Day 4 – The Perfect Block. The Unexpected Excitement.
Eat Street, Lake Street, University – we certainly have our stretches of amazing food avenues – and within those stretches, blocks of incredible food – and I’m sure people familiar with San Francisco will be quick to point out the block that I explored multiple times could be considered somewhat of a tourist haven or an overpriced stretch of San Francisco food culture – but nonetheless, I certainly enjoyed it – long lines and all (well, long line on one day..the other 2, not much at all..) It was actually quite close to where I was staying (in fact, a common theme among all restaurants/places of interest for myself – completely unplanned..) so making the walk down to this area, all the easier (what with the steep inclines and declines battering my feet around from day to day)
The block of which I speak is a stretch that includes a world class bakery (
Tartine), a world class Italian restaurant (
Delfina), a world class Pizzeria (and my favorite on the trip,
Pizzeria Delfina), a world class market (
Bi-Rite), and a world class Ice Cream Shop (
Bi-Rite Creamery) And to be fair,
Dolores Park Cafe is also on this block, however, I did not check it out…
Of course it goes without saying that all were good/great/lived up to expectations – to get it out of the way, Tartine had some things that were better than anything offered here, but compared well in a lot of other aspects (better – eclairs, tarts, bread pudding / comparable to Twin Cities best – croissants, savory offerings) either way – it was great to have as an option in the morning – it was great to check it out 4 times to get a good sampling of their items.
Like I said, Pizzeria Delfina was my favorite of the pizza choices I had while in San Francisco – and due to a last minute decision to keep on a restaurant later in the week, I was unable to goto more than 3 pizza places (had a list of about
– but all 3 were incredible (will get to the others in the later days..) – pitch perfect neapolitan style pizza with simple flavors, high quality ingredients, excellent (and equally simple) starters and sides – and for San Francisco, moderately priced (margherita was 12.50, starters under 10 for most) – certainly some of the best pizza I have ever had – a lot of creative ideas flowing after eating there twice for Biga once I return. A beautiful space I might add – an excellent kitchen bar allows you to see them working together as a unit (when its busy, 3 people man the pizza station – one works the dough, one tops the dough, one cooks the pizza – to see it in such tight quarters, was very impressive. – when you read about comparisons of line cooking to a form of ballet, this is exactly what they were talking about…)
Bi-Rite would totally fit in here as a smaller sibling to Wedge, or Seward Co-Op, or for those St. Paul folk, Mississippi Market…
– but somehow, as cramped as it is, still manage an incredible job of cramming in as much variety as possible (oh yeah, and it was the equivalent of 2 aisles at a Cub or 4 at like a Kowalskis..) (5 different types of local chickens, from 5 different farms, over 100 different types of cheese, fresh baked bread from 4 different bakeries, local bacon, and bacon as far off as Tennessee (Bentons, of course) – baby purple artichokes, fiddlehead ferns, the ubiquitous ramp, black trumpet mushrooms – if it were growing beautifully in the area, Bi-Rite had it. (And yes, it did feel like a skit out of Portlandia after ever product you saw had a local farm name for it, or a source, or some little quip about the season..) Even with the Wedge a mile away, I’d kill to have a place like this down the street – daily trips would certainly not be out of the question…akin to Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) in terms of pricepoint, but the convenience and quality of EVERYTHING in the store more than makes up for it.
Bi-Rite Creamery is a short jaunt down the block and across the way – features seasonal (of course), local (of course) ice cream, and baked goods – both times were excellent and delicious ends to the culinary trip down the block..
Dinner was an interesting conundrum. I adore simple, well executed food – that is what I grew up on, that is what I cook – that is what I search for – simple things done well. That is what I appreciate more than anything. I was worried about Coi (pronounced Cr-wah lest you forget – I certainly did, and was quickly corrected..) – it isn’t the restaurant I seek out when going out (more specifically because there is nothing like it here in the Twin Cities) – it is on the far high end, 2 Michelin starred – tasting menu only extravaganza. I was expecting disappointment and failure. What I got was the best meal of the trip, and one of the best meals of my life. Hyperbole be damned – it was certainly memorable.
