San Francisco Gourmet

Afterglow

2007-05-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Although I've been back from my gustatory tour of Paris for a few days now, I find myself still wrestling with the temptation to book a plane ticket to return immediately.   Even on my last visit as a student, I found the city completely captivating -- much more so, in fact, than any of the other incredible European destinations that I explored on that same trip.   But this time around -- having acquired in the interim a significantly greater appreciation for fine cuisine -- I found Paris to be even more enchanting.   Indeed, as I came to realize on the long flight home, only one other city has ever taken hold of me so quickly and effortlessly, and that was San Francisco.

Over the course of my much-too-short trip, I sampled a lot of degustation menus, took a lot of pictures, and scribbled a lot of notes.   As I now wade through the process of sorting this all out, I'm also trying to take a step back to see things from a broader perspective -- one that includes, for the sake of comparison, our own high-end restaurant scene here in the Bay Area.   For this reason, I thought it might be interesting to bookend my Paris trip with meals at some of the Bay Area's best restaurants.   Accordingly, shortly before I left, I visited The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton;   the day after I returned, I dined at Fleur de Lys.

One of the benefits of sampling so many great restaurants in such a short period is that it tends to simplify the process of comparing them.   After all, it's much easier to compare tonight's meal with last night's than it is to contrast two meals experienced several months apart.   On the other hand, a significant drawback to the approach I took in Paris is the sheer number of dishes that I had to try to keep in my mind.   Before I could let the nine courses served to me by one chef seep fully into my memory, I found myself poring over an entirely new nine-course menu.   Sitting here today, while several dishes stand out as being particularly memorable, others are swimming around in my head temporarily dissociated from the restaurants at which they were served.   So perhaps you can understand why I guarded my notes, pictures, and copies of menus as carefully as I did my passport as I wound my way through airports and taxis to get back home!

Overall, I found the entire week to be extraordinarily educational, revealing a lot about culinary innovation, the state of fine dining, Michelin ratings, and even the Bay Area's restaurant scene.   In the coming days (or more likely, weeks), I'm going to walk you through each of the seven excellent meals that I enjoyed in Paris, sharing photos and impressions along the way.   After that, I'll wrap things up by describing some of the conclusions that I reached -- and the new perspectives that I acquired -- as a result of my fantastic week in France.

A Taste of Paris

2007-05-10T16:14:00.001-07:00

As you may have guessed from the serious dearth of posts around here, the last few months have been completely crazy for me at work.   A massive patent case on which I had been working was slated for five back-to-back trials spanning from March through August, and the flurry of activity that's needed for such an enormous undertaking had our entire team completely consumed.   Then, suddenly and without warning, the parties reached a settlement that resolved the entire case -- changing my very existence overnight.   Whereas one day I felt like I was drowning in an endless sea of work, the next day I was happily concerned about whether I had enough work on my plate.   The summer vacation that I had written off as an impossibility was miraculously resurrected.   And when my close friend and coworker A decided to accelerate her sabbatical and travel through Europe now instead of waiting until later in the year, I found myself toying with the idea of a spur-of-the-moment trip to Paris to meet up with her.   And so it is that I now find myself sitting in a hotel in Rive Droite, midway through a glorious six days of fantastic food, wine, and fun.

Now, one of my fellow Bay Area food bloggers just returned from a great week in Paris last month, while another seems to be in Paris just about every other week.   But as hard as it is for me to believe, my last trip to Paris was nearly seventeen years ago, when a friend and I backpacked through Europe in the summer between finishing college and starting graduate school.   It was a time before I had experienced the wonders of San Francisco's incredible restaurant scene, before I had developed any kind of appreciation for fine dining, and -- most importantly -- before I had achieved the luxury of receiving a regular paycheck.   And believe me, when you're traveling as a student on $40 per day all inclusive, the Paris that you experience is one of baguettes and cheap fruit -- not degustation menus and wine pairings.

A lot has changed in the intervening years, most notably my admiration -- and even reverence -- for great cuisine and the talented chefs who create it.   But let's face it, for those of us who live in and love the Bay Area's restaurant scene, there's always someone standing by to rain on our parade by saying one of two things:   the premier restaurants in New York, on average, are better than San Francisco's best, and the top restaurants in Paris are even better still.   Is it really true that the upper-tier restaurants in Paris are that much better than the top restaurants in the Bay Area?   Does Paris really deserve to have ten restaurants rated by Michelin at three stars, compared to the Bay Area's paltry one?   If I were going to go to Paris, I simply had to find out.   Or, to be more honest, I should probably put it this way:   a trip to Paris -- specifically for the purpose of experiencing the offerings of the city's best establishments and chefs for myself -- was an absolute imperative.

