Summer was coming to an end and this meal gave it an honorable send off. Every dish was a winner – composed and balanced – and the meal really hit the perfect note for me. There was a restraint and subtlety, despite what appears to be a large number of ingredients, in both individual courses and the arc of the entire menu. One could argue that Fox’s focus on just cooking vegetables is allowing him to focus and hone his creativity. The food, like Noma (Copenhagen), has the surprise of the new without (solely) relying on molecular tricks – as Fox uses his “seed to stalk” aesthetic with vegetables many have not heard of in preparations no one has thought of.

San Francisco can have its endless clones of each other – house-made salumi / organic salad / sustainable protein (none of those adjectives a guarantee for quality) – Ubuntu, in Napa, is exciting to me.

The full menu is listed below with pictures. Items in CAPS are from Ubuntu’s own garden. Chef Fox knew I was eating. I was happy.

“summer hints at autums”
SHISO ice, TOMATO, fall THINNINGS, ‘mutau’ APPLE

Ubuntu, almost by definition, is about seasonality and place. After spending the day racing around Napa, working on a top secret project, during a 101-degree day, a series of refreshing starters helped us ease into the meal. The shiso ice was the obvious cooler but its mintiness further helped stimulate and refresh the taste buds, more so than a basil ice might have, despite the mind thinking tomato/green/basil. The tomato water was sufficiently acidic with just enough apple to give it a touch of tartness too.

RADISH and RATTAIL
creme fraiche with nori, HONG VIT, black salt

Crisp Hong Vit radishes, eat the whole thing, just as you would at the other great restaurants. The nori creme fraiche was quite tasty, giving it an (expected) umami quality. (The trainspotters might note an interesting link to and/or cross-pollination of ideas shared by Fox and James Syabout (Commis) as the latter had a carrot / seaweed dish around the same time.) It is hard to get the perfect proportion of the black, slightly smoky, salt on the radish, but when you do…

‘moon and stars’ melon
preserved rind, ‘mexican sour’ GHERKIN, whipped coconut

The sweetness of this dish was daring at this point in the meal but this instantly claimed a spot atop my Ubuntu favorites. If Ubuntu had the obsession with quotes and irony of the nearby The French Laundry, it may have been called “Fruit de Mer.” The sweet and sour interplay, both near the extremes, pushed and pulled inside the mouth, oscillating between each. The textural interplay between the rind, gherkin, and whipped coconut (and leaves) had a satisfying give. It was remarkably sweet, potentially turning off some diners, but I appreciated the fact that an overly sweet dish does not have to be relegated to the dessert section; it fell in place nicely, the tanginess of the gherkin still providing a refreshing respite from the (hot) day.

a simple ‘black zebra’ TOMATO
BASILS, goat ricotta, LION’S RUN “saba”

This dish was popular, every table seemingly ordering it, and I had hoped we would receive it on the tasting menu – we did but it was my least favorite of the night (that is, of course, relative.) The saba gave the tomato an umami quality as it had soaked into the skinless red tomato; but it seemed a touch heavy after the much lighter previous dishes.

CELTUCE with pine nut and soy milk
‘kadota’ FIG pulp, VERBENA, tiny TURNIPS

‘gem’ avocado and ‘purple haze’ CARROTS
crispy OCA, ‘poha’ BERRY, pickled ‘eisley wax’ CHILI

A distant (taller) cousin of guacamole, the textural components of this dish (mushy avocado, crisp poha berry leaves and oca, crunchy carrots) provided an interesting composition when chewing. The gooseberry and pickled chili gave it a tart kick, replacing the traditional role of lime.

‘forono’ BEETS and BEETBERRY
red quinoa, charred STRAWBERRY, hazelnut

I thought the original six-to-seven interpretations of beet dishes from the Spring were Tanguy-inspired, but there is some Miro in the shapes and color. Nonetheless, the original beet dishes were great examples of exploring an ingredient’s different components (root, leaf, etc) and its personality with different preparations. If that dish was exploratory, this version might be the resulting masterpiece, ranking on par with the masterful pea dish. There are many variables complementing each other in this dish, texturally and tastefully. The beetberries gave it a wonderful tang and provided the right counterpoint to the (beet) quinoa and hazelnut (dirt.) This was a 3-star conception executed at a 3-star level – exciting stuff!

young COURGETTES
pickled ‘delfino’ CORIANDER, vadouvan

A further example of exploring an ingredient with a few preparations – zucchini with vadouvan – and nearly masterful – the Manresa years really show through on this – restraint. This was a progressive contrast from the richness of the beets – strong flavors but light ingredients and small portions – and showed that a menu can weave instead of following a linear path towards heaviness and submission.

CAPSICUM and po delta black rice broth
summer SUCCULENTS, our sevillano olive

Ulterior Epicure has posted a formula for tasting menus that would be funny, if it were not so tragically true. Readers of this blog probably know of my distaste for the “big punch” at the end – the large slab of protein – much preferring a “soft landing.” It could be a function of the ingredients (although Ubuntu has forced me to submit in the past) but this dish provided a sufficiently savory, but soft, end to the meal. The roasted pepper jus/black rice broth was beautiful – refined.

SUNFLOWER ‘barley’ and hearts
arbuckle grits, ‘polka’ CORN, green TOMATO jam

BASIL parfait, silverado strawberries roasted gently, VERBANA meringue, lime granite

Often, “dessert time” at restaurants is almost a binary opposite of the savory portion of the menu, with nary a reference to the meal. Desserts at Ubuntu continue the trajectory of the meal, despite clearly being sweet. The basil parfait and lime granite helped refresh the palate, while potentially referencing the initial dish, and continuing the story. The flavors were crisp and bright.

cornbread pain perdu with BLACKBERRIES
frog hollow peaches, HONEY ice cream, kettle corn

Texture (kettle corn), taste (honey), and temperature (peaches) – this is accomplished. In particular, Deannie Fox’s ice creams are always a (wonderful) surprise.

This review gushes a bit too much but this meal was one of my favorites of the year, eclipsing my previous Ubuntu meals in the Spring. (As I write this review, I have just finished another Ubuntu meal – it may have been even better – how about brioche and mushroom creme brulee? The review may take awhile to publish, considering there are a few Japan posts to come.)

