Lounge Dining @ La Folie

As you know by now, we have been trying to fit in all of the foie gras eating that we can, before the ban goes into effect.  And while I'd love to have it all as huge multi-course formal meals, that isn't really practical ... those sorts of meals are lovely, but are a big time investment, are rather pricey, and are really too much to do every single night of the week.  Luckily for us, many restaurants have amazing lounge and bar spaces, where they serve their foie!  I'm a big fan of lounge dining, as it allows us to have a quicker meal, customize the size of it to our needs, go on a whim without reserations, and still get amazing quality food.

So when Friday night rolled around, and we hadn't had any foie for almost 24 hours, we headed to La Folie's lounge!  We arrived at seemingly the perfect time, seated easily at the bar.  This very quickly changed and the place was full and hopping within 15 minutes.  The atmosphere was lively, but not too loud.  I've been to their lounge once before, but only had one foie dish that time, as we'd just come from a multi-course foie dinner the night before.  I'll skip all of the basic review details here since you can read them in my last post, and focus instead on anything that was different, and review the individual dishes below.

The lounge provides a plethora of options for food; you can order off of the lounge menu, or pick anything from the main menus, including the tasting menu, a la carte, or mix and match as you choose.  I really appreciate this flexibility!  The lounge menu features upscale comfort foods (truffle and lobster mac and cheese, lobster croque monsieurs, truffle and caviar deviled eggs, etc).  However, this is clearly no standard bar fare and every dish is actually prepared to order, right in the bar area itself, by a single chef.  Since we were seated at the bar, we were able to watch the food preparation directly in front of us.  It was really impressive how quickly he churned out these dishes, and how much of them was prepared from scratch.  The gougeres were stuffed with emmentaler cheese at ordering time, popcorn freshly popped for each order, etc.  The quality of ingredients was also impressive, they were not skimping in any way.  The lobster croque monsieur had a very, very generous amount of lobster meat in it, and was large chunks of claw meat at that.  The truffle popcorn had real truffles shaved to order on top of it.  This is very high quality bar food!

The lounge food all sounded, and looked, great, but we were there with one goal: more foie!  So we ended up picking 4 dishes from the main menu to share, which they priced as just a standard 4 course meal, $90 (they also offer 3 course for $80 or 5 course for $90).  This was generous, as we were splitting the dishes, and they still included multiple amuse bouches for each of us.  Well priced for the quality of the food.

The lounge staff were crazy busy, yet service was great.  All we needed to do was look up and they would come see what we needed.  When I asked about the details of one of the dishes, the bartender asked the kitchen, since he didn't know the answer offhand (it was one of the amuses, which change every time).  I asked for a wine recommendation to pair with my foie, and the bartender brought me two different ones to try before I committed.  And at one point, I set my wine glass down, and must have hit it on the edge of my plate instead of the bar.  My very full glass didn't just spill, it somehow resulted in a very dramatic breaking of the glass, sending my wine and glass pieces into the mise en place of the lounge chef.  It somehow narrowly avoided the large, open container full of black truffles - phew!  The staff handled this better than I could imagine.  One bartender was pouring me a new glass of wine literally before the glass shards had even settled.  The chef barely even flinched, cleaned up the entire mess, sorted out his mise en place, and just kept going.  I was incredibly embarrassed, and still really don't understand what on earth I did to create such a disaster, but they were so professional and amazingly fast at cleaning up the whole thing, it was like it never happened.  (Perhaps that would have been different if I'd contaminated the truffles!)

Anyway, this was all very high quality food, executed well.  There are about a thousand things on the menu that sound amazing, and a number of my friends have recently dined in the main dining room to rave reviews (and seriously drool-worthy photos!), so I will certainly need to check out the formal dining experience soon.  And I'll definitely go back to the lounge, as it is one of my new favorites!

Truffled popcorn.

From the lounge menu.  You'd never know from looking at the menu that this was not just going to be pre-popped generic truffle oil popcorn!

Like all lounge snacks, this is prepared to order.  We watched the lounge chef prepare this dish directly in front of us, starting with corn kernels on the cooktop, freshly popping the popcorn, and then shaving truffles over the top.  He overheard my exclamations in amazement that it came with real shaved truffle rather than just truffle oil, and gave us a sample cup.  The real version of this is a much bigger serving, but is only $6, which is a little shocking given the truffles that were being shaved onto it.

Amuse bouche #1: braised shortrib aspic.

La Folie always starts with an amuse in a little spoon, even if you are lounge dining.  Tonight's treat was a braised shortrib aspic.

This was such a flavorful little bite!  It was like a beef stew, all wrapped up into one tiny gelee.  Inside the aspic was shortrib, mirepoix, and leeks.  It was topped with crispy potato bits.  The texture combination from the gelee and the crunchy bits made it fun to eat, and it was beautiful, somewhat translucent so you could see the goodies inside.  But the flavor really was the most amazing part, it was so incredibly meaty!  It reminded me of that scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Violet has the gum with the beef stew and mashed potatoes and gravy in it ... just so surprising to have so many components and flavors in such a tiny bite!  It wasn't really a light start to the meal, but was really interesting.

Amuse bouche #2: Slow cooked egg yolk, fennel potato cream, crispy potato chip, chive, brioche toast. 

And La Folie always includes a second amuse bouche, a preparation of a slow cooked, barely poached, egg yolk.  The puree/cream inside changes frequently.  Served in an egg shell that has the top cut off, topped with a crispy potato chip, with a chive sticking through it.  And a brioche toast to dunk into it.

You might think that all eggs are sorta created equal, but that is just not true.  The flavor in this, the "yolkiness", was just very intense.  I think this was a quail egg, but it reminded me a lot of the jindori egg I had in tamago at Ichi Sushi, so much more rich, flavorful, and custard-like than standard chicken egg!  It mixed so well into the potato puree, adding even more richness to the already creamy puree.  It was almost a little much to eat just by the spoonful, but dunking the perfectly crispy brioche toast into it created such an amazing bite.  It was like brunch - toast, eggs, potatoes - but uh, soooo much better!  The potato chip on top was perfectly crisp, like the most delicious potato chip you'd ever have.

Both of these amuses were serious flavor punches!

Amuse bouche #2: inside!

Such precision goes into creating this.  The top of the egg shell is perfectly cut off, the potato chip has a tiny hole in it for the chive to stick through, the serving vessel is on top of a slice of lemon.  I love how much care went into this, as it was a strong signal of the quality level they strive for.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Torchon with Smoked Apple Barbeque Glazed Squab, Caramelized Onion and Strawberry Compote.

And ... the main reason we were there!  La Folie is known for their foie gras, and the seared foie gras in particular, but I'd basically had it last time I was there (in a slightly different preparation paired with a foie gras soup), and we were going to have some seared on the scallop dish, so we opted for the torchon instead this time.

The torchon was creamy, and good enough, but like all the torchons I've had lately, just didn't have enough foie flavor for me.  It was very smooth, a wonderful consistency, and clearly a high quality product.

Accompanying the foie was a chunk of smoked apple bbq glazed squab.  Now, I wasn't really excited for squab.  Not something I order, as it is too gamey for my tastes, but I think I'm starting to come around.  To me, this was actually just like a more flavorful chicken.  The glaze on it was amazing.  Sweet, smokey, delicious!  I didn't really get the pairing with the foie however, I'm not really sure why I'd want squab with my foie, or vice versa.

