Locanda, San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, CA

Locanda, created by the same people who made Delfina famous years ago, have generated a lot of buzz with their latest venture. So much, I was unsure if I was having dinner with LoKo on a Monday night or Saturday. I've never seen a restaurant so packed on a Monday with even a camera crew doing some filming outside when we left. I guess this could account for the spotty service throughout the evening, but for the most part, the food made up for it.

Pizza Bianca

We had to request it, but eventually received our pizza bianca (which is their bread offering). It was fine the first time, but a bit cold. The second serving was warmer and tasted better, so I could only imagine if they actually served their pizza bianca hot, it would be delicious. 

Poached Duck Egg

The one appetizer that really intrigued me was the poached duck egg. Although LoKo doesn't like eggs, she was very agreeable to give it a try. The runny yolk was a good textural contrast to the crunchy flavorful squash. It was a tasty starter but I would probably give something else a try next time. 

Fettuccine rabbit sugo

We ordered two different pastas, the first a fettuccine rabbit sugo. A very light, flavor filled dish with delicately fresh noodles, and tender juicy rabbit. LoKo described her first taste of rabbit as excellent dark thigh chicken meat. The dish just worked well, tasty, balanced and well executed. My only complaint was there was a thin homogenized layer of the buttery sauce on both dishes had formed because they must have been ready at least five minutes before being served. Not a huge deal, but just little details from a service perspective that Locanda can improve upon. 

Veal Casonceilli alla Saltimbocca

The second pasta was stuffed with veal, prosciutto, and sage. Extremely aromatic, beautifully presented and despite the heavy components, surprisingly light. Two very good pasta offerings, both fresh, tasty and satisfying without being too heavy. 

Guinea Hen Leg pancetta, cicoria

We debated between selecting the ox tail off the qvinto qvarto (fifth quarter) section of the menu and the guinea hen leg. We ended up picking the hen leg and glad we did because it was excellent. Extremely moist and savory, the delicious fowl maintained a juicy interior with a crisp, salty exterior from the pancetta. The lentils were great as well, making this the best dish of the night. And after two pastas, a perfect size to share.

Warm Chocolate Cake, maple syrup, curried walnuts

We shared a warm chocolate cake for dessert which was the most boring, unspectacular bite of the night. The curried walnuts were candied and crunchy but overall I'd recommend a different dessert.

The very good food makes Locanda's hype warranted, but there are some service issues that need to be addressed. Since the food was delectable already, they could only get better by hitting the table earlier. But I can't fault them for their concept or the excellent flavors I tasted and thought it was better food overall than my meal at Delfina a few months prior. It is a bit pricier than your typical causal Italian restaurant, but assuming you get a table, you should check it out.

Rating 7.5/10

July 25, 2011

Commis*

Oakland, CA

We have been meaning to return to Commis since our first visit about two years ago. Back then, when it had just opened, the menu format was different (choice of 3 courses for $59) compared to the updated 5 course $68 fixed menu. The hype has continued for the one Michelin star Oakland gem and we felt we needed to revisit it to give it a more accurate review. Upon entry, we saw chef Syhabout hard at work behind the large counter with four other chefs. Unfortunately we weren't able to get a seat the counter, but got a perfect private tucked away table in the front entry way. While looking at the menu trying to decide our beverages, we were given two parmesean crackers with vegetable ash served in a bed of rocks. 

Parmasean cookie with vegetable ash

This was one of the most unique and creative presentations I've ever seen. If the edible rocks weren't identified by the small leafy green, we would've had a tough time determining which one was the actual cracker. A playful, fun way to showcase the chef's skills from the start.

Poached farm egg with dates, granola

The poached farm egg is something that we did not have on our first visit, but people rave about. This was Chu-Toro's favorite dish of the night, a well balanced dish covering an array of textures from the delicate egg yolk, to the sweet date bits, crunchy granola mix all incorporated by the white, not too heavy, cream based sauce. Pretty delicious.