Most normal people, of course, would book a flight and hotel and then give some thought to where they might want to eat.   I, on the other hand, approached it in precisely the reverse order.   After all, if I couldn't experience the great restaurants that I had read and heard so much about, wouldn't it be better to postpone my trip until I could?   (I'm hoping that at least a few of my fellow food bloggers, if nobody else, will understand my twisted logic here!)   I accordingly stayed up late one evening and called all of the Michelin three-star restaurants, a mere three weeks before my potential arrival date.   Not surprisingly, virtually all of the restaurants had limited availability, and getting the overall schedule to fit neatly into a six-day period was an exercise akin to the so-called "logic games" section of the LSAT that I had taken many years earlier (making me glad to know that it was useful for something).   In the end, I arrived at a schedule that truly excited me, a veritable tasting menu of Paris itself.   Here is my "seven-course" sampling of the city's finest:

Course 1:   L'Arpege
Course 2:   Le Meurice
Course 3:   Ledoyen
Course 4:   Guy Savoy
Course 5:   Pierre Gagnaire (lunch)
Course 6:   Plaza Athenee
Course 7:   Le Pre Catalan

All seven of the restaurants hold three stars in Michelin's 2007 guide for Paris, with Le Meurice and Le Pre Catalan having just been elevated to that ranking this year. Of the remaining three Paris establishments that enjoy three-star status (i.e., L'Astrance, Le Grand Vefour, and L'Ambroisie), I couldn't get into the first one and didn't try too hard with regard to latter two. After all, I would only be in Paris for six days, and I was reluctant to schedule too many days with both a lunch and a dinner (especially since I intended to order the degustation menu at dinner each night, which typically results in my skipping lunch both that day and the next day). Thus, I resolved that the final three would have to wait for my next trip, and I went ahead and booked my plane ticket and hotel.

Well, I just returned from dinner at Guy Savoy this evening, and the results so far have been extremely interesting and very eye-opening. I won't give away the results just yet, as I do want to evaluate all seven restaurants against one another before I reach any definitive conclusions. So, tune in again starting next week, as I describe each of my dining experiences!

Cooking Class with Ron Siegel

2007-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have written here many times about the high regard in which I hold Ron Siegel, Executive Chef at The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.   His cuisine is always interesting and innovative, his food is consistently delicious, and his restaurant is one of my favorites in the Bay Area.   So, you can imagine how quickly I signed up when I learned that Siegel will be teaching a class at Tante Marie's Cooking School early next month.

The session is entitled "Finished Dishes With Sauces", and it's described on the Tante Marie website as "an advanced class on presentation and taste."   Unfortunately, there will be no recipes distributed to attendees.   The class will be held on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., and the cost of admission is $65 per person.   If you're interested in attending, you can sign up on the website or by calling Tante Marie's (415.788.6699).   But don't delay;   as of this posting, there are only 6 spaces left in the class.

I've attended several cooking parties at Tante Marie's over the last 15 years, but I have yet to take a cooking class there.   Accordingly, I'll be very interested to see whether the format and content compare favorably to those of other classes offered elsewhere in town.   With a talented chef like Ron Siegel leading the discussion, though, it's hard to imagine this being anything but a worthwhile afternoon.

Five Things About Me

2007-02-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Joy recently tagged me with the latest meme to make the rounds in the food blogging community, the one in which we're asked to identify five things about ourselves that you probably don't know. Now, I've obviously been careful to keep many details about myself hidden from public view, but when a request like this comes from one of my favorite bloggers, well, I'm happy to participate. So, without further ado, here are five things that you likely do not know about me:

I designed the rear defog system for the 1993 Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. Before entering the hallowed halls of law school, I spent four long and arduous years earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. During one of the three summer internships I did at General Motors, I was tasked with analyzing the existing design for the Camaro's rear defog system, evaluating it against comparable systems found on vehicles from other manufacturers, and redesigning it to hit competitive benchmarks. So, if you ever find yourself in a cold climate cursing at how long it's taking for the ice to clear from the rear window of your 1993 Camaro or Firebird, now you know who to blame.

