Went last night because I’d been travelling all day and it’s a block from where I’m staying. I was hesitant since they call it a tasting menu, but it’s fewer courses of mostly larger portions than the Thomas Keller thing. What I was served roughly matched the printed menu but some ingredients were different. Overall it seemed like it was starting from a Japanese point of view but incorporating other ingredients and techniques. Best wine pairings I’ve had in a long time.
I forgot to take a photo of the nori chip amuse. Great bite with some raw fish and seasoning that kind of split the difference between togarashi and pappadums. I could have eaten a lot of those.
Crudo had great yellowtail and abalone but the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts, which, again, were great. I don’t know what that fermented leaf thing is. Laugner Cremant.
Off-menu extra, “milk bread / focaccia,” great butter, delicious radishes with a little Japanese cucumber and grape pickled in kombucha?
“Vegetable course,” I can see a family resemblance to David Kinch’s “into the garden.” The dark stuff is a fermented combination of three grains (quinoa, kamut? and something) kind of reminiscent of tempeh. Another great dish. Alto Adige Riesling.
Fresh pea soup with pea sprouts and smoked? scallop. The soup was a little sweet for my taste but otherwise a great dish. Alto Adige Kerner.
Rice porrridge with uni, delicious. All soft textures but I think that’s true to the Japanese model for this dish. Haut-Marin Cuvée Marine.
I guess I forgot to photograph the quail. Another solid dish. 2011 J.L. Chave “Silène” Crozes-Hermitage.
Palate cleanser of yuzu granita, hibiscus, and bergamot. Sort of a non-sweet dessert.
Pavlova. Great. Nice Italian moscato.
Great service, friendly atmosphere, overall a fantastic value (at least compared with SF).