- chuck

1 – Note that this reviewed meal is absolutely two-star quality but the Michelin man has to start somewhere. I do feel their SF ratings are pretty accurate on the 2- and 3-star levels – Michael Mina never deserved two stars; Meadwood is a daring choice that I agree with; and San Francisco proper’s “fancy” restaurants (La Folie, Gary Danko, Fleur de Lys, & Dining Room) are nothing more than 1-star restaurants in fancy digs.

It is a great pleasure to see Manresa alumni infiltrating the (figurative and geographical) edges of the “Chez Panisse mafia” Bay Area dining scene.³ Ubuntu (Napa) has blasted through any traditional notion of “vegetarian cuisine” and is propping itself up as one of the most creative restaurants in the country. Commis (Oakland) recently received a lukewarm review from the big bad local restaurant critic, the main criticisms being price and “cooking only for himself, not for the customer.” After one meal, I would argue that Chef James Syhabout’s problem is in trying to appease the Alice Waters acolytes – the vision is not personal enough!⁴

Comments like that also mark an interesting delineation between this blog and other critics/reviewers – this blog does not aim to review average meals. There are many blogs and people trying to fulfill such roles, conforming to rigorous (and probably unnecessary) codes of ethics, and eschewing any sort of relationship with a restaurant or chef, for fear it will taint their “objective” experience. This blog wants to explore and experience the opposite – the impassioned chef cooking his own personal vision of cuisine – cooking as art.

This was a meal from July 30th. FILO – first in (5:30), last out (11:00) – the pictures that turned out are below (sans captions.) The most remarkable dish was the uni. This prehistoric monster (it measured 8-9 inches) was plucked from the Oregon ocean earlier in the day, still alive minutes before being plated. And it was remarkably – unimaginably – impossibly fresh – possibly the best I’ve ever had.

The full menu read:
petit fours “red pepper black olive”
Lavendar lemonade, spearmint
Corn croquettes
Tomato soup, barely cooked, coriander ice

Brillat savarin and buckwheat, caviar from Iran
Foie gras, gently roasted, “reine claude” with amaranth
Sea bream with green tomato, oil “occhipinti”, shellfish
Young squash shoots and beans in bonito butter, toasted seeds
Chaud-froid of sea urchin, golden raspberry, saffron, cocoa…
Into the vegetable garden
Spot prawns, peaches perfumed with basil and walnut, peach leaf granite
Pumpkin veloute “potimarron”, nasturtium with country ham jelly (benton)
Kokotxas with morels, sweet garlic
Celtuce with chevril, onion, and marrow tears
Wood pigeon with arugula and cepes

Cheeses

Confit of figs “desert king”, perfumed with wild fennel, olive oil ice cream
Assorted plums, both raw & roasted, goat’s milk fromage blanc
Chocolate cupcake
Petit fours “strawberry-chocolate”

You can watch David Kinch on Eric Ripert’s TV show Avec Eric online – it is a solid ten minute feature going over the cuisine, the garden, and a few dishes that have been reviewed here. It is not a ground-breaking video but it helps fill in some blanks for those that have never tried the food.

I am a broken record, spinning endlessly around, repeating the same phrase – “go now.” Get the tasting menu, open your mind, and enjoy a future vision of American cuisine.

(For those that have read this far, I leave for Tokyo in two days – Sawada, Mitzutani, RyuGin, Koju, Sushiso Masa, 7chome Kyobashi, Waketokyuyama, and more. Yum.)

- chuck

1 – Of course, we are talking about the garden.

2 – noma, The Sportsman, Mugaritz, L’Arpege, Michel Bras, McCrady’s, Elements (review forthcoming), and more. The Flemish Primitives, or New Naturals, staged what looked like a great example of this general style a few weeks ago (where was my invitation?)

3 – Ubuntu (Napa), Commis (Oakland), and (possibly) Bonny Doon (Santa Cruz.) Getting technical and nerdy about hope – in complex systems, it is the edges, points of lesser interest, where systemic failures begin and shockwave through the system, dismantling entrenched players. I can dream of a day when a new restaurant opens in San Francisco that does not reference “Italian”, “pizza”, or “market cuisine.” (Do we really need another Delfina or Zuni variation? Why, with umpteen-million pizza places opening, can none rise above and cook something as brilliant as Kesté?)

4 – My meal at Commis was over-priced but my main complaint was that the menu had a jarring schism – exciting appetizers (salad of young carrots with seaweed) and big boring proteins for entrees. I think Syhabout’s food, and potential, would be better showcased by a six to eight course tasting menu where he would have more chances to offer a more cohesive point of view. I will, of course, return, in hopes of experiencing his full potential.

Carrots (from the garden)

In these days of “locavore this” and “head to tail that”, The Sportsman occupies a near-impossible spot at these (arguably) ecological and ethical intersections. The restaurant sources most, if not all, of its food from its immediate area. But it does not stop there- almost everything is made in-house, going to such extremes as boiling the backyard sea for its salt, which is then used to cure a leg of ham (which wallowed in the meadows across the road.) And every effort is made to use everything, letting little go to waste, feeding said pig with the scraps from the restaurant. It is a sustainable operation with a burgeoning garden in back. The food and ethos remind me of Eigensinn Farm (near Toronto), but the execution at The Sportsman was markedly better on this visit.

Stephen Harris has some Howard Roark inside of him,¹ competing with his inner Michel Bras and Rene Redzepi’s, pursuing his own vision of what it means to own and operate a restaurant emblematic of Seasalter and its history. His commitment to a philosophy, a story about time and place, gives the food meaning.² It is an appreciation, and wonder, of the environment and its possibilities that makes the food delicious. And it is Stephen’s (and head chef Dan Flavell’s) skill and (obvious) obsessiveness that ensure the meal has few, if any, missteps.

This is a lunch from late June. The tasting menu was arranged in advance and I was “known” but I doubt that matters. In fact, the food being served to other tables off of the a la carte menu looked better.³ Felix Hirsch, A Summer of Innocence (sadly, the summer and/or innocence is over), and A Girl Has to Eat had similar meals. The Ulterior Epicure and Food Snob, the anti-Twitter, had a winter meal for comparison’s sake. What you will read, here and there, is uniform praise.