Other than food, one of my greatest passions in life is music -- especially electric jazz/fusion. I don't mean by this that I simply enjoy going to an occasional concert. No, my interest is probably more on the order of a borderline obsession, to the point where I've been known to attend every single show of a four-night stint when certain jazz artists come to town. I even stayed in Philadelphia once for five days past the end of an exhausting month-long trial, just so I could catch a show that I missed when it came through San Francisco. It's actually a minor miracle that the members of the Pat Metheny Group, the Yellowjackets, Steps Ahead, and Vital Information, among others, haven't taken out restraining orders against me. Or maybe they have, and I just haven't been caught yet.

I have played the drums for 29 years, and I thought seriously at one point about pursuing a career in music. My three closest friends in high school were all drummers, and the four of us were completely immersed in our instrument -- taking private lessons for years on end, playing in every possible school band/orchestra, and putting together percussion ensembles to take to state-wide competitions. In the end, though, pragmatism won over, as it dawned on me that trying to play the drums professionally might not put food (or at least good food) on the table. I have nevertheless continued to play recreationally, and the very first purchase I made after buying a house four years ago was a seven-piece acoustic drumset to replace the electronic (read "quiet") set that I'd been playing while living in an apartment. And yes, my neighbors love me.

I love olive oil, but I hate olives. I can't explain it, and I've tried repeatedly to overcome my serious dislike of the fruit itself. Yet, time and again, my efforts have failed spectacularly. Because of this, any chef who can make a dish featuring olives that I actually enjoy has my deepest admiration and eternal loyalty. So far, only one individual has managed to pull this off: David Kinch, with his black olive madeleines.

One of the things that I'd love to do someday is to be an investor/co-owner in a restaurant. I know, I know -- it's a notoriously challenging industry, the returns on investment are not great, and the work involved is undoubtedly thankless. Still, the entire idea holds such allure for me, that I'm apparently willing to throw all caution to the wind for the right opportunity.

At this point, I'm not sure that there are any food bloggers who have not yet been tagged for this meme, so I'm not going to name anybody specifically. Instead, if you're a food blogger reading this and would like to participate, please consider yourself tagged!

Dining Notes: Circa

2007-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

When my sister asked me in early January where I'd like to go for a celebratory birthday dinner, I rattled off a short list of places that I'd been wanting to try for several months. High on that list was Circa, the Marina restaurant and lounge that's located in the spot that previously housed Cosmo's Corner Grill. Not only had the restaurant been generating positive reviews and word of mouth since it opened last year, but Executive Chef Erik Hopfinger has a reputation that precedes him: he was named one of the San Francisco Chronicle's "Rising Stars" in 2002, and he earned numerous accolades during his stints at Spoon and Butterfly. Yet, what really drew me into the restaurant on that cold Sunday evening was neither the buzz nor the chef; it was a dish. And if you read my description of the dinner party that I held in my home at the end of last year, you'll probably

Circa: At A Glance
Chef	Erik Hopfinger
Pastry Chef	Laura Mandracchia
Address	2001 Chestnut St. San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone	415.351.0175
Parking	Garage
Restaurant Website

understand why just as soon as I tell you its name: Lobster & White Truffle Mac-n-Cheese.

The layout at Circa is rather interesting, in that the space is dominated by an enormous square bar and lounge that are located immediately inside the front door. The comparatively small dining area is then located off to one side, almost as an afterthought or a begrudging concession to the people who might want to go to the restaurant to eat rather than simply to drink and be seen. Now, that may be a perfectly good strategy for capturing the business of young singles in the surrounding Marina, but it seems to send a subtle message that the service of outstanding cuisine is not necessarily Circa's primary focus or most important concern. And the dishes that we were served on our visit unfortunately reflected as much.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fourth Annual White Truffle Dinner
December 9, 2006
	Truffled Corn & Leek Veloute
	Burrata Cheese with Arugula in a White Truffle Champagne Vinaigrette
	Dungeness Crab Cake with White Truffle Crème Fraîche & Cucumber Foam
	Prather Ranch Beef Filet with Truffled Parsnip Puree
	White Truffle Risotto with Fresh Truffle Shavings & Browned Butter
	Butter-Poached Maine Lobster with White Truffle Cauliflower Gratin
	Duo of Sorbets: Pineapple Lemon Verbena & Raspberry Rose Geranium
	Pear Cake with Pain D’Epice Crème & Brown Butter Ice Cream

The Slanted Door: At A Glance
Chef	Charles Phan
Pastry Chef	Mutsumi Takehara
Address	1 Ferry Building San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone	415.861.8032
Parking	Adjacent Lot
Restaurant Website

