the petite pig

a trip to chicago's alinea

as a foodie, people often ask me for restaurant recommendations, and they are always surprised when i have an incredibly hard time giving them an answer.  the truth is, i rarely eat out.  while i love eating, i love it even more when it comes after i've done the cooking.  when i do eat out, it's either the cheap asian eats/hole in the wall burrito joints or fine, fine dining.  i figure the in-between stuff, i can do at home, so it's hard for me to justify paying $40+ for a meal that i can make at home and will enjoy even more because i cooked it in my own kitchen.  lately though even the pleasure in fine, fine dining has worn off.  although i can't prepare it at home, i know that the same thing can be found on the menus of over a dozen restaurants in the city.  the "seen it, eaten it" mentality has become all too common.  while i hate feeing so jaded about food, it has been awhile since i felt surprised or delighted by a dish.  but then a three day weekend in chicago changed all of that.

ever since alinea won gourmet's top honor in 2006 as number one restaurant of the year, i have been trying to find a reason to get to chicago to understand what all the buzz is about.  finally last year, i decided that i couldn't wait any longer so tim's "christmas gift" was for a long weekend in chicago for the both of us (though he quickly figured out that this was more a christmas gift for me).

from the moment we entered the restaurant at nine on friday, may 9th, i knew this would be an extraordinary dining experience.  as you walk by 1723 north halstead, you wouldn't know that one of the best restaurants in the world is housed inside this non-descript two-story brick building in chicago's lincoln park neighborhood.  the entrance leads you into a blank hallway that ends in two glass doors that slide open automatically as you approach.  as you step through, one of the dining areas is to your left and an open kitchen to your right.  as i stood outside of alinea's kitchen, i found myself forgetting that i was at a restaurant.  missing was the calamity of most restaurant kitchens; instead chefs were calmly at work on their culinary science and art projects.

as we were led to our table on the second floor, we were introduced to our 27 course tour menu.  while alinea offers a shorter tasting menu, i wanted the full grant achatz experience.  it was after all a meal that i had been looking forward to for over two years.  in the four hours that followed, tim and i were introduced to surprise after surprise.  as each dish was brought out by our army of servers, we were offered an in depth explanation of all the components on our plates.  i would finish it, and ask the servers to come back and give the explanation again after i had a chance to taste and understand the dish.   

there were new ingredients, new takes on old ingredients and new methods of cooking that i had never seen or tried, but what made alinea stand out from all the fine dining restaurants i've tried lately was every dish had so many dimensions to it.  there were edible artistic concepts.  there were chances to play with your food:  pins to pull out, "apples" to bob for, shots to take.  dishes were not only explained for what was in them but then how to eat them.  there were dishes that played with your senses: mint vapor, vanilla bean and lemongrass "skewers."  we say wagyu beef that had been dipped into liquid nitrogen re-evolve at our table.  we took a shot of basil juice with a ginger truffle that had a rhubarb explosion inside.  we saw what guinness beer would look like when turned into a gelatin sheet.  and while i have to admit that not every flavor combination worked for me.  squab is great as squab; encased in a block of dark chocolate pudding = not as great.  fava beans, bananas and pecorino are all great on their own; as a parfait = not as great.  but despite a few misses, alinea made me remember why food is so amazing again.  beyond its ability to nurture and love, food can also be so many other things: fun, lively and sometimes just downright crazy.

thank you alinea for allowing me to remember that.

photos (from left to right, top to bottom):

1) short rib with guinness, peanut & fried broccoli (paired with paolo bea montefalco riserva "pipparello," umbria 2003)

2) oyster, sesame and yuzu pudding served on a lemongrass stalk (paired with a cocktail of  louis roederer brut with sauternes, farigoule liqueur, and vermouth)

3) squab with chocolate and blueberry, hazelnut cereal with trio of sauces (paired with mino calo "quarantale" salento rosso, puglia 1998)

4) shrimp woven with yuba, togarashi and a miso emulsion dipping sauce

5) the alinea kitchen

6) green almond in a cucumber jelly with sweet, hot, sour and salty tastes on the four corners

7) wagyu beef with black truffle, potato and blis elixir (paired with prince florent de merode pommard "clos de la platiere" 2003)

