Meadowood

Amuse Buche - Potato Puree

The 2011 Michelin Guide recently upgraded Chef Christopher Kostow's Restaurant at Meadowood to a three star establishment, joining the likes of The French Laundry. It has been eight months since we dined there, but from my memory did it meet the caliber of TFL? I pulled our the menu and started to think back about out meal. My first impression of the dining room was that it was tiny, especially compared to the other upper echelon restaurants in Northern CA (TFL, Manresa, Coi and Cyrus) but their kitchen was surprisingly large. Another note was the interior was extremely dim, making picture taking a bit difficult. 

We started off with three amuse buche offerings, starting with a small puff cracker, 'pretty ordinary,' fresh baby radishes from the garden, 'crunchy and fresh,' and the potato puree (shown above) with a small teaspoon of caviar, exquisite and superb. In fact, this dish was one of my fav of the entire meal, an appealing texture combined with a distinctive, creamy, rich flavor.

Waygu Beef Cured in Meadowood Pine, Hamachi, Scandinavian Flavors

The waygu carpaccio with hamachi was a combination of two of my favorite items so I was pretty excited when I saw it on the menu. However, I'm not sure if it was the combination of the surf and turf that was off or the Scandinavian flavors, still not sure what that is, but I just didn't like the flavor profile of this offering. It was just one of those misses in my mind.

Black Truffle Broth, Sweetbread Cannelloni, Puffed Farro, Miaitake Mushroom

The next dish was more successful, a rich mixture of sweetbreads delivered in cannelloni form with a luscious black truffle broth. Opposite to the last dish, I wasn't very excited about seeing this item on the menu, but was pleasantly surprised.  

Lobster Roasted in Lime Salt, Squash, Apple, Vaduvan

Unfortunately I felt that the curry like flavors overpowered the sweetness of the lobster. Not a bad dish, but was hoping for more on this one.

Goat Poached in Whey, Vineyard Greens, Barley, Olio Nuovo

Again, the goat was not something I was excited about initially, but ended up being the crown jewel of the entire evening. Later I'd learn that this is a signature dish of chef Kostow. Delicate and tender, it tasted natural, as if we were sitting in the middle of a hillside goat-inhabited field and integrating each of those flavors of that environment, simply unlike any goat I've had in my life. 

Slow Cooked Squab, Carrot

In all honesty, I don't remember the flavors of the slow cook squab with carrot too well, but it was beautifully presented.

Fois Gras, Cocoa Nib

The Fois Gras with cocoa nib was fine, but not up to the caliber to that of TFL. 

Stilton Cheesecake, White Port, Dried Cherries, Hazelnut

The Stinton Cheesecake was one of the best cheese courses I've ever had. I just really appreciated the unique approach to this course and the cheesecake itself was rich, creamy with depths of flavor.

Green Apple and Ginger Sherbert,, Mint Snow

White Chocolate and Fois Gras Ganache

The two desserts were solid, but again nothing memorable or earth shattering that we haven't had before.

Truffles

In the kitchen

We finished the night with a pair of truffles and a trip to the kitchen. We did not meet chef Kostow that night and might be the reason things were good but not great. Out of the entire meal, I came across 3 really good dishes (potato amuse, goat, cheesecake), and a handful of solid ones. To me, that wasn't enough to make it one of my top five most memorable meals. Truth be told, I was expecting a lot more, which could also be a reason for my disappointment. It was a good meal all around, but for a restaurant that just got placed into the same category as TFL, I don't think it met expectations. The Michelin folks said they dined at Meadowood 6 times in 2010 before making the decision to move it up to three stars which in my mind means they probably were there within the same month I was. Maybe I got unlucky with chef Kostow absence that night and a new waitress who was still learning the menu (she had multiple follies throughout the night). I would give Meadowood another try, but with the additional publicity, it might be tougher to snag a reservation. For the time being, I hope others who are enjoying a meal from chef Kostow feel like its up to caliber as one the best restaurants in California.