We then had 3 different bread-like components to choose from on the plate to spread the foie on.  The first was a very thin crisp cracker, that was very wheaty-tasting.  I didn't particularly like nor dislike it.  Next was a little fluffy brioche roll.  It was cute, but just a fairly standard piece of bread, a classic pairing with the foie.  But the final one, which the foie was perched upon, was amazing.  I'm not quite sure what it was, some form of nut based bar.  It wasn't nearly as solid as it looked, instead really creamy and smooth, yet with crispy texture as well from the ground nuts.  I'm not really sure how they created this consistency.  It tasted like the most amazing peanut butter I'd ever had, but I'm pretty sure there was a mix of nuts in there (pistacchio perhaps?).

The final component on the plate was the strawberry compote.  It was sweet and was a good pairing with the foie.  But what it really paired well with was ... the nut bar thing!  As in, classic pb & j!

I couldn't get enough of a bite of the nut bar, foie, and strawberry compote together.  Sweet, salty, rich, amazing.  Peanut butter and jelly, elevated to a whole new level.  This made me really, really wish I'd been able to try the "Elvis Lives" at Lafitte before it closed - a peanut butter, muscato jam, foie gras, and bacon sandwich!

Even though the torchon itself didn't wow me, the pb&j pairing more than made up for it, and the glaze on that squab was sooo tasty.  I would order again.  My second favorite savory dish of the night.

Triple T Ranch Tempura Duck Egg, on Sweetbreads Pancake, Frangelico Almond Pesto, Wild Mushroom Salad, Truffle Vinaigrette.

This was the one non-foie dish we ordered.  Several of our friends recently had this dish, and highly recommended it.

I wish I had a photo of cutting open the egg.  The tempura gave it a crisp exterior, and it was just lightly battered, not too oily.  The white was fully cooked, but the yolk was just perfectly oozy!  Amazing execution.

It was perched atop a savory pancake, that had a rich earthyness to it, with little chunks of sweetbreads.

Also on the side of the plate was a little salad, made up of crisp frisee, well cooked wild mushrooms, and shaved asparagus.  It was simple, fresh, and topped with an amazing truffle vinaigrette.  I'm not usually a big salad person, but this was really good.  It was served warm.

And then of course there were some pretty decent sized shavings of black truffle.

Another well executed, flavorful dish.  My least favorite savory dish of the night, but I didn't dislike it, the others were all just better.  I'd skip it in the future to try some of the other amazing sounding dishes though!

Seared Day Boat Scallop and Foie Gras Rossini, on Seared Yukon Gold Potatoes with Truffles.

And the other main reason we were there.  I love a good seared scallop.  And one with seared foie gras on top?  Even better!  This is the dish I was most looking forward to.

The scallops were huge, perhaps the biggest I've ever seen.  They had a good sear on them, and were tender, but slightly over done, I prefer them more medium-rare.

The seared foie was also a really sizable portion, particularly for just being the topping.  Like the scallop, it had a good sear on it.  It was creamy, a nice piece of foie.

There were also two layers of seared potato, one under the scallop and one under the foie.  They were well cooked, fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.  I could have done without them however, as the potato flavor seemed to detract from the scallop and foie.  They went nicely with the salty, rich sauce, sort of like gravy, but I didn't actually like the sauce much and particularly not with the scallop, as it was overpowering.

The potato/scallop/potato/foie tower was held together by a rosemary skewer.  I wasn't really sure if we were supposed to take off a little of it and eat it, or if it was just inedible garnish, serving function only, and perhaps having infused some flavor it in already?

The asparagus spears were perfectly cooked, with a good crunch.

I'm not quite sure where the truffle was in this dish, perhaps in the sauce?  I didn't taste it regardless.

This dish reminded me of the one that the chef at Fly Trap created just for us, where he added some small chunks of seared foie gras to the top of the seared scallop dish, also served with asparagus and potatoes.  That was a last minute creation for us, and didn't involve nearly as much foie as this dish however, so this was much better.

My favorite dish of the evening, and I'd order again.  My only real criticism, besides the doneness level of the scallops, is that everything on the plate was also just a little too oily.

Bittersweet Chocolate and Foie Gras Mousses On Crunchy Feuilletine,  Hazelnut Praline Sponge Cake, Cassis Gelée, Bacon Ice Cream.

I hadn't read anything about this dessert going into the meal, so I had no idea what to expect.  For the most part, the foie gras based desserts I've had have been pretty disappointing.  And bacon ice cream sure sounded ... interesting.  Likely horrible, but I'd had such an amazing fried rhubarb pie and foie gras ice cream dessert the night before at the Fifth Floor, that I had a glimmer of hope.  This was a special dessert on the tasting menu, but it was available to order a la carte.  And since my dining companion doesn't like sweets, this was the only dessert I'd possibly be able to convince him to try ...

The hazelnut praline sponge cake was fluffy and had a strong hazelnut flavor.  But like the curry sponge cake we'd had the night before, this just didn't do it for me, as I find that style of cake pretty boring.

The main component was the four layer mousse cake.  The bottom layer was a chocolate and hazelnut feuilletine, that had a nice crunch to it from the nuts.  The next layer was the chocolate mousse, which was pretty unremarkable, not much chocolate flavor.  Next was the foie gras mousse, which had very, very little foie flavor.  It was incredibly disappointing.  I love foie gras mousses, and this just had very little to offer.  The top layer was a sweet cassis gelee.  It was adorned with some foie powder that wasn't very flavorful, nothing like the intense foie powders we have had various times at Alexander's.  There was also a dark chocolate ring, high quality, tasty chocolate, smooth, with a nice snap to it, probably the best part of the dish.

There were also some cassis "caviar", that were sweet and had a nice pop to them when you bit into them.

And finally, the bacon ice cream.  Well, unlike most everything else on the plate, it did indeed have flavor.  It tasted incredibly like bacon.  It was really quite gross.

This was just not a good dessert.  The foie flavor wasn't there, and even if it was, I'm not convinced it would have gone well with the chocolate.  Add in boring cake and nasty ice cream ... not successful.  I give them credit for originality however, but I'd never get this again.

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Dinner @ Sushi Zone

It is rather amazing that I've never reviewed Sushi Zone before.  It is the sushi restaurant that I have been to far more than anywhere else.  In fact, perhaps the restaurant I've been to more than anywhere else.  Back in the day, we used to go here pretty much every Sunday night.  Since moving to another part of town, and them closing on Sundays, I make it back much less frequently these days, perhaps only going a handful of times a year.  I still enjoy it for nostalgia sake, but things have kinda gone downhill, and I'm just not quite willing to deal with the hassel on a regular basis.

Ah, the hassel.  Sushi Zone is a tiny place.  2 booths that seat 4 people and a sushi bar that seats perhaps 10.  I think my average wait time to get seated there is somewhere around 2 hours, and my average time to get sushi after getting seated is around 1 hour.  I used to find this just part of the experience, somewhat endearing, and always went planning on it, so we'd go far earlier than we wanted to eat, and let our hunger build as we waited.  Now I kinda just can't be bothered to wait that long, when there are great dining options that are much easier!  Back in its glory days however, the wait was totally worth it.

