Cafe Gabriela has been open for around seven months and it’s a couple blocks from my office, but I never thought about going there until my friend Luis told me they served a pulled pork adobo sandwich. After I read that tweet, I immediately left the office to go get some lunch.

The adobo is cooked long enough so that the pork pulls apart easily, and flavorwise, I really liked that you can actually taste the vinegar. It’s served topped with onions and any juices are absorbed by a perfectly toasted baguette. Owner Penny Bee, who named the business after Philippine heroine Gabriela Silang, developed the recipe herself and says she’s gotten several requests for a chicken adobo sandwich, as well.

Aside from their signature adobo sandwich, Cafe Gabriela’s other menu options include a turkey cranberry sandwich and an heirloom tomato salad. They also make a point to showcase some of the East Bay’s best businesses, including The Bread Workshop, Blue Bottle Coffee, Arizmendi Bakery, and Pepples Donuts.

I’ve been desperate for Filipino lunch options since I started working in downtown Oakland in February. With Cafe Gabriela and the newly opened No Worries vegan Filipino restaurant just a few blocks in the other direction, my Filipino lunch cravings are finally satisfied.

Cafe Gabriela
988 Broadway
(between 9th St & 10th St)
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 763-2233
Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tocino and Blue Potato Hash
• Puto Bumbong
• Homemade Pork Tocino
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written, and I could offer any number of excuses for my hiatus, but I’ll go with this one…

After more than five years of working in the sleepy suburban town of Livermore, CA, I started a new job in downtown Oakland last month, and this change of scenery has led to several adjustments to my daily life. I no longer drive my car to work and am happily commuting via BART. This requires both my wife and I, who are notoriously late risers, to wake up a lot earlier than we’re used to so that I can catch the train every morning. While the drastic reduction of our overall fuel consumption has been good for the soul, my new office has been excellent for my stomach. It’s location at Oakland’s 12th Street City Center puts me blocks away from dozens of great lunch options, a world away from the limited options available to me in Livermore.

Before my first day of work, I began compiling a list of recommendations from friends who knew the area well and I combined them into this Google map.

Downtown Oakland’s all about options. (click to open map).

I was most excited to be near Oakland Chinatown, which is smaller but generally better than the larger “tourist trap” Chinatown in San Francisco. Ironically, my two favorite places in Oakland Chinatown aren’t Chinese.

Cam Huong

Cam Huong is a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese deli that serves up a variety of hot and cold Chinese and Vietnamese dishes, but I go there for the bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwiches) and fresh spring rolls. I went back the other day and got the #1, which is a cold cut combo with pate (hold the cilantro because I can’t stand the stuff). With the fresh bread, delicious meats and the pickled veggies inside, this is a perfect sandwich.

Cam Huong’s #1 is aptly named.

I always supplement my sandwiches with a three-pack spring rolls, and I really like the variety pack with goi cuon, bo bia and bi cuon (summer roll, sausage roll, shredded pork roll).

A spring roll three pack.

The sandwiches are all under $3, and when you include the spring rolls, I get out of there for just under $6. This makes the Subway $5 Footlong look like a bad deal. Next on the agenda is the grilled pork and cha gio bun, one of my all-time favorite Vietnamese dishes. I hope there’s a table open next time I’m there.

Cam Huong Cafe
920 Webster Street
Oakland, CA
510.444.8800

Battambang

Battambang is a Cambodian restaurant just a few blocks down the street, and it’s already one of my favorite lunch spots. This is the dish that got me hooked…

Moarn Aing – grilled chicken skewers.

…and this is what I ordered on my return:

Lunch Combo – grilled chicken, beef, and shrimp skewers with fried rice.

I haven’t had a lot of Cambodian food, and I’m sure there’s more to the cuisine than grilled meat, but I’d seriously consider forsaking all other skewered meats to settle down with either of these dishes. If I had to choose, I’d stick with the combo for variety and the fried rice, but the spicy lime sauce it’s served with really pulls both of these dishes together. When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be similar to Vietnamese nuoc mam, which is one of my favorite things, but I really like the spicy lime sauce a whole lot more.

Looking over their menu, there’s a lot of other dishes I want to try, but the grilled meats keep me happy for now.

Battambang
850 Broadway
Oakland, CA
510.839.8815
Web site

I’m thinking of making Eating Downtown Oakland a running series, and there are a bunch other places around here that are worth discussion. Cam Huong and Battambang were fast favorites, and I can’t wait to see what else I can find in my new urban playground.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• IFBC, Seattle Food Porn, and the iPhone 4
• Homemade Pork Tocino
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

I’ve never been genuinely excited about a new cookbook release, but Ad Hoc at Home marks the first time I’ve had a real personal connection to the recipes in a single cookbook. Inuyaki readers know that I’m a fan and regular diner at Thomas Keller’s casual dining restaurant, and the Ad Hoc Menu Archive is one of the most popular features of this site. My wife and I have been to Ad Hoc 30 times in the last 2½ years (it’s our favorite restaurant) and have always come away wishing we knew how to make some of our favorite dishes, desserts, and condiments at home. I’m very happy to report that Ad Hoc at Home delivers the goods.

The cookbook’s arrival coincided with my birthday, and to celebrate, I invited some friends over for dinner last weekend so that my wife and I could cook for them. From the book, we chose the grilled asparagus and marinated skirt steak and supplemented the meal with polenta topped with a mushroom ragout and SavorySweetLife’s chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The grilled asparagus, which includes prosciutto, fried bread, poached egg, and aged balsamic vinegar, is pretty easy to put together. After removing the woody bottoms and peeling the asparagus stalks, simply season a couple bunches of asparagus with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and canola oil and then grill them for a couple minutes per side until tender.

Gratuitous Asparagus Porn

I had some issues poaching the eggs. I know this sounds silly, but they weren’t coming out as pretty as we wanted, so those eggs became snacks. Inspired by our meal at Commis in Oakland a couple nights before, I decided to have some fun and make 63-degree eggs. How is a 63-degree egg different than a regular poached egg or over-easy egg? The answer: texture.

A 63-degree Egg

At 63-degrees Celsius, egg whites are just barely set and the yolks have a pudding-like consistency. To achieve this goal, eggs are cooked in a 63C waterbath for about an hour. The precision is important because at 65C, according Harold McGee, the egg whites become “tender solid” as opposed just barely set at 63C. It’s possible to maintain a consistent temperature using a pot on the stovetop, but I have an immersion circulator, which makes things a lot easier. :)

The immersion circulator in action.

The eggs went on the plate last, so my friends got to see these beautiful eggs emerge from a freshly cracked shell. My wife gets credit for the plating of this dish, which is loosely based on the picture in the book.

The fried bread croutons are awesome, too.

The marinated skirt steak isn’t a difficult preparation either. I substituted the skirt for flap steak, which is similar to skirt steak and a cut of meat I’ve used before in my Bistek Tagalog. It’s marinated for at least four hours in a mixture of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic. The meat is seared in a thin layer of oil for about 90 seconds total, adding thyme and butter to the pan and basting the meat after flipping it halfway through. After searing, the meat is placed in a 350 oven on a roasting rack and cooked for 8-10 minutes until the internal temp of the meat is 125F. Rest the meat and slice it vertically against the grain before serving.

That meat looks perfect doesn’t it? There was just one problem. I forgot to season the meat with salt and pepper before I seared it, so it was underseasoned. There was still flavor from the marinade, but the meat was definitely lacking flavor. I was crestfallen. My wife saved the dish by making an impromptu beef/mushroom gravy, but I was so disappointed with myself.

We paired this with some Fra’Mani polenta (sold exclusively at Costco) topped with a trumpet and baby shiitake mushroom ragout. I know polenta is pretty easy to make, but as fans of Paul Bertolli’s Fra’Mani sausages, we had to give his polenta a try and it’s really good. My wife added some strong English cheddar to the polenta for some extra flavor and topped it with the mushrooms.

Aside from the underseasoned steak, which was totally my fault, this meal was a huge success and a testament to Ad Hoc at Home’s accessibility for home cooks. It’s a tribute to Keller and his love for good, homey food, as well as chef de cuisine Dave Cruz, whose influence is present in every meal in the Ad Hoc kitchen. According to Ad Hoc general manager Nick Dedier, Ad Hoc at Home is projected to surpass the 10-year-old French Laundry cookbook’s total sales in just three years. With food like this, it should surprise no one when it actually happens.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

I went on a baking spree last weekend because two of my favorite bloggers, Alice of Savory Sweet Life and Ashley of Not Without Salt, started talking smack on Twitter about who had the best chocolate chip cookies. Since they both live in Seattle, there was no way I was going to be able to try their cookies and make up my own mind unless I made them myself.