15 courses with descriptions ranging from “paper” to “unrefined sugar” – upon arriving at the table, many defied explanation or description – it didn’t matter – the food just plain tasted amazing. There is no menu, you come, you sit, you start to receive courses – I experienced various stages of emotion I haven’t felt since I first starting eating beautiful food (the feeling of eating something new or experiencing a new technique or just the pure element of surprise kept coming back throughout this meal) – nervous laughing, goosebumps, unintelligible language, giddiness for the next course, disappointment in finishing the previous – more hyberbole, but it is the only way I can describe something like my meal at Coi. It was incredible. And I was completely blown away. In areas where they could have fallen – house churned butter – I mean, come on, who would churn their own butter? (well, they weren’t the only ones guilty of this) – but you know what, it was incredible butter – with brown butter dinner rolls – I mean come on, so what if I ate 4 ounces of butter throughout the meal – it was so worth it knowing I may never get to again.
The one area that I actually thought was the biggest flaw (for myself anyways, a personal preference) but in the end, had the most fun with – is the service. Don’t get me wrong, it was certainly flawless. (yeah, I did just use the opposite of that word to describe it..) But what I mean to say is that it was so flawless, it didn’t feel natural, there was a disconnect between me and the serving crew (an impressive lot of about 8 people (bear in mind, in my dining room, there were 14 guests…) – it was fun to have a bit of fun with them – water service for instance, never did my glass go under half full….UNLESS – immediately after a refill, I drank it all – prompting one of the floor managers to alert one of the back waiters – almost chastising them on the floor. Of course, I quickly apologized to the back waiter for doing so – but it was certainly fun to poke fun with the servers about the service (at one point, my glass was reaching that dangerous half way point, and I made mention to the back waiter refilling it that I was getting worried about it (the amount left) – they certainly opened up a bit after that – which I was certainly thankful for because as they opened up a bit, the atmosphere and the experience certainly blossomed a bit more towards “insert hyperbole statement here but is actually the truth”
For those who are interested, I will do my best to recreate the courses as they were presented to me – but I will end my day here, wishing you well, and please come back for Day 5 – Little Star Pizza, and SPQR – among other delightful goings ons…
Coi Tasting Menu – 5.12.2011
Paper – This one kind of alludes me – so just take note it was a crisp piece of “spiced paper”
Beet Rose – Roasted, shaved red beets with a yogurt sauce underneat, surrounded by a bed of rose water granite – at first glance, of course it looked beautiful, but I thought I’d be in for a long night – it just seemed a bit…pretentious? Is that too strong of a word. After the first bite, I was so thrilled, and would set the tone for the rest of the night.
Clam – Diced/poached Clams with a really amazing clam/squid ink “gelee” – I believe some other oceanic garnishes (sea weed was involved I believe – blame Coi for having INCREDIBLY vague menus to take home.
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Tart – If there was one let down of the night foodwise – this was it – an upside down fromage blanc tart with wheatgrass puree, cucumber (or fennel…I don’t take notes, shame on me or pictures – but that will be discussion for another day) – either way – it was alright, but in a meal of amazing – alright certainly jumps out a bit more (poor Benu didn’t fair nearly as well..)
Crayfish – One of the best of the night – poached crayfish with a crayfish broth flavored with lemongrass and ginger – with shell peas, fava beans, and flowers – a beautiful dish that tasted amazing – so clean, so fresh, lovely.
Asparagus – 2 beautifully cooked asparagus spears with a lemon sabayon, asparagus vinaigrette, and garnished with some crushed spices – so simple – yet so amazingly good – some of the dishes were so grounded in tradition and technique that they really shined..this was one of them.
