Special Event @ Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant

Update Reviews, April 2024

Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant is a restaurant I walk by every single day.  It really is my "local" restaurant.  And yet ... I somehow never go there.  In the 14 years they have been open, I have been there several times for special events, I've gotten takeout maybe twice, and had their pizza at other events a few times.  But I haven't really sought it out, despite it being such an easy option. 

"Inspired by global cuisine and the bounty of California produce in our backyard, we proudly offer seasonal dishes and wood-fired pizzas with American comfort mediterranean flavors and the freshest ingredients. Our produce, meats, and cheeses are all locally sourced from Northern California and "Local" is truly our mantra."

The concept at Local Kitchen is, well, "Local".  In practice that seems to mean a fairly basic menu of American / Italian cuisine, with scatterings of Mediterranean ingredients, and more recently, Mexican.  It is the sort of menu you read and yawn, as there is nothing particularly interesting about it.  Sure, everyone can find something they want, but there isn't a single dish that sounds particularly unique.  Not the sort of cuisine you'll ever remember.  There was a *very* brief time, around 2019, when they brought in a new exec chef who added some Singaporean dishes, which was actually very exciting to me, but sadly, she, and the menu, did not stay long.  Although "and Wine Merchant" still remains in the business name, they have certainly pivoted away from the strong wine program focus, and are mostly the "kitchen" now.

Local Kitchen is open for dinner most nights.  At different times in the past, they've also been open for brunch on weekends.  I'm honestly not quite sure how they stayed in business for so long, as 14 years is a looong time in the SF restaurant scene, and in particular, how they weathered the pandemic, as it never seems actually busy.  They also have a sister restaurant, Buena Vida Cantina, that moved in to the old Oola space down the street on Folsom.  It has a Mexican focus, and you can see elements of that influence on the Local Kitchen menu (and, at the event, they brought some dishes from there as well).

I finally returned this year when they hosted a 3 night long open house for the neighborhood, to celebrate their 14 years in business (and, presumably, to remind us all they are still there!).  I was able try a very large portion of the menu, spanning from appetizers to entrees to pizzas to pastas AND dishes from Buena Vida.  I was pleasantly surprised by the above average quality of the food I sampled over the course of two nights at the open house.  Again, fairly boring and basic menu, but, well prepared food.  It made me actually want to return to order a real meal.

A few weeks later, they launched a preview of their Supper Club, a service where you can order meals from the restaurant delivered cold, ready for you to heat up and finish at home.  For that event, they offered smaller versions of the intended menu, and again, I was pleased with the quality, even if the dishes weren't exciting.

Bites / Small Plates

The menu at Local starts with a section of "Bites" (if you are reading the online menu) or "Small Plates" (if in person).  The lineup isn't extensive, but has a couple Italian appetizer style items (meatballs, arancini, whipped ricotta) that go well with the mostly Italian focus of the restaurant, a somewhat generic cheese & charcuterie plate that makes sense alongside wine, a Middle Eastern spiced flatbread that seems like a bit of an odd match for the rest of the menu, and truffle fries.  I was able to try a few items from this section, and I've had the meatballs in the past (although I didn't review then, nor really remember them).

Mushroom Arancini.  $14.

"Fried risotto balls | mozzarella | mushroom aioli."

Arancini of some form have been on the menu at Local for quite a while.  I've seen slightly different mushroom ones, and butternut in the past.  As I'm not one for rice (unless in dessert rice pudding!), and really not into risotto (mushy rice? Meh), I don't generally go for arancini, but for some reason I decided to try one.  I'm glad I did.

These were actually pretty good.  I had one when it was hot and fresh, and enjoyed it more than expected.  Super crispy shell.  Molten cheese inside.  Soft (but not mushy) mushroom forward risotto ball.  Better than average arancini, probably the best I've had in ... the past 10 or so years, but I haven't really sought aranini out that much.  High ***.

I had another once they had been sitting a few minutes, so not quite as fresh, and it was solidly meh though.  The molten center really was key to the enjoyment.  I wished I hadn't gone back a second, as it left a less good final impression.

$14 for a regular size appetizer on the menu, half-price at happy hour (3 to an order for $7).

House made flatbread. $10. 

"Za'atar & harissa seasoned flatbread, seasoned dip trio."

I didn't try the flatbread, but I did try the olive and romesco sauces that were part of the dip trio (hummus was the other).  They were fine.  Not memorable, nor really things I'm excited for.  ***.

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Whipped Ricotta. $14.

"Whipped ricotta, olives, toasted almonds, extra virgin olive oil, grilled bread."

I didn't get a photo of the whipped ricotta, which was served as individual crostini.  I took one not knowing what the topping was, and it was a good gamble (not goat cheese, phew!).

This was actually very good.  I didn't care for the oily and hard toasted bread base, but the whipped ricotta was tasty, and the toasted almonds added a great crunch.  Olives briney and salty.  Better than expected, good mix of flavors and textures.  ***+.

Pizzas

Pizza is, and always has been, a main attraction at Local.  They have a big wood burning oven in the open kitchen, and it has always been a focal points of the restaurant, in every iteration of it I have seen.  I think they might have briefly taken pizza off the menu during the era of the Southeast Asian chef, but it quickly came back. People want their pizza.

The pizza menu has a dozen or so curated pizzas, ranging from your standard margherita to a frankly rather confused sounding Vodka Chicken with ham, bacon, chimichurri, and soft scrambled egg (in addition to what I assume is vodka sauce and chicken?  I'm wondering if this is an error on their printed menu), or you can build your own.  All one size only.  They do offer a gluten-free option, but no vegan cheeses. 

Our event had a variety of pizzas coming out at all times, but they weren't ever labelled, so it was hard to know what was what.  People did seem excited about the pizza though.

Funghi. $29.

"Garlic Puree, Mozzarella, Wild Mushrooms, Wild Baby Arugula, Pecorino Cheese, Truffle Oil."

I didn't try any of the pizza the first night, and almost didn't the second (I've just had a ton of pizza lately, and wasn't really in the mood).  But when a fresh funghi pizza came out right when I was standing there ... I impulse grabbed a slice.

I was definitely in a wild mushroom phase, and had just discovered (and devoured) the White Truffle Potato Chips the day before, and so, I saw fancy mushroom and truffles and dug right in.  I completely forgot that I hadn't cared for this before. 

The crust was ok, although my piece was actually a bit too charred.  Nicely puffy though, decent chew.  I had Tony's Pizza Napoletana the week before though, and this is just no comparison (Tony's is worthy of all those accolades!).  I've also been really into Detroit style pizza (current fav is Square Pies Guys, I adore the lightly fermented flavor of the crust, and of course, the crispy cheese situation).  So this crust for me was uninteresting at best.