Lorna Yee from The Cookbook Chronicles also threw her hat into the ring, but she hasn’t posted her recipe yet, so I haven’t had the chance to make them. But Lorna did show off her cookies last week, as well as provide a thorough breakdown of Alice and Ashley’s recipes. Inspired by Lorna’s analysis, I decided to compare their recipes to my favorite recipe, Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Chocolate Chip Cookies (courtesy of Food Gal Carolyn Jung), and the Original Nestle Toll House recipe.

My attempt at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc Chocolate Chip Cookies

With a few exceptions, the ingredients and techniques are basically the same, so it’s interesting to see how the proportions vary from cookie to cookie.

Ashley’s cookies could easily be called “pound cookies” since they contain a pound of flour, a pound of sugar and a pound of chocolate. They’re crispy on the bottom and dense and chewy in the middle and reminded me of the Ad Hoc cookies. Her use of chopped chocolate instead of chips allows the chocolate to pool inside the cookie so that you get huge bursts of chocolate in every bite. As Ashley says in her “last chocolate chip cookie” post, the dough is really only there “to hold the chunks of chocolate in place.” The addition of turbinado sugar gives the cookies a nice crunch and texture, as well. I didn’t have 16 oz. of chocolate to make the cookies since I had sort of eaten away at the Scharffen Berger stash I got at BlogHer Food 09, but 12 oz. was still plenty of chocolate.

Ashley’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was a little worried when I made Alice’s cookie because the dough was much lighter and airier than Ashley’s, and it showed in the final product. I couldn’t find my usual Guittard chips at Whole Foods, but Ghirardelli’s semi-sweet chocolate chips were a nice substitute. The cookies came out thin and fluffy with crispy bottoms and reminded me of the classic Toll House recipe. When paired with milk from Straus Dairy, possibly the best-tasting milk I’ve ever had, I was transported straight back to elementary school.

Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know you’re probably wondering which cookie I liked better, and my extremely political answer is this: I think Ashley’s cookie is a grown-up, sophisticated cookie, while Alice’s is capable of illiciting an Anton-Ego-in-Ratatouille kind of revelation, so it really depends on what you really want out of your cookie. I’m eagerly awaiting Lorna’s entry into this smackdown, but after this experiment, I may be off cookies for a while. :)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• wd~50
• Ludo Bites at BreadBar

Our New York trip started with a bang at wd~50, Chef Wylie Dufresne’s Lower East Side playground of science and food. Dufresne’s reputation as the mad scientist of American cuisine is well deserved, but what matters at the end of the day is the food, and wd~50′s tasting menu, despite one small unexpected bump, simply rocked.

The meal started with basket of super-addictive, paper-thin sesame flatbread that was great sans any adornments.

Sesame Flatbread

Our first course was the Cobia with mustard seed, mung bean and cucumber. This is probably the first time I’ve eaten a mung bean that wasn’t in mungo, a Filipino mung bean stew. This was a nice light way to start off the meal.

Cobia

The next course was a take on the classic Everything Bagel, except in this dish, the bagel is actually ice cream made with everything bagels and is served with smoked salmon threads, pickled red onions and piece of crispy cream cheese. To understand the origins of this dish, watch Dufresne break it down at Metromix.com.

Everything Bagel

The third course was Foie Gras, a terrine of foie gras filled with passion fruit puree served with Chinese celery. This was the only real disappointment of the night. No one at our table enjoyed the combination of passion fruit and foie gras. As separate entities, they were fine, but if chocolate and peanut butter exemplifies “two great tastes that taste great together,” then this was the exact opposite.

Foie Gras

The Scrambled Egg Ravioli was next and served with charred avocado, kindai kampachi and fried little bits of potato. Breaking open the egg “ravioli” cube reveals a perfect, steamy, slightly runny scrambled egg, and combining all of these elements in one bite was a great combination of flavors and textures.

Scrambled Egg Ravioli

The table was split on the next course, Cold Fried Chicken with buttermilk ricotta, tabasco and caviar. My friend Teresa didn’t like the fried chicken because she thought the texture resembled processed meat, and I think she would have preferred it if it chicken was warm. She did agree with us on the other elements of the dish, especially the awesome Tabasco honey, which tied it all together.

Cold Fried Chicken

If there was one perfect dish of the evening, it was the Eggs Benedict. It’s not on the tasting menu, but we added it as a supplemental course. English muffin-crusted cubes are filled with an incredibly smooth and delicious Hollandaise sauce and fried. When you cut open the cubes, the Hollandaise spreads all over the plate. They were served with paper-thin Canadian Bacon strips and poached egg yolks. This was easily the best course of the night.

Eggs Benedict

The next dish was the beautifully plated Perch with kohirabi, “dirty grape” and cocoa nibs. This wasn’t the most memorable dish, but I remember the fish being perfectly cooked and pairing nicely with the grapes and coco nibs.

Perch

The thinly pounded duck leg with popcorn pudding, kalamansi, and lovage resembled a tuna dish we had a couple days later at Le Bernardin. I always love seeing kalamansi represented at high-end restaurants, but the popcorn pudding was the talk of the table. Its flavor was weird but familiar, almost like the buttered-popcorn flavored Jelly Belly the first time you tasted it.

Duck Leg

The last savory course was the Lamb Loin, a perfect piece of seared meat served with a black garlic romesco, pickled ramps, and dried soybeans. The lamb and romesco were great together, especially if you got bit of seared fat in the bite.

Lamb Loin

The first dessert course was vanilla ice cream filled with aged balsamic vinegar reduction and coated with raspberry streusel. Aside from being really pretty, the marriage of vanilla ice cream and the sweet balsalmic was really nice while the streusel added a little texture.

Vanilla Ice Cream

The chocolate hazelnut tart was perfect and our favorite dessert of the night. It was topped with a little salt and served with a chicory foam some coconut powder.

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

The last dessert was the caramelized brioche with apricot, buttercream and lemon-thyme sorbet. The brioche and the buttercream were really good, but I wasn’t really into the lemon-thyme sorbet. I also don’t think basil should be an ice cream or sorbet flavor so that might explain it.

Caramelized Brioche

The meal doesn’t really end until you get the chocolate shortbread and cocoa packets. The shortbread was really the coating for a small piece of milk ice cream and was kind of like an Oreo bonbon. The cocoa packets look like ketchup packets, but they’re edible and filled with cocoa. I think the coolness factor outweighs the flavor factor with the packets, which was enough for me since we were all really full at the point.

Chocolate Shortbread and Cocoa Packets

We took a little tour of the kitchen after dinner, and they were in the process of cleaning up for the night. Teresa was so full that she had this strange look on her face and Dufresne asked her if she was “in pain” (she was, but in a good way). The coolest part of the kitchen was what I dubbed the “Wall of Magic.” If you look carefully on the top shelf, you’ll see a bottle of Sriracha up there, along with other interesting things. :)

The Wall of Magic

Of course, no kitchen should be without a disco ball…

The Disco Ball

…and say goodbye to the Wylie Care Bear on your way out.

The Wiley Care Bear

The cool thing about wd~50 is that unless they have other engagements, both Dufresne and head pastry chef Alex Stupak are working the line every night. This is the best way for chefs to ensure that their culinary vision is presented accurately, and it comes through loud and clear at wd~50. There are plenty of oddities on the wd~50 tasting menu, and it’s easy to see how their food might not be for everyone. For the most part, we had a lot of fun both eating and enjoying these dishes.

INFORMATION
wd~50
50 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002 map
212.477.2900
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• Ludo Bites at BreadBar

Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s pop-up restaurant experience known as Ludo Bites ends its run at BreadBar tonight. If it weren’t for some prior obligations, we would have been in LA this weekend for one last meal. (We actually had reservations this weekend but had to cancel when I was reminded of a prior engagement.) We only went to Ludo Bites once, but the meal was so good that we became instant Ludo fans and can’t wait to see where he sets up shop again.

Ludo’s food may be rooted in French tradition, but everything on the menu is playful and inventive. Of course, this means you might not like every dish, but you still come away respecting what Ludo was trying to accomplish.

We started with a Porcini Veloute that featured porcini ice cream, egg, crispy sage, tobacco powder. My wife wanted this one because she loves mushrooms, while I’m just starting to get over my disdain for them. The combination of the veloute, ice cream and egg made for luscious and rich starter, but I still found it a little too mushroomy for me. My wife loved it and probably would have finished it, but she couldn’t get past the flavor of the tobacco powder.

Porcini Veloute

Next up was the Foie Gras Black Croque Monsieur, a play on a traditional croque monsieur that uses squid ink bread and adds a piece of foie gras to the mix. I’ll let the picture speak for itself. :)

Foie Gras Black Croque Monsieur

The Creamy Polenta and Oxtail might be one of my favorite dishes of the year. It’s such a simple dish and doesn’t look like much when it’s brought to the table, but after the first bite, we were hooked. The polenta, with Cantal cheese and bits of black truffle, was great on its own, but it’s the oxtail that brings the dish home. This isn’t the most appetizing picture, but it still makes me yearn for the dish.