Allium – My favorite course of the night, and one of the best I’ve ever had – onions of various forms (smoked chive oil, caramelized, roasted, raw, etc. with toasted almonds and some sort of really fresh cheese, with a green garlic soup poured tableside – so much texture, simple flavor, richness – ugh – so very memorable…
Morel/Egg – Same with the asparagus – so grounded in tradition/technique – an amazing broth, with morels, a poached egg – simple, beautiful perfection.
Yuba – Soy milk skin “noodles” with housemade tofu in a lovely dashi-esque broth – simple, playful, lovely texture…
Duck – Roasted breast with confit terrine, fried duck tongue, fresh raw garnish – excellent, perfectly executed – and Daniel Patterson himself served this one.
Loved it.
Carrot/Coffee – Baby carrots cooked with coffee beans – with a play on carrot cake garnish – not overtly sweet/obvious dessert course – but a nice segue into sweet.
Strawberry – To be quite honest, this one really blurred with the Berry dessert from Benu so I can’t quite give you the details, but rest assured, it was probably great!
OMGZ MEGAREVIEWER ADAM! - The foodie world would rip me a new one if I were a reviewer…
Rhubarb/Hibiscus – Poached rhubarb with hibiscus soda I believe – at this point, everything started becoming a lovely blur of excitement, food coma, and joy…
Unrefined Sugar – Awesome awesome dessert that I only vaguely remember the details – molasses cake, raw sugar, honey, raw milk ice cream I believe was involved. A tremendous end that I only wish I remembered more of..
Chocolate Paper – Think Crisp Chocolate wafer like paper. And yeah, that is about what it is – it was chocolate paper.
Day 3 – Gluttony, Giants, and the Weather. Up Next – Day 4 – The Perfect Block. The Unexpected Excitement.
It’s no secret to those that know me that I love to eat food – of course, for those that don’t – don’t see that as much of a stretch, I understand. But up until a few months ago, I could throw down with the best of them. Looking back on it now, it was a complete disrespect to my body, and my health – something I know better of now not to do…often…
Proper setup for Day 3’s lunch would have to entail, that although I am staying 3 blocks away from the Zuni Cafe, doesn’t mean that it would be viable for me to take leftovers home (in a nicer kitchen than my current homebase in Minneapolis mind you..) – Ok. So honestly, I’m a Chef, with a great kitchen, mere blocks away from the restaurant I’m about to talk about – I should’ve taken leftovers, I get it. But. This trip isn’t about reheating leftovers – it’s about eating food. And I can still throw down.
There is somewhat of a shift at Levain in terms of what we serve – obviously, we are a french inspired bistro/cafe/restaurant/brasserie/what have you – so there will always be plentiful butter, cream, etc. – but after my epiphany of a few months ago – I became much more conscious of respecting not only my own body – but those that I am responsible for when I am given the honor and pleasure of cooking for our guests – if a dish has a good amount of butter in it, it is certainly listed on the menu – if you don’t want said delicious, glorious butter – I am happy to omit it for you – we are far from the type to deny any of our guests any request that they may have. We aren’t creating original works of art for you to take or leave – we want, first and foremost, for our guests to be happy – and if that means you don’t want salt, or butter – so be it. I’ll (albeit a bit begrudgingly at first) be happy to oblige – coming from where I have been – I can certainly understand your stance.
Where oh where does this all blend into Day 3 while I’m in San Francisco? Well, besides just this meal in particular – I would certainly be lying to you if I said I hadn’t thrown most of my rules of the past 6 months out the window – its a vacation. With food involved. I’ve lost a lot of weight – and have certainly earned a week of unadulterated consumption of whatever my brain feels I need..in copious amounts..when I get back to Minneapolis – I refocus on what I have been doing, loss another 20 lbs, and call it an accomplishment.
Enter Zuni Cafe, and for a solo diner – the dreaded “insert dish here for two” dilemma. In this case, Zuni’s famous Roast Chicken and Warm Bread Salad for 2. Sounds lovely – me being a huge fan of roast chicken, and bread – who doesn’t love bread? Well, a lot of people, but I, for one, love it. Ok. A dish made for 2, you say, that isn’t SO bad. Order it, eat what you can, and take it home.
