incredible collection of photos and descriptions.
Entries Tagged 'review' ↓
Trip report to Alinea
November 21st, 2007 — review
BARGAIN BITE
June 28th, 2007 — restaurant, review
One word of caution: If the menu identifies a dish as hot, you better believe it.
A A Gill on Dim T
June 20th, 2007 — article, food politics, foodinomics, restaurant, review
a strange dim sum review from TimesOnline
So soon has it come to this: food that has been airlifted can’t, shan’t, won’t be considered organic. So, if you want a climatically ethical life, don’t nosh anything fresh from abroad.On the other hand, I expect those of you who want to live proper will also continue to fight ceaselessly for the cancellation of Third World debt and the tearing down of EU trade barriers that so cruelly penalise African agrarian economies, to allow them to sell their surplus cash crops freely to us. Except, of course, that they’ll have to deliver them by bike.
Where to go if you want a good steak in Manhatten
March 2nd, 2007 — article, restaurant, review
http://events.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/dining/reviews/28rest.html
“Where Only the Salad Is Properly Dressed “
Restaurant Stéphane Derbord
November 22nd, 2006 — blog, burgundian, chefs, french, restaurant, review, travel
Chocolate & Zucchini: Lunch in Dijon
To the side were fresh twigs of thyme and rosemary for you to nibble on, or just let their perfume rise up to your delicate nostrils as you ate.
El Bulli Bulli
November 21st, 2006 — blog, chefs, photos, restaurant, review, spain, travel
“I remember reading about El Bulli four or five years ago in the French newspaper Le Monde. I remember the yearning, and I remember the pang that followed closely: considering the small number of guests that the restaurant could accomodate each season, the dream seemed out of reach. But a few years later, I learned from a well-informed friend that getting a reservation was a bit like playing the lottery: the odds were low, but it didn’t cost much to try (see below).
And so I played, I won, and this is how Maxence and I found ourselves flying to Barcelona last weekend with three of our friends.”
What’s a Restaurant 2-Star Michelin Rating Like?
November 11th, 2006 — california, chefs, chocolate, dessert, french, review, spain, stars and ratings, wine
Manresa 320 Villeage Lane, Los Gatos, CAWe celebrated our 10th “first date” anniversary last night at a Michelin 2-star restaurant/Mobil Travel Guide 4-star restaurant. The dinner was truly amazing. We were 20 minutes early and Michael Kean, the general manager got us a table right away. The decor was nice, comfortable and inviting..not too plush, a nice balance of modern and warm. We were seated along one wall where we can see the door to the kitchen and get a good view of the wine storage and most of the room. The crowd looked a little bit on the older side wearing business suits. I had double checked opentable.com to read more on how to dress for the restaurant. I went for a safe outfit and wore all black with a hot pink shawl. J did the whole black look with a silver button-down shirt. Can’t go wrong with black.
The room didn’t feel overly crowded or noisy. I’m wondering if this is just a more sedate crowd or if it was because they didn’t try to cram too many tables in the restaurant.
The restaurant location is actually quite quaint and tucked away in on a little street between University & Santa Cruz. Parking was a bit of a challenge since this part of Los Gatos is quite popular with all its shops and restaurants. I thought with the cooler weather there would be less folks, however arriving earlier than we expected we didn’t mind waiting for a space to open up in the lot just behind the restaurant. There is no valet service.
This had to be the most memorable meal we’ve ever had. Considering our first date dinner was more of a college type fare with spaghetti, salad and soda which was over in 20 minutes. The time of our dinner party included a viewing of Toy Story. The Manresa experience was the extreme opposite on the spectrum of dining experiences.
When we were reviewing the menu we wanted to try the tasting menu and we didn’t want our dinner to take 3-4 hours. We were starving since we ate so little during the day and it was already 8 o’clock. So we both decided to do the 4 course dinner and selected different dishes so that we could try the variety of food. Since we were celebrating we also opted for the wine pairing for our dishes.
Amuse bouche
Spoon of acorn squash puree with evoo and a little crushed sea salt.
Slow cooked egg with something like sour cream and chives…(i need to learn more about how to taste seasonings and distinguish creams and stuff) This was quite heavenly. You had to mix it all around to make sure the dressing was incorporated with the egg.
