Californios

[PorkyBelly]

first time at the new location and I was extremely impressed with my recent dinner here.
I can see this place being the next 3 star in sf

heirloom green tomato, dusted in corn flour, green tomato salsa, green tomato and celery powder, celery leaf

pulpo. braised spanish octopus from galicia, romesco negro, chile negro and meyer lemon

a venezuelan arepa made with harina PAN. topped with squash salsa and siberian caviar from the caviar company

ciruela. flavor fall pluot from k&j orchards with 18-month aged serrano ham and opal basil

chicharrón. rainbow trout roe, summer truffle, and chive mousse

chilapita. a rare, regional dish from guerrero. a masa tart made with mushito blanco corn nixtamalized in house, filled with smoked sturgeon mousse, and topped with royal white sturgeon caviar from the caviar company

tostada. ceviche of smoked and marinated sustainably raised mexican blue fin tuna, pineapple tomato, and serrano on a conico rojo masa tostada

hielo. cacao pulp and gala apple sorbet with hoja santa tea from marin roots

ceviches

yellow peaches from k&j orchards with chilhuacle amarillo chamoy

hon hamachi from toyosu market with gooseberry, fresno, and sweet basil in gooseberry and habanero aquachile

cóctel de langosta with maine lobster, brokaw avocado, first of the season cherry tomatoes, cucamelons and thai chile

banana. grilled cavendish banana with savory dulce de leche. topped with cold-smoked kaluga hybrid caviar from the caviar company

escabeches: fermented carrots, lime-pickled onions, key limes and salsa verde

tlacoyo. a pre-hispanic street food. made with cónico azul masa grown in the highlands of atlacomulco in estado de mexico. filled with cranberry beans and smoked queso oaxaca wrapped in hoja santa. served alongside huitlacoche crema

tai madai al pastor. grilled tai madai served on a hickory gold masa tortilla from tierra vegetable farm with smoked pineapple and dirty girl cilantro

squab arabe. durham ranch squab breast marinated and grilled, house sourdough tortilla, cucumber crema, aleppo pepper salsa

served with sundried tomato, coriander and fenugreek broth

asada. a3 olive fed wagyu ribeye from shodoshima island, japan and snake river farm beef ribeye with slow smoked heirloom tomato, tucker taylor baby scallion, grilled summer squash with nepitella and allium flowers

digestivo. fresh young ginger juice, lustau royal vermouth, and pink lady apple

red flame grape from twin girl farms

conico rojo tamal with grilled ‘mara de bois’ strawberries from yerena farms finished with a strawberry and corn liqueur

sweet corn ice cream and yerena farms strawberry sorbet

cacao taco. chocolate waffle cone, cocoa nib ice cream, frozen thomcord grape chamoy with chile morita, toasted meringue

spun coconut sugar with a piña colada paleta

marshall’s farm liquid honey truffle with white chocolate & bee pollen

milk chocolate bonbon with fig jam, bay leaf and xila
caramelized camote bonbon

toto

Californios
355 11th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
https://californiossf.com/

Californios - San Francisco, CA

[PorkyBelly]

worth a watch

How a Master Chef Runs the Only Two Michelin-Starred Mexican Restaurant in America — Mise En Place

[moonboy403]

@PorkyBelly

the next 3 star in sf

I thought Californios’ food was perfectly executed, flavors were dialed in, and every bit as delicious/exciting as Benu on my last back to back visit but they’re stuck at 2 stars…

@PorkyBelly

worth a watch

Glad to see William Clark still working there. Super pleasant and worked at Singlethread before joining Californios.

[TheCookie]

Fabulous!

[catholiver]

Was that food for one or two or??? And the cost please?

[moonboy403]

Tasting menu only - $267 + tax + 20% tip

[catholiver]

And I assume that’s per person! Holey moley.

[robert]

Before beverages.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Our bill was ~$325 pp all told (incl maybe 1 glass of wine per person).

[catholiver]

So clearly you’re not even modest drinkers. With all that food I can’t imagine only one glass of wine.

@robert So pretty easily $1k for two people. I sure hope those people pay their credit card bill in full every month or the price goes higher. To each their own.