Oyster with home-made chorizio

Pork scratchings

Pickled Herring

The trio of amuses were a strong introduction to the restaurant and its terroir – the land and sea. The oyster’s purity captured the salty and refreshing sea breeze outside. The house-made chorizio’s spiciness provided a familiar partner to the oyster but it also proved to be an interesting contrast in textures and saltiness. The pork scratchings were guilty pleasures – quite crunchy on the outside which gave way to a melting fatty center. The pictured serving is not enough for gluttons. The pickled herring were as good as any in Denmark, bright with a sufficient sour twang. Apple jelly and soda bread accompanied the herring but I preferred it (my fish) solo.

Bread (Soda bread, focaccia, and sourdough), home-churned butter and Seasalter sea salt

Butter and bread, taken for granted at most restaurants by most customers, is rarely treated with the same reverence as the remainder of the meal. When this butter was delivered, its color promised The Sportsman would be different. It had a sweet robustness, a very rich and creamy texture in the mouth, and a nice pinch of salt (from the ocean outside.) There are probably hundreds of great butters throughout the world, particularly across the English Channel in Brittany, but this was among the best I have tried. The breads were as strong as any line-up I can remember, my preference being the slightly sweet soda bread, everyone else the focaccia. The danger here is, of course, eating too much before the meal truly begins.

Rockpool

Stephen delivered this dish and said it was influenced by Manresa’s tidal pool. It is interesting to note the connection, as Manresa has been forging a path similar to The Sportsman. Their styles are different but the underlying theories are similar. The Manresa version is as salty as the sea, whereas this tended toward the herbacious (and somewhat sweet if i recall correctly.) Lemon verbana and fresh-picked herbs from the nearby sea gave it dimension. A fish stock made of the brill (to be served later) was used. It is interesting to see different chefs tackle a similar concept; and it does make one clamor for Stephen to do a Michel Bras inspired salad or a L’Arpege type egg.

Baked oyster with gooseberry granite

Crab risotto

If it was not clear that The Sportsman is influenced by the sea, the crab risotto drives the point home with an intense iodine and crab essence. The rice is purposely overcooked, though I did not find its texture overly mushy, to add to the overall creaminess. If this is available, it should be ordered, and savored.

Seasalter Ham cured in December 2007

The Sportsman cares about its food, which was evidently clear from the previous dishes. It goes beyond attention to detail or deliciousness; this was food made with love (yes, that sounds cheesy; and, if you know me, you’ll rarely hear me talk like that!) It should not have been surprising, then, when the ham came out. But reading the synopsis of the ham (the first picture above, a larger size is here if needed) was one of the greatest moments in my restaurant-eating experiences. Here is a guy, as obsessive as they come, taking it to the next level.

While it may not equal a 36-month aged jamon iberico (my main experience with quality hams), it held its own and that is what matters. We need more high-quality local alternatives around the world. The fat coated the mouth while the intensity of the meat lingered. It had a nice sweetness, probably attributable to the pig’s excellent diet.

Brill braised in vin jaune with smoked pork

A pristine fish, obviously line caught, delivered by the morning fishermen. You can taste the sea in a fresh fish, something one will never know shopping at Whole Foods. When fish is this fresh, I am careful not to taint its pristineness with other elements from the plate, a rare case of not trusting the chef. The pork was good by itself, and it infused the fish with its smokiness, but I could not bring myself to eat them together (that perfect fish!) for the duration of the dish. The vin jaune, however, was exemplary and worthy – creamy and balanced – while remaining impossibly light. This fish died, and cooked, with dignity, avoiding the sacrilegious treatment it would have suffered in the pans of most chefs.⁴

Fried lamb belly

Roast rack of Monkshill farm lamb and braised shoulder

The fried lamb belly was tasty but it felt a little clumsy when compared to the rest of the meal. The braised shoulder would probably do it for most but the texture of braised meats, unless smothered in BBQ sauce or found in a tagine, has never done it for me. The roast lamb, however, was, yet again, exemplary. A very nice piece of meat cooked exactly right – nothing more, nothing less – and, yet, so hard to find.

Elderflower posset

Elderflowers – Fried and Lolly dipped in cake milk

Light and still creamy, the posset was a nice transition dessert that had a strong vanilla flavor. Fried items at The Sportsman, judging from other blog posts, can be variable but I thought the fried elderflower was well done, if even inadvertently. The batter may have been thick but its lattice work had a wonderful texture in the mouth. Cake milk, while quite sweet, was satisfactory on quite a few levels – viscosity and memorial.

Rhubarb sorbet

Tart and refreshing, a great finish to an excellent meal. The rhubarb’s tartness was augmented by the surprise inside (which will remain so) – highly unexpected but completely complementary.

Mignardises

It is an improbable restaurant serving an enchanting meal. It is a vision that requires an obsessiveness over every facet of the meal and it is admirable that a restaurant producing everything themselves can deliver so consistently. The details matter and they were rarely overlooked. The Sportsman has one Michelin star but it delivers a solidly two-star experience, if not three at times.

It was within that critical framework that I could say that The Sportsman, on a trip that included noma and Geranium, was my favorite meal of the week. And right up there for the year. And that it gives me a reason to make a connecting flight through London on subsequent European adventures. It is the type of place Anthony Bourdain will visit next year for his show. A myth in the making.

- chuck

1 – The politics of The Fountainhead are controversial but this is meant as the highest complement, a person pursuing his own vision.

2 – You’ve heard this story before here – it’s a common thread that runs through restaurants as different as Manresa, Ubuntu, L’Arpege, Michel Bras, noma, and much Japanese cuisine.

3 – I don’t know about the lodging options in the area, nor of things to do during the day, but my next visit will include a dinner / lunch, back to back, once ordering a tasting menu, and the other a la carte. The renditions of English staples such as Shepherd’s Pie looked remarkable.

4 – If anything, I am not being dramatic enough!