Creamy Polenta and Oxtail

Another one of the evening’s highlights was the Pork Belly with Frisee and Mustard Ice Cream. That’s right…mustard ice cream. Basically, the savory mustard ice cream was just a frozen dressing for the frisee, so while waiting for that to melt a bit, we worked on a perfect piece of glazed pork belly.

Pork Belly with Frisee and Mustard Ice Cream

If you saw Fried Chicken in Duck Fat on menu, you would order it right? I knew you would. It was accompanied by some perfect roasted fingerling potatoes, tapenade and are really good red pepper ketchup.

Fried Chicken in Duck Fat

At this point, both of us were pretty full, but dessert was on the horizon, so we buckled down. Our first dessert was the Chocolate Cupcake, but this was no ordinary cupcake, featuring candied bacon-almonds, maple syrup, and a foie gras chantilly frosting. If foie gras frosting sounds intimidating, it is. We ate around it for the most part because it was way too rich and savory for our taste. The rest of the cupcake was really good.

Chocolate Cupcake

Our second dessert was the Vanilla Panna Cotta, another challenging but ultimately successful dish. It was served on a pool of caramel and topped with caviar, which may seem odd, but when its briny saltiness was combined with the caramel and the panna cotta, it works perfectly.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

The last dessert, Strawberry Cream Pop Rocks, intrigued me when Ludo first mentioned it on Twitter (follow him @ChefLudo). It was simple concoction of with strawberries, whipped cream and that old childhood favorite, Pop Rocks. We were so full that we weren’t going to order it, but Ludo’s wife Krissy brought some out for us, since I had expressed so much interest in it already. It was the perfect way to close our meal.

Strawberry Cream Pop Rocks

Most of you probably know Ludo as the intense, cocky, foul-mouthed French chef on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters who lost to the show’s eventual winner Rick Bayless. But in person, Ludo is a really cool guy who loves cooking. We had a nice discussion about food and blogging, and I found out that Ludo loves Korean food when I told him about the Korean BBQ tacos I was making the next day. (It’s my next post…I swear).

Both Ludo and Krissy take the time to greet all of their guests and make sure they’re enjoying themselves, and overall, Ludo Bites was just a fun place to eat. Ludo told me that he worked in fine dining most of his career and after the Ludo Bites experience, he never wants to work in a fine dining environment again. I think this suits his personality, his food, and the City of Los Angeles, just fine, and I can’t wait to see where Ludo pops up next.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• IFBC, Seattle Food Porn, and the iPhone 4
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

When the prospect of participating in Foodbuzz’s monthly 24, 24, 24 arose again a couple weeks ago, the first thing that popped into my head was throwing a chicken and waffles party. Fried chicken and waffles is one of my favorite meals in the whole world, and being from Southern California, I was first introduced to this combination at the world-famous Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in Hollywood. Personally, I think Roscoe’s waffles are much better than their chicken, and the real secret to Roscoe’s greatness is in their amazing syrup.

Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles

When I moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area 10 years ago, it was hard to find a decent substitute, and the Roscoe’s that was in Oakland at the time was a substandard knock off of the L.A. original. Over the last few years, chicken and waffle options in the Bay Area have improved, especially when the Home of Chicken and Waffles, which was originally slated to be an official Roscoe’s franchise before the owners decided to do their own thing, opened a few years ago in Oakland’s Jack London Square. It still isn’t Roscoe’s, but it satisfies the craving.

Home of Chicken and Waffles

The most decadent versions of chicken and waffles I’ve had have been at Sunday brunches at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc in Yountville. Ad Hoc’s fried chicken is so popular that it has developed a cult following and is the featured entree at the restaurant on alternating Mondays. The recipe was first published in Food and Wine magazine a couple years ago and my post about making the fried chicken is one of the most visited pages on this site.

Ad Hoc Fried Chicken and Waffles

On a recent trip to Williams Sonoma, I stumbled upon a display featuring the Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit, a recent expansion of Thomas Keller’s exclusive line of products for the retail chain…

…that also includes the Bouchon Bakery line of products.

When I saw the Bouchon Bakery Yeasted Waffle mix, I decided that this 24, 24, 24 event was going to turn into a throwdown: the Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit v. Ad Hoc fried chicken from scratch and the Bouchon Bakery Yeasted Waffles mix v. the Best (and Easiest) Yeasted Waffle by Sheryl at Crispy Waffle.

I met Sheryl on Twitter after she started following me, and her blog immediately got my attention because I had been looking for a good waffle recipe since inheriting a Krups Belgian Waffle Maker last year from a friend. Her “Easiest, Crispiest, Yeasted Waffle” recipe really lived up to its name and it’s the recipe I always turn to when I get a waffle craving. (See my Crispy Waffle post from March.)

Chicken Showdown
I deviated from both recipes instructions by cooking the chicken sous vide before dredging and frying. I do this because I’m paranoid about undercooking chicken, and cooking it sous vide for an hour at around 140F/60C ensures that the chicken is cooked and helps keep it juicy. This allows me to focus solely on the color of the fried chicken when it’s frying in the oil.

Vacuum sealed chicken taking an hour-long, 141F/61C(ish) “bath”

It doesn’t look that appetizing fresh out of the water bath, but after dredging and frying, it’s heaven.

On the surface, both batches of fried chicken I made looked identical, but on flavor, the scratch recipe beat the kit by a mile. The main difference between the scratch recipe and the kit is in the brine. The scratch recipe’s brine calls for fresh herbs and spices, honey and lemons, and these flavors really come through in the final product.

The “scratch” batch of fried chicken.

The fried chicken kit relies on a brine packet of dried spices and seasonings instead of fresh, but the most glaring omission was the lack of lemons. As a result, everyone who tried the kit’s fried chicken said it had a strong pepper flavor. I wonder if lemon powder could have made a significant difference, but I think the inclusion of fresh lemon zest and juice into the brining liquid would have been a pretty simple step for most home cooks.

Waffle Throwdown
Although we were dealing with two yeasted waffle recipes, there were a couple differences in how they’re put together. Sheryl’s recipe uses dry instant yeast and calls for a refrigerated overnight rise, while the Bouchon mix uses active dry yeast that is proofed for 10 minutes before mixing the batter and has a rising time of 90 minutes. Sheryl also adds a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract to her batter.

The Bouchon Bakery mix produces waffles that are incredibly light and more delicate than Sheryl’s waffle, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. Personally, I found them to be a little too airy, but I was still astonished at how light and crispy they were.

Bouchon Bakery Waffle

That doesn’t mean Sheryl’s waffle was heavy by an means. It was still light and crispy but had just a little more weight and texture (dare I say gravitas?) than the Bouchon Bakery waffle, as well as a creaminess in the middle that every good Belgian waffle should have.

Sheryl’s Crispy Waffle

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Belgian waffles, preferring the thinner traditional waffles like the ones they serve at Roscoe’s. I even picked up a traditional waffle iron to test out some buttermilk and cornmeal waffle recipes to serve along side the yeasted waffles, but I couldn’t find one that I liked enough to feature alongside the fried chicken. Sourdough waffles are generally served at Ad Hoc, but I didn’t have a sourdough starter on hand (or the time to start one), so I tabled that for another time.

If there’s one thing I learned during my research, it’s that I really like Belgian waffles now, especially the yeasted variety, and I am now in the market for a better Belgian waffle iron, preferably one that flips. I think I’ll save the traditional waffle iron for moffles.

Thanks to Foodbuzz for helping to make this event possible. I had a lot of fun researching and cooking one of my favorite meals for my friends. Plus, we generally have a hard time getting this group of friends to come up to Ad Hoc with us, so this was a way that I could bring a small piece of our favorite restaurant home for them to experience. But most of all, I hope it inspires you to seek out fried chicken and waffles wherever you live, or better yet, make it yourself! :)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

Yeah, yeah…another Ad Hoc post. I know. I’ve been meaning to write about some of the cooking I’ve been doing, including baking my first brioche or my thoughts on liking traditional waffles more than Belgian waffles, but when Ad Hoc’s daily menu email update arrived in my inbox yesterday morning, the words “Maine Lobster Rolls” jumped out at me.

This was the full portion for two people.

Ad Hoc recently started doing barbecue nights on non-fried chicken Mondays, but for Memorial Day, they decided to offer the Maine Lobster Rolls to give dinner more of a picnic vibe. Now, I’ve never had an authentic New England lobster roll, but I think I may have spoiled myself by having this one, which features lobster from the same purveyor that supplies The French Laundry, a custom sweet roll from Bouchon Bakery, shaved celery, red onions and garlic aioli.

The sweet, housemade pickles were excellent, too.

The meal started off with fried French Laundry chickpeas that were like fried, salty edamame—an amuse bouche of sorts, but they don’t use words like that at Ad Hoc. :)

The leek salad featured more French Laundry vegetables and some crispy Jamon Iberico, what Bac-O’s aspires to be when it grows up.