You cannot possibly expect to throw a Chef in a famous San Francisco restaurant, hand him a menu, and tell him to order one thing…impossible. Spring Vegetable Soup. Lovely. Fettuccine (Dry. From Rustichella – love their egg pastas..) with Roasted Mushrooms, Green Garlic, Greens, Chili Flake, Butter – sounds right up my alley – and it was. Roast Chicken for 2 – I’m literally sitting 3 feet from the huge wood fired oven and the Chef in charge of it – the thing is practically calling out to me – THIS IS WHY YOU ARE HERE. FOR THIS DISH. AND TO EAT A LOT OF BEAUTIFUL FOOD.
Goodness, oven – I truly apologize. 1 chicken, tout suite. And so what if I ate the entire chicken – I didn’t want to waste a bit of it. And so what if I ate 2 desserts afterwards (both, honestly, quite weak I’m afraid..but I digress) The point is, after a 2 hour nap – I was fine. I had eaten a lot of food, yes – but I didn’t balloon back up to 290 lbs. I walk on average a good 4-5 miles a day while I am here in San Francisco (Ok, usually, walking from food/restaurant spot A to food/restaurant spot B – but that isn’t what we are talking about here..) – if I don’t ever return to San Francisco – I can’t and don’t thus far have any regrets. I’m eating how I should be eating…which is to say, I’m eating very, very well.
Later that evening, wearing but only a long sleeve t shirt, and jeans – I thought a nice break from food, and walking, and culture – was to enjoy a evening at ATT Park – home of the 2010 World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants. Partake in some outdoor baseball on the bay and see what the park had to offer in terms of…yes, food. Well – to keep it short – by the 7th inning, I was freezing my…well I was cold. Let’s leave it at that. Time to walk around and see what they had to offer. Sausages. Lots of sausages. Louisiana Hot Link was probably my favorite of the bunch – the kielbasa a close 2nd – the brat was serviceable. The garlic fries were exactly that. And the trip tip sandwich had a lovely amount of nicely medium tri tip steak on it – but the bun yielded the sandwich fairly inedible in that state…so I just at it like the bun was a plate…tasty nonetheless. Still freezing various body parts off (all the while, everyone around me were wearing nice comfy jackets, gloves, and hats – who knew, I guess..) – I decided to call the ballgame a night – on the taxi ride home, the Giants did pull out the victory – 4-3 – and I nestled into bed for the end of Day 3…
Day 2 – Comfort, Tartine, Chez Panisse, and Commonwealth…
San Francisco was intimidating – here by myself, never been to it before – I certainly planned ahead – looking at maps, public transportation (something I’ve never even used before in our fine Twin Cities) – but I really had no idea what to expect – it was certainly something outside of my comfort level – something I knew I was ready for either way.
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After the intial culture shock of my first day here, I can honestly say, I was at ease with working my way around the city – whether it be on foot (it was quite incredible to realize how central my apartment was to everything (less than 3 blocks away from Zuni Cafe (day 3), less than a mile away from Tartine (a lot of days
) Delfina/Pizzeria Delfina (day 4), BiRite (I wish we had something like this in Minneapolis – think the Wedge, but 3x as small, with more variety (I don’t know how thats possible either – in terms of food, not overall items – their meat case was probably 5 feet long, and they had 5 different types of chickens from various farms..and a fish case to rival only Coastal Seafoods – and at less than 3 feet long, much more efficient at it too..anyways…) BiRite Creamery (day 4) – from my apartment, I was able to walk to Boulevard (2.5 miles), ATT Park (2.4 miles), Commonwealth (1.5 miles), Coi (day 4 – 2.5 miles) etc. – you get the idea. Berkeley is a 15 minute BART ride away – openning up everything they have to offer within walking distance as well.