Unfortunately, the tasting menu was not a coherent arc – it skipped, jumped, and spurted – careful and focused dishes were followed by the sloppy and/or mundane. It never got into a rhythm, instead hopping from one dish to the next. Some dishes had a unified coherence while others felt rushed or typical. It had the potential to absolutely wow – to deliver a series of revelations not felt since my Pierre Gagnaire or El Poblet meals. But the menu ultimately felt like an exhibition of styles and techniques, instead of a story, or a work of art (to use a controversial term.)

Snacks

The restaurant closed a week after this meal so the entire review could be a moot point. However, if Chefs Søren Ledet and Rasmus Kofoed are allowed similar ambition at their next venture, I would repeat, based on the grand potential. Thanks to the long summer days in Copenhagen, and the gorgeous windowed room (perhaps my favorite dining room anywhere), the pictures for this dinner came out relatively well. I must thank Trine again for putting the restaurant on the blog map with her wonderful reviews.¹

Apple & Geranium

Echoing the white room², the meal began with this small amuse of apple gelee and geranium egg white. A geranium perfume was sprayed tableside to augment the flavors. The apple sang with its crisp acidity but it was somewhat tamed by the geranium’s flowery balance. This one small dish captured the highlights of the meal – crisp flavors and minimalist restraint – a microcosm for what might have been.

Greenland Prawns – Dill & Cucumber

Dainty and feminine, presented in a style that perhaps fulfills many haute cuisine and Nordic design cliches, this was a dish that reached a balance and precision worthy of a high 3-star level. There is nothing new – shrimp and dill are common partners – but the purity and strength of the flavors were deserving of an epiphany. It was, quite simply, near perfect.

Bread

Smoke, Ember, & Ashes

Smoke, Ember, & Ashes was a self-proclaimed signature, a reference to the fire outside in the cooling evening, but the dish did not achieve the El Poblet-like immersion effect. A pot of ashes was placed on the table and the lazy trails of smoke billowed over the table. Obviously, smell and taste are intertwined, but these infuse-with-smell dishes rarely deliver on their promise. In this case, the visual landscape was more dramatic than the smell. I could not discern the “ash” but the texture interplay between it, the roe, and radish was interesting, but not completely convincing. It was a good dish and perhaps it only suffered because of my attempts to compare it to El Poblet; I could see this being more effective on a cooler night.

(Incidentally, while the dish was beautiful, there is a certain sense of irony in depicting what appears to be a mound of rubble. Daniel Patterson, of Coi in San Francisco, had a similar, yet more severe, dish entitled Salad for the Apocalypse, Roots, Leek Ash, Weeds. Could someone create do a Salt the Earth dish?! Maybe an entire Atrocities tasting menu? Let me know – I’m game – my sense of humor knows few bounds.)

Scallops & Beetroot – Smoked Fresh Cheese & Horseradish

If I could waive a wand, and eliminate one trick from the modern’s cook repertoire, the infatuation with unnaturally textured agar agar films would be a distant memory. The texture did not fit into such a ‘natural’ dish – its slight rubberiness actually foiled the texture of the fresh raw scallop. It is perhaps a rare miscalculation of association by the duo – why recall bad examples of rubbery seafood? I wonder how a gelee would have performed instead? It is no doubt a personal taste but I fail to see what chefs find in this device – what does it add? (Many restaurants use it in their dishes but L2O in Chicago was another egregious example where it did not fit with the food.)

Without the film, despite the difficulty in separating the ingredients, the dish followed in the minimalist vein and offered some interesting flavors and textures. The range of textures, excluding the film, a near linear progression from the thin slices of beetroot through to the smoked cheese, was satisfying. The sweetness of the two ingredients played off each other while the film provided some counterpoint. The light smokiness of the cheese, an unusual pairing with seafood, gently perfumed each bite.

New Potatoes – Pea Sprouts, Lovage, & Pickled Elderberries

A very well done triptych on potatoes. The dish is a bit more rustic in nature, recalling noma or Ubuntu for me, but potatoes are generally more of a comfort food for most anyways. The textural interplay between the three different preparations, while precise, also recalled mashed potatoes and french fries. The peas, and weeds, gave it a freshness and lightness, becoming of the season.

Aromatic Leafs – Monkfish, Pickled Cauliflower & Mussels

A decently, though not perfectly, cooked piece of fish that felt a bit heavy and bland compared to the dishes it was bookcased between. The ingredients were fine on their own but failed to come together as well as other dishes. If this was served at an ordinary restaurant, it would be great; but the promises at Geranium should be held to a greater standard.

The King’s Herbgarden

The apex of the meal – an incredible focus on precision where every piece mattered. This was as profound as Michel Bras’s Gargouillou; and while it clearly pays homage³, it stands apart as its own bold statement. The herbs, with their varying qualities, and different textures, sang quite brightly. Every bite was different, yet each bite contributed to the whole. The consomme pulled it together with a nice saltiness. Absolutely stunning.

Mushrooms

This dish was another exploration into a single ingredient but it was muddled. The brown cylinders were an agar agar mushroom jelly and their texture was actually more vile than their taste. Similar to the seafood example, at best, the mushroom jelly felt like nature’s worst mushroom – the texture and resulting taste just did not compute. At Moto or El Bulli, this discrepancy could be their sole raison d’etre but Geranium was (presumably) not testing the psychological boundaries of cuisine.

Asparagus & Lamb – Fried Sweetbread, Ramson, & Green Strawberries

This dish was a sudden wallop that could not be defused by the acidic green strawberries. In a limited tasting menu, there is not as much resolution to ‘ease’ into the meat but this course felt like it was trying to make ground for three or four meat courses. It is a personal preference – I do not like the big bang at the end⁴ – but this seemed like overkill by almost any standard. The lamb itself was quite delicious with a clear gamey taste missing in much of American lamb. The ramson and green strawberries, acquired tastes that I am still coming to terms with, were great as foils to their overly rich plate mates. The sweetbreads were unnecessary.

Carrots – Elderflower Vinegar & White Chocolate

Sorrel & Sweet Woodruff – Forrest Illusions

Dessert time on this blog often leads to frustration for some readers. There is no reason to buck a trend – this was a great dessert (Sorry, I don’t recall the specifics, except that it had a nice cool calming effect, appropriate for the end of the meal.)