The cheese course featured Rogue Creamery’s aged and creamy Caveman Blue, raspberry-vanilla jam and beer flatbread.

The toasted lemon pound cake with chantilly cream and macerated blueberries ended the meal on a surprisingly light note.

I was content to spend Memorial Day chillin’ at home and watching Game 4 of the Lakers/Nuggets Western Conference Finals battle, but since the Lakers ended up playing poorly and losing, I’m glad I spent my time up in Yountville enjoying the sublime comforts of a great meal instead of stressing out at home yelling at the TV.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

Kogi BBQ‘s now-famous Korean taco trucks have eluded me on my last three trips home to SoCal, but this weekend, I was determined to hunt one down. Kogi has two trucks, Roja and Verde, and I met up with Roja yesterday at 9th and Hope in Downtown LA.

Let me just say upfront that I think Kogi’s food is great. We really liked everything we had, especially the Kogi Sliders and the Kogi Dog. But our first Kogi experience was a logistical disaster. It took two hours from the time we got in line to the time we got our food and left and they ran out of kalbi right before my order was fulfilled, so we missed out on their signature meat.

Since Kogi relies on their twitter account (@kogibbq) to keep their devoted followers updated about their whereabouts, it’s appropriate that this review contain my tweets about my first Kogi experience (follow me @inuyaki).

Watch how things progress by checking the timestamps of each tweet. (Timestamps from the Tweetie iPhone app.)

12:15pm Line for @kogibbq isn’t too bad right now (9th and Hope in Downtown LA) http://twitpic.com/4cnnw

12:17pm mic_dee @inuyaki d00d! aare they quick to serve at least?
12:18pm 3ND14P3 @inuyaki O_O that line “isn’t too bad?” ?? LOL Wow. I hope it’s moving quickly
12:20pm The @kogibbq line isn’t moving yet because they haven’t started serving. Will see how fast it goes when they start.

A few minutes after this tweet they started taking orders.

12:43pm LadyDucayne @inuyaki is the kogi anticipation still going strong? What’s ur place in line? red or green?
12:52pm @LadyDucayne I think it’s roja. Line is moving slow but steady. I’m actually hungry right now. :)
12:55pm @LadyDucayne I think we’re about 25 people back.

1:18pm The @kogibbq line is moving so slow. I wasn’t hungry when i got here but now I’m starving

1:28pm The people that wait 4 @kogibbq at night are either dedicated or crazy. Don’t know if I would do this again unless I was near the front.
1:31pm LadyDucayne @inuyaki both times I have been first in line. I like kogi, but not enough to wait in line for more than ten minutes…
1:36pm 90 minutes later…Finally near the front :) http://twitpic.com/4cu8t

1:50pm A tow truck just showed up. Minor panic. Dudes just wanted food. http://twitpic.com/4cvfi

1:51pm hsiawen @inuyaki bastards better not have gotten cutsies

A couple minutes later we placed our order: 1 kalbi burrito, 2 kalbi tacos, 1 spicy pork taco, 1 chicken taco, 1 tofu taco, 1 order Kogi Sliders, 1 Kogi Dog, 1 brownie with Chinese spiced nuts. I ordered the Kogi Dog because they said they didn’t have enough kimchi to make the Kogi Kimchi Quesadilla. I should have known we were in trouble then.

1:59pm They just ran out of short ribs…for my order and beyond. Not very happy now, just give me my food please! @kogibbq

They also announced that they were putting a limit of one burrito or three tacos per customer. There were probably a hundred people behind me at that point.

2:03pm So @kogibbq was expecting a regular lunch crowd and weren’t prepared for all the people that showed up, which led to logistical failure

I think the people at the front of the line were buying lunch for their respective offices and depleted Kogi’s supplies right off the bat. My wife said she saw people leaving with bags of food. If this is true, it explains why the line moved so slowly and why they ran out of kalbi.

At this point, I stopped tweeting because I was focused on getting my order completed. We were supposed to be at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles at 2:30pm to donate blood platelets for my friend’s daughter, and I was getting annoyed because I didn’t want to be late. Donating platelets is by appointment only because the process takes a couple of hours, but apparently, so does Kogi.

They called me to the window to ask what other meat I wanted since they were out of short ribs. I got the spicy pork instead and changed the burrito order to a second brownie. I thought that I might as well get another dessert out of this. I told the guy expediting orders that I needed go to the doctors and that I needed to leave ASAP.

The tow truck guys were seen leaving with food five minutes after they arrived.

2:06pm @hsiawen they did get cutsies
2:08pm hsiawen @inuyaki that’s BS that means they got your ribs!!!

Actually, the guy in front of me, who almost got out of line because it was taking too long, got the last of it. He only had to substitute spicy pork for part of his order.

But were the tow truck guys the reason I didn’t get short ribs? We’ll never know. Damn you, tow truck guys!

A couple minutes later, we had half our order and were waiting on Kogi Sliders and a Kogi Dog. The guy in the party that ordered after me got his complete order, which included a Kogi Dog and Kogi Sliders, before I did, which was really annoying. I reminded the expediter that I had an appointment.

At around 2:15 were in the car and on our way to CHLA, two hours after we arrived. I snapped a couple quick pics of the food before leaving the area, and we ate our food while driving over to CHLA. The Kogi Dog was especially challenging to consume…good thing I don’t drive stick.

Kogi Dog

Kogi Sliders

We got to the CHLA blood donation center about 10 minutes late. The last three tweets are from when I was in the chair giving blood.

3:01pm While I’m a little bitter about my @kogibbq experience, the food was really good. Had to sub kalbi with spicy pork
3:05pm kogibbq @inuyaki – hopefuLLy the experience was both bitter and sweet. or at the very least, meat. MEATY…! ::drools::
3:22pm @kogibbq kogi dog was great and i liked the spicy pork. brownie with spiced nuts were nice. just sad you guys ran out of kalbi.

If you’re still reading, I commend you for sticking with this epic ordeal. :) Like I said, I think Kogi’s food is great, but I feel like the experience is incomplete because I didn’t get to try the kalbi. I’m also sure they’ll learn from these logistical snafus as they and their fanbase continues to grow. Some people might not give Kogi another shot if they endured a similar experience, but I think what Kogi is doing is worthy of a return visit. It all comes down to planning and understanding, a responsibility that belongs to both Kogi and their customers.

Personally, I won’t wait more than 30 minutes for Kogi again, so I’ll have to do my homework and be more diligent the next time I seek them out. I hope Kogi does the same so that they’re prepared to get bumrushed every time their trucks open for business.

INFORMATION
Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go
Web Site
Twitter

Possibly Related Posts:

• Puto Bumbong
• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Street Cart Wars to Benefit SF Food Bank
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak

It was another beautiful spring day in California, a perfect backdrop for Easter in Yountville. Of course for us, that means a visit to Bouchon Bakery to pick up some goodies before brunch at Ad Hoc. We really need to explore more of the area, but it’s hard when you can drop into Bouchon Bakery and get an Easter egg-shaped Thomas Keller Oreo.

Egg-Shaped TKOs

We were also lucky enough to score one of the last chocolate doughnuts in the shop. It’s a brioche doughnut filled with chocolate custard and then dipped in chocolate frosting laden with crispy chocolate balls. These are usually gone pretty early in the morning, but apparently they did a second batch for Easter.

Bouchon Bakery Chocolate Doughnut

Ad Hoc is debuting a new brunch format next weekend (I’ll write a separate post about this soon) and Easter was kind of a “soft opening.” It started with a mixed berry yogurt parfait with warm banana bread. The banana bread was great…lightly toasted and topped with a really nice honey butter.

Mixed Berry Yogurt Parfait

Instead of the whole main entrée being family style, every diner got their own entree, corned beef hash and poached eggs, but the waffles were served family style.

The whole spread.

Two poached Alexandre Dairy hen eggs topped a hash made of perfect, crispy potato strands mixed with Snake River Farms corned beef brisket. The eggs were nice and runny and were great when mixed into the hash.

Corned Beef Hash and Eggs

Dessert was a brownie with vanilla ice cream and salted butterscotch sauce.

Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Salted Butterscotch

Overall, it was another fabulous Ad Hoc brunch, and I’m excited to see how the new brunch format works out. We’ll be back in Yountville next weekend to find out. :)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tocino and Blue Potato Hash
• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc’s fried chicken nights have made every other Monday night in Yountville a lot of fun, but last night’s “Swine and Wine” was so good that Ad Hoc might be the place to be on the last Wednesday of every month. The four-course, prix-fixe dinner featured whole pigs that were roasted Cuban style in La Caja China or Chinese box.

Step 1: Put the pig in a box…

The meal was an opportunity for Ad Hoc to showcase some of their purveyors and they were on hand throughout the evening to talk about their products.