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I wont even be using the muni/trolley systems either – BART is all I will need. And my feet mind you. I’m certainly comfortable here – it is really easy to get around, to find what I need, all the while noticing how quickly neighborhoods can change along my walks – Market St was in particular eye opening – think a combination of the best of what a neighborhood corner intersection can offer in the Twin Cities (great restaurants, food stores, etc.) that turns into a very Eat Street like vibe, then turns in to downtown Hennepin Ave theater district-esque vibe (but a bit more shadier, during the day, total non issue, but I took a cab home from Boulevard..) then all of the sudden like nothing, total tourist spot – like 50th and France meets Nicollet Mall. And then boom, your at the east bay, and in another, different, equally beautiful place – the sites and smells of the bay surround you, you see the bay bridge, you see people taking pictures, eating food, having a great time – this was only a 2.5 mile stretch – and NOTHING I have ever encountered before – it was incredible that first night walking along it.
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Which is why day 2 was all about being comfortable and just enjoying the city, just by wandering around (obviously with a certain set gameplan in mind…but with no real schedule, I certainly came and went as I pleased..) – first up was Tartine Bakery mere blocks from my place (and as I write this on day 4, where I will be headed after I am done..)
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Pretty famous space so I will spare you the historical lesson, just know it has been and continues to be an important bakery in one of the best scenes in the world. I was simple this time – chocolate eclair, and a croissant. The eclair was ridic. I don’t know how one can fill so much pastry cream into an eclair, but they managed to do so – it was incredible. The croissant was textbook perfect – incredible size, lovlingly brown and crispy – bursting with butter – it was great – BUT – it certainly doesn’t blow away the best the Twin Cities has to offer (Trung Nam, Patisserie 46, even my lovely Turtle Bread – all compare to it – and you certainly don’t pay the tourist price you would at Tartine – either way, they both were delightful.
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Next time, I am totally getting one of those amazing looking single serve (well, single serve for myself – I’m all alone…
feel sad? for me..) cream pies (banana, chocolate, coconut, or all 3 perhaps…for research and development mind you) along with their amazing looking brioche bread pudding…mere moments away…
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Walking around this neighborhood (Mission) – on this block alone, it book ends with Tartine, next door is Pizzeria Delfina (lunch on day 4), Delfina, BiRite, and across from BiRite is BiRite Creamery – this city does not mess around. Anyone living in this near vicinity is incredibly fortuitous to be living there. On day 2, I made sure to stop by all these spots to forge it into my brain that I needed to come back here, and come back hungry…
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Some links for those interested :
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Lunch was over in the lovely collegetown of Berkeley, across the bay, easy to navigate and walk around in – a lot of cool stores, restaurants, etc. – mixed in with your somewhat typicial collegetown haunts – fast food, cheap sushi, cuisines that run the gamut, etc. – a very cool, fun town to be able to spend the afternoon in..and perhaps another trip is in order for a couple spots if I go through with Pizza Day on day 5 (more on that another day, but I have about 8-10 spots that are all within reach to eat at…and I adore pizza, if I need a day for pizza, I will not be upset at all..) (for those wondering at home, Gioia, and Cheeseboard Pizza are the 2 I’m interested in… (
www.gioiapizzeria.com /
www.cheeseboardcollective.coop )
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Anyways, rambling. Stop. Chez Panisse. World renown, famous restaurant, California cusine, Alice Waters, Lunch. Delightfully simple. REALLY simple.
www.chezpanisse.com–
App – Spring Vegetables with smoked sausage and mustard vinaigrette. That was it. Incredibly humble, simple fair – but it was flawless for a simple lunch salad.
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Entree – Poached Wild Salmon (it almost looked sous vide, but I say blasphemy at Chez Panisse…) with greens, fingerling potatoes, herb mayonaisse, and a beet and cucumber relish. Lovely piece of fish, again, so very simple, but it was all quite perfect. I imagine it would be relatively the same as it was years ago as I had it on this day…
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Dessert – Rhubarb tart with a lovely sabayon. Crispy and very flaky crust, tender rhubarb, and a great sabayon – not much else I could ask for – a simple dessert with textbook execution.