It was a white pizza, which I prefer.  But I didn't taste nor really find the garlic puree, nor any other creamy sauce.  Besides the cheese, that was melted well and well distributed, it was really quite dry.  The mushrooms seemed to be some small crimini mushrooms, and perhaps some regular brown mushrooms.  Fine, nicely cooked, meaty, but not particularly big pieces, and not as novel as I hoped wild mushrooms would be.  The arugula on top was nice for freshness, but added to it eating pretty dry.  Truffle oil was actually not particularly strong.  I really wanted more truffle flavor.

Overall, I was just not into this.  It has been on their menu for ages, and I think they consider it a signature pizza, but I certainly wouldn't get it again.  Low **.

More Funghi.

For a comparison photo, you can see how they served it the previous night, rather than a full size pizza on pizza pan, they plated it up a bit differently for easier communal serving.  This one was significantly less charred.  I think you can see the lack of creamy sauce a bit better here too.

Margherita. $25.

"Basil, Fresh Mozzarella, San Marzano Tomato Sauce."

Since I wasn't really feeling the pizza, I didn't try the margherita, but I do remember thinking it was decent in the past.

Large Plates

And finally, the large plates section of the menu.  Much like the small plates, the selection isn't particularly large: 3 pastas, a token burger, and one red meat (steak), one seafood (salmon), and one white meat (pork).  While the pastas are very traditional Italian basics, the proteins actually all take on Mexican elements, which doesn't quite fit with the rest of the restaurant, but perhaps is a tie-in to their sister Mexican restaurant?

This is the section of the menu I was not familiar with prior to this visit, as previous encounters have always been either just pizza, or cocktail receptions with appetizers.

CACIO E PEPE. $25.

"Linguine, Roasted Black Pepper, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Romano, Marinated Chicken Thigh."

I've heard good things about the pasta at Local, and was happy to see they were bringing out big plates of it.  The menu has 3 different pastas, all fairly classic, nothing unexpected: rigatoni bolognese, shrimp penne alla vodka, and cacio e pepe.  I only saw the cacio e pepe come out, and it came out several times.  While not innovative, I gladly would have tried any of them.

Normally this is made with linguine, but this batch used penne (presumably what they use for the penne alla vodka) and the previous batch was rigatoni (from the rigatoni bolognese).  I never actually saw a batch with the linguine.

The first batch I tried was the rigatoni version, and it wasn't very fresh when I got it (hence, no photo).  It was pretty much cold, but actually quite tasty.  Very creamy sauce, high pepper level, and perfectly al dente pasta.  ***, although if I had it hot I am pretty sure it would be at least a half star higher.  I wished I had it fresh, as I heard multiple people raving about it (I think the reason we got subsequent batches was from one of the guests telling the manager very directly how much he liked it and wanted more).

The batch pictured I had fresh, straight from the kitchen.  The sauce was still good (although not quite as much of it, not quite as creamy), but the penne I didn't care for as much.  A bit softer, just less interesting flavor to it, and the sauce fell off it easily without the ridges from the rigatoni.  It was fine, but, fairly average, and akin to what I feel most people can make at home.  Garnished well with both grated and shredded parmesan.  Very average lwo ***.

If chicken isn't your thing (it isn't mine, so I didn't try it), this is also available with grilled shrimp (+$2) or vegetable mix.

Local Burger (Slider Version).

"Housemade Everything Brioche Bun, Organic Chuck, Short Rib, & Brisket Patty, Vermont White Cheddar Cheese, Mustard Aioli, Lettuce, Tomato, French Fries."

I remember having a slider at an event in the past, and in particular, I remember being impressed with the execution ... normally sliders are far over cooked, the toppings are an afterthought, they aren't warm, etc, but it was actually really nicely assembled.  They showed up both days of the event, and were grabbed *instantly* by everyone, clearly the crowd favorite.  I didn't try them the first day, sorta thinking, "yup, sliders at an event, when are those ever actually good ...", but the second night, right before leaving, I finally did, when I was standing there right as a fresh tray was brought out.

Sliders are not on the regular menu, but they do have a standard size burger that is another menu staple.  The larger one comes with a different style bun (housemade everything brioche bun, which, does sound fantastic), but otherwise, I think it is essentially the same burger.  The full size burger with fries is normally $20.  You can add bacon, avocado, or fried egg for an additional $3.

The bun on this looked pretty basic, just a white bun, but I actually really liked it.  It was very fluffy, lightly sweet (not Hawaiian roll sweet, but, slightly), and lightly toasted on the inside only.  Considerably better than average, and better than it looked.  High ***+ bun.

Local Burger (Slider Version): Inside.

The rest of the burger was also shockingly good.

The patty was very flavorful (their blend of chuck, short rib, and brisket works wonders), it was well seasoned, AND it was cooked medium (sure, I'd prefer medium-rare, but for a tiny patty, that is hard to do).  I couldn't believe it when I bit in and it was slightly pink.  Probably the best tasting burger patty I've had in a while.  Low **** patty/cook.

And finally, the toppings.  Again, far better than average.  The tomato slice was juicy, the sharp cheese (yellow, not white as the menu said) was nicely melted, the classic iceberg lettuce was crisp, the pickle delighted me, and the mustard aioli was a flavorful "special sauce" (although I did slightly miss having some ketchup too).  All high ***+.

Putting that all together, I think it was a great slider, the best I've had in memory really, ****.  I suspect their full size burger, cooked to my preferred temperature, would be even better.

NY Strip Steak.

"Grilled NY strip steak with crispy potatoes, fire roasted squash, chimichurri sauce, wood-fired lemon and garlic."

I only eat steak a few times a year.  When I do, it is usually filet mignon or sometimes a wagyu cut.  I know, I'm boring.  I definitely don't ever order NY strip.  

This was good, for that cut of meat.  Nicely medium, still plenty pink.  Very well seasoned, slight caramelization on the crust.  Fairly tender, and although a bit chewy, that is expected for this cut.  Not bad, but again, not the cut of meat I'd go for.

The zucchini and squash are also not what I'd go for, but were cooked fine.   Then, the crispy potatoes, cut into 1-2 bite wedges.  I *adored* the potatoes.  They were crazy crispy, and pretty greasy, but, in the right ways.  The insides were soft and creamy.  Again, well seasoned.  They were quite remarkable, and the showstopper of the dish.

The chimichurri had an amazing garlic aroma coming off of it, and the flavor backed that up.  Very fresh, vibrant, flavorful, and tied the whole dish together.

Overall, high **** for the potatoes, low **** for the chimichurri, and average *** for the rest.  I'm still drooling over those potatoes.

This was the sample portion, it is $35 on the regular menu.

Pan Seared Salmon. $29.

"Braised greens, fingerling potatoes, and salsa bravas" /"chimichurri, crispy potatoes, zucchini, squash".

I was quite surprised when the staff brought out individual plates of the salmon entree (although I assume this is a smaller portion).  You could tell people were a bit uncertain if we were supposed to take the whole thing?  (indeed, we were).  Normally the salmon is served with braised greens, fingerling potatoes, and salsa bravas, but for our event they seemed to use some of the garnish from the steak instead: no braised greens, but zucchini and squash with the crispy potatoes (along with arugula garnish).