Wines were provided by Dave Miner of the Miner Family Vineyard. I’m not a wine expert or aficionado, but I do like them easy to drink, and the Miner wines fit the bill perfectly. Before the first course, we were served a really nice white wine sangria, and the dinner wines were their Viogner (white) and Enigma (red). I also got a taste of their Oracle, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend, and I liked that one too.

Tucker Taylor, The French Laundry’s Culinary Gardener, started growing all of the vegetables for this dinner six weeks ago, and his salad, which featured a selection of baby lettuces, hosui asian pears, toasted pine nuts, shaved radishes, Fra’Mani soppressata and sherry vinaigrette, was the epitome of freshness.

The French Laundry Garden Mixed Baby Lettuces

Pigs from Ross Shoop of Alexandre Farms where the focal point of the main course. The platter of roasted pork featured pieces of meat from various parts of the pig and was topped with a nice piece of crispy pig skin. The pig was really good, and it was served with a diverse selection of condiments, but honestly, it wasn’t my favorite part of the meal.

Crispy pig skin might be one of the best things ever.

Pork condiments included (clockwise from bottom left) romesco sauce, garlic and blood orange vinaigrette, fennel mustard, and purple carrot mustard.

Bohemian Creamery provided the cheese course and overall I really liked their offerings, especially the really funky smelling one. :-) The smoked Marcona almonds were killer as were the four different garnishes: marshall farm’s honey, kumquat marmalade, fig jam, and cippolini onion chutney.

Bohemian Creamery Cheese Course

I think I’ve said before that while I like Ad Hoc’s cheese courses, I’m generally looking past them towards dessert, and this evening’s dessert was something special. Claire Clark, the former French Laundry pastry chef who’s been working at Ad Hoc for the last few months before returning to the UK, offered up an exquisite chocolate pave with popcorn sherbet and caramel corn that looked like it came straight off The French Laundry tasting menu. This was definitely the best dessert I’ve ever had at Ad Hoc and I’m glad Claire’s influence on Ad Hoc’s desserts will be lasting.

Chocolate Pave with Popcorn Sherbet and Caramel Corn

I wasn’t able to confirm, but it looks like these “Last Wednesday” dinners might be an ongoing event at Ad Hoc. This would be a nice addition to their schedule and give diners another marquee night of dining to look forward to every month.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

There’s a lot of buzz about Father’s Office (F.O.) having the best burgers in LA, but the more I think about how we qualify food, the more I think the word “best” is played out.

We paired our burgers with both shoestring and sweet potato fries, which were perfectly fried and seasoned, and each has their own specific aioli. I guess this would be a good time to mention that F.O. has a strict “no ketchup” policy, as well. Don’t ask for it either since they don’t have any on hand, and I heard they even crack down on ketchup smugglers.

The smoked eel topped with a poached egg, horseradish creme fraiche and onions was delicious and lets you know immediately that this is no ordinary bar food.

Like most bars, there’s no table service, so you have to order everything at the bar and maintain a running tab that you close out when you’re ready to leave. Tables can be scarce when it’s busy, but I avoided the crowds by getting there before they opened…and there was still a line. I’ve never been to the original Father’s Office in Santa Monica, but this second outpost in the old Helms Bakery is beautiful. If it’s sunny out, I highly recommend snagging a table on the patio.

If you’re willing to play by the rules at F.O., then you’re going to have a good time eating and drinking there. This might seem overly restrictive to some people, but I’m glad Chef Sang Yoon had a distinct vision about what he wanted to serve and stuck to his guns in the face of criticism. The decision hasn’t hurt business much since it’s always packed.

If you don’t like the rules, then F.O. has an alternate meaning and you can leave. There are plenty of people waiting in line, including me, that will be glad to take your place.

INFORMATION
Father’s Office
3229 Helms Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310.736.2224 map
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• IFBC, Seattle Food Porn, and the iPhone 4
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

Last time we were in LA, we met up with our friends Don and Cristy for dinner. When I asked Don where we should meet up, he said, “How about M&M’s?” I thought I hadn’t heard of M&M’s, but when Don told me it was the soul food place that was immortalized in the Ice Cube song “Steady Mobbin’,” the lyrics instantly popped in my head:

Since one time’s so hot
Got me stash spot in the hooptie for the glock
And I’m rollin’ on rims
Eating soul food, neckbones from M&M’s

Now we didn’t order any neckbones, and honestly, I don’t remember seeing them on the menu, but if I can say one thing about M&M’s, if it’s smothered in gravy, it’s probably good.

They were out of short ribs by the time we got there, so I got the smothered oxtails instead. The oxtails were almost falling off the bone and as you can see, portions at M&M’s are generous.

Smothered Oxtails

Another great gravy-laden dish was the smothered fried chicken. What I loved about it (besides the gravy) was that the skin was still really crispy and fatty and delicious. I’m pretty sure this fried chicken is fantastic on its own.

Smothered Fried Chicken

M&M’s is also very generous with their sides—you get three choices per entree. On our table, we had collard greens, green beans, dressing, corn, mac and cheese, rice and gravy, and red beans, but I didn’t think any of them were really outstanding. They do a pretty good cornbread though.

Cornbread

Despite the lackluster sides, I’d still go back to M&M’s for the main courses, especially because I didn’t get to try the short ribs.

INFORMATION
M&M Soul Food
5496 W Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90045 map
310.215.8186
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Momofuku – Fried Chicken
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

Loco Moco is a classic Hawaiian plate lunch offering that’s made up of hamburger patties smothered with gravy, topped with two eggs and served with rice and mac salad. If you’ve never seen it before, it looks like this:

Loco Moco (picture from Dakine’s BBQ in San Francisco)

We had dinner at Alan Wong’s Restaurant last week, and one of the menu items that jumped out at us was the “Mini Loco Moco” appetizer. The menu describes it as “mochi-crusted unagi meatloaf, sunny-side quail egg, wasabi kabayaki sauce,” and we just had to try it.

Alan Wong’s “Mini Loco Moco”

Breaking it down, the mochi crust takes the place of the rice, the unagi meatloaf is the hamburger, quail egg replaces the hen egg and the wasabi kabayaki sauce replaces the gravy. It’s a perfect way to bring the loco moco concept into a fine dining setting, and it was excellent.

On the other end of the spectrum is Beard Papa and their Loco Moco Puff. It’s part of the Japanese cream puff chain’s localized Hawaii menu that also includes Breakfast Puffs, Creme Brulee Puffs, eclairs and pita sandwiches. Beard Papa describes their Loco Moco Puff as “two slices of oven-baked meat loaf, a fresh egg, sunny side up, onion-mushroom gravy with a dash of furikake on our signature puff shell,” which is more straightforward than Alan Wong’s. Basically, it’s an open-faced sandwich with the puff serving as the bread.

Beard Papa’s Loco Moco Puff

The finished product looked good and tasted like loco moco, but the puff really didn’t contribute anything to the dish and would have been fine without it. What was a bit disturbing was watching them assemble it. Without a proper kitchen, all of the cooked elements were microwaved right in front of us, and even then, I’m still not sure how they cooked the egg properly. I guess if you were on the run, this might be decent alternative, but I’d still rather have an Egg McMuffin.

Nothing could ever replace the traditional preparation of loco moco, especially since I love the side benefit of mixing the warm gravy with the cold mac salad. However, I always like to see if classic dishes can be modernized or deconstructed without diluting its essence. While Alan Wong’s radical take on loco moco might look foreign to traditionalists, the end result was delicious, refined, and reminded me of the original.

Possibly Related Posts:

• A Pie for Mikey…and Moses
• Six Hours in Boston
• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Ted’s Bakery – Sunset Beach, HI

When a hole-in-the-wall place like Helena’s Hawaiian Foods wins a James Beard award for outstanding American regional cuisine, you know there’s something special going on over there. In Helena’s case, it’s definitely the pipikaula short ribs and as many of you know, I’m a freak for short ribs. Pipikaula is a Hawaiian version of beef jerky, but this is the first time I’ve seen it made with short ribs. They’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and even better if you dip it in the chili pepper water that comes on the side.

Here’s a rundown of the rest of our order, which included familiar Hawaiian standards:

• kalua pork – good but could have been smokier
• squid luau – squid content was low but the flavors were spot on. My wife’s friend said this was just like the squid luau she grew up eating.
• lomi salmon – not normally a fan, but I actually liked Helena’s.
• chicken long rice – strong ginger flavor, which I liked, but it masks the chicken.
• beef stew – solid
• fried butterfish collar – rich and fatty…excellent.
• poi – Nice purple color, but we don’t like poi. Our friend and her two-year-old daughter loved it, though.
• haupia – the pipikaula had me in their trance and I forgot to have some! :( My wife liked it and said it was smooth and not watery like some haupias.

Helena’s is an a weird location for out-of-town visitors, but if you can make it over there, the pipikaula short ribs are definitely worth a try. Plus, everyone there is super nice, and they’ll make you feel at home.

