Jardiniere
We returned to Jardiniere for dinner to celebrate the Food Gal’s birthday. No I’m not telling you which one. (We also went to Las Vegas to celebrate the Food Gal’s birthday, but that’s a whole different story…short version, don’t; more to follow.)
This time, the Opera was in…so the place was jam-packed. Seriously, three deep at the bar packed. That was OK, though, because we just went right up to our table. Great spot on the railing overlooking the bar. The only downside was that we were right under a vent that was pumping out seriously cold air to keep up with all of the people packed into the restaurant. Once it thinned out a bit (about 20 minutes into our time there) the AC kicked off and we were comfortable the rest of the night. If it had kept blowing, I would have asked to move and I’m certain they’d have accommodated us.
We opened with cocktails given our wonderful experience the last time, I had a Pegu (gin, lime and Cointreau with two dashes of Angostura bitters) and the Food Gal had a “The Last Word” (gin, Maraska, Chartreuse and lime). The bartenders were just as good this time as last and we thoroughly enjoyed our drinks. I don’t mention enough the amazing bar scene in San Francisco. The restaurants and bartenders in this town take their drinks so seriously and construct them so carefully that it puts most other cities and towns I’ve been in or drunk in (ok, same thing) to shame. While we sipped the drinks, we discussed the options and decided against the tasting menu. We’d already basically figured that out before we got to the restaurant, but it was tempting and so we had to reconfirm. Instead, we went for the first course blitz. I don’t know about you, but I find (and the Food Gal emphatically agrees) that first courses on menus tend to be far more interesting that main courses. I think chefs feel freer to play and take some chances with smaller dishes at a lower price point. We often end up ordering many first courses and skipping the main course altogether. This was no exception.
We started the food portion of the evening with a couple of oysters each (the food portion not being strictly necessary...but we thought it polite). They had Kumamoto and Miyagi oysters and we had one of each each; a perfect way to start the meal. After a brief conversation with one of the two sommeliers they had working that night, I chose the Philippe Roty Marsannay "Champs Saint Etienne" 2004. We’ve been exploring “The Villages” region and this was an exceptional bottle. A Pinot Noir with more body than the ones I’m used to from the Pacific Northwest in the states. It did very nicely with the rest of our meal.
Next, I had the duck confit salad with candied kumquats; a very nicely balanced dish with plenty of sweetness, fattiness and salt. The Food Gal, though, chose even more wisely, opting for the warm bread salad with grilled baby artichokes. That was an amazing dish. An alchemical thing took place with the bread, the artichokes, the greens and the dressing and did what you hope for from food in such a restaurant…it became more than the sum of its parts.
For our next course, the Food Gal had the duck liver mousse; an impossibly airy mousse served with some spectacular bread and house made pickles. I liked it more than she did, but that was OK because she liked my foie gras terrine with Sauternes gelee and pickled apricots more than I did. Which is saying something because I was quite impressed with that dish. The gelee especially was lovely and really made the foie gras pop in terms of flavor.
For dessert, we had the Bonne Bouche platter that was brilliant with about ten or so different bite sized nibbles. They also had a peanut butter crème caramel, which was delicious. The decaf was excellent and super hot. Doesn’t hurt that they serve it from silver coffee pots tableside.
(We've been once before but I was negligent and haven't written about it yet...I'll post it shortly...ish.)
This time, the Opera was in…so the place was jam-packed. Seriously, three deep at the bar packed. That was OK, though, because we just went right up to our table. Great spot on the railing overlooking the bar. The only downside was that we were right under a vent that was pumping out seriously cold air to keep up with all of the people packed into the restaurant. Once it thinned out a bit (about 20 minutes into our time there) the AC kicked off and we were comfortable the rest of the night. If it had kept blowing, I would have asked to move and I’m certain they’d have accommodated us.
We opened with cocktails given our wonderful experience the last time, I had a Pegu (gin, lime and Cointreau with two dashes of Angostura bitters) and the Food Gal had a “The Last Word” (gin, Maraska, Chartreuse and lime). The bartenders were just as good this time as last and we thoroughly enjoyed our drinks. I don’t mention enough the amazing bar scene in San Francisco. The restaurants and bartenders in this town take their drinks so seriously and construct them so carefully that it puts most other cities and towns I’ve been in or drunk in (ok, same thing) to shame. While we sipped the drinks, we discussed the options and decided against the tasting menu. We’d already basically figured that out before we got to the restaurant, but it was tempting and so we had to reconfirm. Instead, we went for the first course blitz. I don’t know about you, but I find (and the Food Gal emphatically agrees) that first courses on menus tend to be far more interesting that main courses. I think chefs feel freer to play and take some chances with smaller dishes at a lower price point. We often end up ordering many first courses and skipping the main course altogether. This was no exception.
We started the food portion of the evening with a couple of oysters each (the food portion not being strictly necessary...but we thought it polite). They had Kumamoto and Miyagi oysters and we had one of each each; a perfect way to start the meal. After a brief conversation with one of the two sommeliers they had working that night, I chose the Philippe Roty Marsannay "Champs Saint Etienne" 2004. We’ve been exploring “The Villages” region and this was an exceptional bottle. A Pinot Noir with more body than the ones I’m used to from the Pacific Northwest in the states. It did very nicely with the rest of our meal.
Next, I had the duck confit salad with candied kumquats; a very nicely balanced dish with plenty of sweetness, fattiness and salt. The Food Gal, though, chose even more wisely, opting for the warm bread salad with grilled baby artichokes. That was an amazing dish. An alchemical thing took place with the bread, the artichokes, the greens and the dressing and did what you hope for from food in such a restaurant…it became more than the sum of its parts.
For our next course, the Food Gal had the duck liver mousse; an impossibly airy mousse served with some spectacular bread and house made pickles. I liked it more than she did, but that was OK because she liked my foie gras terrine with Sauternes gelee and pickled apricots more than I did. Which is saying something because I was quite impressed with that dish. The gelee especially was lovely and really made the foie gras pop in terms of flavor.
For dessert, we had the Bonne Bouche platter that was brilliant with about ten or so different bite sized nibbles. They also had a peanut butter crème caramel, which was delicious. The decaf was excellent and super hot. Doesn’t hurt that they serve it from silver coffee pots tableside.
(We've been once before but I was negligent and haven't written about it yet...I'll post it shortly...ish.)
Labels: San Francisco Restaurants
posted by The Food Guy at 2:56 PM
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What are your thoughts about the artists who have been awarded grants at www.boomerangfund.org?
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