For first timers, let me teach you the waiting game: Put your name on the dry erase board and then go stand outside on the sidewalk in the freezing cold San Francisco night.  Count the number of groups ahead of you.  Count the number of folks waiting outside.  Try to guess which party is which.  Obsess over whether the people whose names are on the list who aren't there will return in time or not.  Cross your fingers that they won't.  Guess which table you'll get.  Stare at everyone slowly eating their sushi inside.  Ponder about how the restaurant next door that has never once had a single customer in it possibly affords their rent - conclusion, this place is clearly a front.  Repeat.

The staffing is also minimal.  A sushi chef, an assistent, and a waitress.  When I first started going to Sushi Zone years ago, there was a single sushi chef who worked all nights, and was amazing.  He then took on a second chef who started working some nights, and wasn't quite as good.  Then he took on a third, who has been there every time I have in the past year or so, who just really, really isn't good.  His rolls are poorly rolled and fall apart, the pieces are too big to fit in my mouth, and there is just way too much mayo.  We've tried to go on a number of different nights to get one of the other chefs, but haven't managed to yet.

Speaking of going on different nights, yes, we went to sushi on a Monday.  Now, I pretty much never get fish on Mondays, even cooked fish, unless it is local or I know it is fresh.  Most sushi restaurants aren't open on Mondays, for good reason.  I recently learned from another sushi restaurant however that they do receive some shipments on Mondays from New Zealand and locally, so I called Sushi Zone to ask if they received fresh fish on Mondays.  They assured me that they did.  Sushi Zone opens at 5pm, and people line up early to get in the first seating.  During the week, there is pretty much no way we could ever make it there that early, so this isn't ever an option, and Saturday nights are always crazy there, and they are closed Sundays, so I haven't had many chances to do this before.  But, it was a holiday Monday, they were open (and most places were not), and I could easily go before 5pm.  So ... we decided to gamble, try to get there right around 5pm and get in the first seating, and yes, have sushi on a Monday.  We showed up around 4:50pm, and were able to get bar seats.  However, when I asked what fish was fresh, the chef said only the hamachi.  And, unfortunately, it was the same chef who I have really not been impressed by.  Sigh.

Sushi Zone has never been a place where I'd go expecting top quality fish.  It has always been good enough, but that isn't what the focus is.  This is not somewhere you go to order sashimi or nigiri, even though they are on the menu.  Sushi Zone is all about the rolls, and they are filled with things like mango, papaya, macadamia nuts, and lots of mayonaise.  I know, I know, I'm losing all credibility here, but these things do have their place.  They also make some fantastic appetizers, all prepared in a toaster oven on the side of the kitchen, by the same guy who is doing all the dish washing.  We didn't know about these when we first started going to Sushi Zone, but quickly realized that every single party was always ordering them, so we quickly wizened up and discovered them ourselves.  They uh, also all contain lots of mayo.

Prices have also always been incredibly reasonable, although they have gone up quite a bit in the past few years.  I used to be shocked at how much food we got for the price, now it seems more in line with what I'd expect.  Far cheaper than most sushi places I go, but the product is also far lower quality.

Service was good enough, but the timing of things was off.  We received our first roll before any of our appetizers.  Then one appetizer.  Then the rest of our rolls.  Then another appetizer.  And finally the nigiri.  I completely understand how this happens, as all of the appetizers are being cooked in a single toaster oven, and absolutely every party is ordering them, so they are actually the bottleneck, not the sushi chef, when the night starts out.  Later on, the sushi chef gets very backed up, so even though the appetizers easily take 30+ minutes to arrive, the sushi takes much longer.  Anyway, I understand how this happens, but I wished things came in a better order.

Overall, our meal was ok, but nothing I'd ever wait for.  Back in the day, I always left Sushi Zone so incredibly happy and satisfied, and always felt that the 3+ hours it had taken for me to get my meal were worth it.  I'm sure I'll go back next time I need a mayo fix, and I'll keep trying to make it there on a night when one of the other chefs is working (if they still are?), but Sushi Zone really has lost a lot of the magic.

Baked bass, mango, spicy mayo, fish eggs.  $6.50.

This is one of the famous toaster oven appetizers.  Chopped up mango, topped with a generous slice of sea bass, topped with this crazy cheesy mayo mixture, and some roe, served in a mussel shell.  Always piping hot with a awesome crispy top layer.  This dish has historically been one of my absolute favorites.  Creamy, cheesy, sweet, delicious.

Tonight's version seemed to have grown in size substantially!  I guess they just fill up whatever size shells they have?  Unfortunately, this did not work in their favor.

The sea bass was a very generous portion, a single slice, moist, tender.  This is different from how it used to be, with multiple small pieces instead.  I preferred it this way and found the fish to be quite nice.

The mango was ripe and flavorful, nice and warm, but mine was rather mushy and a little bit stringy.  There was also just way too much of it, even given the larger than usual portion of bass, the ratio was just off, and the sweet mango just overpowered everything.

The ratio was also off for the mayo/cheese sauce, there wasn't enough of it given the quantities of the other ingredients, so the creamy cheesy goodness that I love about this wasn't there.

Overall this was disappointing because I know how awesome it can be, but the fish was actually better than usual.  I'll still order this again next time, and hope it comes out more balanced!  My favorite of the appetizers, and my third favorite dish overall.

Stuffed jalapeno, spicy mayo, albacore.  $6.00.

And my other favorite appetizer.  Fresh jalapeno, stuffed with albacore, and a little spicy mayo.  These also seemed bigger than in the past.

Again, delivered piping hot from the toaster oven.  The jalapeno was just the perfect level of doneness, still slightly crispy.  It had a little kick, but not too much.  There was a slight amount of mayo adding some creaminess.  The albacore however was fishy and overcooked, firm, and a little dried out.

Disappointing, because again, I know how amazing this appetizer can be.  I usually go into the meal never knowing which of this or the baked bass I'll prefer, as each time one tends to just slightly outshine the other, but this time around, neither was a star.  I'll order it again in the future, and hope that this fishy-fish was just a Monday thing ...

Least favorite of the appetizers, and second to least favorite overall.

Hawaiian #2: albacore, mango, scallion, mayo, macadamia.  $7.25.

Ah, the Hawaiian #2.  Probably their most famous roll.  Usually my favorite, but always at least in my top 3.

I love the flavor combinations at play here: mayo, macadamia, and mango just go together so well!  Tonight though, things were off.

First, the roll was poorly executed.  The pieces of the roll were just too large.  Perhaps hard to see in the photo, but it was impossible for me to fit a slice in my mouth.  This meant that I couldn't get all of the flavors together at once, and that I had a very uncomfortable time trying to cram it into my mouth.  It was also poorly rolled and was somewhat falling apart.  And there was far too much rice, masking the flavors of the rest of the ingredients.  This has, unfortunately, been my experience with this sushi chef the last few times.  His technique just isn't there.

The biggest problem however was the albacore.  It was mushy and had no flavor.  Which perhaps was a step up from the albacore in the appetizer, that had flavor, just a bad fishy flavor ...  I think that in both cases, this was not fresh fish.  Protip: don't eat fish on Mondays ...

The mango was sweet and ripe enough, the mayo added a great creaminess but there was slightly too much, and the macadamias added a good crunch and paired well with everything.

Again, I'll get this in the future based on my knowledge that it can be great, but we both agreed that this was the weakest dish, and wished we'd just thrown it out instead of eating it.

Spicy mango salmon, scallions, sprouts, spicy mayo.  $7.25.
Spicy hamachi, avocado, jalapeno, lime, sprouts, scallions, spicy mayo.  $7.25.