Rating 7.5/10
February 6, 2010

Putah Creek Cafe

One of our favorite places for hearty, homey, simple classic American food is Putah Creek Cafe in Winters, CA. We've been there multiple times, breakfast, lunch or dinner and we've never been disappointed. Apart of the well known Buckhorn Restaurant Group, my go to item during for brunch is usually the chicken fried steak, smothered by homemade sausage gravy, with chucks of sausage, biscuits, eggs of your choice and fried potatoes, all for $8.95. It say it's filling is a vast understatement. Chu-Toro went out of her norm and ordered a Santa Fe Corn Pie with a side of Chili. A cheesy corn meal based pie, tasty and unique but probably not something she'd get again. Whenever I crave simple fare like fried chicken, meat load and their famous tri tip sandwich, this is the place to fill up for a friendly, cheap, reliable meal.                                                   

Santa Fe Corn Pie   

Chicken Fried Steak

Rating 8/10

October 16, 2010

Shaddy Approved

Pizzeria Picco

To me, Larkspur is where the Ferry to the Giants game is after work, so picking a place to have dinner with Ghost and Nana seemed like a challenge. At top of that, we needed to find a dog friendly outdoor patio for Shaddy. Could anywhere in Larkspur fit the bill? The choice was pizzeria picco, a popular pizza joint that was packed on a cool October Saturday night. We waited 45 minutes and listened to Game 1 of the NLCS watching people scarfing down Neapolitan thin crust style pizzas and finishing off with Straus Dairy soft serve with a variety of toppings.
On a cool fall night, we started off with two appetizers, a roasted butternut squash soup with pumpkin seed oil and an organic apple & fennel salad with baby lettuce, black olives, baby fennel, champagne vinaigrette, and goats milk feta. The soup was warm and pretty good, but very one dimensional. We recently had butternut squash soup at point reyes cafe that had layers of flavor but picco's offering was more of a single note. The salad had fresh organic ingredients, a nice light way to prep us for pizza.

roasted butternut squash soup and organic apple & fennel salad 

We ordered three pizzas, although only two are pictured below, the Specialized with Hobbs’ pepperoni, house made sausage,tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. The Surly with hog island clams, tomato sauce, garlic, soppressata, pecorino, parsley, calabrian chile. And the Marin topped with roasted garlic, young organic potato, mozzarella, parmesan and rosemary oil.

Specialized

Maybe I'm learning that I'm just not a big fan of Neapolitan pizzas, although this one was better than what I had at A16. I keep hoping every time I order a pizza with homemade sausages, there's a chance that it'd be like Pizzeria Mozza's. Well, that theory was busted at A16 and busted here. The specialized was a boring, boring, boring pizza, and i only have myself to blame, the least favorite of the three. 

Marin

The Surly was my favorite mainly because it had a spicy kick and the Marin was also good with a good amount of melted mozzarella and strong garlic flavor. Overall, the pizzas were good, not great. Not somewhere I would ever crave for like a cheeseboard or mozza, but had a good time with friends.

We ended the meal with the soft serve that everyone seemed to order, which disappointingly was simply soft serve. There was no discernible difference in the ice cream other than the delectable caramel topping on Chu Toro's order. Mine had the El Ray chocolate shell. All in all, Picco in Larkspur offered us a good meal, a nice atmosphere and friendly environment for Shaddy, a overall win.

Rating 6.5

October 16, 2010

Shaddy Approved

Santouka Ramen

Sunnyvale, CA

By no means am I a ramen expert, but  when I get a ramen craving Santouka fits the bill. Located inside of Mitswa Japanese market, there are generally as many people sitting in the food court eagerly awaiting their number being called to pick up their ramen as there are grocery shoppers; me being one of them. Truth be told, its just ramen, right? It's soup and noodles, a couple pieces of pork, turnip, dried fungus and green onions. Well, if that were the case, I'd make it at home and save myself $8 bucks. But I can appreciate the work that goes into flavoring the broth. I can appreciate, piping hot soup that warms my soul. I like the simplistic traditional item that fulfills your hunger. I enjoy these meals just as much as a fancy multi-course dinner because they pick one thing to do well and they do it really well.