8) transparency of raspberry, rose petal and yogurt

9) ice fish with shellfish, horseradish and parsley

 

the french laundry: worth the pain

on april 29th, i fulfilled one of my many food fantasies: three friends, nine-course tasting menu, the french laundry.  unless you're part of the elite few, nabbing a reservation at this intimate 62 seater or footing the bill for the $240 tasting menu can be a painful, painful experience.  so the big question is, "is it worth the pain?"  my answer, without a doubt, is yes.  but let me clear up a few things about the hype surrounding thomas keller's three star establishment.  the french laundry is not some elusive food mecca.  it is not culinary innovation the way WD50 or el bulli are known to be.  it's simply some of the best food you'll ever eat.  on the evening we went, chicken was on the menu or to be exact four story hills farm "poularde" was on the menu.  chicken is something most of us eat several times a week, but biting into that poularde was like tasting chicken for the very first time, prepared with flavor and tenderness i had never experienced before.  one of my friends even commented, "it doesn't even taste like chicken."  yes, it certainly did not taste like any chicken i've ever known.

with more staff on hand than diners, the attentive service also helps to ease the pain.  the four of us arrived for our 5:30 dinner reservations hungry after a day of fasting for our big feast.  stomachs growling, we craved some bread from the bakery of bouchon just down the road.  minutes later, three loaves of bread arrived from bouchon for us to take home and sample.  and our server was more than happy to accommodate the challenge of our unending appetites.  yes, we did drop some comments about having to stop by an in-'n-out on our way home to really fill up but they rose to the challenge, bringing out more and more food.  i had paced myself for a nine-course meal but this marathon meal turned out to be closer to a seventeen course meal.  we ate.  we ate.  about five different dessert courses later, it was 10:30 pm and we could eat no more.  but knowing we definitely got our money's worth in volume as well as quality also helped ease the pain of seeing our bill. 

so, how does one get reservations to one of the most renowned restaurants in the world?  i picked up these three tips from carolyn jung of the san jose mercury:

1) open table.  open table has two four-tops per evening.  one for 5:30 and one for 9:30.  the trick is in the timing of the click.
2) get on the waiting list (once you manage to get through a five hour long busy signal).  people do cancel.
3) if you're willing to splurge some more, stay at one of the local beds and breakfasts and they might be able to help you snag a reservation if given enough advanced notice.

good luck.  and remember: for food like this, it's worth the pain.

a table for two at quince & the sauce debate

 

continuing on my conquest to conquer the chronicle's top 100 restaurants, i managed to snag reservations at quince last weekend to celebrate a little anniversary of mine.  a sole dining room holding just sixteen tables, this intimate space can only be described as a gem within san francisco's many fine dining options.  like its small, intimate size, small, intimate touches dressed up what was to be a great meal.  menus printed with personalized menus for our special occasion.  what seemed like a one to one ratio of service staff to happy eaters.  paintings of quinces decorating the wall.  it was nothing but lovely. 

i went to quince for the agnolotti (in this case dal plin, stuffed with veal), a piedmontese-filled pasta that is a rare find on even the most-italian of menus. it's similar to tortellini and ravioli, which every american is familiar with, but dressed with a lighter pasta wrapper; in other words, it's better.  the lightness of the pasta lets it melt in your mouth leaving you with a mouthful of the filling's flavor. 

we also enjoyed quince’s homemade gnocchi with fried nettles and pesto. the most flavorful of all the dishes, tender gnocchi came out covered in a bright green sauce.  the fried nettle reminded me of japanese nori (seaweed), and to be honest, the savoriness of the dish had a sea-like quality to it. another favorite of the evening was the spinach and dungeness crespelle with fine herbs. the spinach crepe was center-plate with its emerald color, with a filling of dungeness crab hiding inside.  a light cream sauce unites the dish’s flavor, providing just the right balance.

however, I did not find this balance in the other three dishes we tried:  an octopus salad with twin girls farm oro blanco grapefruit & pecholin olive oil; the devil’s gulch rabbit with borage, proscuitto and fava beans; and the wild black seabass with balsamic vinegar sauce, black trumpet mushrooms & little farm tomatoes.  with all those dishes, i found myself needing more sauce, wanting more sauce.  too often these days are beautiful plates of food delivered with just a drizzle of sauce used more for visual embellishment rather than true flavor enhancement. it’s a fine balance, the use of sauces. you don’t want to overpower a dish with sauces, losing the individual flavors of each ingredient.  more and more often though, i’m finding the opposite problem: stinginess of sauces. perhaps i’m just being chinese (in other words, cheap.  i mean, frugal.  i mean, wise with our money.), but a two hundred dollar dinner warrants a bit more than half a teaspoon of reduction?