Michelin 2007 Ratings for San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country
Three Star	The French Laundry
Two Star	Aqua Michael Mina Manresa Cyrus
One Star	Fleur De Lys Rubicon Bushi-Tei Quince Range Acquerello La Folie Masa's Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Gary Danko Boulevard	Fifth Floor Chez Panisse Sushi Ran Chez TJ Auberge du Soleil Bistro Jeanty Bouchon La Toque Terra Dry Creek Kitchen Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant K&L Bistro

Michelin Ratings
*	A very good restaurant in its category
**	Excellent cooking and worth a detour
*******	Exceptional cuisine and worth the journey

Evaluation of Upper-Tier Restaurants Against Michelin Criteria For Food
Restaurant	Ingredient Quality	Mastery of Flavor & Cooking	Cuisine Personality	Value	Consistency
The French Laundry	H	H	H	M	H
Fleur de Lys	M	H	H	M	H
La Folie	M	M	M	M	H
Chez Panisse	H	L	H	M	M
The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton	H	H	H	H	H
Manresa	H	H	H	H	H
Masa's	M	H	M	H	H
Cyrus	H	M	M	H	M
Gary Danko	M	L	M	L	M
Jardiniere	H	L	L	L	M
Farallon	M	L	L	L	M
Terra	M	M	H	M	M
Michael Mina	M	M	H	L	M
Aqua	M	M	M	H	M
Fifth Floor	M	L	L	L	M

Chef	Restaurant	Location
Cathal Armstrong	Restaurant Eve	Alexandria, VA
Jonathan Benno	Per Se	New York, NY
Michael Carlson	Schwa	Chicago, IL
David Chang	Momofuku	New York, NY
Mary Dumont	The Dunaway Restaurant	Portsmouth, NH
Douglas Keane	Cyrus	Healdsburg, CA
Christoper Lee	Striped Bass	Philadelphia, PA
Pino Maffeo	Restaurant L	Boston, MA
Jason Wilson	Crush	Seattle, WA
Stewart Woodman	Five	Minneapolis, MN

Junnoon: At A Glance
Chef	Kirti Pant
Address	150 University Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone	650.329.9644
Parking	Street
Restaurant Website

Junnoon
Food Taste	7.5	7.5 Overall
Food Presentation	7.5
Service	5.5
Atmosphere	8.0
Price	$$$
Number of Visits: 6

Masa's: At A Glance
Chef	Gregory Short
Pastry Chef	Keith Jeanminette
Address	648 Bush St. San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone	415.989.7154
Parking	Valet
Restaurant Website

Apple Crisp with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Inspired by Hubert Keller, Fleur de Lys
	Filling 3 lbs. apples, half Granny Smith and half Golden Delicious, peeled, cut into quarters, cored, and then cut again into 1/8" slices (yielding approximately 16 slices per apple) 1 T fresh lemon juice 1 T butter 5 T sugar 1 T dark rum Topping ½ c flour ¼ c sugar ½ t ground cinnamon 5 T chilled butter, diced into ¼" cubes 8 sheets of 15" by 10" phyllo dough 1½ T melted butter 6 c premium vanilla bean ice cream 1. Prepare filling: Combine apples and lemon juice in a large bowl, and toss to mix well. In a sauté pan large enough to hold the apples, heat the butter over medium high heat until melted. Add the apples to the pan, and turn heat to high. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle sugar and then rum over the apples, stir to mix well, and continue to cook for 5 more minutes or until the apples are tender – stirring frequently along the way. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the apples to cool completely. 2. Preheat oven to 375 F. 3. Prepare the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and diced butter in a food processor and pulse until fully incorporated. Refrigerate mixture for 15 minutes. 4. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan. Take one sheet of phyllo dough, brush it generously with melted butter, and then place it into the bottom of the pie pan. Note that because the phyllo is 15" long in one direction, two of the edges of the phyllo sheet will hang over the edge of the pie pan; try to make the overhanging portions on the two opposite sides roughly equal. Repeat the preceding steps with the second sheet of phyllo dough, but place it into the pie pan in a slightly rotated orientation so that the overhanging portions do not directly overlap the overhanging portions from the first sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets, using slightly rotated orientation for each. 5. Place the cooled sautéed apples in the pie pan and spread in a single layer. Fold the overhanging edges of the phyllo dough over the sautéed apples. Note that the phyllo will not cover the apples entirely, but will instead cover only the outer edge of the filling. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned and the phyllo is golden. 6. If serving immediately, cut into 10-12 slices, and serve each slice with ½ c of vanilla ice cream; if serving later, set crisp aside and allow to cool to room temperature. To reheat, preheat oven to 250 F, and place crisp in oven for 30 minutes. Cut into 10-12 slices, and then serve each slice with ½ c of vanilla ice cream. (Note: If you make the crisp several hours in advance of service, you should refrigerate it rather than let it sit at room temperature for a prolonged period of time. If you do refrigerate it, you will need to adjust the reheat time accordingly and/or bring the crisp back up to room temperature before following the reheat instructions set forth above.) Yields 10-12 servings.