Geranium did not establish a clear arc with the meal – the composition of dishes did not always show the restraint of the highlights during the meal. Was it a case of Chefs Søren Ledet and Rasmus Kofoed still developing a style? There is no arguing that dishes like The King’s Herbgarden and Greenland Prawns – Dill & Cucumber were as refined, focused, and moving as anything one would find in France or Japan – high 3-star territory. This is the style of Geranium, and fine dining, that I ultimately prefer – a reduction to the essentials – where every ingredient, and bite, matters. And while the review might read negative at times, it was an enjoyable meal (that I would recommend if they were still open.) The only disappointment was that it could have been one of the best meals ever.⁵

- chuck

1- These reviews also deserve a big thank you:
The Wandering Epicures
Food & Thoughts
Gastros on Tour

2- Are there any KLF fans reading?

3 – Yes, you could just as easily say it pays homage to Mugaritz (Errenteria, Spain)

4 – Unless we’re talking musicals – then I’m all for it the bellowing!

5 – And, yes, I realize it is easier to criticize than create.

Smoked quail egg

Noma’s star has risen quite high over the past two years with its naturalistic take on fine dining. The restaurant’s influence has spread rapidly – mixing El Bulli’s modern, and under-appreciated democratic, principles with Michel Bras’s “one with nature” approach. Redzepi has taken the L’Arpege “I’ll grow my own vegetables” philosophy a few steps further by sending out on a team of foragers to comb the Nordic countrysides for ingredients.² It is a model that will prove influential but not necessarily imitated – there aren’t many (populated) places on Earth that can still yield an abundance of wild and foraged ingredients (though I suspect what populated areas might yield would surprise me.)

Question: Can you just give us a flavour of the type of ingredients you are using?

Rene Redzepi: …. We have a landmass here with only about 25 million people living in it, so there’s a lot of wilderness and it’s virtually untouched. There are a lot of wild plants – 50 to 60 common wild herbs, flowers and leaves, and about 60 types of wild berries – so we try to experiment with using them.

from: http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/05/08/320700/an-interview-with-nomas-ren-redzepi-chef-conference-2008.html

Not only is anything edible a potential ingredient, an ingredient’s ingredients are also fair game – oils, saps, leaves, and flowers. It is this exploration into largely overlooked by-products, flavors, and textures that link restaurants like noma, Manresa, The Sportsman, and Ubuntu together into conceptual cousins.³ This naturalist approach can be challenging to our notions of both “food”and “fine dining.” Industrial food production has limited the concept of edible food to a handful of plants, meats, and liquids while fancy restaurants have focused on a small subset of “luxury” ingredients. The dishes and ingredients served at noma will find limited overlap with either; but the skill employed to learn, coax, and balance such flavors in these restaurants is unquestionably haute.

This was a weekday lunch that Trine at verygoodfood was gracious enough to set up. She is (obviously) a frequent visitor to noma so she is quite friendly with the staff. This meal lasted six hours, enough time for the sunny weather to turn into a dramatic downpour. The lighting was great for picture-taking but note-taking was turned off – not every dish will have a detailed description. To say it was one of the greatest restaurant experiences would be an understatement – the staff at noma are very proud of what they are doing – and that enthusiasm and dedication might be the ultimate secret ingredient in the food.

Rye bread, chicken skin, lump fish roe and smoked cheese

Radish, soil and herbs

An introduction to the philosophy of the restaurant – eat nature, all of it – the “soil”, root, stems, & greens. With one dish, the restaurant’s vision and philosophy is simply stated.

Toast, herbs, turbot roe and vinegar

Squid and green strawberry, cream and dill

The squid, surprisingly tender for being raw, was cut into small cubes and drizzled with the cream. This was a delicate pairing that showcased the power of a simple herb, while the sweet cream luxuriously seeped into each bite. The acidity of the green strawberry, a flavor profile Redzepi must be particularly fond of, served as a foil but its strength was a challenge to my sense of balance. The elegance of the squid/cream/dill pairing was among the hallmarks of this trip.

Bread with lard

Shrimp, seaweed, rhubarb, and herbs

A tempered version of the squid dish – the Danish shrimp were sweeter and the rhubarb less abrasive – the ingredients sang together in harmony – herbaceous, acidic, and sweet. If you look closely, you can see the outline of a small shrimp under the seaweed, just behind the first cube of rhubarb.

Tartar and wood sorrel, juniper, tarragon

The iconic noma dish – a masterful balance of flavors. The wood sorrel, with its lemony brightness, is a perfect foil for the beef. Interestingly, this was served at the end of the Manresa dinner when a 48-day aged ox was used. This beef had a far milder taste, as it probably was not aged as long. Eating the dish with one’s hand, while a simple and common practice, helps further connect one with the food and the environment. This recipe is quite the hit in Denmark as I had a larger version for lunch the next day – at a different restaurant.

Razor clams and parsley, dill and mussel juice, horseradish snow

Aka the giant slug stuck in the sewage pipe. The clams, like the squid and shrimp before it, were of extraordinary quality but this dish employed a few molecular gastronomy techniques I dislike – unnatural agar agar textures and snow. The texture of the parsley jelly was a bit too congealed and disrupted the clam’s texture. The snow was too cold and obstructed the full taste of the clam. The clam in the mussel juice, with some horseradish incorporated sans snow, would have been an excellent continuation of the seafood motif – the concept was strong and its presentation resonated with the natural influences of the restaurant.

Fresh cheese, Axel berry shoots, watercress

The axel berry shoots exemplifies the noma ‘everything should be considered as an ingredient’ approach and the rewards that come from such risks. What probably does not even make it to most kitchens was one of the most amazing things I have tasted in my life. The leaves, when bitten, secreted an almond-like oil that covered the mouth, much like olive oil. It was a sensational effect that unfortunately over-shadowed my concern for the rest of the dish.

Langostine and söl

As good as many dishes were, this langostine, a perfect specimen if there ever was one, stole the noma show. Barely cooked, plump and sweet, born and bred just for me, this langostine could only be eaten by itself – it was too perfect. The presentation was equally beautiful, harkening back to more primitive times. (One is supposed to pick up the langostine with one’s fingers and wipe it across the stone and into the oyster sauce.)

