Month: March 2020

March 29, 2020

Californios — San Francisco (11/2019)

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Californios is a relatively small tasting menu restaurant presenting Mexican-inspired cuisine, which makes it a bit unique.  I have not run across many tasting menus that present flavors from Mexico.  There are 6-8 tables (depending upon the configuration) as well as a six-seat counter. The restaurant has earned two Michelin stars and is booked via Tock.com, with reservations pre-paid upon booking that covers the food, service and taxes.

Soon after being seated, I was poured a glass of rosé cava courtesy of the house.

They have wines by the glass, as well as a full bottle list.  They also offer teas.

As part of the start of the menu, they presented a small glass of pineapple aguafresca made with a little mint. 

Next, some snacks were brought out to offer an introduction to the breadth and heritage of the cuisine prepared by the restaurant.  Starting from the bottom left:  Black barley chicharrons, whipped goat cheese and habanero pepper salsa; arepa (Venezuelan corncake made with harina) topped with whipped avocado and fresh and fermented radishes, rockfish with pickled fennel aioli and American white sturgeon caviar; taquito made with Peruvian purple masa, smoked trout mousse, fire-roasted carrot and dill.

To go with dinner, we chose a Dewey Cabernet Franc-Pinot Noir blend.

The next presentation was a chilapita – a squid ink and black Peruvian masa tart shell filled with an octopus ceviche, tomato, lemon juice and cucumber and finished with cucumber espuma.

We continued with a Peruvian heirloom masa tostada.  On top was sweet Hokkaido sea urchin (lightly torched), cilantro blossom and a filling of chile and Guajillo Chileatole (a thick corn mixture).  I wasn’t sure why the uni needed to be torched (as shown) except for the visuals – it tasted the same as if raw to me, which was fine.

Next was a sope made with sweet potato and heirloom masa with Xikil Pak (pumpkin seed dip), summer herb greens, candied pepitas, tomatillos, and preserved Meyer lemon.

Afterwards, we were presented with escabeches for two of the dishes to come:  fermented carrots, lime-pickled onions, and salsa verde (tomatillos, avocados and salsa).

For the full write-up, click here.

March 19, 2020

Sushi Masaki Saito — Toronto (11/2019)

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Friends had recommended that sushi from this chef would be a worthwhile experience when he was in New York.  Unfortunately, I could not get there in time to experience a meal before he left.  When I found out he was going to open a restaurant in Toronto, I set up a reservation to go as soon as I could work it into the schedule.  Reservations are taken only via a reservation request form on their website.  They do not take phone reservations.  If the request is accepted, they will require a credit card to guarantee the reservation.  There is only one set menu and one price (that does include service but not the tax, beverages nor any additional items beyond the menu).  There are two seatings each evening.  My reservation was for the first seating at 6pm.

Upon arrival, I was escorted to a waiting room next to the dining room.  I was offered the beverage menu for review.  After a few minutes, I was shown to my seat.  For the first seating, there were six seats used at the counter.

The chef was already at work when we entered.  He was doing final prep work for the seating.

This included making the rice mixture to be used throughout the meal.  Rather than use sushi rice, the chef uses premium white rice from the Niigata Prefecture which he blends with red vinegar (that you can easily smell as he does this in front of the diners).  The vinegar is a combination of two vinegars made from sake lees and is aged 3 years.

At this point, the beverage orders are taken.  For this meal, I chose to have just hot tea.

The first presentation was Japanese Spanish mackerel (sawara) seared over Japanese hay.  The searing was done at the other end of the room.  The aroma was very pleasant.

The next dish was some Hokkaido otoro (fatty tuna) with alba white truffles shaved on top before serving.  Surprisingly, the truffle aroma and taste were not very pronounced.  The chef said what was special about this particular tuna is that it eats squid.

Next, we were presented slow-cooked monkfish liver.  The texture was unique in that it did not come across like liver usually does.  It was very tender and moist, but there was still a slight firmness to it.

For the full write-up, click here.

March 19, 2020

alo 17th Visit — Toronto (10/2019)

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Since my visit mid-summer, several changes were made to the menu as they transitioned to the fall.  I thought I was worth writing up, as there were some dishes I had never had before.

They started me off with a sparkling Muscadet from the Loire.  This was a very nice start.  I usually start off here with one of there non-alcoholic cocktails.  This was just as good a way to get started.

The opening snacks were:  the pomme soufflé topped with Dungeness crab and seasoned with finger lime and yuzu; a fried bread dough filled with foie gras parfait roll garnished with maple bourbon and candied peanuts; and Prince Edward Island oyster with tarragon and sea buckthorn.

This was followed with the first tasting menu dish — big-eye tuna tartare style with grilled bok choy, crispy seaweed dashi jelly, and a vinaigrette made with shio koji.

The next course was Hokkaido sea scallops, served raw with a lemon verbena cream underneath.  On top were fresh pink lady and dried green apples, apple emulsion, fennel pollen and fennel fronds. This was nicely balanced to let the scallop flavors come through.

For a half-glass of white wine, I wanted to try the Muskateller from southern Austria (2017 moscato grape).

The next dish was kanpachi (amberjack fish from Japan) which was grilled just on the skin side.  They brushed it with a garlic miso yuzu glaze, torched it and served it with a ponzu and brown butter nori sauce, pink lemon and .  The crunchy skin provided a nice texture contrast.

The next course featured Hokkaido sea urchin with Carolina Gold rice, and matsutake mushrooms.

For the full write-up, click here.