It's raining. A lot. Of course it is, since it's a national holiday in the UK. It always rains. Never mind. I've been spending the morning trying to decide where to eat lunch next Friday. I've got a day off and plan to go into London in time for a late lunch and spend the afternoon in museums.
That train of thought got me thinking about places that have really impressed me over the last few months.
La Folie, San Francisco. We messed La Folie around. Originally we booked for four. We arrived with three, after phoning to let them know. A special truffle menu looked interesting, but we eventually chose the five course tasting menu for $90. They let you choose any five courses, not just one from each of the five menu sections. That being the case I skipped soups and went for Scallop, Foie, Sturgeon, Le Boeuf and Chocolate Bombe. Wow. All was great, with particular praise for the tenderloin, short rib and burger rossini combination. Two nights earlier we'd dined at the SF 'legend' Fleur De Lys and, though the food was good, the service was perfunctory and the dinning room so cramped as to probably be unsuited for claustrophobes. La Folie gave me the night I'd hoped to have at Fleur - stunning food, great atmosphere and terrific service - including two visits from the very charming Roland Passot (the first time he came to ask how we were enjoying the food before we'd actually had any ; )
Fleur De Lys. Nope not in SF, since you already know that disappointed me. The Vegas off-shoot. Ok, there was a wait of 20 minutes even though we showed up dead on time. And the clientelle was, for some reason, 80% male. But the cavernous space is impressive, service well-informed and the food... oh boy. SF may have the star, but the Vegas version surely misses out only due to snobbery. I visited the two a month apart and the menus were significantly different, with the edge going to Vegas IMHO. The wine list was better too.
Michael Mina, San Francisco. I hated the space, which seems like part of a hotel lobby. But the food, enjoyed as a tasting menu built around multiple takes on a series of ingredients, was brilliant. Not as good as the heady days of Aqua maybe, but impressive none the less.
MIX, Las Vegas. My first Ducasse restaurant didn't dissapoint. I ordered entirely from the classics section of the menu and can see why it was so named. Lobster & Cauliflower curry excelled, as did a dessert of 'candy bars.' Brilliant coctail selection too.
Cinc Sentits, Barcelona. One of the best meals I've ever had. Fresh, local produce. An extraordinary series of flavours. Use of seasoning that made me assume the chef had to have tasted all my food to get it so right... ; ) I can't wait to be back there - hopefully twice next year!
Manresa. How can I summarise Manresa? I've not blogged it yet since I simply didn't know where to start. 20 courses. An utterly humble and charming chef, who took time at the end of the evening to come and speak with us, even though he was clearly exhausted. Even the dishes that didn't work for me (one of abalone, and a plate of foam covered garden vegetables) were thought provoking and fun to try. The dishes that worked spectacularly: L'Arpege egg, Tomatoes and smoked roe were so amazing I don't have any idea how to describe them. I hope to come back to it later.
La Marquise a Cinq Heures, Taipei. Ok I'll give the full address for this one: 11 RenAi Rd, Sec 4, Alley 345, Lane 2. It's hard to find. Even my cab driver struggled. But it's well worth the effort. I went for lunch and paid about £13 for five courses. The food is clearly not chinese, but it's not quite as French as you might expect either. What it is is fun, tasty, simple and... complete. It all somehow works, from the salad bar intro through a choice of French-inspired, filling, main courses to fruits and a choice of ice-cream bars for dessert. It's an odd find in a city of great cooking and one I've recommended to several friends since.
That train of thought got me thinking about places that have really impressed me over the last few months.
La Folie, San Francisco. We messed La Folie around. Originally we booked for four. We arrived with three, after phoning to let them know. A special truffle menu looked interesting, but we eventually chose the five course tasting menu for $90. They let you choose any five courses, not just one from each of the five menu sections. That being the case I skipped soups and went for Scallop, Foie, Sturgeon, Le Boeuf and Chocolate Bombe. Wow. All was great, with particular praise for the tenderloin, short rib and burger rossini combination. Two nights earlier we'd dined at the SF 'legend' Fleur De Lys and, though the food was good, the service was perfunctory and the dinning room so cramped as to probably be unsuited for claustrophobes. La Folie gave me the night I'd hoped to have at Fleur - stunning food, great atmosphere and terrific service - including two visits from the very charming Roland Passot (the first time he came to ask how we were enjoying the food before we'd actually had any ; )
Fleur De Lys. Nope not in SF, since you already know that disappointed me. The Vegas off-shoot. Ok, there was a wait of 20 minutes even though we showed up dead on time. And the clientelle was, for some reason, 80% male. But the cavernous space is impressive, service well-informed and the food... oh boy. SF may have the star, but the Vegas version surely misses out only due to snobbery. I visited the two a month apart and the menus were significantly different, with the edge going to Vegas IMHO. The wine list was better too.
Michael Mina, San Francisco. I hated the space, which seems like part of a hotel lobby. But the food, enjoyed as a tasting menu built around multiple takes on a series of ingredients, was brilliant. Not as good as the heady days of Aqua maybe, but impressive none the less.
MIX, Las Vegas. My first Ducasse restaurant didn't dissapoint. I ordered entirely from the classics section of the menu and can see why it was so named. Lobster & Cauliflower curry excelled, as did a dessert of 'candy bars.' Brilliant coctail selection too.
Cinc Sentits, Barcelona. One of the best meals I've ever had. Fresh, local produce. An extraordinary series of flavours. Use of seasoning that made me assume the chef had to have tasted all my food to get it so right... ; ) I can't wait to be back there - hopefully twice next year!
Manresa. How can I summarise Manresa? I've not blogged it yet since I simply didn't know where to start. 20 courses. An utterly humble and charming chef, who took time at the end of the evening to come and speak with us, even though he was clearly exhausted. Even the dishes that didn't work for me (one of abalone, and a plate of foam covered garden vegetables) were thought provoking and fun to try. The dishes that worked spectacularly: L'Arpege egg, Tomatoes and smoked roe were so amazing I don't have any idea how to describe them. I hope to come back to it later.
La Marquise a Cinq Heures, Taipei. Ok I'll give the full address for this one: 11 RenAi Rd, Sec 4, Alley 345, Lane 2. It's hard to find. Even my cab driver struggled. But it's well worth the effort. I went for lunch and paid about £13 for five courses. The food is clearly not chinese, but it's not quite as French as you might expect either. What it is is fun, tasty, simple and... complete. It all somehow works, from the salad bar intro through a choice of French-inspired, filling, main courses to fruits and a choice of ice-cream bars for dessert. It's an odd find in a city of great cooking and one I've recommended to several friends since.
Rick Moonen's RM Seafood, Las Vegas. Away from the bustling cafe bar downstairs the fine dining restaurant offers a killer tasting menu. The pace was a little hurried but that's endemic to US dining and not really the fault of this one place. The dishes themselves were creative, beautiful to look at and, despite Vegas' rather inland location, crisply fresh. Plenty of roe and eggs being used too, which is always a good sign for a fish restaurant in my view.
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