I was fairly impressed.  The salmon was quite moist, cooked well - I prefer mid-rare, and it was fully cooked, but, not hammered, no albumin seeping out or anything.  Well seasoned.  ***+ salmon.  The salsa bravas was an odd pairing for me on top of the fish, although it made sense with the hunks of crispy potato underneath.  The squashes (both green and yellow) were fine, and it was nice to have the lighter juicier pieces alongside the potatoes (they were cut about the same size as the potatoes, so it was kinda a medley). Garnish gets a low *** due to personal preference.

So, not really a dish I'd order, but well cooked salmon, and Mexican inspired garnish that wasn't quite my thing, but still a decent dish.  ***. 

More Salmon: Different Sauce?

Interestingly, about half the dishes had a less red sauce on them, another salsa it seemed, but, different.  You can also see the zucchini and yellow squash hunks better in this dish.

More Salmon.

"Cedar planked Scottish salmon, English pea & mint Puree, tomato cucumber & farro salad Lemon vinaigrette."

Another visit, another salmon, with another green-brown sauce, and greens on top.  I didn't try this one.

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Slow Cooked Pork Shoulder. $26.

"White bean & garlic ragout, salsa verde."

The first day, they served large format versions of one of the entrees (rather than individual bowls we saw the second day).  

I tried a bit of the roast pork shoulder.  The pork was very tender, but quite greasy.  White beans and salsa verde not really my thing, so the rest of the dish wasn't personally appealing either.  They are definitely pushing the Mexican influence across the Local menu, which frankly, isn't what I'm looking for.  Not bad, but, a heavy dish. ***.

Pork Tenderloin w/ Fennel Slaw.

The next event also featured pork tenderloin, this time individually plated, with a fennel slaw.

I enjoyed this.

The pork was well seasoned.  Cooked perfect medium with light pink center, remarkably tender.  The warm apple fennel slaw complimented the pork well.  Not something I'd ever order from a menu, but it was nice.  ***+.

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Off Menu Polenta.

They also had plates of a dish I don't see on the menu anywhere, not dinner nor brunch.  It was a polenta base, with a ragu style topping that I think I heard someone say was chicken sausage.  I could imagine it with an egg on top being great for brunch?  Anyway, I tried the polenta, and really quite liked it.  Very well cooked, flavorful.  I wish I could have tried more, but I got the very last of it.  ***+.

Dishes from Buena Vida Cantina

In addition to the already clearly Mexican inspired entrees from the Local regular menu, we also were provided with several selections from the menu of Buena Vida, their sister restaurant down the street.  I actually didn't even know Buena Vida was there, and it isn't far away.

I didn't get a photo of the chips, salsa trio ($6), or guacamole ($14), but all were fairly average.  Thin crispy chips, different styles of salsa.   I was hopeful that some of the sides like fried plantains, yucca fries, or chcharones might come out, but since they were using the Local Kitchen, I suspect that wasn't really feasible given the deep fryer setup.

As I'm mentioned, I don't really care for most Mexican food, so I mostly skipped all of this.  Between the two nights, we had quite a variety of tacos from across the menu (they have 14 different taco options!). Our selection ranged from classic carnitas and chicken tinga, to the more interesting quesabirria taco that comes with a side dip broth, one of their multiple vegetarian options, the "sin carne" (that is your fairly standard boring grilled veggies).  I wished they had the fungi one with fried maitakes, pickled mushrooms and truffle cream, or any of the seafood options, but, alas.

Crispy Carnitas Tacos. $11.

"Crispy and tender pork shoulder, salsa verde, red onions, and a sprinkle of fresno peppers."

I *think* this was the carnitas taco, but I'm not sure (it might have been the cochinita pibil).  People seemed to like them.  I didn't try.

Tinga Taco. $11.

"Shredded chipotle chicken, crunchy cabbage, and lime crema."

I loved the look of the chicken tinga taco with the vibrant crunchy slaw on top, but as I don't care for chicken, I skipped it.  

Original Review, September 2017

Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant is a restaurant that I frankly don't understand.  The location is a bit odd, tucked away on 1st St between Folsom & Harrison, a very busy street, but busy with cars headed onto the Bay Bridge.  It is not much of a walking neighborhood, and certainly wasn't when Local opened several years ago, and none of these cars pull over.

And yet, they aim to be a casual neighborhood restaurant.  They are open for weekday lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner every night.  The menu isn't extensive, nor fancy, just the basics like pizza, pasta, a handful of mains, a few apps.  Not really a menu I was drawn in by.  A decent wine and cocktail program.

No real reason for it to stand out.  Which, it never has.  I remember visiting once years ago, and thinking "Meh, nothing interesting", and commenting that it was pretty pricey for what it was.  I went to an event about a year ago with pizza from Local, and again, thought "Well, that was ok pizza, but for nearly $20 for a small pizza, why?"

But, my apartment building had an event hosted there, so I had a chance to check it out for free.  Why not?

We occupied a large space in the middle of the dining room, and food was brought out as ready, mostly appetizers and finger foods from their party menu, plus plenty of the signature pizzas.

I was not impressed with the experience.  It was very loud.  Food was brought without a description.  There was no cutlery.  It just didn't seem all that well equipped to handle our group.

That said, the food was delivered hot and fresh, the staff were friendly, and my glass of Pinot Noir was actually really quite good.

Would I go back?  Nah.  Was it awful?  Nah.  My opinion is basically just as before.  It is fine, but not notable in any way, and kinda pricey for what it is.  But, they seem to be succeeding, so I clearly am just missing something.

To Share

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Smoky chicken skewers | roasted shishito peppers, black garlic aioli. $7 (Happy Hour) $12 (Dinner)

Our group started with a big bowl of fried chicken bits, with a smaller bowl of roasted shisitos, and a little bowl of black garlic aioli.

There were no serving utensils provided, and none of us had cutlery.  So ... people grabbed with their fingers.  Eww!

Since we didn't know what anything was, I just saw crispy fried things with creamy sauce, and grabbed one.  The crispy coating was tasty, not oily, nicely seasoned, but inside was chicken.  It was moist enough, and probably good if you like chicken (people seemed to like it), but I don't like chicken, so this wasn't for me.

The menu says the dip was aioli, but it tasted like butter to me.  The texture was that of soft butter, and it wasn't creamy in the way aioli is.  It wasn't really pleasant to dip into.

The roasted shisitos were pretty standard.

Overall, a pass for me, but, I don't like chicken.

Local Burger Slider.

"Caramelized onion, aged cheddar, lettuce, heirloom tomato, pickles."

Next came platters of sliders, in 3 varieties: fried chicken with slaw, classic cheeseburger, and veggie.

Since I don't like chicken, I stayed away from the fried chicken ones.

