Also known as “the claws come out.”

Miami Detour

As soon as I saw that Michelle Bernstein was going to be the guest judge on this episode of Top Chef, I knew there could be some tension since both Michelle and Andrea are chefs in Miami. Andrea starts the day in a “good place” but as soon as she sees Michelle she gets super tense and kind of bitter. Andrea says she’s not so sure if you sat down at Michelle’s restaurant and hers that one would be so much better than the other. I’m sorry to say, Andrea, that although I like Talula, it doesn’t make my top 10 list. Maybe it’s number 11.

Top 10 Restaurants I Miss Most From My Time in Miami In No Particular Order (with the caveat that I’ve been gone for almost 2 years so some of them might have changed)

• Michy’s
• Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink
• Graziano’s Restaurant
• Matsuri
• Su-Shin Izakaya
• Pacific Time
• Havana Harry’s
• Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar and Latam Grill
• Nemo Restaurant (brunch)
• Restaurant at the Setai (brunch)

Anyway, Andrea lets it get to her way too much. I’m thinking that in the one-on-one with the camera they may have been asking her some questions to get her to reveal some of that frustration to intensify the tension… but the tension is definitely real. You could even see Michelle giving Andrea the stink-eye in some clips.

Quickfire

It’s “weird protein” day in the Top Chef kitchen, although I hardly think that foie gras can really qualify as a protein they may not have worked with before. Duck balls and tongues and crocodile, yes. Amanda was so freaked out by the emu egg it was almost funny (ok, it was actually funny). The bait-and-switch then happened, maybe predictably, and everyone had to take the protein of their neighbor. Amanda was incredible relieved — and the fact that Kelly was then able to bring home with win — and the immunity — with a lovely omelet was awesome. Michelle was pretty harsh in some of the judging (Stephen’s frog legs were “insipid”?) and I don’t really think she needed to call out Andrea for overcooking the boar, especially if she actually liked the flavors.

Cold War

The concept of this challenge is great — not the fact that they had to create cold entrees, but they fact that they were judging each others’ dishes, selecting the worst to be up for elimination and the best to be up for the win. There’s a lot of tension around this which makes total sense to me. How can you be sure that the judging is on the food and not on the people? My feeling is that it would have been much more fair to not tell them who cooked which of the dishes (blind tasting and judging) but I betcha the Top Chef folks thought this would be more interesting. Group A cooked first (Amanda, Kevin, Kenny, Alex, and Ed) and Group B judged (Angelo, Tamesha, Andrea, Stephen, and Tiffany) and then they switched.

Do I think the judging was fair? Not having tasted the dishes it’s pretty tough to say. Kevin and Tiffany end up at the top. Kevin pulls off the win with his tuna and veal surf and turf, and I think he owes a lot to Tom C. for calling out his fellow competitors on their critique (not enough acid) by pointing out the acidic elements he tasted in the dish. So kudos to Tom for that. Tiffany’s tuna with the gazpacho underneath looked lovely and refreshing. One vote in that group for Angelo’s dish but the rest of the people vote for Tiffany… maybe a little gamesmanship there too but it really looks like Angelo overloaded the salmon with too much “stuff” on top.

Kenny and Tamesha end up on the bottom. I think Kenny’s lamb dish was not good maybe because he’s always trying to do too many different things (as evidenced by Michelle B. standing up for how muddled she found the dish) but I don’t necessarily believe he would have ended up in the bottom two if he wasn’t considered a front-runner candidate by the others. Tamesha’s on the other hand was clearly a disaster. I’m kind of wondering what happened with her scallops because she has shown in other episodes she knows how to cook. The rhubarb jus was actually pretty attractive along with the pickled rhubarb, but serving half-cooked half-raw scallop is… well… whoops. At least it gives the judges a real reason to send her home instead of Kenny.

[Can I just say that it is hilarious if somewhat inappropriate that the "cut scene" in the middle was about Ed saying how he's known Angelo from way back and they used to date the same chick, or rather, Ed  "used to bang Angelo's girlfriend"? You never know what tensions you're going to turn up when you throw a bunch of "strangers" together in a house. I wonder if Angelo knew about the two-timing girl before or he just found out when he watched this episode. DOH.]

I’m back from my technology hiatus and have now watched each of the three episodes I haven’t recapped at least two times each. I guess that’s what happens when I deprive myself… I go overboard to catch up (just ask my weight which knows what happens when I skip meals or diet — DOH!). But since there is a new episode coming tomorrow, no full recaps of the progress in Top Chef — just a couple of impressions from each.