Asparagus and woodruff, Shoots of fiddlehead, hops and bull rush

A great egg, from a chicken eating whatever they please, particularly during Spring, has many herb-like undertones. The greens in this dish, by themselves, were quite strong and high strung but the herbaceous egg yolk calmed and unified them. This is one of those “you can eat that?” dishes, resembling a forest floor more than haute cuisine.

Ashes and leeks, Mussels and king crab

Turbot and vegetable stems, pickled elderflower berries

Lobster and saladroot, hip rose and currant wine

Marrow and pickled vegetables

A nice respite from the never-ending food parade – a great way to cleanse the palate and pep up. The marrow obviously provided counterpoint, although there were some quite large pieces hiding in there. I have become addicted to pickled vegetables since my Kyoto visit and this dish makes me wonder how wonderful noma might be during the Winter.

Musk ox and milk skin, new young garlic and ramson onion

Birch juice and birch syrup, spanish chervil and honey

Beet and garden sorrel, crème fraiche and pickled hip roses

Walnut powder and ice cream, dried cream and dried berries

It is a restaurant that can be enjoyed with a single visit but it will, assuming Redzepi continues his development, reward the frequent visitor even more as the seasons speak. Different seasons are sure to bring a wide variety of tastes – it is a cuisine connected directly to the whims, fancies, and randomness of the Earth. Then consider that winter will bring a variety of preservation techniques (smoked, dried, pickled.) It is a restaurant whose excitement is hard to contain – from the enthusiastic staff and their obvious delight and commitment to the restaurant’s ideals to the endless possibilities with the philosophy they’ve chosen. It may require one to re-calibrate their conception of fine dining but the potential exists for the meal to change paradigms around those same concepts.

The totality of Redzepi’s cuisine could be ten years down the line as he fully exploits the bounty of his land. When one considers the diversity of ingredients to choose from, and explore over time, the sheer potential for range and nuance of flavor is staggering. And considering that it is already highly influential within its own region,⁴ the potential for the region’s restaurants to deliver innovative cuisine over many years makes Denmark a food destination whose stock may only rise. Spain revolutionized fine dining but its innovations can be applied anywhere; whereas, the unique ingredients that noma cooks with can only be found in Denmark.

I would like to go back – tomorrow.

- chuck

1 – One of the great benefits to running a cult fine dining blog includes making friends with fellow bloggers.

2 – This could very well be Marc Veyrat from the pictures I’ve seen but, having never eaten there, I am not certain.

3 – Yes, there are certainly others but I do not know if I’ve eaten at them.

4 – It is a classic case of Schumpeter’s creative destructionism – rather than improving on the status quo, completely reinvent the market. Here, Rene Redzepi eschewed olive oil, heavy cream-based dishes, and foie gras for local foraged products; and turned his philosophy into a source of regional pride. Creative economics students with an interest in food could write a very interesting case study, or thesis, on noma. There could also be an interesting project in exploring the Nordic food cluster using Michael Porter’s theories on clusters – get some funding and report!

Raw Scottish lobster, killed seconds before serving

Sawa is more like a private club than restaurant, many of the customers fiercely loyal and oft-repeating. Yes, much of the clientele is wealthy and male – many of the conversations revolve around exotic cars and watches – that’s just the demographic of the place.¹ But more so than most places, customers build a rapport and relationship with Sawa, thanks to the intimacy of the restaurant.² It is a continuous journey through the seasons with Steve-san serving as your guide.³ The first-time visitor can be intimidated but if their love of food shows, which should be hard to suppress with fish this sensational, the fish club will be more than welcoming – we are there to eat.

The pictures below were from a five-hour meal last week, enjoyed with three friends (and a few more sitting at the bar – the place is like Cheers.) Not everything is pictured – only the photos that turned out. Note-taking mode was turned off – this is a post to keep your virtual appetite whetted while the Noma, Geranium, and The Sportsman posts write themselves. It was a sensational meal and it has been included in the A1 Best Meals category.⁴

- chuck

1 – If you listen closely at Masa, Urasawa, or Kuruma; you will hear the exact same conversations. If you are fortunate enough to visit Japan, and visit a top-tier sushi restaurant, the men having these conversations (most 45+) are also accompanied by 18yr old women with day-glow fingernails and glitter mascara; again, it’s just the demograhic.

2 – There are rarely more than 5-6 customers at any given time.

3 – I have been on this journey for 10 years now!

4 – A trend that will be repeated with upcoming posts.

vichyssoise chasseur (before pour)

Beginning with my first Ubuntu lunch, and running over what will likely be the next few months, the restaurants being reviewed all share a common loose thread. Manresa, Noma, Ubuntu, and The Sportsman are forging ahead with similar ideas of nature, locality, and fine dining. Others like Coi and McCrady’s are gravitating towards a similar approach. All of the chefs use “molecular” techniques but they have applied them toward expressing the food and season, understanding and exploring the underlying ingredients, instead of promoting a dinner theater. As mentioned in the Manresa post, in reference to Daniel Patterson’s “Carrots are the new Caviar“, a “fine dining” ingredient does not necessarily have to be “luxurious”; but, instead, it should merely allow a chef to fully express themselves.³ Chef Fox’s food is probably the most conceptual when it comes to vegetables (he has an advantage since that is his sole focus) but the pictures will tell the tale. A healthy respect for Michel Bras is served with each dish in each of these restaurants.

The notes for this meal were scarce; and the titles below are not official. At best, they will merely serve as teases that entice you to make a reservation now. The Bay Area bounty is still plentiful and, while some of the ingredients below have passed through their season, an upcoming lunch is mandatory (for me) to discover what new creations await.

carrot & nasturtium

the infamous pea dish (before consumme)

seven degrees of beets

carta da musica

radish stew

savory expression of orion fennel

grits

sweet expression of orion fennel

rhubarb float

- chuck

1 – Yes, Chef Fox knew I was coming.

