The food keeps getting better and better. I'm becoming a fan of Chef Charlie Parker.
We had the whole menu. Many of the dishes we had had before though the names sound the same they are all tweaked a bit. The chicharrones had an added bit of flavoring. The oyster stew was very creamy (the one item where I prefered the prior version).
Standouts:
Wild Greens Panisse
Braised leeks - though it was different this time with an added bit of cheese
Short Rib
Squid dish with smoked lentils - my favorite of the night
Sardines
Desserts were not as impressive as on previous visits. Cheesecake in a jar was not nuanced and not up to our previous visits. Chocolate parfait dessert was just o.k. Plating of the gingerbread cake dish was odd and though the flavors went well together it was a bit of a pain to put it all together in one bite as everything was strewn about -- kudos for the mini merenge batons.
Showing posts with label PLM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PLM. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Holiday Eating
Plum - Dinner at Plum and we ordered the whole menu again. It's getting better and better. I can't think of any misses. Highlights were the: Wild Greens Panisse, Leeks in Vinaigrette, Braised Cauliflower, Oyster and Potato Stew. Desserts took a while to come and were good under the new pastry chef, though the parfait was cold and a bit stiffer than before. The chocolate creme was delicious but not as impressive as the parfait and cheesecake.
Chez Panisse Cafe - Lunch at Chez Panisse Cafe - loved it and they happened to be doing a menu inspired by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, a sign of a place with great class! Loved everything: black sea bass cotechino, beets with romesco cauliflower, squid, fried oysters (tender and perfectly fried), hand cut pasta with mushroom ragu. Grace likes the cafe more than the dinners she's had downstairs. Though I've had limited experience with dinner downstairs, I agree that I prefer the cafe.
Mission Chinese Food - Each time I go there are new items on the menu and the other dishes evolve. Standouts: rice porridge - a play on a westlake soup, deep flavor in the porridge itself, then topped off with bits of beef crab and other goodies, Taiwanese eggplant is indeed one of the best versions I've tried, Hainan Chicken Rice really clean flavors and delicious. Liked the salt and pepper crawfish but am a bit too lazy to have to pick out the meat. The lamb soup reminded me of niou rou men. On the cold appetizers, the tofu was nice.
Champa Garden - a lunch near J&A's place. A great meal. Standouts were the fried fish dish with the gravy, the crispy rice in the appetizer platter, I loved the lao sausage in the app platter too. Nice Larb and Noodles. So good.
Koi Palace - duck dinner, lobster yi-men and a lemongrass beef dish. W wanted the beef dish, it was full of umami though I probably wouldn't get it again. A nice version of lobster yi-men though the lobster meat was not a sweet as I expected. The peking duck was good as was the soup. I thought the noodles with duck was ok, others said it was very ducky. Overall a decent dinner though probably just on par with the food at New Canton in Sacramento. Next time the Shanghai Style Crab two ways.
Chez Panisse Cafe - Lunch at Chez Panisse Cafe - loved it and they happened to be doing a menu inspired by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, a sign of a place with great class! Loved everything: black sea bass cotechino, beets with romesco cauliflower, squid, fried oysters (tender and perfectly fried), hand cut pasta with mushroom ragu. Grace likes the cafe more than the dinners she's had downstairs. Though I've had limited experience with dinner downstairs, I agree that I prefer the cafe.
Mission Chinese Food - Each time I go there are new items on the menu and the other dishes evolve. Standouts: rice porridge - a play on a westlake soup, deep flavor in the porridge itself, then topped off with bits of beef crab and other goodies, Taiwanese eggplant is indeed one of the best versions I've tried, Hainan Chicken Rice really clean flavors and delicious. Liked the salt and pepper crawfish but am a bit too lazy to have to pick out the meat. The lamb soup reminded me of niou rou men. On the cold appetizers, the tofu was nice.
Champa Garden - a lunch near J&A's place. A great meal. Standouts were the fried fish dish with the gravy, the crispy rice in the appetizer platter, I loved the lao sausage in the app platter too. Nice Larb and Noodles. So good.
Koi Palace - duck dinner, lobster yi-men and a lemongrass beef dish. W wanted the beef dish, it was full of umami though I probably wouldn't get it again. A nice version of lobster yi-men though the lobster meat was not a sweet as I expected. The peking duck was good as was the soup. I thought the noodles with duck was ok, others said it was very ducky. Overall a decent dinner though probably just on par with the food at New Canton in Sacramento. Next time the Shanghai Style Crab two ways.
Friday, December 3, 2010
PLUM ***'
A very nice dinner at Plum in honor of J&A's birthdays. We tried most of the menu and were impressed. Starting with the snacks, I liked the crunchy texture of the "chicharrones" a nice way to start the meal though it could've used some acid or other seasoning, though I couldn't stop eating them for the enjoyable crunch. Among the vegetable based dishes, the potatoes with lardo and arugula was the standout, the lardo very thin and just melted away on top of the potatoes. I also loved the burger which was a loosely formed patty made of short rib type beef caramelized on the surface and a soft texture as I bit into it -- deep beef flavor from the meat and the caramelized beef exterior. A smear of slightly tangy and peppery horseradish mayo brought the whole thing together. I knew I'd be back for this one.
12/3/2010
Stopped by for lunch on the way back from Fremont. Burger good as I remembered. Mac n Cheese fries mostly noodle, not much cheese flavor. Other items look promising.
12/3/2010
Stopped by for lunch on the way back from Fremont. Burger good as I remembered. Mac n Cheese fries mostly noodle, not much cheese flavor. Other items look promising.
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