Capitol Grill

And the quickfire is… Desserts! And all I can think is, if you know you are going on this show, shouldn’t you at least try to acquaint yourself with desserts? You must know the topic is going to come up and preparing yourself by learning the basics seems logical. A free piece of advice to any future contestants: memorize all the ratios in Ruhlman’s Ratio book. Play around a little on your own tweaking them and seeing what happens if you change them. Hell, go on a baking binge as soon as you find out you are going to be on the show. With Ruhlman’s Ratios in your head you should be able to rock things like pie dough. I love the comment from Jean Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzinni (judge on Top Chef: Just Desserts): “I think it’s kind of a cop-out to say you’re not a pastry chef. My grandmother is not a pastry chef either but she can bake a pie.” Kenny wins with Banana Fosters Pie. Can you say yummy-sounding? Can I get it a la mode and on fire?

And then they’re off on the elimination challenge to grill for a bunch of interns. And can I just say that I think Alex is trying way too hard to be funny in the interview segments (taking advantage of an intern? Really?) Amanda, is it really necessary to tell us what a druggie you were in your 20s? Unlike the Next Food Network Star this show is less about your personal journey than it is than the food. Cook some good food. And she does, with ribs and killer grilled asparagus. Arnold takes it home… Nice job Asian guy!

Everything led to Tracey’s departure. Tracey looked down the whole episode. Her work looked sloppy and confused. Actually, she looked sloppy and confused. And the segment on her clairvoyance just asks for stupid jokes to be made. Didn’t she see this coming? (I do wonder how much Top Chef took those conversations out of context to make her seem loopier than she really is, or if that’s really what she’s like). I feel bad for her but she was so clearly out of her league it’s almost better she has no more chances to embarrass herself.

Room Service

Quickfire is to make a dish that can serve discriminating adults and a puréed version that can serve babies. The funniest part is listening to people who have kids crow about their advantage over people who don’t, and people without kids saying they want to prove you don’t need kids to turn out baby food (especially Lynne who says she only has 4-legged kids). Kenny and Tamesha emerge victorious, Angelo’s arch enemy and best buddy respectively. Wonder how his ego took that blow.

No immunity for anyone as we go into an interesting elimination challenge… Breakfast lunch and dinner, with two teams safe at each stage, and at the end, the last group will have the winners with the favorite dish of the day and the losers who go home. I totally don’t get it. How can they ow for sure the judges’ favorite dish will have been cooked by one of the last 3 groups? Couldn’t it have been one of the winning breakfasts? Or maybe they’re keeping their favorite all along and freaking them out?

In the end, who is floating to the top but the two female contestants whose restaurants I have actually enjoyed eating at? Go Kelly and Andrea! Those short ribs look amazing. Kenny and Tim and Arnold and Lynne end up at the bottom. Arnold and Lynne go home, partly because they do dishes that aren’t really hotel-menu-friendly, and partly because they can’t communicate with each other. I won’t miss Lynne because she was kind of boring, but Arnold had a humorous egotistical spark.

Farm Policy

Maryland blue crab quickfire is ON. Oh Angelo, did you real make that joke about having crabs? And Bravo, did you really have to share that with us? Kenny’s trio of crab looks amazing, and Angelo’s up there too, but HAH, Ed brings home the win and the immunity with his Thai inspired dish.

Elimination challenge is a local-food challenge, for them all to cook a meal outdoors at a farm with all ingredients from that farm supplemented with their [warning: product placement ahead] Toyata Sienna Mobile Pantry. I don’t see at all how this is a team challenge other than their need to split up the work fairly. Meanwhile, back at the house they really go at it determining how to handle the challenge. the segments seem to show Kenny as a good leader and earning respect from others, Angelo less so. The challenge is hard — limited cooking space, limited food items, leaving them making deals with others to swap ingredients, trying to figure out how to fit their stuff on the grill… And it looks really really cold when the judges show up completely bundled in winter jackets and scarves up to their ears.

Kelly and Andrea rise to the top again! Yay! Plus Kelly makes the always-risky bonus dessert and gets kudos for it. And Kenny’s hot and sour curried eggplant with Kevin’s cous cous sounds great. Kenny brings it home again! (Also, the segments where the women call him Black Angus and Big Daddy? Maybe inappropriate but hilarious).

On the bottom, Amanda (would she have done better if she had called her pasta-less soup something other than minestrone?), Stephen (although I think he is unfairly admonished for using a bowl for his salad), and Tim (chopped potatoes, turnips and asparagus — really?). Tim goes home. He had absolutely no idea from start to finish of this challenge.