Orange Lavender Cappuccino
Inspired by Daniel Humm, Campton Place
	2 bottles (750 ml each) sparkling orange flavored grape juice ¼ c dried lavender ¼ c sugar, more to taste orange extract 1. Pour sparkling juice into a large pot. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil gently for 10 minutes. Add sugar and lavender, and stir well. Boil gently for 5 more minutes. Remove pot from heat and cover. Allow lavender to steep for at least 20 minutes. 2. Pass mixture through fine-mesh strainer and discard solids. Taste lavender-infused juice and add orange extract and/or sugar as needed or desired. Place juice in airtight container and store in refrigerator until ready for use. (Note: These steps can be complete up to 1-2 days ahead of service. In tasting the sugar level, keep in mind that the mixture will taste slightly less sweet when it is partially frozen.) 3. Place approximately 300 ml of lavender-infused juice in iSi Gourmet Whip, and charge the canister according to the manufacturer's instructions. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. 4. Place 600 ml of lavender-infused juice into ice cream machine, and turn on according to manufacturer's instructions. Place the remaining 600 ml of juice back in the refrigerator. After 10 minutes, start checking the juice in the ice cream machine periodically, watching for when it reaches a "slushy" - but not completely solid - state. When it does, turn off the machine. 5. Divide semi-frozen juice from ice cream machine among 12 demitasse cups. If necessary, use some of the unfrozen 600 ml of juice from refrigerator to fill each cup to a level just below the rim. Top each cup with a cap of foam using the iSi Gourmet Whip. Serve immediately. Yields 12 servings.

San Francisco Gourmet

Afterglow

A Taste of Paris

Cooking Class with Ron Siegel

Five Things About Me

Dining Notes: Circa

Dining Notes: COCO500

Cooking Class with William Werner

Menu for Hope III - The Results Are In

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Conclusion

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 8

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 7

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 6

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 5

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 4

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 3

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 2

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Course 1

White Truffle Dinner 2006: Introduction

Menu for Hope III

White Truffle Dinner

Dining Notes: The Slanted Door

"Inside the Kitchen" At The Ritz: A Rising Star Emerges

"Inside the Kitchen" At The Ritz: A Closer Look At The Four Star Dinner

"Inside the Kitchen" At The Ritz: Four Star Grand Cru Wine Dinner

"Inside the Kitchen" At The Ritz: Cooking & Wine Classes

Second Annual "Inside the Kitchen" at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay

Michelin Guide Results Announced

Forecasting Stars

A Brief History and Background

Looking Forward

The Standard

The Analysis

Conclusions

Epicurious Charity Dinner At Michael Mina Restaurant

A Food-Focused Weekend

Five Things

Food & Wine Magazine: America's Best New Chefs 2006

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

Dining Notes: Sister Restaurants Edition

Evvia & Kokkari

Tamarine & Bong Su

Conclusion

Restaurant Review: Junnoon

Menu

Service and Decor

Conclusion

No Place Like Home

Incanto: "Strawberry Sagra" Dinner

"Dine Out With Visa" Promotion: Diner Beware

Dining Notes: Masa's

Dining Notes: An Introduction

Cooking Class With Hiro Sone & Lissa Doumani

When Life Gets In The Way Of Blogging...

Independent Food Festival & Awards: Best Breakfast for Changing the World

Restaurant News: Peter Rudolph Taking Helm At Campton Place

Ame: Some Early Observations And Initial Thoughts

A Roadmap Of What's Ahead

"Four Star Tour" Dinner: Closing Thoughts And Photos

"Four Star Tour" Dinner, Course 6: Apple Crisp With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Recipe, Tweaks, Tips and Techniques

"Four Star Tour" Dinner, Course 5: Orange Lavender Cappuccino

Recipe, Tweaks, Tips and Techniques