Dinner at Cadence

Do you remember the time I went to an amazing meal at Chez TJ in Mountain View?  Well, I do.  It was my top meal of 2012, and one of the best meals of my life, and I don't just say that because I left with a parting gift of a deli container filled with foie gras mousse (!!!).  14 courses of flawless execution, from the front of house and the kitchen alike.  It blew my experience at the French Laundry out of the water.  It is no surprise to me that the chef, Joey Elentario, received a Michelin star for his work there.

So when the chef moved to San Francisco, and started working at Wayfare Tavern, I was intrigued.  I stalked the menus, but I didn't see much change in the ways I was hoping.  I grabbed some takeout once, but besides that, I never managed to visit while he was chef there.

And then I heard he was looking to start a new place, with an attached bar concept.  They started an  Indiegogo campaign for backers to get it going.  I made everyone I knew contribute.  I couldn't wait to see what this incredible chef would do with fairly free reign.

I finally visited in April, a couple of months after it opened, with a group of 6, on a Friday night.  We sampled basically the entire a la carte menu.  Overall, it was a good experience.  The service was the right level of attentive without being stuffy.  The space was actually perfect for a group of 6; we were given a table large enough to easily accommodate all our food (I hate big group dining where the plates never all fit!), yet we weren't so spread out that it was hard to all hear each other.  The food was good, with a high level of execution, detailed plating, excellent seasoning, and delicious sauces.

I admit that I wasn't blown away by any particular dish though, and I have the impression that they are still somewhat trying to find their exact concept, delivering beautiful, intricate dishes at a lower price point.  That said, it was certainly all good, and I'd love to return, particularly to try the chef's tasting menu rather than the a la carte.

The Space

As I said, I was stalking Cadence from the moment I heard about the project.  I contributed to the campaign, and waited.  Many, many months later, the vision all came together, in the form of Cadence and Mr. Tipple's Recording Studio.  Cadence is the restaurant, and Mr. Tipple's is the attached jazz bar and lounge.  They both use the same kitchen, but offer 3 distinct dining experiences.

Mr. Tipples Table Area.

Mr. Tipple's offers up bar snacks, where "bar snacks" means foie gras patty melts and bourbon ice cream drumsticks (yes, magic shell and all).  I went there with a large group and we were able to reserve the private lounge on the side (the "Opium Den", decked out with super comfy couches) and ordered the entire lounge menu, multiple times.

It was a lovely place to have cocktails, take in live jazz (yes, every night), and of course, eat the aforementioned amazing bar snacks.  I did take photos, but, the lighting was so dim that most look awful, and I was in a big group and did not take notes, so, I'm not going to write up that experience.  I do recommend it as a chill place to hang with friends, and Ojan will enthusiastically tell you to get multiple orders of the triple cooked cajun spiced crispy smashed potatoes (which, believe me, we did).  I was partial to the silky smooth chicken liver mousse with pickled green strawberries myself.

Anyway, our destination for this review was Cadence, the full restaurant.  The two spaces are attached via the kitchen and bathroom, so you can flow between them.

Main Dining Room.

Cadence offers up a variety of seating options, starting with fairly standard wooden tables (with soft bench seating around the walls) as you see here.  There are also three large 10 person communal tables and several bar seats available for walk-ins.  I appreciate that they hold so many seats (probably 40?) for walk-ins, which makes it much more approachable.

The lighting was dim at Cadence too, so, I apologize now for the poor photos throughout.  My little camera phone just couldn't quite handle the low light.  The seating along the wall had more illumination from the fascinating lighting that made up the wall coverings, but we were in the middle.

Booth.

We were seated in one of two large booths.  Our party of 6 was able to fit easily, and I think we likely could have accommodated 8.

Our booth had a fuzzy fur seat, that my tablemates frequently got entirely distracted by, rubbing their backs up against it and looking a bit silly.  It also had curved spines extending up overhead, as you can sorta see here, like we were inside the belly of an upside down ship.

Table settings included red tea candles, white cloth napkins (no tableclothes), and cutlery that wasn't totally cookie-cutter.  Share plates were brought with each course without need to ask.

Round Booths.

The other booth option is round booths as you can see in the distance here, that reminded us of the teacup ride at Disney.  We sorta wished our group was small enough to fit in one.

The round booths had a row of led lighting along the edge that looked pretty cool once the sun went down.

The restaurant definitely had a lot of work put into the design.  I'm still not sure how I felt about it.  It was unique, and our table was quite comfortable, but, it somehow didn't quite match the warm and comfortable feeling I got from the staff and from the cuisine.  It wasn't that it was too formal, or too informal, it just felt a bit ... I don't know.  In particular, our booth faced Market Street, and half our party spent the night looking out into the harsh reality that is 10th and Market.  When one person switched sides of the table at dessert time, he mentioned on how much different it felt facing the other way.  So, something to be aware of if you are going for ambiance, perhaps on a date, ask to be seated away from Market Street.

Unisex Bathroom Stalls.

The bathroom, shared with Mr. Tipple's, is unisex, with individual bathroom stalls.  I'm so glad unisex bathrooms are finally becoming more normal.

The decor of the bathroom was also interesting.  It almost felt like a (very clean) subway.  The red doors reminded me of London phone booths.  Again, unique, designed, but, I wouldn't say I loved it.

Sink.

I did love the red sink and wooden mirror frame though, although they felt like a bit of a mismatch.  The wooden frame was a bit rustic, the sink modern.  But I want that sink.

Quilting Club?

The swinging door to the kitchen was labelled "Quilting Club".  I feel like there must be a story here.  It also said "Please come in".  Was that a real invitation?  Does anyone just wander in?  I kinda wanted to ...

The Drinks

Mr. Tipple's and Cadence each have distinct cocktail menus, and cocktails are certainly a focus.  As a non-beer drinker I didn't really notice the lack of beers, but my tablemates mentioned that there was nothing on tap and only a small selection in bottles.  A wine list was available as well, but, we stuck with cocktails throughout both visits.

The cocktail menu is decidedly not boring.  I don't think any even used vodka or rum.  Instead, there was lots of the good stuff: gin, brandy, bourbon, scotch, even aquavit.  They also were happy to make off the menu drinks, just based on what we said we wanted, including a slew of mocktails for Ojan.

I only took photos of my drinks, but our group ordered a large assortment of drinks, most of which came in totally different glassware.  Somehow though, mine ended up looking the same.