Overall so far on the show there are a few chefs who are shining, but there are also quite a few I could say goodbye to without too much consternation. A couple more weeks perhaps before they really get into making the tough choices.

Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of Top Chef: DC!

I am so happy right now.

Really. I just ate dinner at Ippuku for the first time, and I am so happy that a true yakitori restaurant has landed right here in my town.

Ippuku feels like a little piece of Japan transplanted into Berkeley. Everything from the entryway to the seating (in-floor recessed seating on one side, booths on the other) feels authentic. And pretty much everyone in the front of the house speaks Japanese, so you’re greeted in Japanese, the menu is in both Japanese and English, and the drinks have a real Japanese feel.

The concept of an izakaya is a place to drink with friends and eat small plates of food (not sushi). Ippuku really delivers here from little plates like Kinpira (sauteed lotus root) which was intensely flavored with a little heat and a lot of sesame… I love lotus root and I was so incredibly excited to see that on the menu, and even happier to eat it.

There’s also yakimono (grilled stuff) including yakitori (grilled chicken). And when I say grilled chicken, I mean all the parts of the chicken including hearts, gizzards, necks, skin, and knee cartilage. Yes, it’s a little weird to eat knee cartilage but it’s one of my favorites (I have been so bummed since not being able to find it anywhere in the US but NYC) — a little meaty, a little crunchy, a little salty. Yum. Not to mention bacon-wrapped mochi which is crunchy, salty, chewy and even a little sweet all at one time. And the individual quail which we pulled apart and split.

There’s also some “fancier” dishes and other warm food — the local uni with ponzu was super fresh and tasted like the sea, and the chicken congee was warmly comforting.

And we drank — beer, and chu-hi, which is a shochu drink mixed with your choice of fresh juice. You get to squeeze the meyer lemon juice at the table and mix it in in your own desired portion.

As for service, our server was really attentive, and when a dish or two took a little longer she was right on top of checking on it in the kitchen. The congee took a long time to appear but at least she kept looking for it for us. And the rest of the service was also good from the manager Dave to everyone else who stopped by to ask if we were ok (at least two others).

So, good luck Ippuku and welcome. I hope you stick around for a long time.

Ippuku
2130 Center Street
Berkeley, CA 94704

We’re back for the second week of Top Chef DC and as I watch the opening montage, I’m thinking, I didn’t even notice some of these people last time. Like Andrea from Talula in Miami Beach — hey, I used to eat there too!

It is a White House themed episode with a “bi-partisan” sandwich and the contestants draw knives to see who they are partnered with. Angelo makes a smart-ass comment about how he owns a sandwich shop in NY and if he loses the challenge he might have to close the shop. Kenny meanwhile blathers that he doesn’t care that the top pair gets immunity. Yeah you’re a little short-sighted dude.

Anyway, they all get paired up and then they find out the kicker: they will be wearing special aprons that make them look like Siamese twins and each of them can only use one arm. The best part about watching this is the pairs who don’t trust each other and are worried that their partner is going to hack their hand off with a knife. I can’t say that the sandwiches all had me jumping up to say OMG give me that! But Andrea and Kevin’s Philly Cuban and Kenny and Ed’s Korean chili rubbed ahi tuna with cucumber and mango slaw sound good to me. Some of the other ones like Amanda and Tamesha’s grilled sandwich with prosciutto and cheese, just are not very original. The judge picks Stephen and Jacqueline and Tiffany and Lynne for the bottom. And, predictably, Kenny and Ed come in second to Tracy and Angelo’s Flounder marinated in fish sauce with spiced siracha mayo sandwich. Yes, it’s Angelo again. To his credit though apparently it was ok working with him. Tracy seems to have no complaints and he totally calls her his twin sister. It’s obnoxious but better than I expected.

Then we move onto the Elimination Challenge: cooking up school lunches on the super tiny budget of $2.68 cents per child minus a bit for overhead. They are in teams of 4 and the bottom teams will be eligible to get kicked off. In addition to getting immunity, Angelo and Tracy get to pick who is with them and they pick Kenny and Ed.

And they’re off! The funniest interactions are on the team with Kelly — because the rest of her team thinks that she’s too bossy and controlling. I think Tiffany and Arnold hate her. They lecture her for saying “I” too much. I think she’s just being smart to take credit for what she’s doing — something to have learned from previous seasons. Amanda says she doesn’t want to take one for the team and make dessert. So instead she wants to make chicken braised in sherry. Are you kidding me? They’re showing Jacqueline a lot, and I wonder if that means she’s out, although the touching story about her childhood (taking care of her sister so her sister wouldn’t go to foster care). Kenny talks to the side camera about their meal not being nutritious enough, but he doesn’t really do anything. Meanwhile on the other teams, everything seems to be moving along smoothly.

