Benu

San Francisco, CA

At The French Laundry for the past 9 years, Corey Lee has been given much credit for the precision execution upheld at TFL during his tenure as Chef de Cuisine.While at the helm, TFL received the only 3 Michelin star rating in CA (still that way) and was named best restaurant in the world in 2003. A pretty impressive resume for the currently 32 year old culinary savant. So to say that his debut restaurant, Benu, is one the most anticipated new openings of the year, is no understatement. Benu is the Egyptian word for phoenix, representing renewal and longevity.I must admit, I have been burned before in believing the hype of a new restaurant, so after only a week of service under its belt and preexisting reservations at the Ritz, I was skeptical if Benu would live up to the bill. It was Chu-Toro's birthday weekend and she made the call to dine there, which btw we were even lucky to get reservations on their second Saturday being open. It's been booked solid for the next 8 weeks giving you an idea of the anticipation and expectation for Benu.

Benu entrance

Kitchen exit

Looking at the menu online before hand, I debated whether to do the 14 course tasting menu or a la carte. A couple of the items that really stood out on the menu initially, the lobster bouillon, uni risotto and poularde cooked en vessie (with a 2 day notice) were not on the tasting menu. It was a tough choice, but we decided to go with the tasting menu ($160) and shared a wine pairing ($110).

Hirsch Gruner Veltliner Heiligenstein 2008

Sesame Lavash

We started off with a sesame lavash,nori, black sesame and salts on a buckwheat cracker. A light, crispy whimsical wheat thin, quite different than the normal bread service at other fine dining places, but an interesting twist. We also received our first wine offering, a Hirsch Gruner Veltliner Heiligenstein from Austria.

We were told a couple dishes would be served in tandems, starting with our first two; a thousand year old quail egg with black truffle and ginger and the tomato, cucumber, dashi and summer blossom.

thousand year old quail egg

tomato, cucumber, dashi and summer blossom

The thousand year old quail egg lacked any truffle flavor. The ginger came through with the egg, but that's about it, not my favorite. The dashi was cool and refreshing, a great palate cleanser. I'm not a huge fan of the gastomolecular movement, but the contrast between the gelee of tomato water (light and pink) and tomato (red) was fun to experience. It was well executed and beautifully presented.

summer flounder (fluke) 

The next set of dishes also came as a duo; summer flounder (above) with mountain yams, fermented pepper and perilla and the carmalized anchovy gelee (below) with peanuts, lily bulbs, chili and basil. It was paired with a Horst Sauer, 2006 Erschendorfer Lump Troken of Germany. The fluke was a beautiful cut, smooth, slimy and cool with a bite, combined with the surprising texturally similar mountain yams  which we were told are prepared raw. This would be a great starter for sushi omakase.

carmalized anchovy gelee 

I am not a fan of anchovies, so this was a difficult dish for me to enjoy. The good part is that the gelee itself is quite unoffensive, keeping really only the saltiness of the fish. The combination of ingredients did not blend well for me, thus this was another strike on the menu. 

veal sweetbread grenobloise 

The next dish was veal sweetbread grenobloise served with califlower, parsley, lemon and caper. The accompanying wine was a Paul Prier 2008 Sancerre from Loire Valley in France. Chu-Toro is not a huge fan of sweetbreads, but she really enjoyed this dish. The batter was light, crisp and flavorful, perfectly encompassing the two large pieces of sweetbreads and wonderfully brightened by the citrus of the lemon. 

eel, feuille de brick, avocado and chreme friache

The eel, feuille de brick, avocado and creme friache followed paired with a Prinz, Hallgartner Jungfer Riesling 2007 from Germany. The filo pastry exterior added a good crunch and wrapped the unique eel and avacado combination. The creme friache acted as a fun dipping sauce. The creativity, fun and originality behind this dish made it enjoyable. The two great dishes back to back displayed the execution and preciseness through the sweetbreads and creativity and playfulness of the eel.