These are usually my second and third favorite rolls, either of which can bubble up to being favorites any night, just based on how good the components are.  And tonight, these were both pretty good!

Both rolls had a plentiful amount of sprouts and scallions, giving them a fresh feel and good crunch.  They both also had same spicy mayo, that adds a really nice creaminess, but had way, way too much on them.  Again, a theme with this chef, every time we had had him.  The mayo overpowered everything, wiping out the flavor, which is unfortunate, because there are some great flavors in these rolls.

The spicy mango salmon had generous chunks of fresh, ripe, pretty delicious mango.  The salmon had a good flavor and texture, and seemed pretty fresh.  Less mayo, and this would have been a really great roll.  My second favorite of the night.

The spicy hamachi was even better.  The hamachi was fresh, firm, with good flavor.  But what I love about this roll is the thin slices of jalapeno and lime.  The jalapeno just adds the perfect amount of kick and the lime gives a great flavor pairing with the hamachi.  Again, a little less mayo, and this would have been amazing.  It was still my favorite of the night, but could have certainly been better, as it wasn't up to Sushi Zone standards!

Mendocino uni nigiri. $6.75.
Hamachi nigiri.  $6.25.
Tamago nigiri.  $3.50.

Second only to my foie obsession, has been my recent uni obsession.  I'd never had the uni at Sushi Zone before.  In fact, I'm not even sure I'd ever seen it on the menu.  I think I'm probably usually just too busy ordering the rolls.  But I saw the uni, and asked about it.  I was told it was local Mendocino uni.  I asked if it was fresh, and they said yes.  I had to try it.

There was a very, very generous amount of uni in these pieces.  Hard to see in the photo, but there was very little rice in here, mostly all uni.  This was a crazy portion for the price.  It makes me seriously grumpy at everywhere that skimps on their uni!

My dining companion had his piece first, and sorta looked sick after he had it.  I asked how it was, and he just shook his head.  I tentatively took a tiny chunk of the uni with my chopsticks.  It was ... horrible.    An insanely strong flavor, and a very bad one at that.  Like eating the trash.  Really, really bad.  My dining companion said he felt like he'd eaten something that had gone rotten.  I'm not sure what inspired me to try more of this, as it was so, so bad, but I decided to try another chunk out of mine, from what was clearly a different piece.  And ... it was actually good!  Really creamy and delicious.  It had a strong flavor, but this time, it was a good one.  I ended up eating all of that piece of uni and it was quite fantastic.  I then went back to the first piece and tried another tiny chunk, and it was again, horrible.  We'd clearly gotten two different batches, one which was great and one which was just downright bad. I'm doubting the freshness here.  I won't order uni at Sushi Zone again.  But I really, really wanted to like this (which explains why I kept trying!)

I didn't have the hamachi, but my dining companion said it was just ok.

Tamago is always the end to my sushi meals, my "dessert".  This was a pretty forgettable tamago.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very good either.  Not much sweetness to it, which is something I'm usually looking for in my "dessert".

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More lounge dining @ Fifth Floor

As you are well aware by now, I've been on a foie gras kick, getting in all my last foie consumption before the rapidly approaching ban goes into effect.  We were looking for a casual, week night foie-option, and I remembered that I'd recently seen some photos of an absolutely amazing sounding foie gras dessert at Fifth Floor: fried rhubarb pie with foie gras ice cream!  While it sounded slightly gimmicky, it also sounded potentially amazing, and people seemed to be loving it.  And I did love the foie ice cream I had there a few weeks ago.  And they just switched up their hot & cold preparation.   We could order all of these foie dishes a la carte in the lounge.  Sold!

Since I've reviewed the Fifth Floor several times now, both for lounge dining and formal group dining, I'll skip the basics here, and focus just on the individual dishes, and any differences in our experience.

This time we sat at the bar (last time we were in the adjacent lounge area).  There were purse hooks (seriously, it makes such a difference)!  The staff were all friendly and the chef himself came out to chat several times.  I really liked the vibe; it was energetic without being too loud, formal enough to include things like the amuse bouche and intermezzo but also totally casual, just really a nice atmosphere and balance of good dining and comfort.

We also got to meet a couple of other foie lovers that I "know" from the web in person, as they were also dining at the bar tonight.  It was fun to finally meet them!

Overall, it was a good experience.  I really like their lounge space and the foie gras dessert was actually mind blowing!  Everything else was good, but not particularly noteworthy.  Full comments on each dish below.

Protip: We found out that they'll be running a special foie gras menu in June.  I'm going to be out of town for a lot of the month, but hopefully we'll find a way to squeeze it in!

Amuse bouche: Chilled miso shooter with albacore and cucumber.

Our meal started with this little shooter.  The broth was salty from the miso and there were little cubes of albacore and cucumber inside of it.  There was also some sort of spicing on the rim of the glass, which was kinda fun to enjoy that way.  Since it was served cold, it was somewhat refreshing.  However, it was hard to get all of the albacore and cucumber cubes out of it, as once the broth was gone, they just stuck to the inside of the glass and we didn't have little spoons to stick in.  This is what tongues were made for :)

I really appreciate that they include amuses even for lounge seating!  They skip the bread service, which, unless bread is really phenomenal, doesn't bother me at all, I'd rather just eat more foie!

Hot & cold foie gras: rhubarb, honey, cardamon milk, bee pollen.  $22.

The hot and cold foie gras was my favorite dish the last time I had a formal meal at Fifth Floor.  That version was more winter inspired, served with a delicious kiwi sauce, kiwi slices, toasted brioche, and hazelnuts.  I was exited to see what this seasonal variation would be like!

This one replaced the kiwi components with rhubarb, it came in at least five different forms.  There were fresh crunchy chunks, some gel cubes, some sauce, and a layer of tiny gelee cubes on top of the terrine.  These all paired well with the foie, and were nicely balanced between sweet and tart.  Not quite as flavorful as the kiwi preparations however.

The terrine was creamy and decent, but didn't have as strong of a flavor as I'd like.  This seems to be a theme lately, perhaps I'm just unhappy with terrines and torchons in general these days, as none have seemed flavorful enough.  Although, I still drool thinking back to the one from Commonwealth, by far my favorite cold preparation I've had recently.

Leaning against the terrine were two honey tuiles.  They were crazy sweet.  Too sweet, even for sweet loving me.

The hot version was a letdown.  It had a decent sear and great texture and flavor, but it wasn't hot.  It was barely even warm.  Again, this seems to be a theme these days!  I want my hot preparations of foie actually hot please!  Or ... at least warm.  This was also inconsistent from the rest of the service we received, where I was impressed with the fact that dishes were served at pretty much perfect temperatures, particularly the desserts.

The foam was a cardamon milk, but I didn't really taste much cardamon.  I would have liked to, as I imagine that pairing quite nicely with the rhubarb and foie.

I paired this with a lovely glass of Sauternes, sweet and delicious as always, and it complimented the foie perfectly.

One thing that surprised us about this was the serving size.  Both the hot and cold preparations seemed to be only half as large as last time we had this dish, where it came with a much larger seared piece and two generous slices of the cold prep.  I wouldn't say this was a bad size serving for the price, but it was noticeably smaller.

Overall this was fine, but neither preparation is in the top versions I've had recently.  The seared piece would have been much, much better if served hot, and I have preferred other fruit pairings (like the kiwi sauce last time!).  It also would have benefitted perhaps from a small piece of bread product (like the brioche last time!).  I guess I just can't but help compare it to the last version I had of this there, and which I found more successful.  This was good quality foie however, and I'll certainly continue to try out any other preparations they have!

