Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Tonight's menu:
No pictures allowed so here are recollections. Everything is made in house.
1. The chips were all vegetable chips -- matted carrot shreds, beet, spinach, potato, one or two more -- plus a couple pork cracklins. A simple sour cream dip was provided.
2. Two spoonfuls. The oyster is small, cold, and briny. It was the only thing my dinner partner (my boss) didn't like. It is a good match with the pine nut ice cream. (Gee, that must be expensive to make.) The mushroom gelee was pretty neutral.
3. Alas, the chawanmushi was the dullest of the dishes. It is a smooth eggy custard but nothing particularly ducky stood forth, nor did the roe assert itself much, either. Perhaps it is simply too Japanese for me. The shiitake were quite assertive, however.
4. Risotto of sunflower seeds, decorated with miso-marinated sunchoke and sunflower sprouts. I love the flavors but I'm not convinced about the texture. It's an interesting riff on risotto since the seed kernels are rather sturdy compared to rice, but I'm not sure it's more than an experiment.
5. Spanish mackerel charred by resting a hot coal upon it, instead of the former on a grill over the latter. Interesting textures as each piece offers charred and chewy on one end and sushi on the other. The sauce tasted more of parsley oil than miso or citrus. Excellent dish.
6. My favorite: briny and green to the palate, the pasta is al dente and savory in the salty yuzu-scented sauce. The scallops were smoked, roasted, dried, and crumbled and looked more like breadcrumbs than bottarga but added wonderful flavor throughout the dish.
7. Grilled hamachi with a layer of cured lardo laid across the top. My mouth kept going back and forth between fish and pig. The cashew butter was good by itself but didn't seem interested in the meat. I have to admire all the work with nut flavors on this menu.
8. Grass-fed strip steak, grilled rare, with a crust of mixed powdered umami-ish things... mushrooms, herbs, flowers. As you might expect, the fattier the piece, the better it was. The eggplant component is a vegetable paste mixed with cocoa - which works!
9. How can you not like lemony panna cotta?
10. Chocolate ganache piped from a pastry tube, served with roasted kelp ice cream and orange-matcha meringue. The delicate meringue was a nice offset to the rich chocolate; the vaguely molasses-y ice cream seemed faint by comparison.
11. The house shtick: fancy cookie jars. I saw Charlie Brown, Ernie (of Bert and Ernie), and we got Homer Simpson. In his head were raspberry and chocolate sandwich cookies. Good.
For drinks we accepted the champagne starter, but declined the pairings. Instead, I ordered Broc 2014 Valdiguie which was lightweight, moderately dark but delicate for all that, shapely acidity, very yum and went well with almost everything. It also got me noticed: the general manager came over to chat with us about our selection (it's one of his favorites).
Worth the high ticket? Yes. I have more fun with a Journeyman dinner but this set of dishes is intellectual and carefully considered. I'd try it again.
1. The chips were all vegetable chips -- matted carrot shreds, beet, spinach, potato, one or two more -- plus a couple pork cracklins. A simple sour cream dip was provided.
2. Two spoonfuls. The oyster is small, cold, and briny. It was the only thing my dinner partner (my boss) didn't like. It is a good match with the pine nut ice cream. (Gee, that must be expensive to make.) The mushroom gelee was pretty neutral.
3. Alas, the chawanmushi was the dullest of the dishes. It is a smooth eggy custard but nothing particularly ducky stood forth, nor did the roe assert itself much, either. Perhaps it is simply too Japanese for me. The shiitake were quite assertive, however.
4. Risotto of sunflower seeds, decorated with miso-marinated sunchoke and sunflower sprouts. I love the flavors but I'm not convinced about the texture. It's an interesting riff on risotto since the seed kernels are rather sturdy compared to rice, but I'm not sure it's more than an experiment.
5. Spanish mackerel charred by resting a hot coal upon it, instead of the former on a grill over the latter. Interesting textures as each piece offers charred and chewy on one end and sushi on the other. The sauce tasted more of parsley oil than miso or citrus. Excellent dish.
6. My favorite: briny and green to the palate, the pasta is al dente and savory in the salty yuzu-scented sauce. The scallops were smoked, roasted, dried, and crumbled and looked more like breadcrumbs than bottarga but added wonderful flavor throughout the dish.
7. Grilled hamachi with a layer of cured lardo laid across the top. My mouth kept going back and forth between fish and pig. The cashew butter was good by itself but didn't seem interested in the meat. I have to admire all the work with nut flavors on this menu.
8. Grass-fed strip steak, grilled rare, with a crust of mixed powdered umami-ish things... mushrooms, herbs, flowers. As you might expect, the fattier the piece, the better it was. The eggplant component is a vegetable paste mixed with cocoa - which works!
9. How can you not like lemony panna cotta?
10. Chocolate ganache piped from a pastry tube, served with roasted kelp ice cream and orange-matcha meringue. The delicate meringue was a nice offset to the rich chocolate; the vaguely molasses-y ice cream seemed faint by comparison.
11. The house shtick: fancy cookie jars. I saw Charlie Brown, Ernie (of Bert and Ernie), and we got Homer Simpson. In his head were raspberry and chocolate sandwich cookies. Good.
For drinks we accepted the champagne starter, but declined the pairings. Instead, I ordered Broc 2014 Valdiguie which was lightweight, moderately dark but delicate for all that, shapely acidity, very yum and went well with almost everything. It also got me noticed: the general manager came over to chat with us about our selection (it's one of his favorites).
Worth the high ticket? Yes. I have more fun with a Journeyman dinner but this set of dishes is intellectual and carefully considered. I'd try it again.
