Californios

June 20, 2021

Californios 4th Visit (5/2021) and 3rd Visit (3/2020)

Over the last year, Californios moved from its Mission District location to a bigger space in the South of Market area formerly occupied by Bar Agricole.  The good news is that they have a large outdoor space, as well as a larger indoor space than what they used to have.  The slightly bad news is that there isn’t a chef’s counter at this location (which they had at their prior location, and is my favorite way to dine).  Regardless, it was good to be able to have their food experience again after over a year.  When I went, the only option was for outdoor seating that was enclosed and heated.

As before, they started by serving a complimentary glass of sparkling wine.   For this evening it was a nice pink Crémant de Loire.  For all of my prior visits, they had served a rosé cava, so I’m not sure why they went French this time (perhaps there is a supply issue).

The opening “course” was an aqua fresca made with saffron, mint, honey, and Golden Nugget mandarins to clear and open up the palate.

To accompany the meal, I ordered a glass of the 2018 Albariño which was one of the white wines on their list.

We began with the introductory set of small bites.  From left to right, they were:  chicharrón with rainbow trout roe, shaved summer black truffle and chive emulsion; taquito made with thinly-sliced kohlrabi around Dungeness crab and dill aioli; Venezuelan Reina Pepiada arepa made with harina PAN (white corn meal) and topped with an avocado and pea mousse, and Tsar Nicoulai caviar; croqueta made with queso Oaxaca and smoked wild mushrooms and served crispy fired with an Hoja Santa emulsion; and a duck fat-confited deboned chicken wing in a chile Marita glaze and topped with Fresno chile and celery.  The range of textures and flavors of the canapés meant to acquaint us with many of the dishes to come.

The next two bites were a chilapita – an Oaxacan green masa tart filled with a smoked sturgeon mousse and topped with Kaluga caviar – and a Cónico Rojo masa tostada topped with bluefin tuna, jalapeño, and avocado mousse.  Both these bites were creamy, but in different ways, with a nice crunchy contrast.

For the full write-up, click here.

For the full write-up of the prior visit, click here.

May 20, 2020

Californios 2nd Visit — San Francisco (12/2019)

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After my first visit to Californios, I decided I wanted to come back relatively soon to see what a second meal experience would be like.  Often, it’s the second visit that determines whether I like a restaurant or not because there is less novelty on a return, and I can get a sense of how consistent the experiences can be.  Since it’s local to me, I just had to fit it into a time where their availability matched my non-travel times.  This visit took place about a month after the first visit.

The experience started off again with a glass of a Spanish Pinot noir rosé cava made using the méthode champenoise.

The first presentation was again a small glass of pineapple juice with cinnamon and mint.

Additionally, I ordered a glass of sparkling non-alcoholic Riesling juice to go with dinner.

The food presentations started off with four small snacks:  puffed amaranth cracker with black lime and guajillo (dried mirasol chili)  powder, Toma cheese mousse, and beets; masa harina from Venezuela arepa with persimmon and calabaza squash, black bean; trout roe on top of butternut squash croquette with parsnip and jalapeño salsa, purple masa tostada with smoked trout, winter citrus, horseradish yogurt and fermented daikon.

Next was a chilapita made with squid ink and purple masa tart shell and filled with octopus ceviche and finished with a celery and mint espuma.

The next bite was a purple infladita (corn puff) topped with torched sweet Hokkaido sea urchin, cilantro blossom, white soy glaze, and filled with guajillo chileatole (corn pudding salsa)

This layered dish was a bacalao that starts at the bottom with potato confit. Additional layers were salted black cod, chives and Meyer lemon mousse, and avocado mousse topped with first press olive oil and pickled jalapeño.

For the upcoming taco bar, I was provided with escabeches of ley limes, pickled carrots, and lime-marinated onions. 

The first taco was representative of the Yucatán.  Berkshire pork was barbequed in the style of Cochinita Pibil with hoja santa crema, apple and pickled onions.  The pork was moist, tender and very tasty.

For the full write-up, click here.

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.