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Of course the food was good – but just the whole experience of walking up to the restaurant, being around it, eating in it – such an incredible experience with the history behind it all – a lot of the things we are able to do here in the Twin Cities, we wouldn’t be able to without people like Alice Waters always pushing towards the very best. Even if she wasn’t a Chef (and she would probably tell you she rarely was – yeah, we are totally friends and stuff…?) she always pushed for the very best – the highest quality, at the peak of the season – an incredibly lady (a great biography of her and the restaurant – “Alice Waters and Chez Panisse” – is a great read – look for it, or email me, and I’ll let you borrow mine…)
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After lunch, I strolled around Berkeley for awhile, just loving the weather (during the day anyways – day 3 @ ATT Park will be a fun one about how cold it gets in the eve…right against the bay..) and the atmosphere – people sitting in the middle of the grass medians – eating pizza from Cheeseboard, people coming and going at a brisk pace – everyone seems to know what needs to get done and they are very efficient at keeping on track…it was fun to people watch throughout the different areas I’ve visited…
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A quick BART train ride back to homebase for a quick nap to refresh and be ready for more walking (and dinner at Commonwealth) – I was off again, heading south on Market Street – a very vibrant, colorful stretch I’d best compare to a mix of Eat Street and East Lake Street – again, an area very comfortable to walk down alone during the day, but I did indeed take another cab home after dinner – I mean, yes, because of the inherent danger (probably not) in the back of my mind – but also because I would consume a lot of food – more than enough than to just “walk it off” – I am full well knowing that I will be taking a lot of it home with me – diet and exercise are certainly not the point of this trip…I didn’t lose over 60 lbs to continue living like that – obviously I am much more aware, and will continue to lose weight upon my return – but trips are certainly not the place for counting calories and egg whites…back to the food.
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Commonwealth. I know comparison are the de rigueur of this article – it still helps convey what I mean – so there. It certainly stacks up very well with Piccolo for the most part – portions are a bit bigger, but still around tasting size – so that you may create your own tasting…or if your in San Francisco not often (like me), with someone else’s money (like me), and are hungry (you know where this is going), you order the entire menu. And a couple extras that sounded like you needed more than 1…granted I was with 2 other lovely people – former residents of the Twin Cities – I still thought it was the best way to go.
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The menu is posted (
http://www.commonwealthsf.com/menus/a-la-carte/) – so I won’t have to list EVERYTHING we ate, but you get the idea – the menu isnt THAT big – and it was all quite nice – it was certainly a bit more “out there” than Piccolo but I would certainly not say it was better either – Doug’s food is still grounded in a lot of ways (technique, flavor profiles, etc) – that I appreciate a lot more than what Commonwealth is doing – but it certainly was a great experience, a lot of ideas we just don’t see in the Twin Cities – a lot of beautiful plates with ingredients we either can’t get, or can’t get the same quality of here..so it certainly was a great time, but I can certainly say that I enjoyed Boulevard, and Chez Panisse a bit more – that is my style of food – that is what I look for in a great restaurant. Those types of food – I worry about Coi and Benu coming up – more of this avant-garde style of food that will I’m sure be beautiful, lovely to eat, and executed properly – but blasphemy, I know, it always seems to be missing a bit of soul…we will see, won’t we?
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Day 3 brings a bit of a different schedule – a bigger lunch with a smaller dinner planned (at the ballpark..) – Zuni Cafe, another San Franciso institution and a place that seems right up my alley. From the outside, looking it, it seems incredibly beautiful. I can’t wait to check it out (full disclosure, I did already
) – look for that write up in a day or so – just want to make sure each day is posted at the top for more than a day so everyone has a change to read it!
Until then, time to go eat more food and stuff… Hope all is well in the Cities, I cannot wait to get back to Levain, and start cooking again – a trip like this always lights a bit of a fire under you when you get to eat out a lot – but not be able to go into a kitchen and create can be difficult…
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Adam.