Deep fried parmesan stick(similar to a cheesy churro), not too greasy and just a slight taste of saltiness.
This was paired with a Cava sparking wine. This was a nice way to start our celebration dinner.
First Course
Butterfish sashimi with a really nice olive oil dressing. The fish was really like butter, a slight transluscent pink color touched with a bit of olive oil, the serving was a good portion to be able to enjoy and to share.
Sweet onion-brioche soup with a slice of manchego cheese and slow-cooked egg. Poured into a bowl, the soup was amazing and the wine really brought out the flavors. The cheese and slow-cooked egg were really nice balance to the sweetness of the soup. The cheese gave the nice saltiness and the egg gave some weight and texture.
Second Course
Arctic char with some greens. This was a nice light fish that resembled salmon but not as heavy or oily. A nice balance with my super light chardonnay or was it a sauvignon blanc…can’t remember.
The john dory on the plancha(style of cooking on a cast iron plate), drenched in Indian spices, yogurt & cucumber sauce. This dish was an amazing mix of fish in a slightly spicey sauce. The wine pairing was excellent and it truly brought out the spiciness but balanced with the buttery feel of the wine.
Third Course
Squab, nice medium rare really red. However the server warned us and said that if it was cooked well it would have become rubbery with no flavors. He was right, the rareness released the nice balanced flavors of the meat with its accompaniment and sauce. The dish was not salty and the wine pairing was amazing; a 2005 Jezebel Pinot Noir from Oregon. That was the only thing I wrote down because the wine was amazing.
My veal cheeks braised in apple cider, celery root and maitakes, roquefort was absolutely amazing. The earthy French syrah I had was a nice balance to the earthiness of my dish. The veal was tender and felt like it was melting in my mouth. We both ate in silence as we enjoyed our meals.
Enough time paced our courses and gave us a chance to enjoy our wine. James, our server was quite helpful in explaining our meal and the accompanying wine. He asked if we were there celebrating an occassion; we told him it was our anniversary. For our last course, dessert, he served both our plates with a little candle on them. It was a nice gesture and made our celebration dinner feel more festive.
Fourth Course
Chocolate marquis , cashews and white coffee ice cream. A highly sophisticated Snickers-like bar with white chocolate ice cream. The small portion was enough to close out the dinner but not too much to overpower the flavors from all the courses. This was paired with a nice velvety late harvest red wine.
Date cake with Tahitian vanilla ice cream with carmelized bacon and dried pear slice. I really don’t even know how to describe this one. The carmelized bacon was an unlikely pair with the date cake but somehow it was a really nice touch to the dessert.
Tea
Great presentation of loose tea and served in individual teapots. I’m hoping for Christmas I can get a nice loose tea presentation box. We both had a lemongrass herbal tea. This was a nice way to top off our dinner and warm us up before we headed outdoor.
What was more amazing about this dining experience was the General Manager gave us a tour of the kitchen. Executive Chef Kinch was somewhat busy so all he could manage was a subtle wave to acknowledge our presence. Not too bad considering we’ve never been in the kitchen to see a kitchen’s choreographed dance. One of the highlights of the kitchen was a professional stove that was imported from France. It cooks with even heat at various tempertures. The chef basically moves the pot over the French top(not open but smooth so fuel smell of gas doesn’t affect the food) of the stove which was made of cast iron. You can read more from the SFGate Review.
After so much wine(we don’t usually drink), we went for a walk on Santa Cruz Ave in the extremely cool November evening…it was getting close to midnight when we headed home. I guess dinner did take over 3 hours! But we really didn’t notice the time since we were savoring each bite of our meal and enjoying spending quality time together.
4 Course Meal was $85 and another $52 for the wine pairing
Chef’s Tasting Menu(seasonal and spontaneous) was $115 and another $72 for the wine pairing.
Next time we’ll plan for an earlier dinner and try the tasting menu.
Chutzpah, Truffles & Alain Ducasse
November 4th, 2006 — blogpost, french, produce, restaurant, review
The Amateur Gourmet reviews truffles via graphic novel form
It occurs to me at the end of this post that I didn’t, in fact, tell you what a white truffle tastes like. How to describe it? It’s really the smell that gets you–the smell is pungent and earthy and unlike anything else you’ve ever smelled. See, wasn’t that helpful?