Fifth Floor Burger: Firebrand bun, comte cheese, bourbon onions, sweet pickles, fries, aioli.  $16

The burger is only available in the lounge.  Like last time, it came with a fluffy brioche bun, perfectly melted comte cheese, fresh crisp lettuce, and crunchy pickles.  It had a good sear on it, and the patty was flavorful enough due to being made from a mix of ground short rib, chuck, and skirt steak.  Served with skin on fries that were crisp but pretty forgettable, and a nicely smoky pimento aioli.  I feel about exactly the same towards it this time as last time, where I reviewed it in a little more detail.  A good burger, but I'd certainly pick the Alexander's burger and their fries any day.

Crispy Tai Snapper, ahi blanco, scallion, fennel, trout roe.  $16. (Photo from 1MandaBear).

This was absolutely crazy!  I'd heard about a technique that the chefs used to make a crispy layer out of scales, and one of my internet buddies down the bar ordered this.  She very generously insisted that I try some, and I'm glad she did, as it was a totally unique preparation!

As she cut into it, the crunch and crackle was audible from where I was standing a few feet away.  It was really incredible.  When I cut my piece, the same thing happened.  Sounds are not something I normally associate with eating, but this really added to the experience.

The fish was really well cooked, moist, tender.  The fennel was fresh, light, refreshing.  And the crispy scales really were great!  I'm not sure I've really ever had scales before, but the taste was just like skin, and this level of crispiness was just unparalleled in anything I'd ever experienced.

I'd gladly order this dish myself some time, and at $16 this seems like a crazy value for a generous size piece of fish!

Intermezzo: vanilla bean panna cotta, strawberry sphere, candied kumquat, muscatel granita.

This is one of the best intermezzos I've ever had.  Every component was things I adore and they were all executed perfectly.

The panna cotta had a great consistency and strong vanilla flavor.  Much, much better than most panna cottas I've had lately (and yes, I've had a lot of them).

The strawberry sphere was a standard molecular gastronomy sphere, it burst perfectly when bit into, and was filled with really great strawberry flavor.  Like eating some very delicious strawberry jam!  It paired wonderfully with the panna cotta.

The candied kumquat was slightly sour, and delicious.  I love candied kumquat.

The muscatel granita added a fun cold component to the dish.

I loved this, as did my dining companion, who rarely likes desserts.  I would order this as a full size dessert in a heartbeat.  I wish I could!

Fried rhubarb pie, foie gras ice cream, ginger, crème fraîche, pie crust foam.  $12.

This was the dish I was most excited about, having seen a photo of it a week earlier.  While I don't love rhubarb, I do love warm pie and ice cream, more than perhaps any other desserts.  Warm pie a la mode was a big thing in my house growing up!  But, I'm usually disappointed by pie and ice cream at restaurants.  And foie gras ice cream?  While awesome sounding, it also seemed gimmicky (I'm not a stranger to foie gras ice cream, having had a disappointing version at one of Lafitte's foie dinners and a great version in an intermezzo at Fifth Floor previously).  Lets just say that I went into this dish excited, but with a very healthy dose of skepticism.

This dessert was downright phenomenal.  I eat a LOT of desserts.  At least 3 a day, usually more like 5 or 6.  This is one of the best I've had in recent memory.  Truly fantastic, and not just because of the foie!

The fried rhubarb pie was pretty much perfect.  Delivered piping hot.  My biggest pet peeve with these sorts of desserts is that they rarely are warm.  This was clearly fresh out of the fryer!  The shell was amazingly crispy, I guess this is what happens when you fry pie instead of bake it!  The crust was buttery, full of flavor, and just delicious.  It put the pie crust of pretty much every other pie I've had in recent memory to shame.  The rhubarb inside was warm, soft, and a good balance of sweet at tart.

Also on the plate was more candied, stewed rhubarb.  I don't love rhubarb, but this was pretty good, and it went very well with the ice cream.

The ice cream was fantastic.  Perfectly creamy, served at the exact right temperature to be solid yet soft and melty.  So much better than a lot of restaurant ice cream, where I'm always disappointed by the consistency.  And it did have a great foie flavor to it.  Amazing on its own, or with the candied rhubarb, or, for the perfect bite, with some of the hot pie.

Also on the plate was some tart crème fraîche that paired well against the rhubarb.  And some pie crust espuma that unfortunately didn't taste that much like pie crust.  And a walnut crumble, that looked great, but had a strange texture to it that I didn't care for.

Anyway, this was an incredible dessert.  Warm pie and ice cream, elevated to a whole new level.  I could have eaten several of these.  If I can make it back before the ban, I WILL be ordering this dessert again.  I'd go back just for this dessert even.  Man, I want more now!!!  Even more amazingly, my dining companion also loved this.  And recall, he doesn't do sweets.  This was definitely a dessert, and definitely had sweetness to it, but it was so well balanced with the tartness from the rhubarb and crème fraîche, and the richness of the foie gras, that it worked for him.  And it worked for me.  I'm not sure this will ever happen again, with us both enjoying the same dessert!

Winning dish of the evening, for both of us.

Madras curry cake, strawberries, guava, white chocolate, candied fennel.  $12.

Just when we thought we were done, a glass of spiced nebiola was placed in front of each of us.  We looked up in surprise.  The bartender told us that the chef had a few more treats coming our way ...

The wine was really intensely spiced.  We had no idea what to expect for food pairings with it.  We were treated to two more desserts!

These were really, really interesting dishes.  The pastry chef is known for working with intensely savory ingredients in his desserts.  And since my dining companion actively dislikes sweets and desserts, this was the only hope he had for possibly helping me out with eating these!

First, this was a sight to behold!  And the ingredients were indeed incredibly unsuspected.

The cake was fluffy and light, with slight curry flavor.  I didn't find it particularly interesting.  I eat a lot of cake/cupcakes, and this style of cake just doesn't ever really do much for me.

The strawberries were pickled green strawberries, which seem to be the rage these days.  We'd just seen them show up paired with our foie gras starter and in a dessert at Alexander's the day before.  Vinegary and pickled, these were definitely a sour, not sweet, component.

The candied fennel was delicious!  Insanely crispy.  Slightly sweet.  Slightly anise-y.  I loved these.  I'd eat candied fennel chips any day.

The sorbet was guava flavored, and very, very sweet.  It seemed out of place given how savory all of the other components were.  I thought it was too sweet, and even though I like sweets, didn't care for it.

Finally, there were white chocolate pieces, filled with crispy bits.  They were pretty generic.

This dessert didn't do it for me, but it was interesting to see a more savory approach taken to dessert, and the plating was really lovely.  I wouldn't get it again, but I'd love to just get a side of candied fennel chips!

Black Olive Madeleines, saffron ice cream, candied kumquats.  $12.

And another savory dessert!  The current dessert menu at Fifth Floor is really quite creative, offering 6 choices - a cheese course, these two savory ones, the foie ice cream and pie, a crème brûlée and then a more traditional chocolate bombe to satisfy those folks that need their chocolate.  No real safe or classic choices here, as even the crème brûlée that I had last time had a crazy spin on it.

The madeleines, like the pie, arrived nice and warm.  Serious points for this.  Warm, fresh baked goods are just so much better!  They were intensely black olive tasting.  There was no doubt whatsoever that you were eating black olives.  Not exactly my thing, but really quite creative, and an impressive amount of flavor was infused in them.