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Day 1 – Made it to California! First up? Boulevard. 5.9.2011
Inspiration is all around us – but sometimes, it is certainly nice to get away from the everyday surroundings for a bit. This being my first vacation since I took a trip to Italy 2 years back? Having never been to San Francisco, I was excited to try out one my biggest influences, Boulevard – it will always have a special place in my cooking career – it was one of the first “big” cookbooks I purchased out of culinary school and I instantly fell in love with it.
Having such lofty expectations, I certainly didnt think it could possibly hold up…but thankfully, the staff, and kitchen truly delivered an excellent meal/start to my trip here in San Francisco. Inspiring indeed. I think I should stop for a minute and let you know this dinner is proudly sponsored by one, Harvey Mclain, without his kind donation to the feed Adam while in San Francisco fund, this dinner wouldn’t have been possible. In the interest of full disclosure, I work for the man, but I am forever grateful for what he has done for me, and what he continues to do for me – it can never be reciprocated fully – but I certainly do appreciate it more than I can express…
Back to your regularly scheduled program…
Well Adam. What did you eat? Enough with the cheeky banter and butt kissing the boss – I’m here to find out what Mr. Cheffy Chef ate for his first meal in San Francisco.
Well then, I shall move on, quit being so pushy, silly me for thinking you wanted a bit of a back story…
After having a cocktail at the simple bar (and for those that know me are shocked right now…I usually dont partake in libations, but hey, I’m in San Francisco, and Harvey is paying for it, not me – why not?) – I took my seat at the kitchen bar – I’d say similar to Levain’s but with about 3 times the seating capacity and quadruple the staff – it certainly had its share of distinct differences than little ole Levain.
Adam….your bantering again…
Well. I say Blah to you. It’s 1 am here and I’m on Minneapolis time still (3 am for those unaware of the simple timezone differences..you certainly are welcome.. ) and the espresso is keeping me up (arguable the most forgettable part of the meal, ironically enough)
They started me off with an amuse bouche of absolutely beautiful in appearance, beet cured Salmon, with roasted chioggia beets, a really cool breadcrumb gremolata and for the sake of saving my skin because I didn’t take notes and it wasn’t on the menu and I’m terrible at remembering things, I will stop there with the description. But it was delightful. Incredibly beautiful. And a nice start to the meal.
I need to let you know now that it was incredibly difficult ordering off the menu – they didn’t have a tasting option, and the menu is setup exactly like Levain – Starters and Entrees. It was difficult to pick a flow to the meal so I decided on an app, and 2 entrees. (again, need I remind you, on Harvey’s lovely, shiny dime – wouldn’t you? Research and development….??? Um…moving on…)
My app selection was a very seasonal Spring English Pea Ravioli, with an amazing burrata cheese (one of my absolute favorite indulgences) pine nuts, a ragout of snap and english peas, and shaved summer truffles. Being a huge fan of peas and burrata, I loved it quite a great deal. Although, I will say, I have still yet to have an amazing fresh truffle…one day perhaps. (it is worth yet another quip in parentheses, that I fell for a tourist trap dish while in Italy – 30 euro for a pappardelle and truffle dish that was literally shaved cardboard over buttered noodles – for like 40? US dollars…ugh, never again…this certainly was not that, but I felt I needed to share…) It was a great, seasonal dish – something I look forward to a lot more of during my stay here in lovely San Francisco (61 and sunny through the week for those keeping track at home…although it does get chilly in the eve, sweater weather…nothing like the heatwave I hear you all are getting back in Minneapolis)
Anyways, mentioning to perhaps one or 2 people that I happened to work in a kitchen, they sent me out probably my favorite course of the night. Monterey Abalone. Lovely, nice and tender. Served with fried green tomatoes, stone crab remoulade (My goodness that was good), and a nice sweet corn, leek, and ceci bean succotash….wowza – I was so grateful the kitchen thought I needed to try that. After partaking, I couldn’t agree more…