Cadence also offers house still or sparkling water, brought in a carafe and left on the table so we could refill as needed.  Every time our carafe ran out, a new one was brought out.  I really, really appreciate house sparkling water, and, the ability to always keep my own water full.  I drink a lot of water, and always feel annoying asking for more.  Great touch here.

New Point. $13.

"Bank note scotch, punt e mes, genepy, absinthe garnish."

I'm a scotch girl, so I opted for the New Point, even though I didn't know what any ingredients besides the scotch and absinthe were.  The answers?  Punt e mes is just the brand of Italian vermouth I've had a zillion times, and genepy is a herbal liquor, related to absinthe. 

My cocktail turned out to be a slow sipper, if you know what I mean.  It wasn't the sort of cocktail you gulp down and then realize a moment too late how much alcohol it had.  Let's just say, you could taste the absinthe and overall, it was quite bitter.  The scotch was well represented.  I think Emil would like this drink.

But that doesn't mean I didn't like it.  I did like it.  I don't think it paired very well with the food though, but, if I were sitting over in the swanky jazz lounge at Mr. Tipple's, it would have been perfect.

High Regard. $13.

"Bourbon, meyer lemon foam, dry vermouth, cassis".

Where do you go from scotch?  To bourbon of course.  As this drink was placed in front of me, one tablemate said, "it looks just like your previous one, but, with foam!"

He was right, except, it really was a very different cocktail.

First, let's talk about that foam.  The only foamy cocktails I've had before use egg white  (Cadence does offer an egg white cocktail).  I'm really not sure what made this foam frothy, but, it wasn't egg white.  It tasted like a lemon cloud.  Which, I'll admit, is a bit strange when you are sipping on a cocktail.  But I kinda loved it.

I also really loved the sweetness and flavor from the cassis, which came forward in the finish.

Overall, another drink I really enjoyed, and a fascinating one.

Mocktail #1: Salted Grapefruit.

Ojan as always asked about mocktails, after being disappointed that they did not have any non-alcoholic beer.  He gave his standard preferences for something not too sweet, not just fruit juice.

This was described as a "salted grapefruit".  I didn't get a chance to even try it, as he sucked it right down.  His comment is that it wasn't too sweet, and wasn't just fruit juice, so, it seemed to be a winner.

He liked it, but asked for something different for his second drink (which, I failed to get a photo of).  The second one he liked even more.  It was made with bergamont tea and egg whites.  I also didn't get a chance to try that one, but mostly because it came along with the food, and there was just too much going on at that point.

The Food

Ok, enough about the space and the drinks, right?  This is Julie's Dining Club after all, and, I did tell you all about how this chef is amazing.

Chef's Menu.

Cadence offers two very distinct dining formats: a Chef's Four Course menu or a totally separate a la carte menu.

The Chef's Menu is available in two forms: "In the ground or from a stem", aka, vegetarian, or "Above ground or from the water", both priced at a very reasonable $55.  If I were not there with a big group, I certainly would have opted for this option, even though both menus are fixed, no choices, just, veggie or meat. The veggie chef's menu in particular sounded fairly amazing, featuring a slew of appealing ingredients like smoked asparagus, roasted hen of the woods mushrooms, and a white chocolate namelaka dessert.  This menu came presented in a card, signed by the chef.

But, we opted for the a la carte menu, broken down into sections of "snacks", "appetizers", "in betweens", and "entrees".  And, uh, we ordered all of it.  As in, we literally ordered all of it, to share.

Ok, we skipped one of the "in betweens" because it was a seafood based soup, and we knew that would be hard to share.  But in addition to the published menu, the chef offered a vegetarian entree from the tasting menu (the meyer lemon risotto with smoked asparagus and sausalito spring cress) since we had a vegetarian in the group and there weren't tons of options for main dishes for him.  But besides that one addition and one subtraction, we just said, "bring us everything".

We didn't decide to double up on anything, but, the kitchen knew better than we did, and doubled up a few items to better portion things (one app, one main, and two desserts).

The pacing felt a little bit off, mostly in that all the snacks and appetizers arrived all at once, and it was like our table was suddenly just bombarded with food.  I would have liked the snacks to come first, so we could have time to munch a little while sipping on cocktails and settling in, and then move on to the apps.  In the future, I'd ask for that.

Cauliflower Cappuccino: Complimentary.

Our meal started with a surprise.

Well, two surprises.  First, our server came and set the table with share plates.  And then, moments later, he took them away.  Surprise #1.

Surprise #2 was that in their place, we were each brought a tea cup on a saucer, filled with a special gift from the kitchen: cauliflower cappuccino.  I believe this is normally the start to the Chef's Menu.

It was awesome, unlike anything I'd ever had before.  There really is no better way to describe it than ... cauliflower cappuccino.  It wasn't a soup, it wasn't a puree, it wasn't a mousse.  It was super, super smooth, and, well, frothy on top, just like a cappuccino.  Very fascinating.

On top was a brown butter rice cracker crumble, pickled kumquat, and tarragon.  I loved the crunch from the crumble, and the pickled kumquat was quite fun.

This dish was a total success, warm, comforting, unique, playful.  We also all loved how we all had unique tea cups, no two were the same.  And further props for having a sizable portion; many times this sort of amuse is served in a shot glass, rather than a full tea cup.

Everybody enjoyed this dish, commenting, "tasty" and "really good".  It was about this time that I realized I wasn't going to get any good quotes from my dining companions, but, let's just say, they all liked it, and mentioned it afterwards as one of their favorite dishes.

Snacks

Like I said, we ordered everything, starting with all 3 of the snacks (2 vegetarian).  Each snack was $7 each, and some are also available over at Mr. Tipple's.

The snacks were all exactly what I'd want alongside a cocktail, so definitely recommended as you settle in, or perhaps just to have with drinks at the bar.

Mr. Tipple's Nosh Mix.

"'Cool ranch', marcona almonds, pineapple, cashews, hazelnuts, rice chex."

I'm not going to lie.  This was actually one of the dishes I was most excited for, as silly as that sounds.  Yes, the snack mix.  I love snack mixes, of all kinds.  Homemade chex mixes, sweet or savory, are always a request when I visit my family.  Half the reason I fly with American Airlines is just to eat the snack mix in the lounges.  I'm really not joking.  I'm addicted to snack mixes, no matter how low brow they are.