I took what I thought was a regular beef cheeseburger, but it turned out to be a veggie slider, a bun stuffed with a few slimy roasted veggies (onions, bell peppers), and romesco sauce.  It wasn't very good, and the table quickly turned into a pile of discarded sliders.

On the 3rd or so round, I was finally able to grab a beef slider, a smaller version of their burger, a menu staple at all meals.

The slider roll was the same as the veggie one, nice enough looking, shiny top, black and white sesame seeds, toasted, but it wasn't particularly fresh tasting.

The patty was ... odd.  I bit into it, and it was sorta ... chewy?  But, when I looked down, it was pink.  I was impressed that it didn't *look* overcooked, as it is hard to have a slider come out less than well done, and, I'd call this medium.  Except, the texture was just strange, it wasn't juicy, and the flavor wasn't very good.

The aged cheddar was nicely melted on though, the lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the pickles flavorful and crunchy.  And each had two pickles!  It also had plenty of mayo, which I of course liked.

It was really strange how well executed it was (melty cheese, fresh veggies, toasted bun, pink meat), yet it wasn't actually good.

$16 for a regular burger at dinner, and $50 for 10 sliders on the event menu.  I guess it was good for a $5 item?

Pizza

Pizza is the star attraction at Local, served at all meals.  The open-ish kitchen features a wood burning pizza oven.  The menu has only 5 pizzas, although you can also create your own.  Our group received 3 types of pizza (Margherita, Salsiccia, Funghi).

The pizzas were always brought out and placed in the same spot on the table, e.g. sausage on one end, margherita in the middle, and mushroom on the other, and it was impossible to get to anything not right in front of you, which meant I wasn't ever able to try the one I really wanted, the sausage.

I'm not much of a pizza girl, but it was decent.

Funghi. $19 (Dinner only).

"Porcini cream, wild mushrooms, arugula." 

The pizza that kept coming in front of me was the funghi.  I do like mushrooms though, so I wasn't upset to try it.

But, it wasn't very good.  Hot and fresh, yes.  The crust, crispy enough on the bottom.  But I didn't care for the cream sauce and cheese, nor the heavy mushroom flavor.  It tasted like fake, cheap, truffle oil, in a way that permeates everything.  And there was too much cheese.

Along with the veggie sliders, many people left slices of this discarded on their plates.  I was actually pretty surprised by how much people just left behind, as that isn't really normal behavior at events.

$19 for a pizza of this size and quality seems way too high.

Margherita. $9 (Happy Hour) $15 (Dinner).

"San marzano, basil, fior di latte, extra virgin olive oil. "

I finally managed to snag a slice of the Margherita, the one I remember thinking was decent before at an event.

And, it was much better, certainly the best thing I ate.

The crust was crispy, the sauce tangy and well seasoned, the fior di latte just barely melted and flavorful, and the torn basil fresh.

A very simple Margherita, but, good enough.

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Private Event Dining @ Wayfare Tavern

The news just broke that one of my favorite chefs, Joey Elenterio, has joined the kitchen at Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern.  I'm beyond excited.  My absolute top meal of 2012 was at Chez TJ, when he was the chef there.  Since he left Chez TJ, I've been anxiously awaiting the news to find out where he would wind up.  I was hoping it would be in San Francisco.  And it is!  I can't wait to see what he does with the menu and concept there.

But before he started, I attended a special event at Wayfare Tavern.  It had been a couple years since I last visited.  I only had vague memories of my previous visit.  I remembered the warm popovers in place of standard bread service.  I remembered that everyone loves their fried chicken.  I remembered that I thought the burger was just too fatty, with too much cheese, too greasy.  But I also remembered that the dessert was insanely good.

But back to this visit, for a special event. It was held in one of their private rooms, the Bartlett Room, a really nice space.  Rich mahogany panelling, hardwood floors, a private bar, attached private bathrooms.  Overlooking a wine cellar.  Really a great venue, particularly suited for a business lunch, as it has flat screen TVs with audio/visual hookups for presentations.

On our tables was a printed menu with a starter, 3 entrees, a side, and a dessert listed, so I thought we'd all select which entree we wanted.  I was confused when no one came to take our orders, and food just started showing up.  The entire meal was all done family style, with insane portions.  Each person really did receive a full starter, 3 entrees, a side, and a dessert.  It was a bit crazy.

The service was ok, but the way the food was brought out was really strange.  Some tables were served long before others, the side came out way ahead of the entrees, and we had a really long lag before the last entree.  Since I actually only wanted that one (I didn't want the fried chicken or the burger), it was really awkward, as I had no idea when it would be arriving, and it of course arrived last, after a really long lag.  They seem to do lots of group events like this, but the service was really not polished.

Lemonade.

Since this was a business lunch event, we were offered only soft drinks, iced tea, and lemonade rather than alcohol.  Since I'm not really a soda person, and I didn't want the caffeine, I went for lemonade.

This was not good lemonade, it was very, very sweet, and not tart.  It tasted like it came from a mix.  I did not like it at all.

Fresh Popover.

One of Wayfare's signature items is their fresh popovers, delivered at the start of a meal instead of basic bread.  Served with butter and salt on the side.

These were good popovers.  I was impressed that they were delivered so fresh and steaming hot, even to a large group of our size.  They were light and fluffy, slightly eggy.

The butter on the side was hard, but since the popovers were still so hot, it melted easily into them.

Good, but, I felt like something was missing.  Since it was served with only butter, I wanted some herbs or ... something.  Or maybe I just want popovers for breakfast with jam instead.

Di Stefano Burrata, Summer Harvest Caponata, Grilled Sourdough, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 

Since this was a large event, everything was served family-style.

Under the massive amount of burrata was grilled sourdough crostini.  It was very crunchy, and made the dish very hard to eat with knife and fork.  It seemed more like finger food, except that there was so much topping that it made it hard to eat that way too.

The burrata, as I hoped, was creamy and delicious.  Man, I love burrata.  I was amused at my tablemates, most of whom didn't know what burrata was, had never heard of it, and eventually concluded that it was mozzarella.  I tried to explain that no, it wasn't just mozzarella, but they didn't believe me.  They are missing out!

On top of the burrata was a "summer harvest caponata", made up of eggplant, pine nuts, olives, capers. It was very flavorful, but I didn't think it went all that well with the burrata.

Overall, this dish was ok, but really all that I liked was the burrata itself.  It also seemed like it was missing something, and in this case, I really think it needed some olive oil, which was listed on the menu, but wasn't present in the dish (besides on the crostini).   I probably wouldn't order this again.

Grilled Asparagus.

For a side dish, we had a platter of grilled asparagus.  The amount of asparagus for our table size seemed pretty off.  Most of us got only 1-2 spears.  I was trying to not be greedy, even though I really wanted more.  The last person to receive the platter actually didn't get any.

It was ok grilled asparagus, nothing spectacular, topped with bread crumbs.  On the regular lunch menu for $8.  I wouldn't get it again.

