Tasting Notes - JUN 2010
06.01 - Started off Dine About Town 2.0 with lunch @ Luce and had the typical Luce-ian experience: Beautiful plates of fresh food served by Remind-Me-Again-How-These-People-Are-Servers-At-A-Michelin-Starred-Place help. They were bad today. Really, really, XXL Bad. Like, server apologized twice, the maitre d' once and then took the Wine and Pellegrino off the bill bad. At least they realized their own mistakes and took measures to rectify it. We didn't gripe or ask for anything comped - they did that on their own. Regardless, the food was photo-worthy (and, no, I took no photos for Food Pr0n). The Hottie had Sardines with Potato Confit as her app and followed with Artic Char, Figs and White Asparagus in spite of her disdain of asparagus (she REALLY likes Artic Char). My "Garden Soup" did, in fact, taste like Chef Crenn had raided a faeries garden and pureed it into a bright green liquid. As old-school, o/g (i.e. Japanese Fuji TV) Iron Chefian as it sounds, it truly did Speak of Spring. It's prolly the healthiest TASTING thing I've ever consumed.
06.04 - Dine About Town continued with a FRI trip to One Market which means we had THREE special menus to choose from: The standard DAT, their Deluxe DAT menu ($10 more for more choices of higher end dishes) AND their FRI/SAT regular special $50/5-course Weekly Beast that, this week, featured lamb. The Hottie went for the Deluxe mostly on the basis of the main, a Smoked Black Cod dish with Pork Jowel, Pea Puree and Crispy Pork Skin. Both The Foodie & The Meat Guy unsurprisingly went for 5-courses of meat with the earlier courses (Lamb Tongue & Cheek Salad and Lamb Neck Cannelloni) outshining the later "main" courses (Lamb Loin with Mint Couscous and Morroccan-Spiced Spit-Roasted Leg of Lamb). The "Deluxe" DAT may not be as big a bargain as other menus (basically five bucks off the manufacturer suggested retail price), but The Weekly Beast remains the best bargain in The City at a Michelin Starred place.
06.08 - So The Foodie finally made the trek out to Berkeley to try out the supposedly awesome pies @ Cheese Board Collective. As you may know, they make only 1 type of pizza per day. Period. If it's Summer Squash, Onions w/Basil Pesto day and you don't like Summer Squash, Onions OR Pesto, well, you're S.O.L. The interwebs claimed that parking and lines were terribad, so we took BART, which turned out to be unnecessary - lots of parking available (at least this time of year). Line was non-existent when we arrived (though out-the-door-and-down-the-street when we left) but tables were packed. Spotted one, lone table right away and had The Meat Guy lay claim to it while I ordered. Now, I never-EVER would have ordered a Corn, Onion, Pasilla Chiie and Feta Pizza given a choice BUT, that being said, it was a r-e-a-l-l-y good pizza. The corn was fresh and you could really taste it. The Meat Guy complained about not tasting the pasilla, but he's a bit of a spice/heat junkie and if his lips aren't tingly he aint happy, so feel free to discount his opinion. It was good pizza and, at $2.50/slice, a good bargain to boot.
06.10 - Went to The MUCH hyped American Grilled Cheese Kitchen with The Meat Guy and, well, it's still very hyped. We got their 5 mins after opening and, by the time we ordered, there was a line out the door. By the time we left, there was a line out the door, onto the street & down to the end of the block - maybe 50-60 people. And all this for a place that serves NOTHING but grilled cheese sandwiches. Either way, the grilled cheese is prolly the best I've had (not that I really order a lot of grilled cheese when I'm out, but still). I had the Red, White & Blue Plate Special with the Piglet (Tilamook Sharp, Artisinal Ham, Apple Mustard and Rosemary Butter). It was SUPPOSED to be a half sammy to go with my tomato soup, but I got a whole sandwich. This annoyed The Meat Guy who got the Mousetrap (Tillamook Sharp, Havarti & Jack) w/Bacon and paid the same price as me, but got no soup. As for the meal, the butter laden toasted bread left my fingers shiny and my tummy happy, plus you could REALLY taste the rosemary in the butter. It's not hard to see why their Commander-In-Cheese (their title, not mine) is a big deal on the Competitive Grilled Cheese Circuit.
06.16 - Had a rather eventful Pig+Booze Dinner @ Orson that saw The Hottie get hammered and Chef Elizabeth Falkner spend about 10 mins at our table talking about celeb chefs, reality TV and what makes people do things like take a completed Monte Cristo Sandwich, batter it, deep fry it and blanket it in powdered sugar. That, btw, was our dessert. Made with house cured Canadian Bacon and served w/Smoked Almond Ice Cream (think Blue Diamond in a creamy, frozen form)...it was even more awesome than it sounded. That and the misleading labeled "Amuse" - a Mini Pork Tounge Bahn Mi - were the stars of the night. MUCH bigger than an amuse, it was pretty much a Spicy Bahn Mi Slider...and should be on the regular menu along with the Monte Cristo! Also of note, when the waiters @ Orson offer to pour you a little more Riesling while you wait for your next course...they mean another full glass. Which is always a good idea when each of the 4 courses comes paired with booze (even the "amuse") AND you've had 2 Happy Hour cocktails (+Duck Fat Fries, of course) @ the bar while waiting for your table.
- A16 
- Aubergine