So, I couldn't wait to see their spin on chex mix.

Except I somehow missed the whole "cool ranch" part of the description.  When I was growing up, my sister loved Cool Ranch Doritos and I thought they were the most foul things on earth.  I hated the taste, but even more, I loathed the smell.  We had rules about her being able to open a bag when I was around, it was that bad.  Shutter.

So, I gleefully took a big scoop of this, and started noshing, only to taste ... Doritos.  Cool ranch Doritos.  Doh.

I don't hate that taste as much as I did when younger, but it certainly isn't something I'd ever opt for, so, sadly, this snack mix wasn't magic to me.

That said, it had some strong points: I loved the soft chew, and pleasant sweetness, that the pineapple bits added.  Who puts pineapple bits in savory ranch snack mix?  The almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts were all crunchy as you'd expect.  And, if you liked the ranch taste, I'm sure you would have loved how well coated each piece was.  Even though I didn't love that flavor, I can appreciate a good coating job when I see one.

So, I wouldn't get this again because of the seasoning, but I'd love to see them come up with a new, more Julie-friendly snack mix ...

Kafir Lime Cured  Castelvetrano Olives.

"Togarashi, rice cracker."

So, funny story here.  When we were trying to pare down the menu and not be ridiculous and order everything, this dish was on the chopping block.  I mean, really, olives?  Not unique or exciting in my mind.

Our server heard us discussing and encouraged us to get them anyway.  He said they were actually really quite good olives.  He also pointed out that there were 6 of us, and an order of olives was a tiny bowl of olives, they weren't exactly going to push us over the edge.  And he even promised that if we somehow hated the olives, he'd not charge us for them.  Lols.  Ok, so, we ordered the olives.

The olives came in a cute little pot, with a second one for the pits.

I took a photo before anyone dug in, and then set about taking photos of everything else, as I mentioned, all our snacks and all our apps arrived at once, so, I had my work cut out for me to attempt to get photos before people dug in, without being totally annoying.  And the table was large, so things were spread out away from me.  And the lighting was dim.  Many cards stacked against me.

Anyway.  Long story short.  I couldn't tell you if these were good olives or not, as I didn't get one.  By the time I'd taken the photos, and selected some other food for myself first, they were gone.  Which, I guess means people liked them?

Gravlax Arancini.

"Steward sauce, rye bread, arborio rice."

After he took our order and walked away, our server came back to question us on the arancini.  They came 3 to an order, and we had 6 people (although one vegetarian), so he asked if we'd like to double up the order.  We said no, as several of us, myself included, said we'd be fine skipping out on this or splitting one, because, really when are arancini that exciting?

Our server however knew better, and brought us two orders anyway.  Um, seriously, thank you.  I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this dish!

So, what we had here was, well, gravlax arancini.  Fried, salmon-y rice balls.  They were perfectly executed.  I think the reason I don't generally find arancini that interesting is that they are often kinda soggy, or too oily, or dried out.  These suffered none of those problems.  The balls had a crispy exterior, and a creamy interior.  They were hot and fresh.  The flavor of the gravlox was prominent.

On top was a few sprigs of fresh dill and pickled onion.  The arancini were served on top of steward sauce that really completed the deal.  Honestly, the balls were fine on their own, but combined with the sauce were even better.  It was herby, creamy, and exactly what you'd like with some gravlox.  I appreciated how much sauce was provided, as I'm such a sauce girl, and I didn't need to worry that I was taking more than my share of the sauce.  I also appreciated that it was on the bottom, rather than drizzled on top, so we could each take as much (or little) as we wanted, and it didn't make the balls soggy.

This dish really had everything going on.  Texture-wise, it had crunch and creaminess.  It was familiar and approachable, yet unexpected and playful: we've all had gravlox, we've all had arancini, just never like this before.

This dish was the clear winner off the night.  Everybody (well, except our vegetarian) exclaimed at how good it was.  The 6th, extra, ball was rapidly claimed.  My favorite dish, and I could have easily eaten an entire order myself.  Thank goodness the kitchen knew how amazing these were, and sent us that second order!

At $7 for 3, the price is really reasonable too.

Appetizers

We also ordered all 3 of the appetizers, again, 2 were vegetarian.  They were double the price of the snacks, $14, and sized more accordingly.  The appetizers were the least exciting section of the menu.

Country Line Farms Baby Lettuces.

"Tangy buttermilk dressing, pickled walnuts, broccolini, candied kumquats."

I apologize for this awful photo.  It was dim in the room, and this was placed on the other end of the table from me.  If I were a real blogger, I'd have a real camera, or I'd at least get up and try to position the food so I could photo it, but, alas, I'm a lazy hoax, and I just snapped a quick pic from my seat.

As I mentioned, all the snacks and apps arrived at once, and were spread out across the table.  Since I went for the hot items first (and the nosh mix cuz I was excited for it),, like the olives, I missed this one.  Not that I was super excited for salad anyway, but the pickled walnuts and candied kumquats sounded like fun components (although, broccolini?  An odd choice).

Anyway, I only got a token slice of kumquat that somehow got left on the plate.  It was delicious, as you'd expect from a candied kumquat, but I can't really say much else about this salad.

Indian Fry Bread & Spread.

"Six-minute egg, whipped linguiça, & goat cheese."

Next up we had the signature Instagram dish for Cadence: the Indian Fry Bread.  I had seen many photos of this previously, so I attempted to prepare my table for what this would be, but, I don't think they really grasped it.

What shows up is a big, puffy, crispy, crazy looking dish, topped with herbs and dusted with spices.  It doesn't look like "bread" and you certainly don't see the egg, goat cheese, or spread that the description promises.

Indian Fry Bread & Spread: Inside.

You don't see the goodies that is, until you crack the "shell" of the fried bread, to find it all inside, including a whole egg.  Continuing the Instagram-worthy nature of the dish, then you cut into the egg, to let the yolk spill out all over the place, and you have achieved ultimate food porn.  The egg was a perfect specimen.

So, let's back up.  Was it fun to break open the fried shell?  Of course.  And I really loved the shell, it was super crispy, and ridiculously well seasoned.  I liked breaking off chunks and nibbling on them, and all my nibbling desires that were not met by the nosh mix were met by this.  Think of this more like a cracker than a bread though.

But, as you may know by now, I'm not a fan of goat cheese, so, I wasn't interested in the filling.  I tried a bite, just to be sure that somehow the linguiça didn't totally mask the goat flavor, but, alas, goat cheese.