Next up was entree #1 – Wild local salmon, with bacon, fava beans, green garlic spaetzle, and black chanterelles. Now, I asked my lovely server whether or not to go with this lovely Salmon dish or a equally appealing Halibut dish (green and purple asparagus, creamed morels (um, yes please), pea puree, snap peas, english peas, and pea pesto (jeez, is it spring in San Francisco?) She said Salmon. I concurred. Having overlooked one little word – black. Black chanterelles, aka Black trumpets, aka my least favorite wild mushroom. I saw chanterelle, I didn’t balk. I love chanterelles…golden chanterelles. The one issue I have with trumpets. I adore the flavor. BUT YOU CAN NEVER GET THEM CLEAN! EVER! Gritty, dirty, these are little stinkers when it comes to that. But Adam, Boulevard is an incredible restaurant (nominated for JBAwards – held tonight – congrats Issac! Best Restaurant in the US 8 years in a row – they have to be able to clean them properly, right?) – they did an amazing job with them – yes, but I noticed a little piece of what I thought was black trumpet – but no, it was a pea sized chunk of dirt. Total sad face because the dish was amazing, and I still believe it was a great dish – best black trumpets I’ve ever had – I really enjoyed it – but the legend lives on – trumpets are next to impossible to get totally clean…
(more and more full disclosure…I cleaned every plate of food…most were sopped up with their lovely bread…which was VERY similar to Turtle Breads campagne. Total gratuitous plug. If you want Boulevard bread service, buy Turtle Bread. But cleaning the plate was a theme through the entire night…)
Last savory. Wood oven (so delightfully smoky, so it was certainly worth noting) pork prime rib chop. Awesome broccoli (think broccolini). German buttterball potatoes with ham hock butter (no, that sounds 10x better than you were already thinking) potato crisps, with a relish of fennel confit and celery. Awesome, hearty dish – so simple but so complex. OMGZ Adam, that is so deep. Yeah. It is. Deal.
It was awesome how well the components of the dish were so clear and vibrant and la di da…it was perfectly executed. Nicely rested, subtly smoky piece of pork, with amazing produce, and more pork. And butter. For realz, it was so friggin good. A great way to end the savories, another solid rec from my server.
Dessert was a blur of lovely chocolate mousse, cremeux (like if this becomes the next dessert fad, I am so totally game…it is so addicting..literally translated it means creamy. And throw another word in front of it – in this case, chocolate – and goto heaven…cherry sorbet, pistachio ice cream, pistachio “brittle” – yes – another lovely delight…stellar, and thankfully just the right size – but really, after 2000 calories, what really is “just the right size” – suck it up and throw it down…and so I did. A couple chocolate truffles, and a chocolate hazelnut bon bon later, I was ready to call it dinner #1 while in San Francisco.
Exceeded my lofty expectations (Boulevard cookbook has been one of my favorites since I purchased it in 2004 – it was surreal finally eating inspirations and those same philosophies I have been reading about for all these years…) – Boulevard is a beautiful restaurant, a very enjoyable experience at the kitchen bar, and lovely service. A great first meal to my trip, and one that will be tough (albeit, I will certainly be more than willing to try and top it) to beat.
The espresso is wearing off. A bit bitter for my liking. Still have had the best espresso in the US at my good friend’s Robb Sandberg’s lovely condo in Northeast Minneapolis. Look him up and bug him to death to make you one. Truly a delight.
BUT! Boulevard was a great start to my search for inspiration in this lovely little town called San Francisco…
What’s next? A restaurant I haven’t heard much about in Berkeley called Chez Panisse (Funny, Adam.) and for dinner, a excellent sounding prix fixe restaurant called Commonwealth. With a stop at Tartine for breakfast, I think tomorrow will be a good day.
Until then, I hope you all are doing well in Minneapolis. The restaurant is in good hands with Remle being back, I will be there soon, I miss Minneapolis already. Always be my favorite city!
Goodnight, and Good morning,
Adam.