Spicy Miso Ramen with pork and green onion dombori

I've had better ramen in LA, but Santouka in a grocery store fits the bill in Northern CA. The ramen noodles are boiled fresh to order, broth is always boiling hot and dombori's simple, tasty and filling. We've had the shio, our classic fav, the shoyu ( a little salty) and the spicy miso (with a kick, but does not kill the sweetness or lightness of the broth) and each time leave full and satisfied.

Shio Ramen with leek dombori

Rating 7.5/10
October 23, 2010

Sumiya

Santa Clara, CA

The izakaya rage continues in the bay, and we've attempted to jump on the bandwagon dining at Sumiya with Bro-Co. We love Japanese food and izakaya foods are easy for my brother who is not a big sushi fan. Through some lucky timing, we were seated in five minutes and asked to leave for someone else's 8:30 Saturday night reservation. No problem! Once seated, we were given a plate of cabbage covered with sweet soy sauce.
The menu is vast and the combinations are endless, think of it like having Japanese tapas. Its fun because you get to try a whole bunch of small bites. We started with the popular fried chicken skin with octopus salsa. This was definitely the most unique menu item of the night. We followed up with the grilled rice triangle (usually a ball). Interesting, but ultimately, just crunchy edged rice.

Crispy Chicken Skin with Octopus Salsa

Yaki-Onigiri - Grilled Rice 

We had a bevy of yakatori next, each listed below. Surprisingly, it did not stand up to the flavors that we had at Nombe in the mission. The tsukune, chicken meatballs were the standout.

Negima - Chicken Thigh and Green Onion

Tofu Yakatori

Tsukune - Chicken Meatballs

 

Butabara - Pork Belly

Kamo - Duck Breast

Sweet and Spicy Squid

Teba Yakatori - Chicken Wings

Ever since having the whole grilled squid at Uzen in Berkeley, we've been in love with this dish. It was well made here also, but can't top our fave.

Ika Sugata Yaki - Whole Grilled Squid

I'm still not sure how this is a house favorite, but as recommended by the waitress, we ordered the Jagabata, grilled potatoes with grilled garlic and butter. We love potatoes as much as the next starch loving family, but this dish was boring. Lame and boring.

Jagabata - Grilled Potatoes with Melted Butter and Garlic

Dombori's are quickly becoming Bro-Co's go to dish at Japanese restaurants, mainly because every Asian kid is raised on rice dishes like this. It was good, solid filling fish here.

Soboro Don - Ground Chicken and Cucumber

Ramen too? Yup, we wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything. It was decent, but couldn't touch a good ramen place.

Sumiya Chazuke

I guess the only reason that I would say I was disappointed is because this is a really popular place in the south bay and was hoping for more. The yakatori at Nombe was better but the other dishes at Sumiya beat Nombe. Basically, if you put the two of them together, they'd be well rounded establishments, but for now, they're both just subpar. Ippuku in Berkeley is the next stop on my izakaya journey and hopefully that one does meet expectations.

Rating 5.5/10

September 5, 2010

Alexander's Steakhouse

Cupertino, CA

Alexander's Steakhouse is located in Cupertino CA, across the street from Vallco mall, where I had my wedding reception. My parents have lived in the small city of Cupertino for the past five years and always heard about the luxury steakhouse. The general contractor who build my childhood home was at the helm of building Alexander's and although my parents had walked the layout during construction, they never had the opportunity to enjoy the food.  So for my dad's 60th birthday, we took the family out for a steak celebration.

The entrance and meat display is much more lavish than just the steak counter as you enter the restaurant. There are racks of meat to the ceiling being aged behind a clear glass wall lining the kitchen. As you walk further in, you can see the kitchen and a large staff of twenty to thirty employees. The establishment itself is quite large, with a luxe waiting area, fancy bar and various dining rooms. We sat in the back at a large cozy booth and a hand full of decisions.

Steak counter

The bread offerings featured sourdough, wheat and a cheese-it like multigrain cracker.