So, not the filing for me, but really a fun dish, and, like the nosh mix, one I'd love to see a future version of, just sans goat cheese.  If others wanted to get this version again, I'd still go for it, as I liked the shell enough on its own.

Roasted Spicy Cauliflowers.

"Smoky harissa, watercress, slivered almonds, cauliflower yogurt."

The final app was just roasted cauliflower.  I would have left this one off if we were not ordering all the things, just because I'm kinda sick of cauliflower.  I love roasted (or fried!) cauliflower, but, after a long winter, I'm ready to move on to spring ingredients.

Anyway, the cauliflower was fine, seasoned with harissa, which also gave it a lovely color.  I'm a sauce girl, so you know I love to have something to drag my bites through.  Unfortunately, I'm not a huge yogurt fan, it was just too tangy for me, in the way that yogurt is.

The almonds were a nice surprise, they weren't just any slivered almonds, they were ... almond brittle!  A very fun element, and, being a textures person, I really liked the crunch they added.

I also felt this was a bit strange as an appetizer, it seemed more like a side dish.  I was expecting something a bit more exciting/breaded/fried for an appetizer, although I realize it said "roasted", and, really, why do I assume appetizers should be fried?  Anyway, my least favorite dish and one I'd skip in the future.

In-Betweens

Moving along, the next section of the menu is dubbed "In-Betweens".  Only two items are in this section, one seafood, one vegetarian.  (Side note: Since every single other section of the menu contained three items, the OCD person in me really, really wanted a third choice here.  Just for balance).

Anyway, what are In-Betweens?  These are not small snacks, not normal sized appetizers, but also not full size entrees.  They are, in-between.  Priced accordingly, at $18 each.

This is the only area where we skipped a dish, the Mélange of Seafood, even though I quite wanted it.  But a bowl with fried catfish chunks and smoked sablefish in a light clam broth just didn't seem very shareable, so, we didn't get it.

Our single In-Between was delivered at the same time as our entrees.

Hand Rolled Potato Gnocchi.

"Charred cabbage, carrot butter, caraway, sarsaparilla"

Take a moment just to admire this one.  The chef's fine dining background is quite obvious in the plating of these larger dishes.

Our plate had several gnocchi, decently sized, soft, tender pillows of potato, with a slight sear on the outside.  I really loved the super charred cabbage as it was ridiculously smoky.   I'm a sucker for smoky flavors.

Carrot showed up in two forms, one was a pool of creamy carrot butter in the center of the plate, with an intense carrot flavor.  The second was shaved ribbons and a few coins of pickled, tart carrot arranged on top.  They added a hit of acidity I didn't even realize I wanted until I tasted it.

I'm not quite sure where the caraway or sarsaparilla were, perhaps in the powder on the plate, perhaps something was braised with them?  We didn't get much of a description of the dish when it was set down, and I was too busy writing down details of all the dishes arriving at the time to follow up.

Portion-wise, this actually could make a nice reasonably main dish, particularly if you order a snack and an app as well, or want room for dessert.  Or, if you wanted a longer meal you could course it out, and have as a mid-course before your entree.  Lots of flexibility with this menu.

It was a fine dish, but, not something I'd see a reason to get again.

Entrees

Moving on to the final savory section, the entrees.  We ordered all three.  Here there were no vegetarian options, only one seafood, one red meat, and one poultry.  Our vegetarian considered just ordering his own order of the gnocchi, but, our server checked with the kitchen, and was able to offer the main dish from the tasting menu for him instead.  I didn't get a photo, nor a bite, but I did catch him saying, "Now that is some good risotto!"

Entrees are priced at $28, more than anything else on the menu, but ridiculously reasonable considering the size and execution.  You could easily pay $35+ for any of these elsewhere, for far smaller portions and less elaborate plating, and not blink an eye.  Portion-wise, they all seemed appropriate for sharing, I can't really imagine just polishing off one of these plates as an individual.

The entrees all showed off the plating skills of the kitchen, and the proteins were all executed well.  For me though, the star of each and every one of the entrees was the sauce.

Our entrees arrived at the same time as the gnocchi, and, even though we only ordered one of each, the kitchen went ahead and doubled up the chicken.

Charred Miso-Braised Short Rib.

"Toasted green onion, fried taro, forbidden rice."

Another poor photo, I'm sorry.  It was placed far away from me.

I'll be honest, short ribs aren't generally my thing.  So, I let the others all dig into this, and only went for it after I'd tried the other hot dishes, so, I didn't have it hot and fresh.  I wish I had.  It was delicious!

A generous portion of short ribs, smothered in a delicious sauce, served atop forbidden rice, garnished with some beautiful curls of spring onion and super thinly sliced fried taro disks.

The meat was very tender, fall off the bone.  I loved the fried taro disks on top, although, being a taro lover, I would have liked to see even more taro in this dish.  But the little disks did add a great crunch.

That was all good, but it was the sauce that made me go back for more and more of this dish.  It was insanely delicious.  It was salty, in a "chef's palette" sort of way, which I happen to enjoy, and went very nicely with my cocktail.

I polished off this plate, long after it had grown cold, because I just couldn't get enough of the sauce.  My favorite of the entrees, and my second favorite dish, after the arancini.  Although, in retrospect, it might actually have been my favorite, as, several days later, that sauce is the most memorable ...  I'd get this again obviously.

Air Dried Mary's Chicken Roulade.

"Sage & onion stuffing, asparagus salad, roasted chicken chicory gravy."

This was another looker, plating wise.  The kitchen doubled up on this one too, so we didn't have to carve it up into tiny portions.

On each plate were two square slices of the stuffing and two pieces of the chicken.  On top of all that was an asparagus salad, with long thin ribbons of shaved asparagus.  I started noticing a theme of thin vegetable ribbons in this meal.

I didn't actually try the chicken, as I don't care for chicken, and there were other dishes I wanted to try more.  But, I do love asparagus (yes, spring!) and, even more, I love stuffing and gravy, so I did opt for those components.

The stuffing was in a form unlike any I'd ever had before, an actually square slice, almost like a patty.  It was moist and flavorful, particularly from the sage.

I dredged my stuffing through the gravy, another stellar sauce, again, salty in all the right ways.