2 – This reminds me of one of my current obsessions – Deadwood – and the George Hearst character, “Boy the Earth talks to” – though his talent is for discovering rare metals, not cooking. The writing, and acting, on this show eclipse my former favorite – The Wire – and, if you happen to run into me, and if I know you have any interest in literature, you will have to listen to me rave about the show and its greatness.

3 – People are often surprised that my idea of fine restaurants rarely coincides with theirs – theirs being the stereotypical notion of a “fine French restaurant” with heavy doses of cream, fat, diamond necklaces, and stuffy suits. Fish will always be my first love, my workout regime requires an ample dose of protein, but I have learned through my dining adventures that vegetables are often just as exciting.

Parmesan churro and crispy kale

The direction of the restaurant parallels a path described by Daniel Patterson’s (Coi, SF) eloquent “Carrots are the new Caviar”.² Over the past few years, the menu at Manresa has shifted from an international anything-goes-as-long-as-it’s-of-the-highest-quality approach to a far more local approach. The emphasis has been on re-interpretating fine dining with the ample bounty of the area, all in a bid to create a cuisine of “time and place”, as Kinch likes to say in interviews. This is what distinguishes Manresa from the Chez Panisse clones that permeate the area, and place it alongside Noma (Denmark) as part of a loose movement to advance a different approach to haute cuisine. Patterson states in his article that the fine dining trappings are “more important as cultural signifiers than as actual experiences.” The tremendous results Kinch has obtained from weaving Love Apple Farms garden’s bounty into the Manresa menu is proof that “ordinary” vegetables deserve to be showcased in a fine dining setting.

This was my birthday Manresa meal, last March. Not all of the pictures turned out. And, as in the past, the chef knew I was coming.

Seafood is what hooked me first at Manresa, thanks to both the impeccable quality and Kinch’s restrained preparations. The local bounty has limitations so Kinch sources fish from Japan, among other places. When local treats like Monterey Spot prawns or abalone are on the menu, they will often be among the best dishes. Nearly all chefs serve a crudo-type course, or two, these days but the results suffer from fish quality or heavy-handed Nobu-like recipes; at Manresa, there is often a minimalism at play where the flavors of the fish are lifted and complemented.

The Spring Tidal Pool seems to be a divisive dish among diners for its liberal use of salt. This could arguably be a case where art and concept might be sacrificed slightly to accommodate a wider range of tastes. Usually appearing around the 3/4 mark of the menu, I find that its salinity helps invigorate the taste buds for the upcoming cooked fish and/or meats. The dish also has emotional tugs for those who grew up near oceans and it provides a reflective moment before embarking on the last quarter of the journey.

Kin-medai, sashimi style, with olive oil and chives

Shellfish, a tapenade of toasted seaweed with yuzu-sea salt snow, buckwheat honey

Spot prawns, stewed onion, sorrel and corriander

A spring tidal pool

Sea bream, bone marrow and vegetable tears

The vegetables dishes are fresh, thanks to the garden, but it is the conceptual nature of the dishes that lift them into rarefied territory. Into the Vegetable Garden has quickly become an iconic dish in American fine dining, with variations at other restaurants. They all pay homage to Michel Bras’s infamous Gargouille – if you’ve never had that dish, it alone is worth the trip. Into the Vegetable Garden is a known surprise – it will appear on the tasting menu but, because of the season, its composition is unclear until it is served.

Cabbage and caviar

Into the vegetable garden…

Root vegetable risotto without rice

With each successive meal (anywhere), I grow more and more tired of that “big (meat) hit” at the end – rarely does it live up to the accomplishment of previous dishes. Manresa is not immune to my criticism here but the meat dishes are often better, in part to the superior sourcing.

On this night, to my utter disbelief, Suckling kid goat, curds, and whey was clearly the best dish of the night – astonishing. The goat, growing in popularity, was braised and there was textural magic between it and the curds and whey. The textures were similar but just slightly distinct – the stringy goat provided just slightly more bite than the stringy curds. The goat’s melting quality complemented the creaminess of the dish, with the curds providing just the right note of acidity to offset the richness.

Suckling kid goat, curds and whey

Spring lamb, slowly roasted with leeks, anchovy

The only thing left to say, after at least 15 meals, is “go” and “get the tasting menu.”

- chuck

1 – Pizza in San Francisco is pretty good, though not Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix) good. On some days, you can have an enjoyable pie at Delfina, Beretta, Pizetta 211, Gialina, Pizzeria Picco, San Marzano (Oakland), and more. My only gripe is that all of them are too inconsistent for their lofty reputations (and, often, waits.) I have not tried Flour+Water yet but the pictures look good.

2 – The two chefs are friends and I’d speculate there is a steady exchange of thoughts and ideas between the two.

Crisp Chickpea & Flowering ROSEMARY sphere – stuffed with romesco

I have made a habit of stopping in quarterly, though blog entries are less frequent, to check out new dishes. Last year, Julot: Ze Blog and I went and he proclaimed it one of the most exciting US restaurants he had visited on his trip. I agreed but it was not in my top tier – it had hints of greatness but often settled for casual comfort-type food. Subsequent meals saw the menu changing, creeping ever so upscale with each return visit, but still fractured between comfort and haute, stuck in a minor identity crisis.

And then there was this meal, pictured below ² – tight, cohesive, near pitch perfect – springtime Napa on a plate – a Michelin two-star meal in my book. (Ingredients in ALL CAPS come from Ubuntu’s bio-dynamic garden.)

Cool “forager’s chowder” – NETTLE ice and condimento, WOOD SORREL

A cool essence of nutty nettles – a great beginning to a sunny Friday afternoon in Napa. The ice did not dominate and null the taste buds as is common in dishes of this type; the “chowder” sufficiently blanketed the ice to prevent this.

Tiny D’Avignon Radishes – ‘goat’s leap’ hyku layered with nori, black salt

2X Shucked PEAS and GOLD SHOOTS in consomme of the shells – white chocolate, CHOCOLATE MINT, macadamia

A genuinely Michelin 3-star dish that is balanced, delicate, and sublime. The peas have a remarkable natural sweetness that is enhanced by further hints of sweetness, courtesy of the broth. From there, the salt from the macadamia kicks in before another round of creamy sweetness from the white chocolate. As the white chocolate taste rescinds, along with its slight coating, the chocolate mint has a quick bright burst at the end. This is accomplished, easily one of the best dishes in America, available for a remarkable $12 from the a la carte menu.