still, the atmosphere and service at quince made up for any shortcomings in the food department and there were three outstanding dishes (and a great choice of barolo) to make up for the three mediocre ones. if you have an occasion to celebrate, do make reservations.  just remember to call on the dot at noon one month prior to your desired dining date – these sixteen tables are hard to come by. 

conquering michael bauer's top 100

though we're only two months into 2007, it has already been a great year of eating for me. sometime last fall, i had dinner with carolyn jung food critic of the san jose mercury news at the counter. while chomping down on our gourmet burgers, we chatted about (not surprisingly) food and the great collection of restaurants the bay area has to offer. sharing her love for eating, her husband has made a goal of conquering michael bauer's top 100. as far as goals go, that ain't a bad one. whether you make it or not, i don't doubt it'll be one delicious journey. when you think about, you never really reach the goal. every year there will be a new crop of restaurants that make it onto this coveted list and the journey just continues . . . and you're more than happy to continue eating.

so, inspired by carolyn's husband, i embark on the same mission. while the chronicle food staff have had their stomaches full with the enviable job of bestowing 2007's honors, i've kept my mouth just as full trying to knock a few off the list before the new 100 gets published in april. anyone who has ever had a taste of nancy oakes' most-perfectly hearty and flavorful dishes at boulevard knows that you can't just have one helping of her food. so with my family visiting (after two years away from the bay area!) for a week in january, i decided to start this quest with a trip to boulevard sharing this bay area favorite with them. two trips to a16 followed shortly. the pizza which has been raved to be reminiscent of the flavors and textures of italy. it was not. but the wine made up for it. though it may have been offset again by the horrors of trying to find a parking space in the marina and battling the hoardes of yuppies (hmmm . . . though i may be one of those yuppies). alas, the latest stop on my journey has more than made up for any disappointment caused by a16. yes, i loved the moist-and-tender-just-order-an-appetizer-because-it's-worth-the -hour-wait roast chicken at zuni cafe. so, it's taken me almost thirty years after chef judy rodgers opened the place in 1979 to get there (give me a break, i wasn't even born when the place opened so there must be some sort of grace period) but i got there and i will be back for more of that goood frikin' chicken (which also happens to be a name of a chicken joint in the mission!).

next stop: a table for two at quince on march 24th. if it's one of thomas keller's favorites, i'm sure it'll soon be one of mine too.

let others eat your opinion

cyber communities have definitely changed the way i eat.  on any given weekend when deciding where i should dine, i definitely consult multiple online sources, but there are two that have become my eating guides: menupages and yelp - food for the people as reviewed by the people, not michelin, not a famous food critic, not even zagat's (though i greatly respect all those sources and always keep them handy as well).

i first discovered menupages when i was in new york filming "the next food network star."  i relied on it just about every night to figure out where i would find my next meal.  would it be dining at a dive in the village or should it be the tasting menu at grammercy tavern?  menupages offers a comprehensive listing of every possible restaurant you'd want to eat at in the city from your hole-in-the-wall takeout joint to the most upscale of dining venues, sorted by neighborhood or cuisine.  but best of all, rather than visiting each individual restaurant's website to see what they're serving up, it offers the menus of all these places, all in one place.  but the restaurant reviews are up to you, your duty as part of the online foodie community.  best of all menupages is expanding beyond the big apple and now offers restaurant searches in san francisco, los angeles, philadelphia, boston, chicago and washington, d.c.  however, none of the new regions have nearly as many people reviewing as new york does.  therefore i am calling all diners from the recently added areas to get online and contribute so all of us can eat better based on your opinion.   soon, you won't know how you survived so long without it . . .

the second site yelp extends beyond the food world.  you can find just about anything in your area on yelp based on the reviews of others.  need a dentist?  a new hair stylist?  a brazilian wax?   if you live in a metropolitan area, then most likely yelp can help.  although i've primarily freeloaded on the reviews of others, i've recently decided to start contributing.  after all i have my fair share to say about food.  click below to see what i thought about the much raved about a16 in the marina neighborhood of san francisco (unfortunately, i was not part of the raving crowd) . . .

so bookmark these two places: menupages and yelp.  get eating and make use of all those opinions you know you have.