So, I'm not a chicken lover, but, I did find comfort in the stuffing and gravy, and enjoyed the freshness of the asparagus salad.  One of my tablemates said, "its like fancy chicken nuggets".  Again, I tell you, I wasn't counting on this crew for quotes.

Passmore Ranch Whole Trout: Before.

"Thai green curry, wild rice, 'pile of herbs'".

The trout was another dish where I knew what to expect given my research, and my tablemates did not.  I knew that we'd be presented with a whole fish, and it would be deboned at the table.  I also knew that the head would come back to us, and, that I should hold off on devouring all the fish, as a very tasty sauce would return alongside that head.

Our server did a decent job of deboning, but I'm sure that me sitting there watching critically and obviously taking notes was slightly unnerving.  Several of my tablemates did mention finding pinbones in their fish though.

The "pile of herbs" on top was, literally, a pile of herbs.  A rather strange way to plate it, as the fish was totally buried and the server had to move it all aside to debone it anyway, and the herbs were fresh, so they weren't used to infuse the fish while cooking.

As for the fish, it was good, moist, tender, delicate with a crispy sear.  The thai green curry flavors were fantastic, including plentiful lemongrass.  The wild rice was a bit crunchy, in a good way, as  can't stand mushy rice.

Overall, very good, and I really appreciated all the thai flavors, I wasn't expecting thai food at Cadence.

Passmore Ranch Whole Trout: The Head!

As I said, I knew the head and spine would be coming back to us, fried, and plated up quite nicely, along with delicious sauce.  I urged everyone to wait for the sauce to dip their fish into, but, most of them did not.

The sauce was fantastic, super spicy.  Are you noticing a theme?  Another great sauce.

I thought it was sad that no one else really got to enjoy the sauce though, and it seems like either the server should give a head's up that it is coming, or, the sauce should come with the fish.  It is a shame to miss out on the sauce!

Dessert

The dessert menu, just like all sections besides the In-Betweens (ahem!), had three options, and, just like the mains, we ordered them all.  The kitchen choose to double up on not one, but two of these.  Clearly, they must have known that I was there.  You know me, I live for desserts.  Interestingly, each dessert option fell in the general "pudding" category: a custard, a panna cotta, and a pudding.  Given that this is my favorite class of desserts, I'm not complaining, but, it did seem less diverse than I'd expect.

The desserts were all far more complex than their simple names, and the price point of only $10 each, would indicate.  They also seemed more daring than the savory menu.  I can safely say that my family members for example wouldn't know what to do with these desserts, whereas they could probably figure out nosh mix, salad, and chicken with stuffing.

I welcomed the unique aspects, like the carrot sorbet with the pudding and the red miso sorbet with the custard, but, you certainly had to approach the desserts with an open mind.  They were composed of many components, and I could see where the pastry chef was going with each of them, but none of them quite came together for me.

Madeira was also consumed by my tablemates alongside dessert, but I still had a cocktail to finish, so didn't opt for any additional beverages myself.

Yogurt Panna Cotta.

"Winter citrus, jasmine rice mousse, green tea."

Although I love panna cotta, I wasn't particularly excited about this, so I was glad the kitchen didn't double up on this one.  As I mentioned earlier, yogurt isn't my favorite thing, I don't really care for citrus desserts, and, I didn't want the caffeine from the green tea.

The green tea came in the form of a crumble, which I didn't try.  I know I must have tried a bite of the panna cotta, but, I don't have notes, and I don't have a memory of trying it.  Did I really not try it?  That doesn't seem possible.  Maybe the others finished it before I got a chance?

Dark Chocolate Custard.

"Red velvet, red miso, chocolate wafers."

The chocolate dessert is the one that most people at the table were interested in, and although we only ordered one, we received two.  No one complained.

I normally do not eat chocolate desserts in the evening due to caffeine, but I decided to live on the edge and go for it.

The custard was excellent.  Perfectly creamy, rich, very good chocolate flavor.  Textbook, although served in a bar form, which is not what we expected.

Red velvet came in the form of torn pieces of red cake on top.  I can't say I really understood this element although the pop of color was nice.

Also on top was a scoop of red miso sorbet.  Yes, red miso sorbet.  It was crazy flavorful.  Miso is never really a subtle taste, so if you tried to just eat the sorbet, it was way too much.  Combined with the chocolate custard though it certainly was interesting.

I liked the custard itself, but I didn't quite enjoy this as a cohesive dessert.

White Chocolate Pudding.

"Carrot sorbet, puffed barley, rye."

The dessert I was most interested in was this one, the White Chocolate Pudding.  Pudding is always a favorite dessert of mine.  The carrot sorbet also caught my eye, as just a few days prior I had a really lovely carrot based cheese course at Keiko a Nob Hill, so the idea of a carrot dessert was quite appealing.  I was the only person interested in this dessert, but the kitchen doubled up on it, so, everyone else tried a bite, but no one else really cared for it, so, I had about 1.5 of these to myself.

I wasn't quite sure what to think of it.  First, I actually did kind of want a comforting pudding, not a beautiful dessert.  There was pudding here, but it wasn't something I could dip my spoon into and savor.  The pudding was very thick and rich, and did actually taste like white chocolate.  It actually was just a bit too rich for me, I couldn't really take more than a bite or two without a break, and certainly not without mixing other components in.  But maybe I wasn't supposed to just want spoonfuls of pudding?

The puffed barely turned out to be crispy cracker-like things stuck into the pudding.  I really liked these, since, as I've mentioned, I'm all about textures.  I liked actually slathering a crispy thing with some pudding, and eating it that way.  There was also a crumble that I believe was made from the barley and rye.  Interestingly, these components had salt to them.  I liked it.  Sweet and salty, always a good thing in my book.

Finally, the carrot sorbet.  It had an intense carrot flavor and was quite refreshing.  It was needed against the rich pudding.  The garnish was also carrot (greens).

Overall, this was certainly an interesting dessert, and I can see the care that went into crafting it, but, it still wasn't quite balanced for me.  Yes, it had creamy pudding, icy sorbet, and crunchy crispy things, and it had refreshing sorbet to balance the rich pudding, but ... it still wasn't quite right for me.  However, it was my favorite of the desserts.

Mignardises: Coconut Caramel, Coffee Marshmallow.

And, last but not least, after our desserts, we were delivered a little tray of candies, individually wrapped.  There were two types of treats - coffee marshmallows and coconut caramels, one of each for each of us.  I was pretty stuffed, and happily full of sweets, so I threw mine (and the unclaimed extras!) into my purse to enjoy the next morning.