Six Degrees of FORONO BEETS – hazelnut “soil”, avocado, WATERCRESS, rhubarb pickle

How many ways can a beet be prepared? In one dish? The “dirt” is a favorite device of irony for chefs creating vegetable-centric dishes but this dish was not an imitation, or parody, of any other. Each bite was filled with similar, yet different and contrasting, flavors and textures of beet. In some bites, the flavors might be a touch muddied but this is a remarkable dish that could be on par with the peas with a bit more tinkering. Its appearance obviously takes nods from El Poblet or Noma, which often remind me of the strange landscapes found in Yves Tanguy paintings.

Carta da musica, Our crisp Sardinian Flatbread – topped with the SPRING GARDEN, truffled pecorino

The garden on a plate. Each bite, of mostly raw vegetables, was a medley of flavors and textures. While the pea dish was the best in composition, this dish showcases the freshness of the garden’s bounty. If one dish could change one’s view on nature and food, this might qualify. Can one can eat all of the weeds and flowers on this plate? The truffled pecorino was surprisingly aromatic and its truffle flavor lingered with each bite of the salad. A stunning dish that should not be missed in Spring.

Rosecoe’s Asparagus, Terrine of Black Trumpets & Brioche – “Virtual Egg” flavored with saffron, SYLVETTA ARUGULA, preserved lemon

“Blood Sausage” Slider – PURPLE VIENNA KOHLRABI stalk frites, violet mustard and CHARD STEM dripping sauce

This was the only mis-step of the meal and it showcases where my ideal of Ubuntu potentially differs from the restaurant’s vision. The previous dishes that celebrated vegetables and their essences are what elevate Ubuntu from “vegetarian restaurant” to a top-tier restaurant in America. Dishes, like this, meant to resemble meat dishes, bring the caliber of the food back down to “vegetarian restaurant.” The original mantra of the restaurant was “a celebration of vegetables, not vegetarianism” but the meat-facsimile dishes make the case for the latter instead of the former.

BORAGE Gnudi in Brown butter with flowering SAGE – preserved SHITAKE, meyer lemon, AGRETTI, and tender SEED PODS

Pane Frattau… An Interpretation of a Sardinian Classic – slow-scrambled egg, three FENNELS, three-day strawberry soffrito

The SPRING FLOWER POT – LAVENDAR custard, bee pollen crumble, rhubarb

The flow from savory to sweet was seamless, with the gorgeous presentation providing an exclamation point to the already easy-on-the-eyes lunch. The lavendar custard was not terribly sweet, which I appreciate, but the bee pollen crumble added sweetness and texture. The rhubard provided some acidity and counter-point to the copious amounts of lavendar greatness. The meal could not have ended on a better note – a perfect integration.

Mini Vegan CARROT cupcakes - “cream cheese” frosting, tiny candied PURPLE HAZE CARROTS

Some critics complain that the restaurant will never warrant multiple stars because it does not serve meat. It seems like an arbitrary distinction as to what constitutes good and great – one can have a three-star meal without, say, seafood (or vegetables for that matter.) There was no reason to serve meat in this meal; it was completely unnecessary in the progression of plates. What I do wish Chef Fox would do is focus more on vegetable dishes and their essence, as opposed to vegetable dishes that resemble meat dishes. There is great potential in a meal of this type where the tastes and textures greatly outnumber a more traditional meat-based tasting menu. This meal, which had such a quality, would rank high in the list of international meals available on that day. The bar has been raised considerably from last year and it will be interesting to see if the momentum continues throughout the remaining seasons.

Spring is the time to go; if you can not go now, my second lunch from a few weeks ago will be posted shortly.

- chuck

1 – Boring in the context of what Chef Fox is capable of creating. There are better pizzas out there; and there is better pasta. What there is not better are vegetable-centric dishes that push our traditional notions of taste and texture.

2 – Yes, the chef knew I was coming for lunch.

Two months removed from Tokyo, this was my first sushi, not pictured, on American soil since the trip.¹ It was comparable to the better sushi in Japan, falling just a notch below Sushiso Masa. The rice seemed warmer than usual², to the point that it sometimes warmed the fish. It is also clear that a full ten person bar might be too much for Hiro to handle, as sushi and dishes come at an uneven pace – six or eight has been a perfect-sized crowd in the past.

The prepared dishes, pictured throughout, were as elegant and delicate as usual. The hairy crab was my favorite, rivaling the tastes from Koju and Ryugin, but every dish was of a higher quality. The shabu shabu course can be a source of (silent) contention when they help cook it, as I generally prefer raw to cooked, so I immediately took the reins on that course. Hiro has also scaled back on the beef portions and dishes – which is unfortunate. The sperm sac risotto, covered by surprisingly aromatic truffles in the photo below, was a little too “creamy”, if you catch my drift.

As I’ve said before, ingredients rotate in and out of the dishes in an advanced choreography of tastes and textures. The crab began the meal in a bright cool salad, returning later cooked. Uni shines in the sashimi course, plays a support role in the middle of the meal, and then gets featured later as sushi. The ingredients come into focus and out; playing primary, secondary, and tertiary flavors throughout the meal. It gives the meal a tight cohesiveness and a sense of narrative – characters or themes running throughout – highlighting the season.

It is one of my favorite restaurants and I recommend everyone try it at least once. The only caveat is that it is very expensive – and he raised prices again – and I, embarrassingly, let out an audible gasp when I got the bill. The pricing is now Masa-like, solidly the second-most expensive restaurant in the US. If one were flexible, one could fly to Japan for cheaper than a dinner at Urasawa with alcohol.

Pictures are below – it has been too long for any detailed notes but KevinEats, Kung Food Panda, and Food Destination had a similar meal so you can peruse their blogs for detailed descriptions and impressions.

- chuck

1 – Seriously, I do not eat sushi often – I would rather let the fish live and re-populate than to denigrate their memory by eating the crap served most everywhere.

2 – This is probably my tenth trip or so to Urasawa.