Monkfish Liver Torchon

For me, the Monkfish Liver Torchon was one of the most anticipated dishes of the night, for a couple reasons. First off, the best terrine we've ever had was at TFL. Chu-Toro doesn't like fois, but she liked it there. As a side note TFL's superb brioche was only surpassed by the service of the bread. Midway through my terrine and noticing the second slice of my brioche cooling, did they replaced it with a fresh new slice.

Brioche

That's the kind of stuff that makes you a three star establishment. Benu's presentation is extremely similar to that at the French laundry, simple, beautiful and precise. Secondly, I became a monkfish liver fan ever since tasting it at Sushi Zo. Since then, if its on the menu, I order it. So this is definitely one I would have order a la carte too. So the verdict is....it was okay. It seemed a little fishy by my tastes and Chu-Toro said combined with the brioche it tasted like a fancy tuna sandwich. It was rich and creamy, but did not encompass the flavors I usually expect from ankimo. Above all it was different which I appreciate, but now that I've had it, there are other things on the menu that I'd order before coming back to this one again. Also oddly enough, the Riesling paired with the eel was also offered with the torchon. It's the first time we've ever had the same pairing for back to back dishes, but it was a particularly sweet likable wine. 

Next up the "shark's fin" soup paired with the Blandy's 1977 Verdelhi from Madreria, Portugal.  Others have said thus far, this has been the signature dish for Corey Lee. I hate to be a biter, but it was pretty amazing and was one of the top dishes of the evening.

"Shark's fin" soup

The smell was familiar, like  herbal soup that our Chinese grandmothers made us drink. The broth, beautiful and fragrant was pour at the table, atop the black truffle custard which filled the base of the custom made bowl. Lying on the custard was dungeness crab, cabbage and Jinhua ham. The broth itself was excellent on its own, but the depth of flavor was much more pronounced once incorporating the richness of the truffle custard. It was a uncommon combination of ingredients and flavors, with a touch of familiarity and comfort. There was an extraordinary aroma and essence to this dish that I truly enjoyed and as far as I know completely one of a kind.

Sea Urchin atop potato puree, corn and celery

Out of all of the items on the menu, the sea urchin on potato puree sounded the most pedestrian. I even thought of requesting the risotto with uni to replace this one. But it would be rude given it's the chef's choice, so there's probably something about this dish he wanted to convey. And did he ever. Served with a 2002 Kiuchi, Gekkakow, Junmai Daiginjo, Chef Lee's affect on this dish was similar to the last. A familiar flavor, of potato puree and corn and with it added a left field component, amazing sea urchin. The uni itself was much more mild and delicate in flavor in comparison to the ones often found in most sushi bars. It still retained the ocean flavor, but without the standout punch in the face heaviness of the sea. Chu-Toro thought the puree was a bit over blended, but was tasty nonetheless especially with kernels of fresh sweet corn buried amongst the dish. The real surprise was how harmonious the uni fit in with the potatoes. I really appreciate the simplicity of the dish but once again, the ingenuity of the chef was evident.

Rice porridge with chicken and abalone

The congee was up next, and as expected we were tough critics. Congee is a homestyle rice porridge which is made with bones and leftovers, usually a cheap dish that we eat at our parents' home. To add it to any tasting menu is extremely unusual even at a Chinese restaurant. Benu's version is thick and rich with well cooked tender abalone and threads of shredded chicken throughout. It'd probably something most of the patrons who dine at Benu will find interesting and unique, but we found it boring. Not a bad dish, just not exciting for us. It was accompanied by a Paul Pernot 2007 Bourgogne from France.

Pork Belly with sautéed lettuce and onions

Truth be told, pork belly feels somewhat played out since it seems every tasting menu contains it. Combined with un-compelling parters like sautéed lettuce and onions with a spiced sugar, cherry and black olive sauce, I just wasn't that excited. It was paired with a  Patrick Jasmin 2006 Cote Rotie from Rhone Valley. Surprisingly the pork belly was much more lean than most offerings. The meat itself tasted like it had been cured and had a briny saltiness to it, but it was balanced well by the fattiness found in the belly. This again was another example of a well executed dish. Chef Lee was able to bring out a different perspective of the pork, utilizing the fat as a component, not focus of the protein. 