As an aside, I really love it when I get to take something home, as it makes the next day special too.  And obviously, I don't just mean leftovers!  For example, there are places like The French Laundry that send you out the door with cookies and chocolates, or, as I prefer, places that send me with baked goods for the next morning like the kouign amann from Cyrus.  Since Cadence is not a zillion course tasting menu like those aforementioned places, I certainly wasn't expecting a take-home item, and these were just small tokens, but, still, I loved having them as a reminder of my meal, and a tasty treat, the next morning.

Both items went perfectly with my morning cup of coffee.  The coconut caramels were really fascinating, a perfect chewy texture, nice and smooth.  I loved the coconut flavor in them.

The marshmallow was just ok.  Maybe I'm just over the fancy marshmallow trend (like the plain ones from Bécasse Bakery in Sydney, the fruity ones from The Bazaar down in Los Angeles, the intense strawberry one from Biscuit Bender, and the really awesome root beer marshmallows from Tout Sweet) .  It had a slight coffee flavor, and was nicely soft and fresh, but, meh, just a marshmallow.

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Pirate's Booty

A long time ago, my office used to stock "Pirate's Booty", aka, white cheddar cheese puffs.  I liked it as a snack food to munch on mid-afternoon.  Ojan REALLY liked it though.

Fast forward a few years.  I was in the grocery store and saw ... Pirate's Booty Mac and Cheese!  Now, Ojan also loves boxed mac and cheese (he's moved on from Kraft Dinner to Annie's).  I had to buy this, as it was too perfect.

So for Christmas, I gave him a Pirate's Booty themed gift: a box of the mac and cheese and a bag of the snacks.  Yes, I wrapped it.  I think I was more amused than he was.

I was also interested enough to look up Pirate's Booty products.  If they make mac and cheese ... what else do they make?  Mostly ... just a bunch of puffed corn snacks.  They make a handful of snack products, all focused around cheese coating on baked snacks: Smart Puffs, Original Tings, and the line of Pirate's Booty items.

Snacks

I've only ever had the classic Aged White Cheddar pirates booty, but they also make Fruity Booty (!?), Veggie Booty, and "Crunchy Treasures" (the same aged white cheddar as the classic Pirate's Booty, just on a different form factor - silly pirate related shapes like anchors and parrots).  The veggie one has spinach, kale, carrots, and parsley incorporated in somehow.  The Fruity Booty has berries in it, and, no cheese.

Aged White Cheddar Pirate's Booty.

"Pirates like their cheddar like they do their rum, aged to perfection. Aged White Cheddar is made from puffed rice and corn, blended with real aged white cheddar cheese and baked perfectly to pirate standards."

I really used to love the classic white cheddar Pirate's Booty.  But, when I tried it recently to review for this blog, it seemed a lot like Styrofoam packing peanuts.  Really airy, not enough crunch.  And not nearly as much cheese flavor as I like or remember.  Very boring. **.

Guess it is time to file these in the category of snack foods I used to like ...

Mac and Cheese

Yes, Pirate's Booty Mac & Cheese is a thing.  Fancier than your standard Kraft dinner, made with organic pasta and real cheese.  Available in 3 varieties: mild cheddar elbow mac and white cheddar shells, or, uh, anchors.

Mild White Cheddar Shells & Cheese.

I picked the shells and cheese, because shells are always more fun in my opinion.  Preparation was the same as any box mac and cheese: boil water, cooked pasta, drain, add butter, milk, and the cheese packet.

Now, to be fair, I never want this sort of mac and cheese.  But Ojan loves it, and he was feeling sick one day, and requested it.  I obliged the poor sick guy and made his mac and cheese, with a glimmer of hope that I'd like it too, since I do like the Pirate's Booty totally fake cheese flavor.

Sadly, it just didn't have much flavor.  Like, none at all.  I wanted the pasta to be coated in the cheese coating that you always lick off your fingers after devouring a bag of Pirate's Booty (or cheese puffs). Instead, it tasted very plain, quite disappointing. *+.

But Ojan gladly finished his whole bowl.  Since then however, he's gone back to his Annie's.

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Chipotle

So, I had never visited a Chipotle before now.  I'm not against chain restaurants, but, Mexican food is rarely at the top of my list, so I just have never had a reason to visit.  The fact that they have had some interesting, uh, problems this past year certainly didn't help encourage me to prioritize a visit.

But my dad loves Chipotle, and when I moved to my new condo, a random coupon showed up for a free meal at Chipotle.  You know I can't resist a freebie, so ...

To Chipotle I went, with Ojan in tow.  (Really, I went for him to have Chipotle, and for me to try a bite and experience the whole thing.  I had no real plan of eating there, just because it isn't the sort of cuisine I like).

Overall, it was exactly as I expected: higher quality than standard Mexican fast food (a la Taco Bell), but no where near the cailbre of fast-casual Rubios.  I wouldn't go back, and I doubt Ojan would if we were in San Francisco, but, if travelling, and needed fast food that wasn't burgers, it seems like a reliable option.  And no, we didn't get sick.

The Menu

The menu board.

If you are new to Chipotle as I was, let me review the menu for you.

The menu is not very extensive.

First you decide HOW you want your item: a burrito, tacos (crispy corn, soft corn, or soft flour), as a "bowl" (burrito sans wrapper), or a salad (like a bowl, but with dressing and more lettuce).  Then you pick your protein: steak, chicken, carnitas, barbacoa, or sofritas.  Then the fillings: rice (brown or white), beans (black or pinto), salsa (mild tomato salsa, hot red-chili salsa, medium-hot tomatillo green chili salsa, or medium roasted chili-corn salsa, fajita veggies, and optional toppings (sour cream, cheese, lettuce, or, for a fee, guac).  Pricing is the same no matter which form factor you choose, as the price is set based on the protein, aka, a steak burrito is the same price as a steak salad, but, a chicken burrito is cheaper.

Besides the burrito/taco/bowls, the only other items on the menu is a kids menu with quasadillas, and the side dish of chips and salsa.

Chipotle takes pride in their ingredient sourcing, and claims to make real relationships with farmers, use pasture raised animals with no hormones, real local product, etc.  I don't know much about that, except that the vegetarian soyfrito option uses Hodo Soy, a Bay Area high end tofu manufacturer, so, I can vouch for that at least (and congrats to Hodo for landing this deal!)