Breads

We started off with the popular hamachi shots. A nice start and beautiful presentation. Pretty much your standard flavors with a surprising element of heat. 

Hamachi shots

Next up were the Ika fries, a nice play off the classic fried calamari appetizer, Bro-Co's fav. The squid was tender and well battered, again pretty standard flavors, but a nice presentation.

Ika Fries

Another popular favorite, the popcorn crab was a crowd pleaser, mainly because it was all crab. No filler or breadcrumbs like crab cakes, literally lightly battered, freshly fried crab meat. Between the five of us, we struggled to finish this dish since it was so bountiful. But at $22, I guess you'd like to get a lot of meat.

Popcorn Crab

Between the appetizers and our mains, we received an intermezzo, a raspberry icy pallet cleanser.

Internezzo

It'd be hard for me to describe every flavor/texture of each steak, so I'll summarize. We ordered four steaks and four sides. My dad had the F1 Austrialian Waygu filet. I wanted to get him the trio with a small order of Japanese, Austrailian waygu and American New York cuts, but there's an embargo on Japanese beef making the supply in short supply and high demand. My mom went with the New York, I had the Bone in Rib eye and Chu-Toro had the T bone. My parents who would rather go to Costco than spend $125 on a steak enjoyed themselves tremendously, and thought the quality of the meat was superb. Here's what I recall. The filet was good, but cannot touch Japanese Waygu, and I guess if you're going to spend $125 on a 10 ounce steak, you want it to be pretty damn amazing. The 8 ounce Japanese waygu in comparison was $225 for a 8 ounce portion at Alexander's. Two years ago during my visit to Wolfgang Puck's Cut, my Japanese Waygu was $160, just to give you an idea of steak inflation. I don't remember eating my mom's New York, although she seemed to like it.  

New York

Australian Waygu Filet and Potato Puree

Creamed Spinach

My Bone in Rib Eye was visually gorgeous, but overall the flavors were disappointing. The meat itself was not as sweet or tender as I would have expected and the mixture of sauces on my plate really distracted me from the meat. I think that's probably the intent though, as most steaks are offered with a contemporary flair with heavy sauces probably to distract from the solid but not exceptional meat quality. I guess I'd expect to come to a fancy steakhouse and expect the steak to continue to be the star. At Cut, everyone's steak arrived on a white plate, with only natural juices aligning the dish.

Rib Eye

The best steak of the evening in my mind was Chu-Toro's T-Bone, which came simply prepared with a large slice of butter, a grilled meyer lemon and an accompaniment of sea salts, grey, pink and truffle. The meat was allowed to standout for itself, and the additions were provided for your discretion. She originally intended to order the Prime Rib which they were out of, and the waiter recommended the T-bone.

T-Bone

The side dishes were as heavy as the steaks which made fighting to finish them a tough challenge. We went with the lobster truffle mac and cheese, ie a heart attack waiting to happen, saffron risotto and cheesy baked potatoes with bacon. I'm getting sick just reliving it. They were all very heavy, rich calorie accumulators. Nothing stood out as must have, but all would be an enjoyable single bite.

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Saffron Risotto and Potatoes

Of course, its not a party without dessert, but we were so grossed out and stuffed that I couldn't take anymore pictures. Bro-co had a chocolate sphere and my mom went with the bread pudding. Both were well made and large, but neither very memorable. They also gave my dad a complimentary birthday bite, a small chocolate ganache/cake, piling on the richness for good measure. The best dessert was the cotton candy that they give you with your bill, fun and unique. 

Here's the good and bad of Alexander's. It's expensive. The staff was really friendly and accommodating. It's expensive. The ambiance is inviting despite its luxe layout and decor. It's steaks aren't really that great and its expensive. Overall, the food is solid with flavors you would expect, nothing spectacular, nothing special and not really worth going back to. Did I have a great time? Yup, it was a really fun night and my family really enjoyed it. I'll take that memory with me and take them to another restaurant next time.

Rating 6/10

September 18th, 2010