My First Dinner @ Baker and Banker

My first visit to Baker and Banker was Jan 18, 2011.  It was one of my best meals that year.  Back then, I didn't take photos, but I did write up a short review.  Re-posting here so I can keep a record of it.
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I just had an amazing meal, start to finish, at Baker & Banker!  I highly recommend, and totally see why it has been getting such amazing reviews.  The decor of the place was really nice as well - elegant yet casual at the same time, felt very comfortable.

* Bread basket: fresh bread from the adjacent bakery. Today's basket was a rosemary focaccia and honey whole wheat. Both were fantastic. I didn't know that sandwich bread (the honey whole wheat) could be that good! I've taken to kinda skimping on bread at restaurants lately, but this is not to missed. One diner said this was the highlight of his meal, and that he could eat this bread for dessert.
* Diver scallops, Dungeness crab, Sardinian couscous, Pernod-saffron sauce, Satsuma mandarin salad. I love scallops, I love crab, so I liked this. Flavorful sauce. This wasn't a blow your socks off sort of dish, but quality ingredients, well prepared.
* Soy and mirin braised black cod, foie gras-shitake sticky rice, charred bok choy. This one was a blow your socks off dish. The sauce on this was phenomenal. And the foie gras complimented the sticky rice and the fish so amazingly well. A bite with the foie, cod, and rice all in it was perfection. I didn't know I could like foie gras so much! Another diner and I were supposed to be sharing this dish, but I probably had 75% of it.
* Pink lady apple crisp, brown sugar-pecan streusel, white cheddar ice cream. I'm a sucker for warm crisp and ice cream. But I grew up eating apple pie topped with melted cheddar cheese. This was all of these things, in one! My dining companions each took about one bite and deemed it weird. I eagerly finished the whole thing (note, it was not small!)
* XXX triple layer chocolate cake: flourless chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake and devil’s food cake, covered in ganache. This was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. Huge, decadent, rich, but with all the different layers it wasn't ever too much. At least, not for me ... everyone else gave up after a few bites. Again, I finished it.
* Meyer lemon ice box pie, black olives, candied thyme. Definitely the strange one of the evening. It was a very sweet yet tart lemony custard, over pie crust, with macerated black olives and candied thyme. The savory ingredients were definitely strange. My least favorite dish of the evening, but everyone was letting it go to waste ...

In summary, everything was great. This is quality food, cooked very well. Go there, and bring me with you! I haven't overeaten to these extremes in ages, and it was soooo worth it.