings of aged sourdough and sweet pickled onion. A decent piece of sea bass. The trimmings of aged sourdough were fried almost like tempura and with the pickled red onion were great fun and very addicting. I wanted a bowl of it. We were blind tasted for the drink pairing. Rocky nailed it before even tasting it as sake, because she’s awesome. It was a good match for the dish.

Roasted piece of milk and eggs fed veal. Nectar of flowers and vinegar with the reduction from the roast. I’m not really sure how the components here all tied together, especially with the addition from the honeycomb, but this dish was pretty bangin.

Garlic flowers in tempura. We got up to go chat with a few people in the kitchen. While we were there(and the Nikon was at the table) we had garlic flowers fried in tempura batter served with parsley puree. Amazing.

A crust from the grill. Loin of milk fed lamb in a ragout of its brains. A decent enough plate I guess. Probably my least favorite of the meal. The loin was nice, though the ragout didn’t highlight the brain flavor.

Mint. A brilliant, fresh, minty, chilled bite.

Chestnut honey meringue with elderberry and grapes. The meringue had the density of a softer, wetter marshmallow. The grape infusion with elderberry drops had me tilting the bowl trying to finish it.

Red fruits on crushed ice. “Moungo” pepper and eucalyptus pectin. Another amazing dish. A great pairing between fruit flavors. The lemon ice was light enough that it just accented the fresh berry flavor.

The warmth of nasturtium and peppercorns with fruit from the market. Gorgeous. Pink peppercorn ice cream with peaches and a little herb. Certainly the best iteration of peaches and cream that I’ve had, and in contention for my favorite dessert of the trip. Rocky says it is ‘hands down the best dessert of the trip, easily’.

Toasted milk and butter with cheese shavings and frozen pear cream. Nice pear ice cream. Great play of different textures, particularly the crunch of the crumbles.

Some chocolate hazelnuts to finish up. As with lunch, I finished the box.

Some wines(and more) we were served:

Overall, this meal was amazing. Without a doubt among my top meals of 2012. In the wake of this dinner Rocky and I had to fight the temptation to cancel our other reservations and spend the rest of our stay with the team at Mugaritz.

Date of visit: September 21st 2012

Mugaritz. Otzazulueta Baserria, Aldura Aldea 20. 20100, Errenteria. Gipuzkoa, Spain. +34 943 52 24 55 http://www.mugaritz.com/

Mugaritz – Two-a-day, Part 1

Published February 6, 2013 Mugaritz (2) , Spain Leave a Comment
Tags: Andoni Aduriz, Michelin *, Mugaritz (2), Mugaritz Restaurant

I’m typically fairly slow to post about meals. Currently, it seems my slow speed has become a halt. In an attempt to get out of this slump, I’m writing about my two-a-day at Mugaritz last September. Since I met Rocky, I’ve told her tales of the greatness of San Sebastian and its legendary Basque food culture. So we made it the longest stop on our Euro-dining-trip last fall, and made sure to maximize our indulgence in local fare, from street food to three-starred.

One particularly notable day, Rocky and I had breakfast at the hotel, then walked a few meters to the beach for a nice morning swim in the ocean(as we started each day there). Come lunch time, we cleaned up and hit the road to Errenteria for round one at Chef Andoni Aduriz’s Mugaritz. (click here for round two)

We rolled up to the grounds, parked the Smart Car next to a brand new Aston Martin, and announced our arrival. A picture perfect day, we opted start our meal on their serenely arranged patio.

We sat down around a low table on somewhat dirty and damp cushions and got started with snacks and a couple glasses of Txakoli(which I was introduced to on that same patio about three and a half years prior).

Flax and wheat “Kraft” paper with marine accents. Introduced to us as linen paper with spider crab. The cracker was extra light and delicately crisp.

“Fishbones” with nuances of lemon, garlic and cayenne pepper. This had a fun texture and a nice variety of flavor to wake up the tongue.

Scarlett shrimp over sake lees. It would have been nice if the shrimp had a little more density, but the spinach leaf it was served on was great.