And the kids rush in! The food comes out. One of the best sounding meals is from Andrea, Alex, Tim and Kevin: coleslaw with yogurt, grilled apple cider chicken, mac and cheese with a whole wheat crust, and melon kabob with yogurt foam. The other best sounding meal is the pork carnitas (later I caught that Kelly actually made her own taco shells with oat as well), black bean cake with crispy sweet potatoes, roasted corn salad, and caramelized sweet potatoes with sherbet from Kelly and team. And there are Amanda’s sherry braised chicken breasts… Doomed. Totally awesome misspeak by Stephen who says his vegetable rice has about 165 grams of fat… I mean calories. I wonder how long he was rehearsing that in his head before he got it wrong. I do love they show the kid who says he didn’t like their meal because it only had “rice… And all that nasty stuff.”

Enough of the blow-by-blow — off to judges table. They call two teams first… And ta-da, they are the losing teams. Amanda, Stephen, Tamesha and Jacqueline get called in. They are bashed predictably for the sherry braised chicken, and Jacqueline’s starchy non-chocolate banana pudding.

Angelo, Kevin, Tracy and Ed end up in the bottom, and Kevin gets the brunt of it for not being stronger and standing up for his views on the meal’s nutritional value. I do think they’re a little hard on them for not giving them the tomato as a vegetable, because come on, what kid is going to think it’s a fruit? And then the teams start going at each other which is catty and hilarious. And then Angelo is basically accused of throwing the match specifically to get Kenny a 50% chance of going home. When Tom asks him “would you have done the celery and peanut butter thing if you didn’t have immunity” he said “I can’t answer that right now” which to me is kind of an admission that he didn’t do as much as he could have. I thought he would have more personal pride than that bunt I guess not. All the same, I don’t see Kenny or Ed going home because their individual dishes were pretty good (apart from the pepper in the sweet potato).

And Kelly’s team comes out on top! And Kelly takes the win! Yay! Well deserved for a good tasty main course that kids would totally go for. The rest of the team gets kudos too, but she walks away victorious. W00t!

In the end, after we break and come back, it’s Jacqueline who bites the bullet. Thank god. I know it’s supposed to go week by week but after last week’s liver yuck and this week’s pudding disaster I am glad she’s gone. Bye bye!

Grilled Plaintains with Brown Sugar Glaze (Photo: Serious Eats)

I’ve got some plaintains right now turning a nice black in my kitchen. I have loved plaintains even before we lived in Miami, and now I’m bummed about how difficult it is to find really good ones cooked up here. I do like that Cuban restaurant down on Kearny near Pine (Paladar Cafe Cubano – also their Cafe con Leche is great) but cooking up a batch at home is easy, and this recipe for Grilled Plaintains with Brown Sugar Glaze from Serious Eats is perfect for grilling season (which I guess is technically nearly year-round here in Berkeley).

They would go great with a nice salad — and I love Canelle et Vanille’s Fava and Quinoa salad. I don’t think I’ve ever shelled and cooked fava beans myself but I really enjoy eating them (more than I like other beans) so I’m putting this on my list.

And then veering off into the land of Asian cuisine… I discovered that they have lotus root at Berkeley Bowl. I love lotus root… the slight crunchy sweetness with a little juiciness. Especially tempura fried, but really in almost any preparation. And Seriously Asian has posted recipes for stir-fried lotus root as well as lotus and miso soup. Happily, it appears lotus root isn’t that difficult to deal with, just a little peel, rinse, slice and dunk in vinegar.

My Kitchen dives deeply into Southeast Asia with a Durian Chiffon Cake for the Durian festival. I won’t be making this at home. For one thing, I don’t think the durians we have access to are flavorful enough. For another, it would leave a lingering smell in my home. But anyway, durian is one of those fruits that lots of Westerners (and some Asians) can’t stand… powerful smell, but I love the custardy texture and flavor. This durian cake looks lovely and light, kind of a study in contrasts for me between the normally creamy durian and the light and fluffy cake here. Yum.

The new season of Top Chef is here. And bring out the snark, the snottiness and the nastiness.