INFORMATION
Helena’s Hawaiian Foods
1240 N. School Street
Honolulu, HI 96817 map
808.845.8044

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Ted’s Bakery – Sunset Beach, HI
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

The thing I love most about Ad Hoc is that you never eat the same meal twice, and this was no exception. I’ve noticed from looking at the menus that they’re coming up with some really interesting first courses that deviate from the traditional soup or salad paradigm.

As I was getting out of my car, I ran into Nessim, one of Ad Hoc’s lead servers, and he asked me if I wanted to meet Claire Clark, the former French Laundry pastry chef who’s spending time at Ad Hoc making desserts before going back to the U.K. This was an unexpected treat since we were there specifically to try her dessert course. I also reconnected with Chef de Cuisine Dave Cruz, and he was kind enough to send over an additional course to our table in between the first and second courses.

The crab cakes were outstanding. They were fresh and free of any flour “filler”—just crab with seasoned panko to hold it together. It was served with some nice fingerlings in remoulade and some avocados cooked sous vide, which made them even creamier.

The lamb was local and less gamey than the Colorado lambs that Ad Hoc sometimes gets, which I liked. It was served with fennel gratin and Borlotti bean ragout that the entire staff was raving about, and it easily outshined the lamb although it was a tad salty for me. My wife, who loves salty foods, had no complaints.

The cheese course featured toasted almonds, cheese from three different animals (goat, sheep, and cow) and was served with a really nice bitter orange jam.

The red velvet cupcakes were smaller than a typical Ad Hoc dessert, but when they’re this pretty, does it really matter? Technically, this was a great cupcake. It was dense (by design), and the texture reminded me of pound cake . The white chocolate and cream cheese frosting had just the right amount of sweetness and the Valrhona chocolate pearls added some crunch to it. However, I’m coming to the realization that I just don’t like red velvet cake. I think my eyes see red cake and expect something bold, but the flavor is always much more subdued.

Or maybe I just don’t get it and that means there’s more red velvet cake in the world for the rest of you. :)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

Chris Blue, the owner/operator of Chocolatier Blue in Berkeley, CA, is a lucky guy—he’s young, talented, and passionate about his work. By combining fresh, mostly local ingredients with the world’s best chocolate, Chris has created line of chocolate truffles with bold yet balanced flavors.

Chocolatier Blue’s truffle assortment.

A stint as chocolatier at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago taught Chris that you have to use the best ingredients to make the best product, and this ethos is reflected in every chocolate truffle he creates.

To start, Chris is the only chocolatier in America that’s allowed to make chocolate confections using Amedei chocolate from Tuscany, which is considered to be the world’s best chocolate. Amedei’s chocolate is unique because they get all their beans come from the famed Venezuelan region of Chuao, which has an ideal microclimate and an age-old tradition of harvesting cacao. Amedei has complete control over the chocolate from bean to bar, and they developed their own processing techniques that maximize the bean’s delicate flavor. Amedei is also one the most ethical chocolate companies in the world, negotiating directly with farmers, ensuring workers rights, and paying them above fair trade standards. For a good overview of how Amedei does business, see this article.

(Amedei’s story is intriguing to say the least, especially when one if its main driving forces is a personal vendetta against French chocolate maker Valhrona, who refused to sell chocolate to Amedei founders Alessandro and Cecilia Tessieri because “Italy wasn’t evolved enough to appreciate such ordinary chocolate.” The Tessieri’s took it as a “personal slight, a national insult, a call to arms” and declared war on Valhrona. Seriously…read the article).

The $14 Chocolate Bar.

We ended up ordering a 15-piece box with one of every flavor they had on hand: apple cider, pumpkin, peppermint, pistachio, chili, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, caramel, passion fruit caramel, egg nog, espresso, and palet d’or. There were 14 flavors total, so we got two palet d’ors to fill the extra space. Each one of these truffles needs to be savored, but since my wife and I were splitting them and only had half a truffle each, we made sure to take the time to enjoy every second that they were in our mouths. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the palet d’or, caramel, espresso, lemon, peppermint and lime truffles were definite standouts. There’s a detailed list of Chocolatier Blue’s current offerings on their Web site.

Truffles on display.

We originally went into the store to buy a box of truffles as a present for a friend who was in town, and ended up staying for nearly an hour talking to Chris about his career, chocolate, and the chocolate business. He offered us some chocolate samples and even gave us a taste of some of new flavors he was developing. The more Chris talked about chocolate, the more I started picking things up off the shelves to buy. Our finally tally was over $80 for two 15-count gift boxes of truffles, a couple packs of Amedei tasting squares, a little bag of the best peanut brittle I’ve ever had, a bag of gianduia (hazelnut) truffles, a $14 bar of Amedei Chuao 70% bittersweet chocolate that was unbelievably smooth with a fruity finish, and a perfect cup of cinnamon chili hot chocolate (the secret? a little sea salt).

Overall, we came away impressed with Chris’s commitment to his craft. He makes all the truffles himself in the store’s open kitchen and doesn’t have any other employees as a way to control quality and reduce overhead, which keeps prices down—his truffles are a bargain at $1.50 each. One of the reasons Chris set up shop in Berkeley was because the rent was much lower than more high-profile locations in San Francisco, like the Ferry Building (although I’d love to see him go head to head with Michael Recchiuti).

It’s pretty obvious that we’ll be going back, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner…

INFORMATION
Chocolatier Blue
1964 University Ave
Berkeley, CA 94701 map
510.705.8800
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50

I was bombarded with ads for Pizza Hut’s new line of all-natural pizzas while watching football last Sunday, and while I scoffed at the concept of an all-natural pizza from Pizza Hut, by halftime of the Eagles/Giants game, I was really hungry and curious enough to go online and order one. It was the first delivery pizza I’ve ordered in years, and honestly, I thought it would be an interesting post. :)

The new pizzas are part of Pizza Hut’s transition to using all-natural ingredients across their entire menu. Here’s some details from Chain Leader magazine:

Pizza Hut’s new ingredients include all-natural sauce from vine-ripened tomatoes with no high-fructose corn syrup; all-natural pepperoni with no artificial preservatives, no nitrites or nitrates added; all-natural Italian sausage with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives; and 100% real beef with no fillers. Pizza Hut customers will notice the company’s commitment to real taste with a new signature red Pizza Hut pizza box made from 40% recycled materials that will debut across the country today.

All that marketing speak sounds great, but was the pizza good?

I ordered the Natural Rustica Pizza, which featured marinated vine-ripened tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and sliced Rustica Sausage. The toppings were surprisingly good, esp. the tomatoes and peppers. The sausage was okay, but I thought it would have been more “rustica” if it was crumbled sausage instead of sliced sausage.

The weakness of this pizza is the multi-grain crust, which I found kinda spongy. You can see how it sort of resembles the original Pizza Hut crust, but since it’s not fried in oil (which isn’t the point of this pizza anyway), it’s not crunchy and not nearly as tasty. The crust did improve with time as it was pretty good cold out of the fridge since it firmed up a bit. I also heated up a slice in the toaster oven to crisp up the crust and this was definitely the best way to enjoy this pizza.

I’m not a regular Pizza Hut customer and generally shun all forms of delivery pizza, but the reality is that Pizza Hut feeds a lot of people around the world and should be applauded for adopting this all-natural philosophy. I sincerely hope it succeeds and encourages other chain restaurants to follow suit.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50

My parents’ wedding anniversary is two days after Christmas, and in the last few years, we’ve started taking them to restaurants that normally aren’t on their radar. Last year, we took them to Osteria Mozza, and this year, after reading my French Laundry post, my mom said she wanted to experience something like that. Granted, it’s impossible to find something comparable to The French Laundry in Southern California, but L.A. is no slouch when it comes to great restaurants. I ended up choosing Providence because of its seafood-centric menu and more affordable five-course tasting option, but two Michelin stars didn’t hurt either.

Two Michelin Stars in Los Angeles.

My first exposure to Providence and Chef Michael Cimarusti was on the second season of After Hours with Daniel Boulud, the MOJO HD show where Boulud throws after hours dinners at prominent restaurants. Season two was set in LA, and admittedly, it was hard to keep track of which one-word restaurant was which. As I rewatched the episode on Hulu.com, I instantly remembered Providence while watching the episode where a lobster attacks a piece of Kobe beef. You can watch the episode in its entirety at Hulu.com.

One of the first things we noticed about the tasting menu was that the dessert course featured a kalamansi gelée. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that kalamansi is the citrus of choice in the Philippines, especially in one of my favorite dishes, bistek tagalog. My parents were especially excited to see this versatile Filipino citrus featured in a fine-dining setting. For us, it was the second time in a month we’ve seen Filipino ingredients on a high-end tasting menu. (The first was the Ilocano salt and Pili nuts at The French Laundry.) So while the rest of the tasting menu looked fabulous on paper, we already had our eyes on dessert.