WayFare burger “Le Grand”: Grilled Onions, Smoked Bacon, Garlic Aioli, Brie Cheese, Brioche.

The first entree was a huge platter of their famous fried chicken, with enough for every person to have about 2 pieces.  Since I knew how much other food was coming, and I don't really like chicken, I skipped it.  But my tablemates seemed to think it lived up to the hype. It looked fresh and crispy.

The next entree was a platter of burgers.  This was really weird to have family style.  Each burger was cut in half, so each person got half a burger.

The burger is another one of their signature dishes, and what I ordered when I visited Wayfare Tavern for dinner before, after reading about how amazing it was supposed to be.  It has all the right petigree: a high end blend of beef, Mt. Tam cheese, Panorama bun, Nueske's Bacon.  I remembered that I didn't really like it before, and wasn't going to have one this time.  But, the final entree was no where in sight, and after skipping the fried chicken, I was hungry, and felt weird not eating anything when everyone around me was.

The whole thing was again just way too greasy for me, which is what you expect with high fat percentage (75!) beef, along with brioche, cheese, and bacon.  It also was served cold.  Downside of group dining for sure, and it seems like such a strange choice to put on a family-style menu.

The brie was nicely melted, but kinda congealed since it wasn't hot, and it was a really, really thin layer.  I thought this thing was known for oozing with the delicious cheese?  I'm pretty sure it was Mt. Tam, which I tend to adore.

The bacon was unremarkable, not as crispy as I'd like.  The grilled red onion was a giant hunk.  Sadly, it was my favorite part of the burger.  It was already slathered in aioli, that didn't seem very garlicky.

The beef itself is a mix of short rib, brisket, prime rib, and filet.  It should have been very flavorful, but it wasn't.  Perhaps I was just too distracted by it being cooked way more than I'd ever order (it was pretty much medium-well).  A shame for quality meat!

I would not get this again, which is exactly what I thought when I got it the other time I visited the restaurant.  Normally $19.

Seared Ahi Tuna: Carrot puree, roasted carrots, crispy ginger, soy caramel.

Finally, after everyone else had already consumed 2 pieces of fried chicken, a half a huge burger, burrata, and popovers, the final entree arrived.  It was the one I had wanted all along.

Seared ahi, served over a carrot puree, with roasted carrots, a soy caramel drizzle, and crispy ginger.  Another strange one to have family style, as many people didn't get all of the components.  There certainly weren't enough of everything to go around, and when serving off a big platter, it was hard to get some of everything.

The ahi was ok, nicely barely seared, but it wasn't very flavorful and was kinda stringy and chewy.  The soy caramel drizzle was tasty and went well with it, and with the carrots.

The roasted carrots were nicely cooked, and I liked how they included coins of large carrots, and full baby carrots.  The carrot puree was creamy and flavorful, but seemed really, really strange to pair with tuna.  Trio of carrot preparations was fun, but ... carrots and ahi?

The best part was a roasted baby carrot with soy caramel, but I wouldn't order this again.

A normal lunch portion is $28.

Mini Chocolate Cupcake.

And to finish, we received a platter of mini chocolate cupcakes, with 1-2 per person.  We all loved these.

Fairly moist chocolate cake, creamy, sweet frosting, fun little chocolate pearls.  Best dish of the meal.

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Tasting Menu at Home Hill Inn

I discovered Home Hill Inn and Restaurant only this past December, when I visited my family in New Hampshire for the holidays.  I was absolutely blown away by the entire experience. The menu read like one from an upscale restaurant in a big city, not a charming town in New Hampshire, using ingredients unfamiliar to most diners in the area.  The prices were astonishingly low, not just compared to the San Francisco prices I'm used to, but even for the area, given the quality of ingredients and advanced techniques being used.  And the food.  Swoon.  It was amazing.  One of the top restaurants I have ever dined at, and their skate wing entree remains in the top 3 seafood dishes I have ever consumed.  You can read all about my first experience here.

I'm not sure how I had never visited Home Hill before last winter, as it has been operating for years (although re-invented several times).  And when I rave about it to others in the area, they all mention that they have heard of it, but also never been.  Such an amazing place, I don't know how the word hasn't gotten out!  Seriously, if you are even anywhere near Lebanon, NH, you NEED to go there.

After such an amazing first visit, I wanted to make up for all my lost time dining at Home Hill, and go several times during my brief visit this summer.  I wanted to experience it all - a formal dinner, a casual meal in the pub, and a brunch.

As soon as I booked my flights, I contacted the restaurant to find out what was on their current menus, and plan my visits.  The chef replied to me, and suggested that I take things up a notch, and let him come up with a tasting menu for our formal dining night, rather than just eating off the regular menu.  This sounded awesome to me, but I knew my not-so-adventurous family members (with the exception of my mom), would never be up for it.  And a tasting menu for only two of us didn't make sense.  So I asked my mom if she had friends who would want to join us, and we quickly pulled together a group of 10, composed primarily of her friends and co-workers.

I made the reservation, and reached out to the restaurant to figure out the logistics of the meal - how many courses? What price point? What ingredients?  The chef had said I should tell him our favorite ingredients, and he'd come up with something based off of it.  But then, I didn't hear back.  I contacted them on Facebook (where all my communication thus far had been), on their wall, on mine, and through direct messages.  No response.  I sent e-mail.  No response.  Our dining date was fast approaching, and I had no details to tell my fellow diners.  Several dropped out at this point.  I had no idea what was going on.  I pinged them a few more times, but still nothing.

We decided to still go, and figured we'd just order off the regular menu, and have a nice meal regardless.  When we showed up, I was immediately escorted to the private room, where our table was set up, complete with a custom tasting menu.  I was pretty surprised!  It turns out the chef had indeed replied to me on Facebook (although only late the night before), apologizing for not getting in touch, saying he had been out of town, and he sent me the proposed menu.  For some reason, I never got that notification, so when I arrived at the restaurant, it was all a complete surprise.

Since I've reviewed the restaurant itself before, I won't go into the basic details, and will focus this review only on the more unique aspects of this particular experience.

On my first visit, I appreciated that they had a strong focus on local and seasonal dining (which of course I am used to in the Bay Area, but I haven't seen much of in New Hampshire).  At the time, it was the dead of winter though, so there was very little seasonal produce.  I was thrilled to visit during the summer this time.  They take local to a level even more extreme than what I see in San Francisco - the benefits of being in the country!  The vegetables and herbs are grown in their own gardens or from Edgewater Farms next door.  The entire bread program is run in-house, including table bread for dinner, bread used in many of the dishes, and also the muffins and english muffins at brunch. Really surprising for such a small restaurant.  It doesn't stop there however, the dairy products are all from McNamara Dairy next door.  The cheeses are all from Vermont and New Hampshire.  Even the liquors used in the bar are from a local producer!  It seriously does not get more locally sourced than this.  The freshness was incredibly obvious.