The Space

Front Counter, Seating.

I visited the Chipotle adjacent to the Metreon.  It was fairly busy.  We got in line, which moved quickly.

Once at the front, you move assembly line down the counter, starting with picking your option (burrito/bowl/tacos) and ending at a register.  Basically, Subway, but, burritos.

Protein Station.

After you make the choice of base, you need to pick the protein.  All of the proteins are sitting there in heat wells. Given the volume of people moving through, I imagine these are replenished relatively often.

Toppings.

After the protein and beans are added, your order is slid down to the next worker, who adds on the salsa and other toppings.  Things move right along.

Condiments.

On the side is the finishing station, with plastic cutlery, napkins, sugar, and ... tabasco (both red and green).

Seating.

Seating isn't particularly interesting, several types of tables in the light-filled interior, and a few smaller tables outside on the sidewalk.  We ate outside since it was a lovely day.

The Food

Carnitas Crispy Tacos. $8.15.

"Fill three crispy corn shells with your choice of meat or sofritas, salsa, guacamole, sour cream or cheese, and romaine lettuce."

Ojan opted for the crispy tacos, which come as a trio.  You must pick a single protein for the filling for all three, no mix and match (lame).  He opted for the carnitas: "seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, juniper berries, thyme, and bay leaves. Braised and shredded by hand throughout the day, resulting in tender meat with concentrated flavors."

To this he added pinto beans, medium tomatillo green chili salsa, cheese, and sour cream.  The tacos didn't exactly look pretty (particularly the cheese just kinda thrown on top), but, who am I to judge based on looks?

I took my requisite bite.  Well ... it was a taco.  Standard crispy shell (not stale).  The cheese was ... cheese, blended white cheddar and Monterrey Jack.  The sour cream was ... sour cream.  I appreciate that those items are included standard and not an upcharge.  The carnitas tasted kinda like chicken to me, but, Ojan commented several times that he was impressed by the quality of the meat, not greasy, not gristly, not chewy.  The salsa didn't have much flavor, but also isn't the one I ever would have chosen.

So, to me, fairly lackluster, but, for fast food tacos, obviously better than the competition.  But, in San Francisco, why would you ever go here over a real taqueria?  The price isn't any better, and, although the ingredient quality is, the flavor is just much better in more authentic food.

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Fujipan Japanese Bakery, Sydney

I've spent a considerable amount of time in Sydney at this point, about 6 months in total over as many years.  I certainly wouldn't claim to know as much as locals, but, I have really taken the time to explore the culinary scene while there.  My first trip focused on higher end French cuisine, but quickly realized that it just doesn't compare to San Francisco.  On my next trip, I fell in love with the Thai food in Sydney, just so much better than in San Francisco.  I originally stuck with the less authentic places, but soon discovered that the real good eats could be discovered just walking around Thaitown (like the Thai hawker I reviewed last week).

Which is where I discovered Fujipan.  As you can probably guess from the name, it isn't thai, it is ... a Japanese bakery.  You know how much I love baked goods, so it shouldn't surprise you that it caught my eye, particularly as the goods are displayed right in a window to the street, and the aroma of fresh baked bread is impossible to miss.  Fresh items are constantly being brought out, so you know they really are baking continuously throughout the day.  Besides the baked goods, mostly breads, they also offer bottled beverages and ... soft serve ice cream.  A bakery with ice cream?  Um yes.

Fujipan quickly became one of my stops on my way home in the evening, just to pick up "a little something" to enjoy back at the hotel.  I really enjoyed trying the very unique (to me!) items, and would certainly return to find more.

The Space

Storefront.

Out front, Fujipan is just another storefront, albeit one with plenty of goodies lined up in the window, which is of course what drew me in.

So many choices!

The window isn't just for display though.  On the inside, there are signs indicating what each item is, and slidey plastic doors quasi-protecting the items.  The doors were always in a state of disarray, and seemed to be more annoying than do good, but, at least they tried to protect things?

Everything is self-serve, so you grab a tray and a set of tongs at the entrance, and help yourself to what you want.

Inside.

The shop is small, with a register at the front (cash only!), and baked goods along the front wall and one side wall, plus a table of packaged baked goods in the middle.

Signature Items.

On one wall is a description of some of their signature items, along with drawings.  I visited Fujipan many times, and at least half of these items I never saw.  Seems a bit odd for "signature items"?

The descriptions here were far more verbose than the ones on the cards in front of each item, so it was useful to study this before diving in.

Crazy Treats!

For my first treat, I had a very, very hard time picking.  I wanted the melon pan, after having a good one in Japan once, and trying hard to find a good one in Paris (but failing ... you'll see that review soon).  But there were so many other choices, both sweet and savory.  The doughnuts (filled with red bean, custard, etc) looked great.  And seriously, how ridiculous are the teriyaki dog (fluffy brioche bun, sausage, aioli) or the yakisoba pan (same bun, but actually filled with yakisoba) pictured here?

So much tempting stuff.

Cute Bag!

When you order multiple items, you get a cute little bag to take your goodies away in.  So, protip: order many things (and not just for the bag!).

Baked Goods

Taro Pan. $2.20.

"Sweet bun with taro cream."

I love taro.  I want taro in everything, so, I was thrilled to discover the taro pan.

It was kinda flat looking, a bit sad looking really, but said it was filled with cream and, well, it was taro.  It was a lovely purple on top (ohai taro!), and a bit hard when I picked it up with the tongs, yet soft on the pale bottom.  I can't say it seemed like it was going to be awesome.

But it was.

Taro Pan: Inside.

The bottom, as you can see here, was soft, fluffy, sweet dough.  It was not taro flavored, but was really delicious.

I do not think the top was actually taro flavored either, although it was purple.  It was a bit crispy, sweet, and, well, tasty.

The inside was the taro filling, not really "cream", but, mashed taro, with some chunks too.  It wasn't too sweet, which complimented the sweet bun quite nicely.

Overall, this was great.  It was fluffy, it was crispy, it was creamy.  Lots of textures, and not too sweet.  It totally hit the spot.

My favorite, and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

Nicky Sausage. $2.50.

"Milk Bun, Fork Fross (sic) & sausage with Original Cream."

On my next visit, I got brave and went for the "Nicky Sausage".  This is a similar item to their signature "Nicky Lawson", a sweet milk bun filled with custard and topped with pork floss.  But, since I was considering this part of my "lunch", I decided adding sausage (protein!) would help justify that classification.