We started with an inventive amuse bouche trio.

Amuse Bouche Trio
From left: Gin and Tonic Gelée with Lime Zest and Tonic Powder, Mojito Raviolo,
Celery Root Soup and Black Truffle Syrup

The Gin and Tonic Gelée had a little tonic powder on it that started fizzing once you squeezed the juice from a lime wedge on top so that when you put it in your mouth, it replicated the carbonation of the tonic water, while the gelée supplied the gin. The best way to describe the Mojito Raviolo is that it’s a mojito shot in a bubble. When you put it in your mouth, it bursts with all the flavor of a good mojito. The third amuse was a mug-shaped shot glass filled with celery root soup on top of black truffle syrup. Since the soup was lighter than the syrup, it took up the top half of the mug. You drink this like you would a shot of liquor so that the soup and syrup combine into a tasty mix of temperatures and viscosity.

Before we got to the tasting menu, we ordered another appetizer, just because it sounded good.

Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin
Soy Créme Fraîche, Crispy Soba, Mache, Black Truffle.

The Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin was served with soy créme fraîche, crispy soba, mache, black truffle. This dish sounded interesting because of the contrast in textures between the tuna and sea urchin, as well as the addition of the crispy soba. It was delicious.

The first course of the tasting was Japanese Kanpachi with Satsuma tangerines, black olives and Piquillo Peppers. The combination of all the little elements of this dish were excellent together, but the Satsumas were especially impressive on their own.

Japanese Kanpachi
Satsuma Tangerines, Black Olives and Piquillo Peppers.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops were perfect and served with a subtle truffle vinaigrette, Juilet tomatoes, and frisée.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops
Truffle Vinaigrette, Juilet Tomatoes, Frisée

The Norwegian halibut was the last fish course in the tasting menu and another perfect dish. It was served with fried burdock, which my wife wasn’t a fan of because it’s too woody, but I thought it was pretty good. The lemon butter sauce and shiso foam were great complements to the halibut.

Halibut
Burdock, Shiso, Lemon

My parents and wife enjoyed their Veal Tenderloins served with chanterelle mushrooms, Weiser Farmers torpedo onion, celery root purée.

Tenderloin of Veal
Chanterelle Mushrooms, Weiser Farmers Torpedo Onion, Celery Root Purée

Earlier in the evening, our waiter told me about the $50 Kobe ribeye supplement for the tasting menu, and I jumped at the opportunity. It was served tableside by Providence owner and General Manager Donato Poto.

Kobe ribeye prepared tableside.

The Kobe ribeye was cooked medium rare, had a nice salty crust and literally melted in my mouth. I liked the pieces of veal I got to try, but was even happier that I did upgraded to the Kobe. Plus, I got to share it with the table, so everyone got to try it. It was served with porcini mushrooms, pomme fondante, and spring onions…

Japanese Wagyu Rib-Eye (Kagoshima, Japan)
Porcini Mushrooms, Pomme Fondante, Spring Onions

…and a really nice bacon parmesan risotto.

Providence is also the home of cutting-edge desserts, and pastry chef Adrian Vasquez is one of the best in the business. In fact, you can go to Providence strictly for their dessert tasting menu, which we are planning on trying on a future visit. The kalamansi gelée was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The kalamansi flavor was instantly recognizable and the texture was a perfect complement to the litchi-shiso sorbet and the tapioca balls in the white chocolate coconut soy milk soup.

Kalamansi Gelée
White Chocolate Coconut Soy Milk Soup, Litchi-Shiso Sorbet

Our tasting service had ended, but the kalamansi gelée was so good that my wife and I looked at each other and knew we wanted to try some more desserts. She ordered the pumpkin “pie” and I ordered the “cheesecake.” Both of these desserts were “deconstructed” and while they tasted really good, the platings were a bit fussy.

Pumpkin “Pie”
Curry Ice Cream, Pecan Streusel

The beignets in the “cheesecake” were really good.

“Cheesecake”
Passion Fruit, Guava Sorbet, Beignets.

Providence is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, and it’s hard to argue with that assertion. My parents had a good time, and my mom was glad to have had the experience. It’s definitely a place I want to return, but I think our next visit will be for the dessert tasting menu. If you’re looking for a world-class restaurant with fresh, modern cuisine, Providence should be at or near the top of your list.

INFORMATION
Providence
5955 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038 map
323.460.4170
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09

It’s pretty obvious from the content of this site that I’m a big fan of Thomas Keller, and up until this week, we had enjoyed every level of the Keller empire (Ad Hoc, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and cookbooks) except for his crown jewel—The French Laundry.

Despite all the cooking and eating that I chronicle on this blog, I hardly see myself as an authority on food. If anything, I have a lot to learn about food, especially on the higher end of the spectrum, so each dining experience is an opportunity to glean some knowledge about what I’m eating and how it was prepared. This made my approach to this meal simple—trust the chef and enjoy the experience.

There’s a sign in The French Laundry kitchen that reads:

fi-nesse (fə-ˈnes) noun: Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution or artisanship.

This describes the entire French Laundry experience perfectly, and it’s reflected in everything at occurs once you walk in the door. The restaurant itself was warm and inviting, especially since it was around 40F when we arrived in Yountville, and maitre d’ Larry Nadeau made us feel right at home. The staff was friendly and professional without being snooty, and our server, Guillaume, guided us through every stage of the meal.

You gotta love the clothespin.

Larry came by our table after we were seated and offered us some champagne. My wife doesn’t drink and I wasn’t planning on drinking either, so we politely refused. He came back a few minutes later and said he wanted us “to start our meal with something bubbly” and presented us with a bottle Sonoma Sparkler Organic Apple Cider. We’re big fans of Sonoma Sparkler, so Larry poured us a pair of flutes, and my wife and I toasted her upcoming birthday, Christmas, and probably our next anniversary. :)

The French Laundry’s tasting menus epitomize the perfect marriage of food, art, and technology. Some might find the technological aspects of food preparation to be sterile or cold, but modern advances in cooking that enhance or improve the end product fascinate me. My wife and I decided beforehand that we would order from separate tasting menus. I had the Chef’s Tasting Menu and she had the Tasting of Vegetables, so the pictures and descriptions that follow will crossover between the two.

(It should be noted that though Keller was in town and on the premises, Chef de Cuisine Corey Lee is in charge of the kitchen’s day-to-day activities. It says a lot about Lee’s skills when an obsessive perfectionist like Thomas Keller is willing to give him control of his flagship restaurant.)

Amuse-Bouche

Every meal starts with the same two amuse-bouches. First were the mini Gruyére Gougéres (cheese puffs) that are light as air and disappear once you pop them in your mouth.

Gruyére Gougéres
Light as air.

The cornets that arrived next are one of French Laundry signatures and are his play on an ice cream cone. I received the classic salmon tartare cornet and my wife’s was vegetable-based, but we can’t remember what was in it. We both loved our respective cornets, and were also equally impressed with the delicate tuile cone.

Cornets
Keller loves the whimsy.

Before our starter courses arrived, Guillaume asked us if we wanted to something to drink aside from water. My wife had been nursing a cough and requested green tea as I mulled over my non-alcoholic options. I decided not to inquire about a non-alcoholic pairing because I really didn’t want to drink that much soda. I settled on a GuS Dry Crimson Grape soda that wasn’t overly sweet like the artificially flavored grape indulgences I normally crave (i.e. Crush, Jolly Rancher, Dimetapp), and it complemented the food nicely.

Starter Courses

The first course on the Chef’s Tasting Menu is the iconic “Oysters and Pearls.” This is another whimsical Thomas Keller classic that featured a Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar. This was my first time eating caviar and I can’t think of a better way to be introduced to it. On its own, the caviar was nice and had a subtle briny flavor to it. But when eaten with the oysters and the sabayon, you understand why this has been on the menu for years.

“Oysters and Pearls”
“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

The Vegetable tasting menu started with Compressed Fuji Apples. If you’re wondering how apples are compressed, they are simply placed in a plastic bag and sealed in a chamber vacuum to a specific pressure in order to compress and change the texture of the fruit.

Compressed Fuji Apples
Cauliflower, Red Radish and Mint “Aigre-Doux.”

Instead of the salad, I opted for the Moulard Duck “Foie Gras en Terrine” supplement. I’m not a big foie gras fanatic, but I’ve never had it in this form, so I had to give it a try. The terrine was smooth and rich and was the consistency of butter…duck liver butter. It was served with a thick slice of perfect brioche toast that’s replaced as your eating to ensure that you always have a warm piece of bread. In fact, my initial serving of toast was replaced before I had a chance to try it because I was too busy taking this picture:

Moulard Duck “Foie Gras En Terrine”
Yukon Gold Potato Confit, Vidalia Onion Relish,
Black Winter Truffle, and French Prune Purée

The terrine was unsalted, so it was served with three different salts. The most meaningful one to me was an Ilocano salt from the Philippines. You read that right…The Philippines is officially represented at The French Laundry! The other two salts were a grey French sea salt from Brittany and a pink Jurassic salt from Montana that’s estimated to be around 40 million years old. I thought the terrine was great on its own, but it was interesting to try it with different seasonings, as well as sample the salts on their own. Of the three, I preferred the Ilocano salt because it was a lot milder than the other two; the Jurassic salt was incredibly strong.