The private room was lovely, very comfortable and cozy.  The walls were lined with artwork and bookshelves, the floors covered with beautiful rugs.  A great space for our group, and the final group size of 6 worked out nicely in the space.  I was again completely charmed by the atmosphere.

As on my previous visit, the service was not at the level of which I am accustomed to, and was more of what I'd expect from the area, although this time, there were more weak points than my first visit.  Most of our dishes and wines were brought without explanation.  The wine pairings sometimes arrived after the courses they were supposed to go with.  Used silverware piled up, as did our empty wine glasses.  There was a 1 hour lag between our forth and fifth course, with no explanation given.  And when it came time to settle the bill, it took about 30 minutes, and several tries, including collecting the credit cards multiple times, before we finally got it right.  It wasn't horrible service or anything, and
the staff were all very friendly, but the service was certainly not nearly as polished as the food itself.

As for the food, I was again impressed, but not wowed by the food in quiet the same was as my first visit. However, I attribute that to the fact that not a single dish on our menu is one I would have ordered.  I really wish we were able to communicate with the chef beforehand, as I'm certain that with a little input, he would have delivered a meal that would blow me away.  The menu was again very innovative for the area, and the level of execution on the cooking is where the chef really shines. Everything was expertly seasoned.  Chef Peter again demonstrated that he can seriously cook fish better than most in the industry.  Such skill!

I'll be returning, for sure, and I'd even be up for a tasting menu again, although, I'd like to make sure I get in touch properly before hand next time!

Our Menu For The Evening.

We entered the private room, where the table was set with the special tasting menu the chef had arranged for us.  Since we weren't able to give any input into the menu, I was a bit disappointed when I saw it, and considered asking if we could just order off the regular menu instead.  Not a single dish listed was one I would have picked.  And, although my stomach is doing remarkably better these days, 6 courses is way, way too much.  I would have asked for 3 or maybe 4, and would have stuck to all seafood (or vegetarian).  But, I really appreciated the chef doing this special menu for us, so I decided to just let it go and dive in.  If this was what he thought the best food of the night was, I'd trust him.  There have been many examples in my life where tasting menus have encouraged me to eat foods I'd never normally order, and I've discovered many new favorites in this way.

However, there were two courses that I switched out, just for myself (not the other diners).  The first was the rabbit tasting.  Now, I'll try all sorts of food.  I can't stand it when people refuse to try new items.  It is fine to dislike things, after you've given them a fair shot.  But rabbit is one thing that I have not tried.  The reason is simple: I've had too many rabbits as pets.  Not only were they were my pets as a child, but even into college and graduate school.  I love bunnies too much to eat them.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  So, I asked to have that course switched out.

The other was the dessert, chocolate pot de crème.  Now, obviously, I adore chocolate, and puddings.  But, my body can still respond in fairly unpredictable ways to caffeine, so having chocolate in the evenings is a no-no for me.

We had no idea what to expect for pricing.  I'd been impressed with the insanely reasonable prices for special event menus that Home Hill has advertised in the past, so I was hoping it wouldn't be too much for my group.  The price for our 6 courses was $50.  Seriously?  $50?  For 6 courses?  Including lobster?  Insanity.  That made me feel a bit better, as I assumed it meant that the courses would be tiny, a true tasting menu, and perhaps I'd manage.  But, as you will see, these were all full size courses.  A meal with these ingredients, would easily start at $150 in San Francisco.  Looking at the regular menu prices, it seems like it should have priced out closer to $100.  I honestly don't even know how they can source the ingredients for these prices.  Such an incredible value.  Mind blown.

We were also offered a wine pairing for $30.  The wine pairing was not listed on the menu, so we didn't know what the wines would be.  But most of us went for it anyway.  Again, $30, for 6 glasses of wine?  And again, these were full size pours.  Insanity.  Most of the wines are on their regular menu for $9 each, so this really was a great deal.  Unfortunately, I did not like most of the wines, as you can read more about in my descriptions below, but it was still a great value.

Bread.

To start, we were delivered two baskets of fresh, warm bread, each containing two loaves.  They were plopped down on the table in front of us, with no explanation.  One loaf was much darker than the other, so I think they were different, but both smelt like sourdough.  I don't generally like sourdough, and I knew we had a ton of courses coming, so I tried a bite, but didn't have much of it.  It was ok, but not as good as I remembered from my previous visit, where I actually did like the sourdough, much to my surprise.

As I mentioned, they run their own bread program, so these were house made, however this was not mentioned to us at the time the bread was delivered.  I remembered it from my previous visit, but found it interesting that no one told us that detail this time, as it is notable, and something I'd think they'd be proud to tell their diners.

Local Cheese Board: Honeycomb, Pistachio Brittle, Champagne Grapes.

Our first course was a cheese board.  A proper cheese board.  This was a welcome sight after the first few "cheese platters" I'd seen in my time in New Hampshire thus far.  Let's just say that the highest end cheese I'd encountered prior to this was pre-cubed pepperjack.  Or perhaps Babybel.

I was a bit funny to have a cheese course to start.  Growing up, we often had cheese and crackers as an appetizer, and I always thought that is when you ate cheese.  Then, I moved to California, starting dining out more, and discovered that cheese is always offered as dessert instead.  Now that is normal to me, and it seemed strange to start with cheese.  Good cheese tends to have a strong flavor, and cheese is fairly filling, so it doesn't seem like the right way to ease into a meal.

Anyway, we were given one platter in the middle of the table, with a small spoon for the honey, but no knives to cut the cheese.  People on the ends of the table could not reach the cheese, and there was awkwardness in re-using our personal knives, which we'd used on the bread and butter already.  I liked having the big communal cheese board, but it was a little hard to manage logistically.

The cheeses were all local Vermont and New Hampshire cheeses, served with two colors of champagne grapes, honeycomb, date and cranberry crostini, and toasted sourdough.  For most diners at the table, this was their first time having champagne grapes, and they found them quite fun, tiny, and novel.  It was also the first time many of them had honey from honeycomb.  The honey was quite tasty, from a local source I'm sure.  I particularly liked it with the blue cheese.  The menu listed pistachio brittle, but there wasn't any (nor any other nut component).

The platter contained five different cheeses, a fairly varied selection of three hard, one soft, and one blue cheese.  Sadly, no triple creams, which are my favorites! When the waitress brought it out, she did tell us the names of each, and one diner asked to know which were cow and which were goat, since she couldn't eat goat dairy.  The waitress didn't know, and had to go check and consult a list.

The first was Consider Bardwell Manchester, from West Pawlette, VT.  Raw goat's milk, aged 2-4 months.  I don't like goat cheese, so I skipped it, as did the diner who cannot have goat.

Next was a hard, cow's milk cheese, "Walla".  I couldn't find it online, nor on Home Hill's outdated menu online, so I think I must have misheard the name.  Good, but unremarkable.