Albacore in padron pepper anchoiade, radish and toasted sea palm

The first course was presented as a albacore tartar, sitting atop an anchoiade of padron pepper. Classically, an anchoiade is a Provençal puree of anchovies, garlic and olive oil. A pile of fresh, crisp, raw vegetables and flowers garnished the dish. So fresh, that a flower had a tiny live caterpillar seeking shelter off the plate. The crunchy vegetables were reminiscent of a Manresa influenced dish, allowing the natural flavors of the raw veggies to shine. The albacore itself was a bland, mushy offering, our least favorite dish of the night. 

Cold soup of green tomatoes, frozen courgette with shallot and mint

Next up was a cold soup of unripened green tomatoes, frozen courgette (zuchini) with shallot and mint. I'm not a huge fan of cold soups, but this one was light, refreshing and perfect for a warm summer evening. 

Gently cooked cod, Monterey squid confit in ink with horticultural beans

The highlight of the meal for me was the cod and squid course. Every bite of this course was excellent, starting with the gently cooked cod, melt in your mouth tender and delicious. It instantly reminded me of my favorite fish course of all time from Momofuko Ko, where the tenderness and gentleness of the fish was sushi like. Perfectly cooked. The gorgeous radishes with its leafy green tops were the freshest veggie we tasted throughout the evening, wonderfully crunchy and earthy. The Monterey squid confit cooked in its own ink would have been a first for us had we not recently had it at Le Chateaubriand in Paris, but chef's Syhabout's version was far superior. Almost too concentrated in strong flavors, the grainy and unique bite reminded us of a Chinese shrimp paste with a spicy kick. A good example of creativity that can be discovered and boundaries pushed while dining at Commis. 

Roasted loin of beef and cepes, aged suet with vinegar and capers

Our final savory course was a roasted loin of beef with porchini mushrooms, potatoes in a house made vinaigrette with New Zealand spinach. A solid well executed dish, but nothing spectacular. The combination of raw spinach mixed with a slightly blanched version was a fun comparison. 

Beet chips, raspberry sorbet, cocoa

Our pallet cleanser course was a raspberry sorbet with thin beet chips atop cocoa. Similar to our amuse, there was a good balance of textures and flavors in this bite. From the earthy beets, to the tart sorbet and bitersweet cocoa, a playful intermezzo.

Peaches in cream with hemp seed cereal, frozen white corn pudding

For the final course, you get to choose between two desserts, a sweet and a savory. Chu-Toro opted for the sweet, a peach pana cotta with a white corn pudding, and hemp seed cereal. When i asked if Chu-Toro liked her dessert, she said she could eat a tub of the corn ice cream. It was pretty freaking yummy. 

Artisan cheeses brie, blue, blueberry compote with hazelnut bread and lavash

For a supplement of five dollars, I chose the cheese course for my dessert. It came with two cheese, a brie from France and a blue cheese, both which were good with the warm hazelnut bread. The real standout was blueberry compote which didn't look like anything special but was a delectable accompaniment that I ate every bite of. 

Petite fours

We finished with petite fours, a coffee (without warmed milk), and a reasonable bill. For what it is, Commis is a nice dining option with a real chance of tasting something spectacular. Our second visit was definitely better than our first, with notable refinements and improvements to the menu, the presentation, service and experience overall. I think that Commis is still evolving and has the potential to be one of the bay area's bests. For now, it will have to settle for being the gem of Oakland.

Rating 7/10

July, 23, 2011

Mission Chinese Food

San Francisco, CA

There's been a huge following for Mission Chinese food from a local and national level. The critics say there are things done here that aren't being done anywhere else in the country. Exciting and unique. I've remained skeptical because I just don't like fusion food.  But Chu-Toro and I fell into the hype and felt we needed to give it a try. We arrived at a random time on a Saturday afternoon so we didn't have wait for a table.