17 chefs out of the gate. As always they are all over the place from self-taught personal chefs to the guy who has already earned a Michelin star and the one who won a rising star chef award. (Sidenote: the lines between the bottom of Top Chef Masters and the top tier of Top Chef contestents seem to be blurring. What’s the real difference?) There’s only one chef out of the lot whose restaurant I’ve eaten at — Kelly Liken, which is always one of my favorite places to eat in Vail, but who doesn’t seem to be off to a shining start.

I like that they started the season with the mise en place competition because it showcases actual in-the-kitchen skills (often rusty) first before giving them a chance to also show their flair for flavor. Kenny really flew through the entire first section — although because of the editing it is difficult to tell how much time actually elapsed between finishers: Angelo, Timmy and Kevin next. Then the four top guys were tasked with 30 minutes to whip up a dish with onions, potatoes and chicken with $20k on the line in the “high-stakes” quickfire. Timmy and Kevin get the thumbs down while Angelo and Kenny get the thumbs Up, and Angelo takes home the money on the strength of his wings with onion jam.

The elimination featured each of the four quickfire finalists selecting their own groups dodgeball style (can you say reverse popularity contest?). The objective! Create a dish that tell about where you’re from and who you are. I’m not going to do a full recap of dish by dish, but suffice to say I think it’s absolutely hilarious that three out of the four earlier winners once again ended up on top, but the fourth east just not in the top but actually was in the elimination pile. DOH! Talk about the roller coaster ride right there. At judges table, it was fairly obvious to me Angelo was going to win. I think they liked his elegant preparation more than the rustic or homey presentations (such as the successful but decidedly chunky deconstructed borscht from Alex). But we’re seeing the potential for some interesting rivalry among the top contenders (poor Kenny! He got robbed!). And at the bottom of the pile, some really sad looking dishes. The chicken liver mousse was a disaster and really, Jacqueline, if you can’t memo rise a recipe after 100+ times, that’s really sad. John from Michigan’s maple Napoleon sounded promising but clearly didn’t perform, and definitely did not tell John’s personal story (unless you started as a pastry chef, pastry isn’t your story John). Timmy is shocked to be on the bottom, and even though they didn’t like his fish I never thought he was in serious danger. Stephen’s potato-crusted rib-eye looks kind of like chicken fried steak and is overcooked. Personally I think though that it comes down to the two Js, and yes, John goes back to Michigan (or wherever assuming they have to stick around until filming ends).

The mix-and-mingle where they show them cheftestants interacting throughout — I didn’t like Angelo from the start — kind of arrogant, and a little “oh, have you ever been to France?” condescending. I must say that at least he has demonstrated in one episode he has some skills to back it up, but he wrecked any chance he had for me to cheer for him when he said with all that bravado that he will be the first contestant to win every challenge. I’m not saying confidence is bad mind you but have some respect for others and how they got there. Kenny I like in his serious way and am excited to see how he develops.

What is up with the women though? None of them really distinguished themselves enough to make me even remember their names. Someone had better step up to the plate in the next few episodes or this is just going to be another sad demonstration of no-women-chefs (witness the finals of Top Chef Masters). Some of the women seem downright whiny. Please let me be wrong.

All in all, I’m not sure where the quality of the chefs is this year, from both a cooking perspective and a personality angle. Withholding judgment on that until after the a couple more episodes.

Last night the biggest pig event of the year in San Francisco went down at the Fairmont Hotel: Cochon 555, featuring 5 different heirloom breeds of pig cooked up by 5 local area chefs and accompanied by some great wine. Tapped to compete in the San Francisco round (ahead of the national Grand Cochon) were Staffan Terje from Perbacco, Anthony Strong from Pizzeria Delfina, Dennis Lee from Namu, Thomas McNaughton of flower+water, and Morgan Maki of Bi-Rite Market. Oh, and also on hand doing some live butchering were the great Ryan Farr of 4505 Chicharrones fame and Dave the Butcher.

So this was bound to be a great event, right? Well, sort of. We paid $125 eacb (no VIP tickets for us). Hands down it was $125 dollars worth of food and wine (wow, some of those wines were great) — if you were seated in a restaurant and got that many gorgeous courses of pork it would definitely cost you. But we weren’t seated. In fact, we were literally wall-to-wall with people, standing in long lines, in some cases only to be told that the wait was in vain because the table just closed for judging. For us the crowds and the difficulty of simultaneously holding a wine glass while trying to eat decidedly non-finger-foods were a big drag. At least we needed those accessories that let you hold a wine glass with a plate (I saw some people walking around with those… lucky persons). The lines were really disorganized and plating was going pretty slowly, it either took a long time waiting in front of the table to sample everything, or, as in the case of Namu, I just never managed to get everything to taste. Plus since walking by the table meant trying to load up with everything there I was so busy trying to juggle multiple plates that I just couldn’t get a hand free to take very many pictures (I ended up without pics of what turned out to be my favorite table — the illustrious Flour+Water)!