Next was another hard, cow's milk cheese, Kinsman, from Landaff Creamery, in Landaff, NH, aged 40 days.  Another good enough cheese, but not memorable.

My favorite was the Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue, from Greensboro, VT.  It went really nicely with the honey, on the crispy flatbread crackers.

The last was another goat, "Bombish", which I also didn't try, and couldn't find details of.

Cheeses are offered at $4 per selection on the regular menu.

Our wine pairings started with a glass of something sparkling. The name of it was not given.  It was slightly bitter.  I did appreciate starting with bubbles, but I've been spoiled by a lot of fairly good sparkling wine lately, and this didn't really measure up.  My mom did like this one, I think it is the only glass she actually finished.

Overall, this course, and the wine, were both fine, but not memorable, and my least favorites of the evening.

Butter Poached Lobster & Sweet Corn: Chives, Brioche, Pickled Peppers, Easter Egg Radish.

After we stopped picking at the cheese, we moved onto the first "real" course: butter poached lobster.

I think lobster is fine, but it is never what I'd pick over other seafood options.  This preference has become stronger since moving to California, where the lobster is obviously never as fresh, and the Dungeness crab is always amazing.  I also already had lobster for lunch that day, leftover from a big lobster boil we had at home the night before.  So, as my previous two meals were both lobster, and since I don't even like lobster that much, I wasn't really excited to see it on the menu, although I realize I was probably the odd one out.

My lobster was a large piece of tail, a bit chewy, but the flavor from the butter poaching was nice.  Still, it was lobster, and I just wasn't that into it.

The lobster was served atop a crispy, buttery chunk of brioche.  It reminded me of the brioche  accompanying the foie gras on our last visit.  And just like last time, I didn't care for it.  I'm just not sure why it was there.  We'd already had a bread basket, and bread with our cheese, and so many courses left to go, I certainly didn't need to fill up on more bread.  And it took away from the other flavors in the dish, masking the beautiful sweet flavor of the corn and lobster with the flavor of ... bread.

Speaking of the corn, there was a corn puree that was absolutely delicious.  It was sweet, creamy but with some texture remaining, and a great pairing with the buttery lobster.  Corn, butter, lobster, such a classic combo!  We all commented on how good the puree was.  I would have eaten a bowl of just that puree.

There was also a slight heat from a few pickled peppers, which went well against the sweet corn puree.  It reminded me a bit of a southwestern-style polenta.  The radish shreds and sprouts on top added a crunchy, fresh component to the dish.

This dish was not on the regular menu, although lobster is offered in several other dishes.  I wouldn't have ordered lobster, given my lack of interest at the time, but my mother, who loves lobster, really enjoyed it.  The corn puree, and garnishes, were so tasty that I rated this my third favorite of the night, although I wouldn't order it again.  The scallops on the regular menu included a corn puree, and is what I would have certainly ordered, if ordering off the menu, since I love scallops in general, and I think the corn puree would pair even better with sweeter scallops!

The wine pairing was a white 2011 Tommasi Le Volpare Soave Classico.  It was very dry, with only a touch of sweetness, and an incredibly bitter finish.  I did not like it at all.

Grilled Chicken Livers: Wild Mushrooms, Lemon Zest, Quail Egg.

Next up was grilled chicken livers.  Now, clearly, I love liver.  I have certainly eaten my share of foie gras, although sadly, it has now been more than a year since I could order foie at restaurants in my state.  Chicken liver hasn't ever been my favorite, as it is a bit too strong of a flavor for me, but I still can like it, particularly when in mousse form.

This was, as I expected, too livery for me.  I just didn't like the flavor of it.  But that said, it was really well prepared.  The slightly smoky flavor from the grill was quite nice.  It was perfectly seasoned.  If only it wasn't chicken liver :)

It came over sautéed wild mushrooms, again, perfectly prepared, tender, well seasoned.  And, served on top of another piece of grilled bread.  I was sick of bread at this point, but it did belong in this dish, as liver and bread is a very standard pairing, and the bread helped cut the richness of the liver.

On top was a quail egg.  Cute and adorable, cooked exactly how I like my eggs, the whites not at all tough, the yolks just barely not runny.  It also was perfectly seasoned, with large chunks of pepper.

This seemed to be a combination dish based off of two of the crostini from their regular menu: grilled chicken livers and chanterelles with quail egg, both normally priced at $12.  I probably would have preferred just the mushroom and egg version, but crostini is not a dish I'd normally order anyway.  This was my 4th pick of the night, although I cannot fault the execution on it in any way, just personal preference.

It came paired with a rose: Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2011.  It was better than the previous wine, but still fairly bitter and a bit harsh.  I appreciated that it was refreshing and light against the strong liver flavor.

MA Clam Steamers: Drawn Butter, Herbs, Beer.

Next, everyone else was brought the expected forth course: halibut.  I was momentarily confused when a plate of steamers were placed in front of me.  I'd asked not to have the rabbit dish, but I still wanted the halibut!  Luckily, one of the servers saw my expression, and let me know that this was my replacement for the rabbit, and that I'd get the halibut as my main dish.

My heart really sank when I saw this dish.  I have never liked clams, in my entire life.  I try them often, as they show up in seafood stews all the time, and I keep giving them a chance.  But, I just don't like them.

These were no different.  It doesn't matter how well prepared they are, I just don't like clams.  I ate 4 or 5 of them, really trying, but to no avail.  The broth was quite fantastic, warm, salty, flavorful.  I used some of the bread left from the bread basket to soak up the delicious broth.  But they were still clams.

I would have never ordered this.  I almost wish I'd kept the rabbit dish, as I think I'd at least have liked the sides with the rabbit more than this.  My 5th pick overall, saved only by the broth.  It is offered as an appetizer on the regular menu for $10.

My dining companions all absolutely loved their halibut however, so I looked forward to receiving it next.

This course came paired with another white wine, Calera 2010 Chardonnay, both for me with the steamers, and everyone else with the halibut.  It was another wine I did not like.  Again, bitter, and not buttery like I was hoping for from a Chardonnay paired with seafood.

Intermezzo: Peach Lemon Verbena Sorbet.

After my disappointment with the steamers, I hopefully awaited my halibut.  But instead, an intermezzo was brought out.  It was very good timing for me, as I did want my palate refreshed!  It was a peach and lemon verbena sorbet.  A bit icy, but sweet, with a lovely complex flavor.  The lemon verbena worked really well with the peach.  I was happy again :)

East Coast Halibut: Roasted Eggplant, Pink Peppercorn Buerre Blanc, Wild Onions.

After everyone else raved so much about the halibut, I was really looking forward to it.  It turned out, I had a while to wait.  After the intermezzo, we waited a full 45 minutes before our entrees arrived.  I am used to long, multi-course dinners, but most of the rest of my group is not, and they all had to work in the morning, and were getting a bit restless.  At one point, even I started to wonder if we'd been forgotten.  No one came to check on us, or explain why there was such a delay.