[robert]

Cost is in line with the other two-Michelin-star places in SF.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Yeah, def pricey. I don’t have many fine dining experiences to compare it to, but I can’t say that it wasn’t worth it, “objectively.” You literally have an army of people serving you (and they do an amazing job), the somms do a lot of the serving themselves (!), the person greeting you knows your name even b/f you say it, and there’s a LOT of food (my partner almost felt like he couldn’t finish it all). And, of course, the food itself is excellent to amazing.

So, if you’re in the mood to blow that kind of $ on a meal, I can’t imagine any place doing a better job.

Having said that, I have not been the mood since to spend that much $ on a meal since then. And, just for what and how I like to eat, would rather have, like, 4-5 meals at La Ciccia for the same outlay of $.

[catholiver]

Thank you so much for a great narrative.

[honkman]

From a visit several weeks ago at Californios. Outstanding night with thoughtful, creative dishes which highlights the depth of Mexican (and Latin American) cuisine (which unfortunately too many people mainly associate with cheap $2 tacos but goes far beyond). Good wine/beer/sake pairing. Also, some of the best service we had in a long, long time anywhere - knowledgable, relaxed, fun. It won’t be our last visit for sure

Aqua Fresca - white nectarine, white tea, hibiscus

Chilapita - masa tart, jalapeno & smoked sturgeon mousse, caviar

Kampachi Taco - masa shell, kampachi, yellow peach & habanero vinaigrette, trout roe, chive

Tostada - white masa tostada, lobster poached in sun dried tomatoes & chile puts butter, early girl tomatoes

Venezuelan Arepa - harina, fresh curds cheese, serrano ham. Served with pluot jam

Sope - black masa sope, sea urchin glazed in white soy and piloncillo, camote, chile japones, sturgeon caviar

Hielo - gooseberry sorbet, tomatillo, lemon verbana infused jimmy nardello juice

Melon - watermelon (with serrano salt), piel de sapo (with honey puya salt), cantalouoe (with chicatana ant & chilhuacle negro salt)

Heirloom Tomato Water - nopales, cucamelon, ice lettuce

Blue Fin Tuna - tomatillo in a strawberry aquachile

Banana - Grilled cavendish banana, savory dulce de leche, cold-smoked kaluga caviar
Escabeches - fermented carrots, lime-pickled onions, limes, salsa verde

Tetela - white corn masa, squash blossom, cilantro, epazote, corn pudding, cotija, bean puree, acorn squash pipian

Alfonsino Fish Taco - tortilla chipotle Meco & chile pequin paste, mango, green mango salsa, chile tepin

Mushroom Quesabirria - masa with chanterelle, queso oaxaca, burgundy truffle. Served with black truffle consomme

Asado - A5 wagyu, beef jus, salsa macha. Served with marble potatoes in chintexle, patty pan squash in a jalapeño & watercress vinaigrette

Digestivo - young ginger juice, vermouth, pink lady apple

Oblea - blackberry glass cookie, blackberry coulis, goat cheese, hoja santa

Raspberry & Tomato Raspado - queso fresco ice cream, nixtamalized tomatoes, raspberries

Chiboust - plum chiboust, chocolate sorbet, fresh & demi-sec plums, vanilla olive oil emulsion

Liquid Honey Truffle, white chocolate, bee pollen

Pina Colada paleta, spun coconut sugar

Mignardise

[T3t]

Overall a good meal, though I think my expectations going in may have been too high. Everything from the soup w/caviar to the last main (fish) was excellent, everything before that good. Desserts were mixed; the fruits were meh, the ice cream great, the masa great, the cotton candy meh, the mignardise decent. Pacing was a bit too slow (3.5 hour meal), service was… honestly not quite as polished as I’d have expected at 2 stars? Nothing egregious but trying a bit too hard and not quite getting there. The menu was (deliberately) very corn-focused, which took me pretty far away from the familiar (good) but unless it changes substantially limits its replay value for me.

[PeonyWarrior]

I really liked Californios. I liked it much better than the other two-star Mexican restaurant I’ve been to, Pujol in Mexico City. The farm-centered focus won me over. I couldn’t help but think of René Redzepi’s documentary on corn when tasting all the corn varietals over the course of the meal. I met the chef afterward, and he humbly credited all of his farmers in response to my praise, just as the best winemakers are so quick to say that great wines are made in the vineyard. Overall, I felt it was rightly rated a two-star restaurant but showed potential for three stars. Shown below are my two favorite courses—both dessert, strangely enough.