But the food, ah, the food, the food it was good. Bi-Rite was my first stop and I snagged a Pork 3-Ways Sandwich (the cracklings inside, while a nice idea, were more hard than crunchy and seemed like a whaa?), a BBQ-pork bun (the bun fell apart and on the whole wasn’t particularly distinctive), and a mixed plate of goodies that included a totally awesome pork ragu. Over at the Delfina table, my favorite item may have been the lard-fried pizza dough covered in cinnamon sugar, but I don’t think that really counts. Perbacco’s table included some great elements including one of the only blood sausages I have ever enjoyed, plus the unique blood+chocolate cupcakes and may I say lightly-decadent-everything’s-better-with-bacon marshmallows. Terje did end up taking home the win, and all I can say about that is I heard a lot of murmurings in the room that I would have taken as evidence he was heavily favored. But I didn’t have enough leisure to get the full measure of what he offered. Over at Namu, the porchetta was great, as was the lovely braised shoulder trotter mole, the other elements not as much for us although we never got to try the pork belly or — my big regret — the “spam.” And finally flour+water, which, situated close to the door, perhaps should have been my first stop. No pictures, and no descriptions of the dishes other than I found lovely porkiness with light delicate flavors and sauces… and that little crispy pig trotter? YUM.

Strawberry Brown Bettys from Smitten Kitchen

I’ve been obsessed with berries this season, mostly eating them straight or maybe drizzled with lemon juice or coated in some vanilla yogurt or perhaps with a swirl of balsamic and a little sugar. But maybe it’s time to get baking. I’m dying to eat Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Brown Bettys… maybe made with some nice Pain de Mie from Acme down the hill. Or maybe the luscious Peach Crumble from over at Local Lemons who is flaunting the beautiful peaches she picked up at the Berkeley farmers’ market… I need to get back to that farmers market ASAP I see. We’ve been slacking on the cooking but we’re getting back to it and some amazing stone fruit is definitely high high high on my list of must-eats.

Before the dessert (or maybe after?) a nice salad like Macheesmo’s Asian Chicken Noodle Salad would really hit the spot. Mango sesame dressing? Yum. The only drawback is that it feels like it has a lot of different components to cook separately… I might be more inclined to do it with some leftover chicken so it felt that little bit easier… The Farro and Shrimp Salad from over at Serious Eats has a lot of components too but seems like a breeze to just boil up the farro and maybe get either some pre-cooked cocktail shrimp or just flash-cook fresh shrip in the pan… either looks like a super refreshing dish to eat out in the sun on the deck. Ahhh, sunshine!

And in other news… I am dying to eat at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen just opened in South Park. If you’ve been please let me know what sandwich I should scarf down first. Also, Revival Bar & Restaurant has opened in Berkeley in the old Downtown space. We’ve already been there. I loved it, Gus was a lukewarm. Review coming probably after we eat there again and actually remember to take some pictures.

Our evening at L’Arpege was elegant, beautiful and surprising from start to finish. There were some lovely highs and  some dishes that missed their lofty marks which were luckily only minor distractions and not able to derail the lovely experience.

The interior was modern with brightly colored chairs, and each table was decorated with an object like a gourd or a stump. And the restaurant was completely empty for at least an hour, so we could hear everything going on — the vacuuming in the back, the staff talking, the phone ringing, the door to the kitchen distractingly swinging open and closed. Once the room filled up a little though it was easier to relax more and feel less kind of “under the microscope.” Of course there are also service benefits to being the center of attention… always there but never hovering.

The amuse were two discs of gelee, one of beet and the other of basil (I think). Light and refreshing, enough so that even if beets are not my thing I could appreciate them. The egg course followed – creamy lusciousness that coated the tongue (slow-cooked eggs are overdone these days? sign me up for this one every night). And then starkly contrasting, the ravioli course with a very light broth and pea sprout ravioli with at least three different accents so that each bite is a revelation. It was such a surprise to bite into the second after the first and find it so different from the first. And then the menu took another turn to its first sour note. Well, not so much a sour note as a thickly sweet and gooey pile of lobster coated in a honey sauce. “Yuck” is a little too strong, but it was not that appealing. Even so we both did clear our plates.