Finally, the final savory course arrived.  For everyone else, it was the rabbit.  For me, it was the halibut.  I believe my portion was a bit larger than what they had received on their previous course, since this was our main entree course (although, as you can see, all of the courses were quite large!)

The halibut was worth the wait.  It was worth having the rest of the menu be dishes I wouldn't normally pick.  The halibut was so good that I stopped caring about anything else.  It didn't matter that I was already full.  It didn't matter that I didn't like the steamers.  It didn't matter that our service wasn't stellar.  It was just that good.  It defined the entire experience.

Now, why wouldn't I order the halibut normally?  Simple.  I eat a lot of halibut, probably almost once a week, so I wanted something different, more unique to being on the east coast (although, this was east coast sourced, and I'm accustomed to west coast).  And halibut, while perfectly good, is a bit boring.  It is a nice white fish, don't get me wrong, but ... its just halibut.  But regardless, this was the best halibut I've ever had.  No question.  It was even in the top 10 seafood dishes I've ever had.  It was that good.

It was, again, perfectly cooked.  A nice crust on top, amazingly crispy on the bottom, yet still moist, flaky, and firm on the inside.  Seriously perfect.  I don't throw this word around lightly.  It was just that good.  Like the other dishes, it was expertly seasoned.  I honestly wouldn't change a thing about this dish.  My tasting notes are just full of accolades for this dish.

The fish itself was incredible, and could have stood on its own no problem, which is rare for a mellow white fish, but the accompanying sauce with it was equally amazing.  Roasted eggplant, tomato, I think peppers, onions.  The vegetables were all tender, perfectly cooked ingredients.  The sauce was seriously flavorful, but somehow didn't overpower the fish.  I think it would have paired really well with a swordfish as well.

I loved this dish.  I was stuffed, but didn't care.  I just couldn't stop eating it.  Amazing.  The dish was on the regular menu, $27.

Hands down favorite dish of the evening, for myself, and for everyone else.  It reminded me of my last visit to Home Hill, where the skate dish was just perfect.  Chef Peter seriously, seriously knows how to cook fish!  I can't say enough good things about this dish.

This course came paired with a red wine, a Syrah, 2010 Clayhouse Vineyards.  It was actually my favorite of the wines, which isn't surprising, given that I tend to like Syrah in general.  It was light, and I'm sure paired well with the rabbit.  It was a bit of a strange pairing with my halibut however.  Not that I wanted more of the previous white that was supposed to be paired with the halibut, but I do wish an offer had been made to do a better pairing for me, since my entree was switched.

Rabbit Tasting: Patty Pan Squash, Demi Glaze.

I tried to snap a quick photo of my mother's rabbit tasting, but clearly I did it too quickly, as it came out totally blurred.  Whoops!

I did not taste the dish, but my mother said it was nicely done.  She wouldn't normally order rabbit either, and was totally full at this point and not actually interested in another main dish, but she remarked that it was nicely cooked and not at all tough.

It was not on the regular menu, served specially for us.  This made me feel even worse about not wanting it, but again, I wish they checked with me for some guidance in creating the menu.  Normal entrees are $24-$28, so I think it would fall in that range.

Dessert Platter: Cheesecake with raspberry coulis and white chocolate, cocoa nib cookie, chocolate pot de crème with whipped cream, blueberry crumble, lemon curd with crumble, raspberry sorbet, gooseberries, champagne grapes.

Our printed menus listed a chocolate pot de crème for dessert.  Since I can't have caffeine in the evening, I asked to have it switched out for myself only.  I was told that everyone else would get the pot de crème, and I'd get a blueberry crumble.  Sounded great!

We were thus a bit confused when a single dessert platter was placed in front of us, along with individual plates and forks in front of each of us.  No serving spoons were provided, but it was clear that we were supposed to all split the platter.  Since there were six of us, this was a bit strange.  How do six people split a single, small cookie?  Or a tiny scoop of sorbet?  I guess it was good that most people were full, but it was pretty awkward.

The first dessert was a cheesecake, drizzled with a raspberry coulis, and topped with white chocolate shavings.  The crust was a fairly classic, buttery, crumble style, but with an additional thin layer of chocolate.  The cheesecake was incredibly creamy, with a great cream cheese flavor.  Just enough raspberry sauce to accent the whole thing.  I don't know if my dining companions were full, or being polite, or what, but only a few of them had a single bite each.  I took a big chunk to start, and when no one else went back for more, I had to make sure this amazing dessert was not wasted :)  I easily had 70% of this dessert myself.  This was my absolute favorite of the desserts.  I'd order it again in a heartbeat.  Excellent cheesecake.

Next was the dessert that I thought everyone was getting, the chocolate pot de crème, topped with whipped cream, served with a cocoa nib cookie.  Since I needed to avoid chocolate, I didn't try it, but the cookie disappeared before I could rationalize to myself that there wasn't THAT much chocolate in it and it was ok to try, and another diner eagerly took the cup of pot de crème to her seat and polished it off.  It sounded like a major winner.

Next came the blueberry crumble, the largest of the desserts.  It was served warm, which I always appreciate.  I'm such a sucker for warm fruit desserts. The fruit component of it was just too sweet for me.  I think if it had been served with some vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream, it would have helped to cut the sweetness, but on its own, it was actually just too sweet.  I know I don't often say that.  The crumble top was quite nice, crispy, buttery.  No one else seemed into this dessert, so I polished off the topping.  Again, with some ice cream, I think it would have been a serious winner.  I am guessing that on the regular menu it was served that way?  My second favorite of the desserts.

Next was lemon curd, with some sort of crumble and gooseberries.  I'm not a huge fan of lemon flavor in general, and this was no exception.  Tangy, creamy, but too eggy for me.  I didn't get to try the gooseberry, as there were only two, and others snatched them up.

Finally, we had a little scoop of raspberry sorbet.  It was incredibly sweet, and like the intermezzo, a bit too icy.  I didn't really care for it.  There were also some more champagne grapes, which I didn't try.

Overall, my biggest complaint here is just that it was strange to share this assortment with 6 people. I didn't get to try the cookie, and I don't know how we were ever supposed to cut it into 6 pieces anyway.  Everyone seemed to find their favorites, so it worked out fine, but still, a bit strange.

My second favorite "course" overall, as that cheesecake was just incredible.  Each dessert is normally priced at $6-8 on their regular menu.

For our final wine pairing, we had a 2006 Late Harvest Petite Syrah, from Clayhouse Estates.  I was a bit surprised when it was placed in front of us, described just as a petit syrah.  A petit syrah for a dessert course?  And it was served in a regular wine glass.  It wasn't until I took a sip that I realized it was a late harvest, seriously sweet.  Since I do like dessert wine, this was my second favorite of the wines.

I really like having bitter coffee as a contrast to my sweet desserts, but sadly, no coffee, nor other drinks, were offered.

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