Menu from Spring 2007

Peas & Carrots
What kind of restaurant offers peas & carrots? Well they are not the kind your mom made. Small pieces of crunchy, Thai-style pickled carrot were served in a small bowl along with a paper thin sheet of pea-wasabi 'nori.' I quickly gave up on the chopsticks and simply picked it up with fingers.

Oysters
This dish combined lightly-breaded and flash-fried oysters with, of all things, oatmeal with maple syrup, studded with plump, warm raisins. Also served with this was a raw oyster shooter in a tiny shotglass at the top corner of the plate. This seemingly wacked-out combination really worked. The oatmeal and oysters complemented each other very well and the sweet accents provided by the maple and the raisins rounded out the dish nicely. Who knew?

Fava
This course was a salad of fresh favas, ramps (kind of like mushrooms) and morels served with a demitasse of warm fava soup that had been laced with black truffle. The fava bean soup was unbelievably rich.

Quail Egg Ravioli
The ravioli arrived swimming in ricotta, parmigiano reggiano, brown butter and black truffle. A quail egg is inside the ravioli, so there’s no choice but to pop the entire thing into your mouth. Good thing, too…the rich and silky combination of the egg plays well with the ravioli, and the sharpness of the cheese gives some contrast as well.

Steelhead Roe
Sake-cured steelhead roe was combined with a pine nut puree and topped with yuzu foam and barnacles. While not a huge roe/caviar fan (I’d rather have my fish a bit more grown up), it was a nice contrast with the ravioli, and served as a good stepping stone into the "heavier" part of the menu.

Halibut Cheeks
The cheeks were cooked en sous vide, served with dual sauces of meyer lemon and basil, over artichoke confit. Outstanding.

Sweetbreads
In this dish, the sweetbreads were paired with plums (prepared in different ways). The lightly-coated, sauteed sweetbreads were very good by themselves. They took on a sweeter taste when paired with ultra-thin plum slices, or with the smoked plum puree.

Lamb
Two types of lamb were presented: strips of lamb loin, and a square of braised, crispy lamb belly. The lamb strips rested on a bed of green curry sauce and beans. Of all things, a house-made shot glass of root beer accompanied the dish. Of course by this time we knew it would pair well, and it did.

Dessert
Two different plates of desserts were served. Warm, soft pretzels served with honey mustard dipping sauce, dates, and tumeric ice cream was very good. A chocolate lover’s plate had two different desserts: a pyramid of chocolate cake was accompanied by a block of the most delicate chocolate caramel mousse I have ever had. What a meal.