The ice cream was really good, again like the foie ice cream creamy and a nice consistency.  It had a lovely saffron flavor.

There was also more delicious candied kumquat, which paired nicely with the ice cream, as did the crumble.  I didn't catch what it was made from, but it gave a nice crunch to eating spoonfuls of ice cream.

Protip: If you want to make this at home, you can find the recipe here!

I wouldn't order this one again either, but again, I was impressed with the creativity.  What I disliked in this was clearly just personal preference, as the execution was spot on.  Pastry Chef Francis Ang is a really talented pastry chef, and I'm really interested to see more of his creations.  He is clearly willing to experiment with all sorts of flavors, textures, techniques, etc.  And, he made some killer beignets at a cooking demo I went to a few months ago!

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Savor the Flavor @ Alexander's Steakhouse

As you know by now, Alexander's Steakhouse is hands down, one of my favorite restaurants in the city. It seems like a bit of an undiscovered gem to me, I really don't understand how they aren't more popular.  It is my go-to place for just about every sort of meal, from the special foie gras dinners, to amazing burgers or just appetizers and desserts in the bar, to more classic steak dinners.  I've reviewed Alexander's so many times (in particular, I give a good summary of why I love the place here), so I'll skip the usual ramble here and just focus on anything that was particularly different this evening, and on reviewing the individual dishes.

We went tonight to redeem our certificates for a totally crazy deal that they have going on right now, that I'd purchased ages ago.  Called "Savor the Flavor", this is a 4 course dinner for two, featuring a full blood wagyu strip steak for $170 (pre tax/tip, or $221 inclusive).  Or, $85 per person.  Let me break this down a little ... the menu, per person, is:

• Amuse Bouche (complimentary)
• Bread service  (complimentary)
• First Course: Hamachi Shot - truffled ponzu sauce, ginger, jalapeno, avocado, lime (normally $4 each)
• Second Course, (normally $10-24 each) choice of:
• Dayboat Scallops - medocino uni, crispy potato, bacon-argan vinaigrette
• Foie Gras Terrine - duck rillette, pickled green strawberries, black garlic sable, rooibos cream, lychee miso, basil.
• Alexander's Signature Stout Caesar Salad - 62.5 degree onsen egg, romaine, traditional flavors
• Iceberg Wedge - point reyes blue cheese, smoked bacon, fuji apple, celery, eggs
• Intermezzo (complimentary)
• Third Course: Full Blood Wagyu Akaushi Strip Steak (not sure what the regular price is as it isn't on the menu, generic strip is $65 each, cheapest wagyu strip is $185)
• Palette Cleanser  (complimentary)
• Fourth Course: Any choice from dessert menu (normally $12 each)
• Cotton Candy  (complimentary)

If you can do basic math, then you understand how amazing this deal is!  It seemed like a great excuse to go try another wagyu (I'm only recently starting to get into steak as it wasn't something I grew up eating, and I'm finally starting to learn the differences in cuts/breeds/aging, but I've only had a handful of different wagyus so far ... although my Alexander's habits are quickly changing this!).

The entire experience was great, as always.  The staff recognize us by now and always welcome us openly.  Going there honestly sort of feels like walking into a good friend's home.  Service was impecable, from absolutely every individual with whom we interacted.  Thank you Alexander's for yet another memorable meal, and making us feel special, even though we were using a "deal"!

I obviously highly recommend Alexander's in general, but this deal is really phenomenal.  You can still cash in on it for a few more days, it is valid until June 5!  Purchase here (and tell them Julie sent ya!).

Amuse Bouche: cucumber cream cheese, cucumber slice, trout roe, citrus sriracha pearls.

The amuse reminded me of tea party sandwiches, perhaps because that is the only time I've had cucumber and cream cheese together.  Anyway, it was cream cheese, topped with a crisp slice of cucumber, and then trout roe and citrus sriracha pearls.  I liked the play of pearls mimicking the roe, but I didn't really taste the citrus nor sriracha.  The roe added a nice bit of salt and pop.  I didn't love this, but it was light and fresh.

Furikake crackers!

Bread service included the standard Acme breads (baguette, olive bread, whole wheat walnut bread), along with the more recent addition of the house made bacon roll.  I've had all of the breads a zillion times, and didn't want to fill up on them, so I was planning to skip bread service entirely, but ... they had a new one!  Crackers!

These were really tasty.  Super crisp, oily in a good way, and topped with nori, furikake, and black sesame.  They had a slight spiciness to them.  I really liked these, and thought they were far more fun than standard bread and butter.  They paired really nicely with red wine too!

Hamachi Shot - truffled ponzu sauce, ginger, jalapeno, avocado, lime.

The hamachi shot is one of Alexander's signature dishes, at both the Cupertino and San Francisco locations.  I think it has been on the menu for ages.  I had one the very first time I visited in Cupertino, but haven't had one since, mostly because I'm allergic to avocado so I don't go seeking out dishes containing it, and because there are always a zillion other new dishes I want to try.  But tonight, I got to re-visit this classic.

Like everyone says, this is a nicely balanced bite.  The jalapeno adds a little kick, the ponzu sauce is sweet and delicious, the arare add a crunch, the avocado adds a richness and creaminess, the ginger makes it refreshing, and the hamachi is good quality.  Nothing bad to say about this, and I'm glad I got to have it again after so long, but I'll go back to skipping it, as there are too many other interesting sounding raw fish dishes on their current menu.

Foie Gras Terrine - duck rillette, pickled green strawberries, black garlic sable, rooibos cream, lychee miso, basil.

There were four options for the second course.  We (shocker!) all picked the foie.  I was actually tempted by the scallops with uni, as I love both of those ingredients and know Alexander's does them well, but our foie days are numbered and this was a new preparation that I just had to try :)  One other option was the other signature Alexnader's dish on the menu: the caesar salad with sous vide egg.  Again, something I had the first or second time I visited, but haven't had again since there are always just too many other better sounding things.  I recall it being a pretty fantastic caesar though.   I can't imagine who on earth picks the iceberg wedge option!

Like all of the non-steak at Alexander's, there was a lot going on here.

The terrine was obviously the star of the plate, very creamy and rich.  It had an ok foie flavor, but wasn't quite as strong or intense as I'd like.

The ball was the duck rillette, which did have a very strong flavor.  I didn't care for this much however, it was kinda mushy and stringy.  The others at the table really liked it, but I think rilettes just aren't really my thing.

Leaning up against the terrine was the black garlic sable.  This was very crispy.  I didn't taste black garlic and didn't find this all that interesting.

Under the strawberry and on the other side of the plate was the rooibos cream.  It had such an intense rooibos flavor! And it was very creamy.  I liked this component, but not with the foie, nor anything else on the plate really.  I thought it was incredibly interesting however, and did scoop it all up, just on its own.

The terrine was on top of the lychee miso sauce.  Now this was delicious! Sweet from the lychee, salty from the miso, just tasty tasty tasty.  And it went great with everything else, both the sweetness and the saltiness pairing perfectly with the foie, and I really liked it with the pickled strawberries too.

Also on the plate were some pickled green strawberries.  They were super vinegary and tart.  I love pickled things so I really enjoyed these, although I didn't quite get the pairing with the rich foie.

There was also some micro basil, a black powder that I forget what it was, and tiny cubes of something ... pink.