Lime Leaf Asian Noodle House
November 3rd, 2006 — asian, food - misc, restaurant, review, vietnamese
A curious blend of Vietnamese and Thai food blended with uninteresting decorated restaurant and typical prints that happen to be plastered in various Palo Alto cafes. Not a strange combination of cuisines considering there are a good mix of asian food available on University Ave. Lime Leaf (452 University Ave, Palo Alto next door to Borders Bookstore) opened today with little fanfare. If you weren’t getting your meals confused with another table, you could really enjoy the food. I was dining alone so I didn’t want to look like a pig and order alot, so I ordered the pad thai(10.95) Nothing too exciting. The basic mix of noodles, eggs, slivers of tofu, chicken and 3 little pieces of shrimp. Some fresh sprouts on the side and sugary salt and hot pepper flakes on the side. I could tell that all around many folks had poor service. Either the orders were wrong or being sent to the wrong table. It was a huge distraction that the service was bad, so if you were in a hurry or felt uncomfortable sitting alone in the middle of room staring out the front door that overlooked down Kipling things could have been better. Overall the prices were reasonable, the portions were generous, I can imagine eating here family style however most were ordering their own meals. The menu had a good mix of soup, rice noodles, and rice dishes. I think for a first night it was tricky and they didn’t have enough servers. I’ll give them 2 more months before I return. I wish I had a dining companion because I really wanted to try the dessert called FBI, fried banana with mango ice cream. For now the place has a left a sour experience for me, however in time it would be in their interest to spruce up their service.
iTapas or is it I Tapas
October 27th, 2006 — food - misc, restaurant, review
I can’t tell if chef-owner Hung Lee(owner of Three Seasons) is trying to lure the tech savy folks of Silly Valley with the “i” in front of their name, but in terms of ambience the place is mash up of things old and new, hip and classic. It’s definitely not like the Apple Store down the street. At the former location of Pasta Pomodoro/Left at Albuquerque (445 Emerson St Palo Alto), it’s difficult to tell if the place is trying to really mix it up with old Charlie Chaplin movies play up near the ceiling and an interesting mix of paintings/photographs. I know for sure the genre of music playing wasn’t really a reflection of the amazing mix of small plates(tapas). I appreciated the cultural nod to the representation of small plates around the world and after reviewing the menu you can definitely wonder ooh, “where is this one from?” or “I wonder what wine I could get to match what we’re eating?”
What we ate…started with duck tacos(12) interesting plate of tortilla chips, sliced duck(amazingly the fat was cut out), with sides including mango salsa, guacomole and sour cream. It was an ok starter but I think we would have gone for another dish more like our lamb chops(14) which is a typical small plate offering. The lamb chops came with mashed potatoes and some broccolini which was really nice and would have been even better if it was paired with a nice spicey red wine. I eyed the couple next to us with their 2 flights of red wine. Although with the small tables it looked more like a balancing act of drink alot, eat fast, bring more …
Along with the lamb we opted for the seared scallops(13); slightly seared and cooked just right placed on top of creamy risotto. I was glad the broccolini came out alone because we got a chance to really savor its freshness with the hint of garlic that wasn’t overpowering like in typical asian restaurants. For dessert we selected the cheese plate (12) that had 3 cheeses, cheese crackers, quince paste, and a mix of fresh fig and grapes infused with bits of mint. It was a nice way to end our dinner. Flavorful but not overpowering.
The designer sense…they really need to work on the branding and typography used on the restaurant, menu, business card. I didn’t get a sense that they had a “mood” or personality in mind when putting it all together but the food IMO allowed me to momentarily forget those details.
Currently no lunch offering but dinner is nightly starting at 5pm. The attention waned when there were more people but it was ok since we were already waiting for our check. I can see they are aiming for more couples with the high ratio of two-seat tables and bar dining compared to the few large tables. The placement of waiting area to the bar is a little awkward since you have to traverse a railing and high bar stools along with the waiters going back and forth. I was disappointed that they didn’t offer a sampler highlighting the different cuisines of tapas. Outdoor sidewalk dining was available.
I’ll probably return in a month to see if there are any adjustments to the ambience or the menu. I’m hoping they make more vegetarian friendly section since I felt it was lacking in excitement, it should have been just called sides and not treated like whole plates. We’ll see where this one goes.
