(July 19th, 2013) It seems as if Kim and I can never go too long without a visit to the West Coast. Between me needing to visit colleagues in Livermore every so often, having Nate and Mai up in Fairfield, and wine country, there's a seemingly endless list of reasons for us to go. Like the first decadence in San Francisco post, this trip started with Kim needing to travel out that way for work. And, much like the last trip there, I found myself with a day on my own to explore the city and to live in its decadence...
As usual, once I arrived in the city I set off on foot to visit Chinatown, Little Italy (see the pictures from the previous visit for a rather accurate recap of how I spend my morning), and eventually made my way down to the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building where I waited for Nate and Mai to join me for an afternoon of decadence.
I always enjoy the Embarcadero on a summer day, with the giant fountain sculpture, the street markets, and the bustling shopping across the street in the Ferry Building.
The decadence got underway when I learned that Nate and Mai were running a few hours late, which gave me more than enough time to sample the Ferry building's goods...
After stopping at the chocolate shop, wine shop, and salt shop, I made my way past the butchers and cured meat shops to Hog Island Oyster Company.
Nate and Mai finally arrived, at which point we set out for...more oysters at the Waterfront Restaurant, followed by a trip to the Rogue Ales Public House where we imbibed flight after flight of Rogue ales.
Once Kim and her coworker joined us, we headed to a speakeasy, Bourbon and Branch. Like other speakeasies, a password was required before you could enter. To get into the library, tell them "books." I recommend making reservations for some of the more interesting rooms though.
Inside the library it was dark and warm. The libations were varied and unique. And everything, superb. If we had made reservations a few days in advance, we might have ended up with a private room, or at least a private booth tucked away in some other interesting corner of the building...
Last stop for the evening was Luce. Many courses, but, as promised, I have notes!
First, a gift from the kitchen: tuiled squash, and creme fraiche. It was super fresh, like your garden. Nate: "I could write a poem about this...it's my grandmother's house!"
Next: clockwise from lower right - Abalone. It's rate to have this fresh, but it didn't disappoint, it was fantastic. Everything continued a trend of freshness. The abalone was crispy on the outside and the perfect texture on the inside. Second, beets. These were served with a beet puree and goat cheese. The puree had a smoked flavor to it that made the dish. And last, amberjack. The amberjack was the highlight of the first half of the meal. The roe on top of it popped and was slightly tart. The amberjack itself would have been a heavenly serving of sashimi, but the accompaniment just made it delightfully delicious.
Accompanying this feast we had bottles of the Jaffurs Petite Syrah and the Bedrock Zinfadel. The somnelier was exactly what you'd expect from a Michelin star'd restaurant - slightly pretentious but very knowledgeable. Somehow this combination was very offputting to Mai, but the rest of us enjoyed it.
Main courses: first, the lamb loin, which was paired with yellow tomatoes, herbs, granola, and yogurt. Simply delicious and Kim's favorite.
Next, the Halibut. What made this dish was the sauce surrounding it, made from local Manila clams and diver scallops with baby artichokes, shiitakes, and roasted vegetable bouillon.
Last but not least, the lobster, poached in salted butter and lemon verbena with Chanterelle mushrooms, charred yellow corn, and green strawberries. The dish had been cooked in the sous-vide style, which left everything so tender. After this meal, if there was any debate in our heads about whether to cook something or sous-vide it, the answer was immediately to use sous-vide. Too bad sous-vide machines are so expensive!
Dessert: pistachios with a white balsamic powder, pluot gelato, and panna cotta. The balsamic powder was fantastic. Somehow they had managed to capture the essence of balsamic vinegar in a powder!
And thus (well, after a couple hours of commuting back to Nate and Mai's house) ended the first day of decadence in the bay area...
As usual, once I arrived in the city I set off on foot to visit Chinatown, Little Italy (see the pictures from the previous visit for a rather accurate recap of how I spend my morning), and eventually made my way down to the Embarcadero and the Ferry Building where I waited for Nate and Mai to join me for an afternoon of decadence.
I always enjoy the Embarcadero on a summer day, with the giant fountain sculpture, the street markets, and the bustling shopping across the street in the Ferry Building.
The decadence got underway when I learned that Nate and Mai were running a few hours late, which gave me more than enough time to sample the Ferry building's goods...
After stopping at the chocolate shop, wine shop, and salt shop, I made my way past the butchers and cured meat shops to Hog Island Oyster Company.
Nate and Mai finally arrived, at which point we set out for...more oysters at the Waterfront Restaurant, followed by a trip to the Rogue Ales Public House where we imbibed flight after flight of Rogue ales.
Once Kim and her coworker joined us, we headed to a speakeasy, Bourbon and Branch. Like other speakeasies, a password was required before you could enter. To get into the library, tell them "books." I recommend making reservations for some of the more interesting rooms though.
Inside the library it was dark and warm. The libations were varied and unique. And everything, superb. If we had made reservations a few days in advance, we might have ended up with a private room, or at least a private booth tucked away in some other interesting corner of the building...
Last stop for the evening was Luce. Many courses, but, as promised, I have notes!
First, a gift from the kitchen: tuiled squash, and creme fraiche. It was super fresh, like your garden. Nate: "I could write a poem about this...it's my grandmother's house!"
Next: clockwise from lower right - Abalone. It's rate to have this fresh, but it didn't disappoint, it was fantastic. Everything continued a trend of freshness. The abalone was crispy on the outside and the perfect texture on the inside. Second, beets. These were served with a beet puree and goat cheese. The puree had a smoked flavor to it that made the dish. And last, amberjack. The amberjack was the highlight of the first half of the meal. The roe on top of it popped and was slightly tart. The amberjack itself would have been a heavenly serving of sashimi, but the accompaniment just made it delightfully delicious.
Accompanying this feast we had bottles of the Jaffurs Petite Syrah and the Bedrock Zinfadel. The somnelier was exactly what you'd expect from a Michelin star'd restaurant - slightly pretentious but very knowledgeable. Somehow this combination was very offputting to Mai, but the rest of us enjoyed it.
Main courses: first, the lamb loin, which was paired with yellow tomatoes, herbs, granola, and yogurt. Simply delicious and Kim's favorite.
Next, the Halibut. What made this dish was the sauce surrounding it, made from local Manila clams and diver scallops with baby artichokes, shiitakes, and roasted vegetable bouillon.
Last but not least, the lobster, poached in salted butter and lemon verbena with Chanterelle mushrooms, charred yellow corn, and green strawberries. The dish had been cooked in the sous-vide style, which left everything so tender. After this meal, if there was any debate in our heads about whether to cook something or sous-vide it, the answer was immediately to use sous-vide. Too bad sous-vide machines are so expensive!
Dessert: pistachios with a white balsamic powder, pluot gelato, and panna cotta. The balsamic powder was fantastic. Somehow they had managed to capture the essence of balsamic vinegar in a powder!
And thus (well, after a couple hours of commuting back to Nate and Mai's house) ended the first day of decadence in the bay area...
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