Lion's head meatball, napa cabbage, shitake, snap pea, pork jus

We started off with the lion's head meatball, the most "traditional" Chinese dish that we ordered. It was good, but the meatball itself was a little dry and we both decided there wasn't anything earth shattering about the flavor provide that made the dish special. 

Cold Sesame Noodles, Almond milk, cucumber, tomato, chrysanthemum, fermented radish

The cold sesame noodles were served next, a beautiful presentation and refreshing plate. This dish was very useful after we received our next two spicy dishes but it wasn't that great either.

"Chinese BBQ" platter

The "Chinese BBQ" was not a Chinese dish at all, but something you would expect to get a BBQ joint. The platter consisted of smoked beef brisket, pork trotter, hot link, served with pickles, white bread and smoked cola BBQ sauce. The brisket was essentially thick cuts of tasty fat with a spicy cola BBQ sauce. The dish overall was good, but I'm still not sure it was really that special in my mind.

Spicy Chicken Wings

Our final dish were spicy chicken wings and as you can tell in the picture, they were well spiced. We've had spicier dishes like this during our visit to China, but this was pretty damn hot. The cold noodles helped cool our mouths, but we ended up taking this home and finishing it later with a cold beer. 

So, the verdict? Confused and unimpressive would have to be my honest conclusion. Chu-Toro has asked me a week later if we just ordered the wrong things. Maybe? Is it different? Absolutely, because it's not Chinese food. It's Asian food concepts contorted into something fresh and unique. Are the flavors something special? I don't think so. Everything we ate was solid to good, but nothing really made me want to return. Maybe we will one day if our other foodie friends get an itch to check it out, but I wouldn't make the trip back myself. If you're in the Mission and want some really awesome food, go next door to Commonwealth, one of our favorite meals from last year.

July 2nd, 2011

Rating 5.5/10 

Baker and Banker Bakery

San Francisco, CA

On our way to see Transformers in IMAX 3D during the holiday weekend, we stopped by Baker and Banker Bakery to get some breakfast goodies. It's a small, new, local bakery that has already garnered rave reviews. We ordered two items and a salted caramel latte (which wasn't that great).

Almond Brioche

Our first breakfast pastry was a thick slice of brioche that tasted like an almond croissant in bread form. Every inch of bread tasted like it has been soaked in a sugary almond goodness and we both enjoyed it very much.

Sticky Bun

The second item was a gargantuan chocolate, pecan sticky bun. It wasn't overly sweet, but because of the chocolate, it was a very rich treat. It took us forever to finish, because even though you can't tell in the picture, the bun was massive.  Both things we got from the bakery were very enjoyable but the bakery/restaurant is kind of out of the way. But if you're in the area, its definitely worth a visit.

Rating 7.5/10

July 2nd, 2011

Arigato

Santa Barbara, CA

I really, really like this place and it's starting to become one of my favorites. Every time I come to Santa Barbara for work, I make sure to make my way over to Arigato's. On this trip, I ended up coming back here two nights in a row. The first night, by myself at the sushi bar, focused on nigiri, the second night with a coworker focused mainly on rolls. Both meals good experiences in different ways. 

Mango relish on Blacken Ahi

I started with the mango ahi, because it had been highly recommended to me. The mango relish had a nice spicy, tart kick. A tasty starter.

Kanpachi

Everything I ordered was on the specials board, mainly because its usually the freshest, and flown in from Japan. It If you like hamachi, I suggest ordering Japanese kanpachi instead for a very similar but fattier, more tender cut of fish. Superb quality, melt in your mouth delicious, my favorite bite of the night.

Aji

Next up was Japanese Aji, amazing quality and excellent flavor. 

Tai

The Japanese Tai was the third straight piece of very good fish, a gorgeous cut and silky smooth. 

Sake

After three very good pieces of nigiri, I figured that the organic Scottish salmon would be great. Unfortunately, it was average, lacking the fattiness that I hope for in sake.

Halibut

Next was a recommendation from the chef, fresh halibut that was tender and tasty.

Hotate

Hotate was my next selection, good but standard.