We paired this with a 2003 tokaji, always the perfect compliment to foie :) 

Overall I found this a little disappointing, it just didn't have as strong of a foie flavor as I was really looking for.  I did love the creaminess of the terrine and the deliciousness that was lychee miso sauce though!

Extra gift from the kitchen: braised pork belly!

Until a couple weeks ago, I thought I didn't like pork belly.  I've always found it to be too fatty, too gummy, and just kinda gross.  I'd never order it in a million years, and always substitute something else when given the chance if it shows up on a tasting menu.  But ... a few weeks ago, at Alexander's of course, someone else ordered the pork belly appetizer.  It was incredible!  It totally and completely changed my opinion of pork belly.

When the servers initially brought this over, I had a moment of sadness upon hearing "pork belly".  But then I remembered that I'd actually enjoyed it last time, and I dug in.  And ... it was delicious!

The pork belly itself had an insanely crispy shell but was super tender on the inside.  It crunched as you cut into it.  It was like bacon, but a thousand times better.  The sauce it was braised in was fairly sweet and delicious.

Brighting up the plate was a smooth fava bean puree that I didn't notice much, too preoccupied by the flavorful pork belly, but it did add a nice color to the dish.

There was also some pickled braised diakon, like the strawberry in the foie dish, this was vinegary and I really liked it.  It went nicely with the pork belly.

Finally, there was a chunk of glazed white asparagus, nicely cooked, crunchy, and sweet from the glaze.

There were of course micro greens as a garnish, along with some ginger that was really refreshing and a rather amazingly strong flavor.

This was delicious, and the favorite dish for several at the table.  I can safely say that Alexander's has truly changed my opinion on pork belly!  Thank you chef for sending out this extra treat!

Intermezzo: rhubarb sorbet, mitsuba.

Next up came a little intermezzo to prepare us for our steaks.  A creamy, sweet rhubarb sorbet, perched on top of a sour mitsuba leaf.  I don't really like rhubarb much, so this was kinda meh to me.

 Full Blood Wagyu Akaushi Strip Steak - curry horseradish, charred asparagus, porcini mushrooms.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm still just really getting into steaks.  They just weren't something I ever had growing up, and until recently, I barely knew there was a difference in cuts of steak, let alone in the type of animal they were coming from.  I've learned that my cut of choice is the still just a filet.  A strip is probably my second choice.  And I really don't like ribeye.

And few weeks ago I had my first Sher full blood, followed shortly thereafter by the Tajima F1.  I've been seriously spoiled, and don't know how to go back to ordering the standard cuts anymore!

Anyway, this was a full blood strip steak.  I didn't like it nearly as much as the Sher full blood strip, nor as much as the Tajima F1 filet.  It was very tender, with good flavor, but just not as amazing as those prior steaks.  It had a good salt level on the crust, but it wasn't seared quite as nicely as most of the steaks I have had in the past at Alexander's.  I would have liked a better crust on it.

The horseradish curry sauce was good, with a strong curry flavor.  It complimented the meat well.

The porcinis were awesome.  One other person at the table took a bite of his and started exclaiming, "that is a really good mushroom!"  Just a mushroom, but it had a great hearty flavor, and seemed like it had been cooked in a nice amount of butter.  Super tasty.

The charred asparagus was kinda just another chunk of asparagus.  I'm pretty sick of asparagus these days, which is fine, as asparagus season is just about over.  I think I just had too much of it as everywhere has been going asparagus crazy lately.

The red orach on top had a nice flavor and crunch.

I found this dish a little disappointing.  I think I went into it expecting it to be mind blowing like the other wagyus I've had recently, and this was more just a standard, good, steak.  I wouldn't order this cut again.

Palette Cleanser: banana ice cream, white chocolate powder.

And another little palette cleanser.  The ice cream had very strong banana flavor, but wasn't very creamy.  The white chocolate powder had a really nice flavor.  I found the pairing of ice cream and powder to be fairly interesting.

Leapin' lime cotton candy.

And no meal is complete at Alexander's without some cotton candy!  Today's flavor was "leapin' lime", a sweet lime flavor.  Fluffy, sweet, fairly standard cotton candy.  Always fun to eat.

Ichigo Patch: Strawberry mousse, black velvet "soil", vanilla ice cream, chocolate "rocks", streusel, spring greens.

For desserts, we could pick any dessert from the dessert menu.  Unfortunately, the dessert menu hasn't changed much, and I'd had most of the desserts multiple times.  There were only two new ones.

The first was the "ichigo patch".  It looked totally crazy, like ... a strawberry patch.

Not visible is the main component of the dish, the strawberry white chocolate mousse.  It was creamy and went very well with the cake components.  It was my favorite part of the dish.

On top of the mousse was a thin layer of strawberry gelee, which had a good strawberry flavor, but was really easily lost in the other parts of the dish.  In fact, when I mentioned it, the others who also choose this dessert didn't even realize it was there, and I'd only noticed it because I was deconstructing some bites to analyze them.

The final appearance of strawberry was in the whole, fresh strawberries perched on top of the soil.  They were good, and definitely added to the presentation of the dish.

The black velvet "soil" made up the majority of the dish.  This was a chocolate cake, ripped up into pieces.  It was fairly standard, not moist, and really just generic chocolate cake.

Also scattered amongst the soil were chocolate "rocks".  These were hard chunks of something very chocolatey.  I liked the chocolate flavor and thought they paired well with the mousse, but it was strange alternately discovering the "rocks" vs "soil", one being so hard and one being so soft, but looking very similar.

There was also a little scoop of vanilla ice cream, fairly generic.

The spring greens were savory and were a really nice presentation.

I really wanted to like this dessert, as the components all sounded so good.  But there was something just not balanced about it.  There was far, far too much of the cake component, it really just over took everything.  There wasn't nearly enough ice cream.  It also could have used more fresh strawberries.  One other person thought it really needed some warm chocolate sauce.

I liked the creativity in the presentation, the flavor combinations of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, the texture pairings of creamy mousse, spongy cake, crunchy bits, and the fact that this was much more than just cake and ice cream, but ... the cake and ice cream, in particular, were very generic and just not that good.  I wouldn't get this again.

Grapefruition: black pepper cheesecake, oat crumble, pickled strawberries, grapefruit, caramel.

The other new dessert.  And another crazy plating - the plate itself was the most interesting serving vessel we saw that night, with all sorts of indents in it.

The two big balls in front were the black pepper cheesecake.  It had a nice cream cheese flavor, but certainly wasn't a standard cheesecake.  The black pepper wasn't noticeable at all at first, but then came through on the finish, spicing things up.

The back ball was a very sweet grapefruit sorbet.  I would have liked this more if it were tart.

Grapefruit also showed up as whole segments, alongside more vinegary pickled green strawberries.  More sweetness was added by the caramel, and some crunch by the oat crumble.

This was a fun deconstruction of a cheesecake.  I didn't love it, but it had a lot of good things going on - cream cheese, oats, and caramel in particular!

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Dinner @ Gajalee

Tonight we had a big change of pace.  No Michelin stars.   No fine dining.   Just casual indian food.

Gajalee opened not that long ago, to pretty fantastic reviews.  Food critics and Yelpers alike have been raving about it, particularly mentioning how authentic it is.  Gajalee serves south indian coastal cuisine, from the Goa, Kerala, and Kamataka regions.  While I am not really familiar with south indian food, I was hopeful about this place, particularly as they are largely seafood focused, which sounded great to me, and as I still have yet to find an indian restaurant in San Francisco that I really like.  This continues to make me very sad, as I really do enjoy indian food!