The bun was made up of 3 distinct balls, held together in a triangle shape.

Nicky Sausage: Inside. 

I eagerly broke off one ball, and bit into it.  Yes, there was sausage inside!  Each of the three balls of bread had a chunk of sausage within.

The dough was light, fluffy, and slightly sweet, and really delicious.  I love this style of bread.  The sausage was more like a hot dog, but tasty enough.  The pork floss on top was salty and quite tasty.

I really liked this, and totally understand now how the signature Nicky Lawson makes sense ... cream, fluffy bread, and salty pork floss actually sounds delicious to me.  Without a creamy component, this was actually a bit dry.  So, I did want that cream, although it would be strange with the sausage, so, maybe just some aioli like the teriyaki dog I saw?  Anyway, the Nicky Lawson is definitely on the list for next time.

Ojan however wasn't sold on this one, and didn't know what to make of the pork floss.  He told me that it was "an acquired taste" and he wasn't ready to commit to saying he liked it (or not).

My second favorite of the treats I tried.

Melon Pan. $1.60.

And finally, one day I eventually got the Melon Pan, as it is the item that first drew me in.  The description on the placard read "Sweet bun, Crispy Cream", but the one on the Signature Items sign gave the more informative "A delicate, sweet, soft bun, smothered in deliciously crunchy cookie."

Anyway, the melon pan.  The bread was light, sweet, and fluffy, very good.  The top did have sugar crystals, and the signature melon look, but, it wasn't crispy.  I was really looking forward to the crispy sugar cookie top, and it failed in that department.  Maybe it was just too humid that day?  We did eat it immediately after purchase though.

My third pick.  Ojan said, "it is pretty good".

An Pan. $1.90.

"Sweet bun with Red Bean." is how the placard described it, or, "Fluffy filled with our original redbean Jam which is hand-made in a traditional Japanese method." said the longer description on the sign.

I have a problem with always thinking I like red bean. I'm not sure what it is, but, I always think I like it, and then I don't.  And when I was surrounded by so many red bean items, I couldn't resist getting something with red bean again.  Plus ... protein?

The bun was one of the pre-packaged items, rather than on display in the cases.  I'm not sure why they choose to have some packaged this way.

The top was shiny and much darker than the other items, sprinkled with sesame seeds, both white and black.

An Pan: Inside.

As you can see, inside was a generous amount of red bean.  It contained whole beans and some mashed, and was slightly sweetened.  It was ... red bean.  Oops, I don't really love red bean.

The dough though was really what made it not a winner for me, it wasn't light and fluffy like the melon pan, the Nicky Sausage, or the taro pan.  It wasn't hard, but it just didn't have that doughy lightness that I loved in the others.  My least favorite, and I wouldn't get it, or any of the similar buns with other fillings, again.

Ice Cream

So, in addition to the baked goods, Fujipan also has ice cream.  And not just ice cream, soft serve ice cream!

The ice cream is available in two flavors, matcha or black sesame.  They sell a single size.  And only in a waffle cone.  No toppings.

Black Sesame Ice Cream. $2.90.

One, hot, sticky evening, I headed to Thaitown to pick up dessert.  I was planning to get some variety of pudding, with coconut milk, and all sorts of interesting goodies in it from the Thai dessert cart.  But ... it was hot.  I didn't want sweet, sticky dessert.  I wanted ice cream.

So, I walked right past my intended Thai dessert hawker, and kept on going, a few blocks further, to Fujipan.  Yup, to the bakery.  For ice cream.

Ordering was easy, since I couldn't pick a size, and didn't even have the choice of cup or cone.  Since I didn't want caffeine, black sesame was my only flavor option.

The cone was fine, standard waffle cone, not stale.

The ice cream was fairly icy, not creamy and smooth like I was hoping, but the black sesame flavor was lovely.  They have no toppings, so alas, no sprinkles for me, always an integral part of a soft serve cone.

Overall, this was fairly lackluster.  Standard cone, icy ice cream, but good flavor.  It hit the spot, but I wouldn't go there for ice cream again.  Where would I go for soft serve ice cream in Sydney?  Easy: Aqua S.

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Waffling Leftovers: Pancakes

By now, you are quite familiar with my Waffling Leftovers series.  I've shown you how to transform your leftover Italian cuisine (pizza, lasagna, and more), your casseroles (mac and cheese, tuna noodle, etc), and your side dishes (mashed potatoes, cheesy grits, yadda yadda).

Now, it is time to turn attention to a totally different type of cuisine: breakfast.  Perhaps the most natural fit for my waffle maker, since, well, isn't breakfast when most people use their waffle maker?  But of course, I'm not going to make a waffle batter, I'm going to take a leftover, and just reheat it in my waffle make.

So, Leftover Pancakes: Will it Waffle? Sure ... but there are better ways to reheat pancakes.

The Original: IHOP Harvest Grain N' Nut Pancake.

My starting point was an IHOP Harvest Grain N' Nut pancake.  You know how much I love those things, so I started experimenting with not eating my entire giant stack while at IHOP, and bringing some home to enjoy later.

It turns out, pancakes freeze and reheat very well.  Just wrap them in foil, bring them up to temperature in the toaster oven that way, and finish off with the foil removed to crisp them up a bit.  Totally fine.  But I thought I could do better with my waffle iron.

No mess with this one!

I started with just half, in case it was disaster, so I could fall back on my standard reheating technique.

Unlike most things I've waffled, this was simple, and there was no mess.  No cheese oozing out, no falling apart.  Just a pancake.  In a waffle iron.

Waffled Pancake + Honey Butter + Whipped Cream.

It was ... fine.

It did reheat perfectly well this way.  It was easier even than my standard foil-wrapped and then toasted technique.  But it wasn't awesome, although in part I blame the pancake itself.  I think it would work better with a much fluffier pancake, as the thin style just made this too crispy for my liking.

I did see the appeal in creating the waffle pockets in the pancake though.  Not pictured is the warm maple syrup I also added, and it was fun to pour it directly into the holes (as I do with waffles anyway).  I guess I'm just not sure what this buys you over just a waffle, or just a pancake, besides being a really easy way to reheat a pancake.

I'm more a fan of waffling leftovers where the item is completely transformed by waffling, this didn't enhance it in any way, but, it did work.  So, quasi-success?

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