Ami Ebi

The ami ebi was very good, one of the best I've ever had. The ginormous heads were split in half giving me a total of four large, crispy, flavorful pieces. 

Sea Eel

I wanted to finish with local Santa Barbara uni, but they hadn't received their order for the week. So instead I was recommended with fresh sea eel. Not the tough, frozen eel that you get in your dragon roll, but instead fresh, flaky, tender sea eel. 

This meal was better than my first visit, and I ate some of the best nigiri bites I've ever had at a non $300+ sushi dinner. This place has excellent fish quality and the nigiri centric dinner solidified its reputation in my mind as one of my faves.

June 22nd, 2011

Rating 8/10

Ahi Carpaccio with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Arigato Vinaigrette

The next night, I sat back and let my dining companion do all the ordering. We started with the pounded ahi carpaccio with the Arigato vinaigrette. 

"Local's only" Broiled scallops, crab, shitake mushrooms, onions on bed of sushi rice

The "locals only" was a dynamite presentation with the the contents of the scallop shell lit on fire. The flavor however wasn't as good as some of the other dishes we had.

Mango ahi nigiri

The mango ahi was the same from the night before but in nigiri form. I actually liked it more  in sashimi form but still tasty nonetheless. 

Jalapeno Yellowtail, Red Jalapeno and Habanero sauce 

The yellowtail contained a strong amount of spice from the jalapeno and habanero mixture. They do a good job of being creative but not sacrificing the quality of the fish and this combination was a winner.

Chef's Special Roll

The chef's special roll is something you only know about if you're a local. It's a special roll with a mixture of seared tuna, asparagus and tempura something with a myriad of sauces. I don't recall specifically about all the contents, but it was a filling, flavor filled roll.

Fiesta Roll, tempura halibut, tomato, avocado, cucumber, jalapeno, habanero sauce

The last roll we ordered was a fiesta roll, a very light fresh roll with a rice paper exterior. 

Ankimo nigiri

To finish, I ordered the ami-ebi again since it was so good the night before and ankimo nigiri (monkfish liver). The ankimo was very rich and creamy, a nice substitute for the uni. The creativity from Arigato's is great while continuing to use excellent fresh fish. There's really no complaints about this place other than getting something good and something great. If you're in Santa Barbara, then make your way to Arigato's for some great sushi.

June 23rd, 2011

Rating 7.5/10

Sushi Tomi

Although we had eaten great during our vacation in Europe, we needed to fill our sushi cravings, so we went to Sushi Tomi our second day back in the states. We had been to the popular Mountain view restaurant before, but this time it was just the two of us so we could have a nirigi focused lunch.

Snapper soup

The snapper soup came with the mini charashi lunch special. The tasty soup was naturally sweeten by the fish bits and was a nice start.

Mini charashi

The mini charashi was the lunch special, cheap and filling. Because it was only ten bucks, the dish was filled with the cheap end pieces and edges, obviously not the cream of the crop. However, you can't really complain for ten bucks, especially because of the tasty expected gem of a very flavorful tuna salad which was very addicting.

Tako, Hotate, Kanpachi, Sake, Spicy Tuna Roll

We ordered a variety of nigiri, including tako, hotate, kanpachi, sake and spicy tuna roll. That first bite of salmon was really awesome, silky, fatty and yummy. All of the nigiri was good, better than last time, probably because we got to enjoy it this time without having to  worry about the kids. 

Ami ebi, Aji nigiri

We also had an order of ami ebi and aji nigiri. Both solid, but not as good as our first batch.

Fried shrimp heads

I honestly order ami ebi for the awesome fried shrimp heads, they're delicious. We ordered way too much for lunch, but left happy. This is becoming a go to place for us for good consistent sushi in the south bay. 