Next up, a plateful of vegetables. Now, I’ve heard people complain that Alain Passard has moved to much towards vegetables in the past few years. All chefs should make vegetables like this garden play — the spinach perfectly cooked, a delicate yet flavorful root puree, and candied pieces for contrast. Afterwards, two courses not listed on the menu — an ephemeral smoke-scented foam that was actually too smokey for me — and fresh peas that burst in the mouth. I’m not a pea lover and this (unlike the beets) was something I devoured happily. Yum. The foie gras… good, tasty, with a nice little pile of sort of candied rhubarb, but not a standout. Maybe I’ve been eating too much foie gras… I’m a little jaded on it. Or maybe Passard’s focus on the lighter dishes shows.

And happily we then entered the main courses… First up the turbot which they trotted out to us to see before serving (doesn’t it look amazing?). The turbot was incredibly delicate and sang in its light bath (which I am sorry to say I can’t remember how it was described to me). I consumed it… but unfortunately I could feel myself starting to get full then, so when the server came around to offer a second serving of turbot with a green tea sauce (surprise! second servings? really?) we both decided to turn it down to keep room for the rest of the meal. And now I really, really wish I had gotten that second serving.

And then the “meats.” I ordered the sweetbreads, which were very well cooked (firm but still moist) with a good mouthfeel, and nearly no sauce, with exceptionally fresh vegetables. Who knew a scallion could be so sweet? And Gus’s  chicken cooked with hay… I mean, really, who thinks of this kind of chicken as 3-star food? But the slices were juicy and tender and here Gus gave in and got the second portion with the green sauce… luscious.

The cheese course was fun, although at this point I was getting almost too full. The selection was lovely and the cheese guy (is there an equivalent cheese word for “sommelier”?) described each in detail and helped us make up a trio of cheese to fit our tastes. I couldn’t finish them all and I felt guilty.

Desserts were sadly the most disappointing part of the meal (well, except for the goopy lobster pile)… the apple tart (apples made into little rosettes) was delicious, and we got miniature tartlettes as well, so we gorged on them. There were also two little squares of nougat which I enjoyed. The miniature macarons were good (well one was flavored with beet again… ick) but by this time I had the full stash of Pierre Herme and Lauderee macarons back in the hotel so these were not entrancing. And the last dessert, the pineapple with thin apple slices and more of that house honey… well, it was unusual, and it was definitely better than the lobster… but really. I expected more. Particularly after my marvelous souffle the previous night… I want my desserts to leave me flying, not sinking.

Overall, I was impressed with the meal. The highs outweighed the lows and I loved some of the courses (the turbot comes to mind as particularly amazing). Its downfall was the inconsistency (in contrast although some of the dishes flew higher than those at La Table, that meal was more consistently excellent across the board) but at least the experimentation was there. And they were incredibly generous, with extra courses beyond those listed in the tasting menu, not to mention the second servings of the mains… and I think we were only supposed to get one plate of the little goodies but since we ate it so quickly, they brought us a second tray of them before we left. Unbelievable generousity.

I would love to give it another roll of the dice and eat there again to see what else Alain Passard would do. And I know he was in the house because he came out into the dining room and circled like a gracious host, speaking to every table. He even asked us where we were from and said some nice things about San Francisco… I felt a little like a fumbling fool. What do you say to a complete stranger who’s cooking you a lovely meal other than, “I love the food” and “Thank you”?

Other than maybe, “I look forward to coming back again.”

Gallery of Photos from L’Arpege

The Detailed Bits

L’Arpege
84, Rue de Varenne
75007 Paris
01 47 05 09 06

Related Posts

• Paris Trip Part 1: Dinner at Jean-Georges’ Market – consumableJoy
• Paris Trip Part II: A Walk in the 6th Arrondissement – consumableJoy
• Paris Trip Part III: Dinner at La Table de Joel Robuchon – consumableJoy

Monday night, after spending the day scouring Paris 6 for goodies and the afternoon napping and recovering, we headed to La Table for dinner. Never having eaten at a Joël Robuchon restaurant before, we didn’t have much to go on for what to expect other than his appearance on Top Chef this past season (you may recall the episode where poor Kevin had the privilege of sitting with a whole table of people speaking French that later became the “what Kevin hears” segment?). Well that and the fact that I had heard about the small plates at L’Atelier.

We arrived just before seven pm, and unlike at Market, we were warmly greeted and seated immediately. In fact, we were not even the first people to sit down (we had made special effort not to arrive *too* early). The restaurant is elegantly appointed in muted colors, the chairs comfortable, and the acoustics quiet. Overall, perfect for a romantic dinner where conversation can be had without shouting, but not so quiet you feel like the staff is listening to you breathing.