Beef Rib Cap with Bluefoot Mushrooms

Our final entrée was the beef rib cap with bluefoot mushrooms, mizuna, and pine needle honey. It was paired with a Chateau Potensac, Medoc 2005 Bordeaux . Simply grilled, there was no other seasoning on the beef itself which made the exceptional nature flavors of the grass fed Montana product shine. Chu-Toro proclaimed it the best piece of beef she has ever eaten, siting its extraordinarily untampered natural taste differentiating it above all others. By the way, the rest of the plate was excellent as well. The bluefoot mushrooms and homemade sausage added umami and saltiness combined with the pine needle honey's sweetness, it covered a spectrum of components that summed up an virtuoso offering by Chef Lee. 

Melon, sake, wasabi

The melon, sake and wasabi dish was a sweet cooling transition away from a gluttony of heavy flavors. A tad over sweetened, the melon and sake was a nice pallet cleanser similar to the way the meal had started. The last wine offering was a Jo Pithon, Les Varenne, 2005 Quarts de Chaume. 

strawberry sorbet, buckwheat shortbread, vanilla

A simple strawberry sorbet atop a buckwheat shortbread and vanilla concluded the final dish. Simple, light and refreshing, it was sublime. 

Chu-Toro's Birthday Bite

In efforts to not embarrass Chu-Toro too much, the Benu kitchen offered a wonderful mini hazelnut cake and chocolate ganache slice topped by edible gold with beautifully scripted chocolate across the plate. It was the nicest chocolate writing I had ever seen and a real classy offering.

Chocolates

Chocolates were provided with our coffee and tea. Contained in a beautiful custom wooden rectangle, the cap was lifted revealing the citrus, sesame, walnut and truffle delights. Chu-Toro was really hoping for warmed milk provided with her coffee, a detail she had only experienced at TFL, but it could not disappoint a great meal.

Chef Corey Lee in the Benu Kitchen, August 21, 2010

Following the bill, we toured the mammoth, gorgeous kitchen where Chef Lee took a few moments to chat with us. Given the stress and expectation of his new venture, he was extremely cordial and gracious for our patronage.  We've met other well known chefs before and have never felt so welcomed in a kitchen. His attitude and warmness made us appreciate this dining experience even more and he really portrayed a down to earth guy who does what he loves. After taking pictures of the restaurant outside, he even waved goodbye to us as we strolled past the kitchen window back to our hotel. 

View of the kitchen walking on Hawthorn 

There were certainly high expectations of Benu given Chef Lee's resume and the evening did not disappoint. For a two week old establishment, our service staff was superb, one of them being our server when we dined at Coi. Our primary server was kind and informative, humoring our many questions and genuinely enjoying his job. He wasn't bother by our picture taking (with flash) and provided many insights to the sense of family that was being built at Benu. Our sommelier (formerly at Quince) was equally wonderful, sharing his deep knowledge and passion of our pairings without any judgement to our lack of understanding. He even cleared dishes and folded napkins throughout the evening. 

Although I felt the first few offerings were less than stellar (not a big fan of the quail egg or anchovy gelee), still can't believe that congee is on a tasting menu, and was underwhelmed by the monkfish liver torchon, I have never experienced a meal with so much creatively and finesse that introduced innovation and imagination through such a unique integration of ingredients. Chef Lee's combination of preparing classic dishes perfectly, the veal sweetbreads and beef rib cap, to his avant garde approach to the eel, shark fin soup, and sea urchin potato puree made the dining venture a memorable, delectable and gratifying affair.


Rating 8.5/10
August 21, 2010


Bonus bite
Our follow-up dinner to Benu was at Costco where we had the new Carne Asade Bake. It was pretty good and was 1% of the bill of Benu.