June 5th, 2011

Rating 7/10

Le Chateaubriand

Paris, FR

When Chu-Toro told me that Le chateaubriand was on our list as our last meal in Paris, I didn't think much of it. Then she told me how infamous this place was, a gastronomic foodie mover that ranked number 9 overall on San pellingrino's top 50 restaurants in the world, but
carried exactly zero Michelin stars, and I was intrigued. We couldn't get a reservation, but they tell walk ins to arrive at 9:45. We arrived at 10, and were surprised to see 8 groups waiting ahead of us.

Waiting last in line and outside, we feared we would not receive a table but after 35 minutes of patiently waiting, we finally were seated.The chef comes to every table and explains the entire menu, which we thought was pretty cool.

We were started with a cheese puff covered in poppy seeds. Basically the same kind you receive at a Brazilian steakhouse and TFL. There were fine but nothing special.

Next was a conceptually unique bite, a chiviche with a piece of raw chicken and small flowers atop, consumed as a shot. We've had raw chicken before, but never in this format. The flavor of the liquid was tart and refreshing, but the chicken itself was too large of a chunk and not tender. An interesting shot nonetheless.

The next dish was tossed onto the table without any explanation, but later heard by another waiter that it was small bits of squid and radishes, cooked in it's own ink. Chu-Toro and I associate squid ink with heavy Italian pasta and generally cringe away from ordering it, but the sauce itself was fairly light and complex, encapsulating the ink in a different way.

We were starting to see a theme in the food; challenging, non classical tastes that forced us to converse on whether we liked the flavor profiles or not. I like being introduced to these types of dishes, especially the next bite, a geoduck and sea bean with flavored ice. Everything was delicious in this course.

Next was a bouillabaisse, but we argued about what the components were. Chu-Toro tasted coco nibs, where as I felt it had a Japanese miso broth flavor. This was another example of having out pallet challenged, a unique broth with elder flowers, sesame and Lima beans.

Our first substantial plate consisted of quickly seared bonito chunks with radishes, carrots, turnips all covered in jus of Jambon. The fish was cooked well, like a simple seared tuna, and there was a tartness and bitterness crunch by each crisp vegetable.This was a dish that has zero classical flavors and we spent the entire time trying to figure out if we liked it or not. In the end, Chu-Toro decided the more she ate it, the more she liked it.

The fillet of pollack with white asparagus, fresh almonds, pine needles and fish mayo was the next offering. Alone, the fish was quite boring in its prep and flavor. However the fish mayo was unbelievable and really tied all the components together. The fourth offering of
asparagus we had in as many days (it's in season) was the best, crunchy, crisp and tasty. The soft, fresh almonds added an interesting flavor and textural component. Overall, it was a delicious course.

Our last savory course was young lamb with sweetbreads covered by leaves (apparently apart of the spinach family) raspberries and onions. This was another one of those challenging, did I really like the flavors, course. The sweetbreads were well prepared and Chu-Toro really liked the raspberry component of the dish, but out of all the proteins course I had in France, this was one of my least favorites.

For dessert, I opted for the cheese course while Chu-Toro went the sweet path. I was given a selection of three cheeses, one blue, one goat and one hard, all of which were good.

Chu-Toro's first dessert was a combination of fresh strawberries, fresh mint, powered sugar and peas. The peas were there for texture, but just kind of worked. The freshness of each item made the bite work well.

The second sweet bite were cherries and olives covered in a sweet cream. This one was kinda weird, as many of the flavor profiles were throughout the meal. Not sure I was crazy about it, but Chu-Toro enjoyed it.

We finished with a subpar espresso and the bill, which was 55 euro per person, pretty cheap for dinner. And the verdict? Challenging, unique, different, those are the key takeaways. I always appreciate coming across a meal like this to remind me there's always something new to try and appreciate in the culinary genius of tomorrow's chefs. With that being said, during my next trip to Paris, I wouldn't be back, and would opt for another meal at Le Cinq instead. One other minor note, the metro shut down while we were transferring and were forced to wait in line for a cab at 1:30 for nearly an hour which was additional pain and cost because of the meal. Overall, an experience and memory that added to our journey to Le Chateaubriand. 

Overall 7/10 

June 2, 2011