Service was generally fine, but clearly a bunch of notches down from what I'm used to these days.  The waiter was a little difficult to understand.  Dishes were presented without any explanation, so I wasn't ever really sure what the side dishes and accompaniments were.  We were eating everything family style, but no serving utensils were provided.  When we asked to have the leftovers to go, all of our dishes and utensils were cleared away, and some plastic containers were handed to us.  We had no way to scoop the food into the containers and needed to ask for new spoons to do so.

There was nothing particularly notable about the decor of the restaurant, it was pretty generic and simple.  Hard wooden tables and chairs.  We were provided with both cloth napkins and paper napkins - the utensils were on the paper napkins and the cloth napkins were inside the water glasses.  I think the paper ones may have been intended just as a place to put the silverware?  I actually appreciated this, but it made me question the cleanliness of the tables!

It was really refreshing to just go to a "normal" restaurant, far more relaxed than the style of dining we have been doing so much of lately.

The prices were shockingly low for the seeming quality and quantity of food.  Definitely a good value, particularly compared to the far more upscale SOMA Amber and Pac Heights Dosa type of options, although the product was clearly lower quality than those places.

I didn't particularly like anything we ordered, but I think this could have been due to not ordering the sort of dishes I normally like.  There was some good spicing, which makes me hopeful that dishes more my style would be good.  Since I wasn't that familiar with south indian food, I stuck with recommendations from reviews, rather than what I'd graviate towards.  I'd like to return to try the chicken tikka masala, the palak paneer, and the fried fish.

Meen pollichathu: fish marinated in home made spices and slow cooked in plantain leaf.  $13.

This was a very large filet of sea bass, steamed in a plantain leaf, and covered with chopped onion and tomato based sauced.  The fish was moist and tender, and seemed decent quality.  The sauce was really flavorful, fresh tasting, and delicious.  It reminded me more of an italian dish than an indian one given the strong tomato and onion component.

It was served with a side of raita and a curry sauce, neither of which were really necessary as the tomato and onion sauce on the fish itself was so flavorful.  It also had a small side salad of raw red onions and peppers, which were surprisingly fresh and crispy, that I enjoyed, and also added to the very fresh feeling of the dish.

This dish was by far the best of the evening.  The whole thing felt light, healthy, and refreshing.  The tomato and onion sauce was really flavorful.  I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I'd eat it again.  And $13 for a filet this size?  Very high value.

Fish xaccuti: tamarind and caramalized onion based sauce.  $13.

This is a dish I wasn't familiar with, from the Goan region.  I would have never ordered this normally, but I had read good things about it.

The fish used was basa, and it was really just a generic, flaky white fish.  Every chunk I had unfortunately had very small pieces of bones in it.

We had one diner with a sensitive stomach, so we ordered everything medium spicy.  This dish still had a nice spice level to it.  I didn't particularly like the spices or sauce, I think it just wasn't my sort of thing.  I didn't taste any caramelized onion.  This made me sad, as my favorite part of indian cuisine is the delicious sauces!

I didn't really care for this - the fish itself wasn't very good, I certainly wasn't a fan of the bone fragments, and the sauce just wasn't my sort of thing.  I would not get this again.  I've read that it is a really authentic dish however, so this could just be personal preference.

Paratha: multi layered white flour, pan fried.  $2 each (2 orders pictured).

Another recommended dish.  I almost really liked this.  I am more familiar with naan as my bread accompaniment to indian food, so this was nice to try as something different (they have a large selection of breads, but no naan).

It was made up of many layers, making it fun to eat, peeling off pieces.  The inside was moist, the outside crispy and fried.  It had a hearty flavor to it, and I was surprised to see that it was made from white flour, as it seemed more flavorful than that.  It was however just too oily for my taste.  Had it been just a little less oily, I think I would have really liked it, as it reminded me of fried dough.

We had two of these for four people, which was too much, a single one would have been fine as they were really quite large.  $2 was a very reasonable price.

Fish Thali: selection of different dishes served in a round platter.  $15.

The most recommended dish I'd read about was the fish thali.  I love getting to try a slew of things, so this appealed to me in that sense too, described as "selection of different dishes served in a round platter: kochambiri, two vegs of the day, basmati rice, dessert and two pcs of komdi vade, served with your choice of main course".  So many things to try!  However, the main dish that everyone raved about when referring to the thali was a fried fish, and ours came with a curry.

Komdivade: rice flour, gram flour, fenugreek seed, cumin, red chill.  This was the puffy bread in the center of the platter.  It was really hearty, with good flavor.  I didn't love it, but it was nice to have to dunk into all the sides.

Clockwise, from top:

Raita: This was different from the raita that came with the plantain leaf steamed fish in that it was loaded up with bits of raw red onion.  Not particularly interesting, but a nice cooling component.

Eggplant veggie side: I'm not sure entirely what this was, but it had chunks of eggplant and potatoes.  The potato was rather mushy and everything seemed overcooked.  Not really notable, but had ok spicing. 

Carrot halwa: grated carrot with cheese and milk.  This was delicious!  I didn't realize originally that this was the dessert, as it was included on the platter with the rest of the thali.  I had a bite of it mixed with some of the other sides, and thought it was really sweet and amazing, but perhaps a little too sweet and strange to mix with the fish in particular.  Then I remembered that the menu said the thali would include a dessert, and that the menu listed 3 desserts: rice pudding, carrot halwa, or gulab jamun.  Given that I certainly didn't see rice pudding nor dumplings, and this was definitely carrot based, I put two and two together.  I'd never had carrot halwa before, and I must say, I really liked it.  I was put off by the very mushy consistency at first, but it was a really nice level of natural sweetness from the carrot, balanced by some other spices, and enhanced by added sugars.  I didn't pick up on the cheese.  My favorite dish of the night, hands down.  

Cauliflower veggie side: another side that I am not really sure what it was.  The primary ingredient was cauliflower, but there were also some beans.  Again, very similar to the eggplant side in that the vegetables were rather mushy and seemed overcooked.  The flavors were ok, but nothing great.

Lentil veggie side: and yet another vegetable side dish.  Was this the kochambiri?  I thought kochambiri was supposed to be a raw, more salad like dish, but this is the closest thing to it.  More just mushy vegetables.

Basmati rice: fluffy enough rice, nothing much to say here.  We also had a regular order of this as well.

Fish curry: This wasn't much different from the other curry we had.  It was also basa.  The fish was in slightly smaller chunks and was less moist.  The sauce seemed very smilier to the xaccuti.  We all wondered if it was the same, but it seemed slightly different.  I wish the waiter would have mentioned that we were ordering two of essentially the same thing.  We really wanted, and expected, this to be the fried fish!

The only thing I really liked on this platter was the dessert.  I would not order this again.  In the future, I'd stick to ordering things a la carte - I'd get the fried fish, the veggie sides I was more interested in, and of course, the dessert.  That said, I did appreciate getting to try a bunch of things, and I would have never ordered the carrot halwa on my own.  This was a ton of food for $15, a great value.

[ Not pictured ]

Sol kadi: kokum and coconut based drink.  $3.

I'd read that this drink would go well with the food.  It was crazy salty.  I didn't particularly like it, but it would have definitely helped to mellow out the heat had we ordered the food spicy.

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