Salt Three Ways
Clockwise from top left, Philippine, French, and Jurassic.

My wife’s second course was a lovely K&J Orchard Chestnut Soup that was smooth and delicious. A perfect winter soup.

K&J Orchard Chestnut Soup
Persimmon Relish and Black Truffle Coulis.

I closed out the first third of my meal by choosing the Sautéed Fillet of Japanese Suzuki over the Tartare of Pacific Kanpachi. I loved the crispy skin and the gastrique complemented the fish nicely.

Sautéed Fillet of Japanese Suzuki
Parsnip, Asian Pear, Sicilian Pistachio, Arugula and Piment d’Espelette Gastrique

My wife’s third course was Roasted Belgian Endive. Those little yellow balls on the plate are bananas.

Roasted Belgian Endive
Cashews, Gros Michel Bananas, Cilantro and Black Tea-Curry Gastrique

As we moved into the middle courses of our meal, I had finished my grape soda, and Guillaume asked me if I wanted another. After a brief discussion, we agreed that a Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer would pair nicely with the heavier dishes that were forthcoming.

Middle Courses

My first middle course was the Caesar Salad. This might sound pedestrian for The French Laundry, but not when you discover that the centerpiece of this Caesar salad was a butter-poached Maine lobster tail served with caramelized heart of romaine lettuce, sweet garlic melba, and freshly shaved bottarga di muggine for the salty kick anchovies normally provide. After the terrine, this was probably the richest dish of the night.

“Caesar Salad”
Maine Lobster Tail “Pochée au Beurre Doux” with Caramelized Heart of Romaine Lettuce,
Sweet Garlic “Melba” and “Bottarga di Muggine”

The next vegetable course was Grilled Matsutake Mushrooms. I’m not really into matsutakes, but my wife liked this dish a lot, especially the satsuma mandarins.

Grilled Matsutake Mushrooms
Satsuma Mandarins, Pickled Pearl Onions, Turnips, Mizuna and Pine Nut Purée

Next, I chose the Confit de Coer de Veau (veal heart) over the “Augillette” of Liberty Farm Pekin Duck because…well, when was I ever going to eat veal heart ever again? The heart was shaved into thin slices and reminded me of a really good pastrami that would go great in a sandwich with sauerkraut and mustard. I would definitely order this again.

Confit de Coer de Veau
Flowering Quince, K & J Orchard Chestnuts, Brussels Sprouts and Honey-Clove Sauce

My wife’s Chickpea Croquette was really good but seriously, this might be the most expensive falafel on the planet.

Chickpea “Croquette”
Sweet Peppers, English Cucumbers, Sesame Seed Yogurt and Eggplant Confit

The Snake River Farms “Calotte de Boeuf Grilée” was the ribeye cap cooked sous vide to a perfect medium rare and then barely grilled to produce an extremely succulent piece of meat. It was so good that I almost dropped my fork when I put this in my mouth. This was my favorite dish of the night, and now I’m thinking of the making a version of it for Christmas dinner.

Snake River Farms “Calotte de Boeuf Grilée”
Bluefoot Mushrooms, French Laundry Garden Tokyo Turnips, Pea Tendrils and “Sauce Japonaise”

My wife’s butternut squash tortellini nearly matched the richness of the beef. The butternut squash confit was extremely smooth and the whole tortellini melted in my mouth on contact.

Butternut Squash “Tortellini”
Pomegranate Kernels, Butternut Squash Confit and Brown Butter Emulsion

Cheese Course

I never really paid attention to cheese until I started eating at Ad Hoc, where the third course of every dinner there is a cheese course. I’ve been able to try a wide variety of cheeses since then.

I had a cow’s milk cheese from Adante Dairy called “Cadence” that was served with Swiss Chard, Medjool Date and Hobbs� Bacon. I like the combination of all the elements on the plate but was most fascinated by how they made the bacon so flat, thin and crispy. Guillaume told us the bacon was baked between sheets of paper and with a weight on top to keep the bacon flat.

Adante Dairy “Cadence”
Swiss Chard, Medjool Date and Hobbs Bacon.

My wife’s cheese course was a Tomme Brulée, a sheep’s milk cheese made in France.

“Tomme Brulée”
Globe Artichoke, Cipollini Onion, Frisée Lettuce and San Marzano Tomato Compote

By the time we hit dessert, we were both really full, but I was feeling it more because my dishes were much heavier than my wife’s. I think my tie came off at this point.

Dessert Course

My first dessert was the Napa Valley Feijoa Sorbet with Caramelized Banana Cake and Toasted Pili Nuts (Pili nuts are also from the Philippines! Hat tip: Theda and my mom). Feijoa is a pineapple guava fruit and the sorbet went nicely with the banana cake.

Napa Valley Feijoa Sorbet Caramelized Banana Cake and Toasted Pili Nuts.

I’m not a big fan of pistachios, but my wife loved her Pistachio Ice Cream.

Pistachio Ice Cream
Whipped Mascarpone and Pistachio Biscotti.

My second dessert was the Jivara-Caramel Roulade, a delicate chocolate-caramel mousse that’s rolled in chocolate shavings. It’s so soft and light, and I have no idea how they get this to keep its tubular shape. It was served with a creamy pumpkin sherbet, pumpkin “croutons” and chocolate shavings.

Jivara-Caramel “Roulade”
Musquée de Provence Sherbet, Pumpkin Crouton and Chocolate “Dentelle”

My wife had Sweet Rice Beignets, which were dense and chewy, but the pear-wasabi sorbet sounded intimidating. When you put in your mouth, you could feel the wasabi’s intense heat rising dangerously to the forefront, but it quickly subsided and finished smooth with a mild heat.

Sweet Rice Beignets
Asian Pear-Wasabi Sorbet, Caramelized Ginger, Medjool Dates and Pear “Sabayon”

Coffee and Doughnuts are another French Laundry signature, but they aren’t on the menu. I saw them being delivered to the other tables in the dining room and asked Guillaume about their availability just before the cheese course. He came back a couple minutes later and said that the doughnuts were proofing and that he would bring them out after our dessert courses.

I love how this dish is plated, and it’s a perfect and playful dessert. A warm brioche doughnut hole is placed in the hole of the doughnut below it to create a sort of doughnut nipple. The coffee is actually a cappuccino mousse topped with foam and served in a demitasse.

“Coffee and Doughnuts”
Warm Brioche Doughnuts Rolled in Cinnamon and Sugar with a Cappuccino Semifreddo

“Mignardises”

Dessert put us both over the top and we were hurting (in a good way). When Guillaume, arrived with an assortment of candies, we just looked at them and pondered our next move. We ended up having a couple pieces and had the rest packed up to take home.

Assorted Candies

The Damage

The hand-written bill arrives on a laundry tag, another novel way to follow through on the theme. Since we didn’t drink any wine, the damage was kept to a minimum. :) Service is included, but we added a little extra on top.

Before we left into the night, Guillaume presented us with a copy of our menus along with some shortbread cookies to take home. The cookies were great for breakfast the next morning.

TFL Shortbread Cookies

I really wanted to ask about a kitchen tour, but my wife was really tired and still had work to finish, and she wanted to go home. I’ve been making her feel guilty about this ever since. I guess we’ll have to come back in the spring or summer. :-)

When we first arrived, I had my copy of Keller’s new sous-vide cookbook “Under Pressure” in tow and asked Larry if it was possible to get him to sign it. Larry wasn’t sure if Keller would be around, but he would do his best. As we were leaving, he said that Thomas wasn’t around but there were some already-signed copies on hand and swapped books with me.

“It’s all about time and temperature”—Thomas Keller

Final Thoughts

Dinner at The French Laundry isn’t an ordinary meal and shouldn’t be viewed in that context. It’s a culinary event that’s magnified in significance because it’s considered one of the world’s best restaurants and is owned by Thomas Keller, one of the world’s great chefs. When you factor in the degree of difficulty required to get a reservation and the price per person, expectations are set extraordinarily high, and many people would consider anything less than perfection to be a major failure.

For me, dining at The French Laundry is an incredible privilege, a luxury I never thought I’d be able to enjoy or afford. I hesitate to use superlatives like “best meal ever” because every meal needs to be put in its proper context. I can say with complete confidence that dinner at The French Laundry is the most decadent culinary experience I’ve ever had.

Once in a lifetime? Not if I can help it.

INFORMATION
The French Laundry
6640 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599 map
707.944.2380

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)