Grilled toast of bone marrow with herbs and horseradish ash. I really liked the toast and the leaves, though the snack as a whole was kind of cumbersome for finger food and really rich for an opener.

Marine chords of a crispy woodwind. I think they presented this to us as ‘crunchy cloud with sea animal’. These were fantastic, with a good maritime flavor.

We lingered outside a few moments longer, then were escorted to a fantastic table in the dining room.

Tomato and sweet garlic… creamed legumes. This plate was quite amazing. A lovely, meaty tomato. Pleasant black garlic that was more restrained than most I’ve had. White bean sauce below that gave a very low-key umami. A real delight to eat.

Tagliatelle of concentrated milk lightly soaked in a silky juice of roasted squash and tomato. The dried milk skin noodles were a lot of fun, especially with the sauce and the pork lardo wrap.

Ravioli of aromatic vegetables. The ravioli had a grassy, herbaceous taste. The sauce, based with chicken I think, had a strong savoriness. Both had a pleasant amount of bitterness.

Hazelnut and beans stew. With ‘mother of pearl’. The hazelnuts cooked to a fantastic texture. The broth again was strong and savory.

Portion of home-made cheese, cured in its own rind, mushrooms and fleshy leaves. This was presented to us as a guessing game of ‘What kind of cheese is this?’ It turns out it’s raw milk and linen seed brushed with some chemical(the name of which I forgot) to create its own rind. It wasn’t very good. The mushrooms were alright though.

“Bonding… ” Toasted seeds and spices served in a Mortar and vegetable broth. With cod and sunflower petal. This DIY dish was a lot of fun. At a certain point in the service, each table in the dining room received the mise en place for the course, regardless of where they were in their meal, and were given instructions to grind the seeds and peppercorns. It was nice watching(and hearing) the whole room do this together. Then an army of servers stormed the room finishing the dishes with the fish and broth.

Macaron. Meringue made from almond flour, sugar, and pig’s blood(apparently a great substitute for egg white) with blue cheese filling. I think most of the diners received these in the kitchen before or near the start of their meals. They way ours showed up seemed like someone just noticed they hadn’t been checked off of our expo sheet yet.

Roasted loin of hake with clashing grains of aged mascarpone, cauliflower and fresh almonds. Clean flavors. The cauliflower and almond were nice to balance out the fish and cheese, which both shared similar richness with inherent sweetness.

Slices of monkfish cooked with the steam of its bones. Crispy stew of roasted rinds and lilies. I think I’d have liked this quite a lot more if it weren’t the third white fish course in a row(I still liked it though). The crispy rinds on top were outstanding.

Breast of guineafowl with lobster emulsion and its roasted skin. Beautifully crispy skin. An expert layering of rich elements without hitting too hard.

Crunchy terrine of Iberian pig tails with a bunch of bitter leaves and Txakoli sediments. Well executed crunch on the terrine. The sauce was good, with nice acid to cut the richness. I loved the thickness of the leaves.

A taste of subtlety. Folded linen with toasted créme fraiche and créme caramel. The napkin was light and brittle with a citrus-like taste.

“Forgotten memory from childhood.” Small bite of milky wafer with lemon ice cream. Like an unrolled waffle ice cream cone.

“Traditional” almond Fairy cake. Ice cream cake with almond and flax seed.

Candies of frankincense. The perfume of eucalyptus barks. A little sweet. A little sour. A little smoky.

Some wines(and a beer) we were served:

And an impressive tea box:

And Rocky closing down the dining room(as usual):

Overall a fantastic meal. Though far from the magic I remembered from my first visit, and a letdown to Rocky from the build-up I gave the restaurant. But we maintained our optimism and were just as excited to return for dinner in a few hours(which can be seen here).

Date of visit: September 21st 2012

Mugaritz. Otzazulueta Baserria, Aldura Aldea 20. 20100, Errenteria. Gipuzkoa, Spain. +34 943 52 24 55 http://www.mugaritz.com/

« Previous Page — Next Page »