The menu was completely in French, but the staff was kind enough to explain everything we needed. We decided not to get the tasting menu but instead went with ordering a la carte to increase the number of options we had. The plates were divided into smaller plates (cold and hot), appetizers, and mains (many of which were also available in the smaller size). We split the difference with two appetizers, one small plate, and a main course each, which, along with dessert, was exactly the right amount of food for us.

The amuse bouche (which, sadly, I did not record what it was) had bright and lovely flavors and seemed like an excellent palate cleanser to get the mouth in the right mood, so to speak. We had some lovely bread as well, crusty outside and chewy inside, with some beautiful butter (but had to be careful not to stuff too much bread into myself before eating the meal).

Our two appetizers contrasted sharply with one another…. The langoustine coming two to the plate, wrapped in filo and easy to share… The langoustine was perfectly cooked and the flavors were not too heavy, accented with the herbal purée. The araignée (spider crab) was a tiny delicate pile of crab meat in the center of the plate and I almost felt guilty taking any of it off of Gus’s plate for a taste. It was good, but I’m not certain I could say anything definitively about it afterwards that it was clearly spider crab.

After that we shared the Iberico de Bellota a la plancha. I’ve had the Jamon before, but never a piece of pork. I loved it. I know I sound like a broken record, but it was also perfectly cooked. Not covered with sauce or spices, it was able to bring out the rich porky flavor of the meat… While not tough, the meat had enough bite to it so you had something to really chew and taste.

And then onto the mains. I felt like I was in heaven when I took the first bite of my duck and that feeling never faded away. It was comprised of a duck breast mated with foie gras and it was so meltingly tender it… I mean I do not even have the words to describe it. It was rich and lovely but delicate and masterful and well it might be one of the best things I have eaten. The rhubarb accompaniment was nice, a bit startling, woke up the taste buds between bites of the richer duck. Gus’s quail was good too, a little more toothsome and hefty (which sounds strange to say about quail) but frankly I was so busy enjoying my duck I didn’t spend much time raiding his. And I almost completely forgot to mention the puree… that pale scoop of silky loveliness on both of our plates. It would be a travesty to call something so smooth and luscious “mashed potatoes” but unfortunately I don’t know the French word for what that was.

The cheese course snuck up on us. But of course, since we were in France, we ordered it. And then had absolutely no idea what most of the cheese were. And I still don’t. So sorry for the lack of elaboration here but I can say the far one was Gus’s favorite and the near one mine.No comment on how much of that preference was driven by proximity.

And then dessert. I had to have the soufflé. I had one last night? Pshaw! Does not count! And oh my gosh…. The yuzu soufflé was out of this world. The picture really cannot do it justice. It was incredibly fluffy, light and airy, with an almost creamy mouth feel, and the flavor of the yuzu came through so nicely… and I love yuzu (I decided during the dinner we have to buy a yuzu tree for our home). It was beautiful and in its glory called to light the flaws with the soufflé from the night before (thank goodness I ate them in this order because that way I was able to appreciate both instead of being disappointed). The soufflé was so lovely that the accompanying ice cream almost felt like a distraction for me from the beauty of the soufflé. Maybe I should have stayed longer and ordered a second soufflé. Gus ordered the Paris-Brest, made up of little puffs of pastry filled with light creme mousseline of hazelnut praline. It was good but I don’t feel like it was spectacular, but that may be unfair considering my taste buds were entranced by the soufflé… you may have to ask Gus for a more measured perspective.

And that was that…. except for the glass of dessert wine and the glass of kirsch.

Oh — and the other thing I absolutely loved was something that made you think “only in Paris” — during dinner, two different parties were accompanied by their very-proper, well-behaved and quiet dogs. Yes, people brought in their dogs who trotted in and settled themselves right under the tables (no, not on seats). In a 2-star Michelin restaurant. Next time we go to Paris, we have to bring Bello.

La Table de Joël Robuchon
16, Avenue Bugeaud
Paris 75016
+33 (0)1.56.2816.16
Open for lunch and dinner
And it says right there on the website: Pets are allowed

(Quick aside: we used our credit card’s concierge service to make our reservations for this trip which was easy and not only that, worked. If you’re in a hurry, traveling last minute, or don’t speak the language, it’s worth a try. Ours was Merrill Lynch Accolades but American Express concierges can work wonders. Or so I’ve heard.)

Related Posts:

• Paris Trip Part 1: Dinner at Jean-Georges’ Market – consumableJoy
• Paris Trip Part II: A Walk in the 6th Arrondissement – consumableJoy