kai-m
-
Posts
199 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by kai-m
-
-
We went there on may 12th. Had the 5 course tasting menu (75$) with wine pairing.
The menu after one tiyn tiny and somewhat "boring" amuse bouche (a heart of palm foam) was:
-bagaduche oysters with lemon gelee, creme fraiche, australian pepper berry
A nice dish, if somewhat "classical" in the combination. What I missed was sort of a contrast in textures - all the elements were, as one can imagine, on the soft/creamy/"jelly" side. On the one side, this way they all nicely "melted" together in the mouth, on the other side, you had no chance to kind of "distinguish" the elements and their individual flavors. It was just, to put it more critical, one big soft, "glibbery" "thing" in your mouth...
-spot prawn, poached, sweet peas, wasabi peas
Very nice, but tiny dish (even though the prawn was a tad -just a tad- overcooked), with differing and contrasting textures and flavors that went very well together.
-black sea bass, king oyster mushroom, burdock root, wattleseed
Just simply an excellent dish and a great combination, the fish had a delicious crispy skin (but again, the fish was a tad -just a tad- overcooked. but maybe that is just a differing style as is common in europe, where fish always is real "glassy" inside).
-muscovy duck, kumquat, baby turnip, turnip green
Again an excellent dish and a great combination, even though this time the outside crispy meat was a tad too "rare" for european taste (we weren't asked how we wanted it and supposed it would come "medium" as is common in most of europe).
-floating island, rhubarb, raspberry, ginger
Great dessert (which is always the most important -and often the most disappointing- dish for me...). Light, with intene flavors and nicely balanced differences in texture and temperature.
Wine pairings were good for the reasonable price of 30$
All in all it was one of the (if not *the*) best meals of our trip through california. Unfortunaltely I spilled a whole espresso over my shirt while desperately trying to open the silver sugar bowl whose lid was jammed...well, at least I got a new espresso...
Service was good, if somewhat confused sometimes (for example one waiter asked if we would like to wait with our look at the menu until finishing our champagne. We said yes. One minute later *another* waiter came and handed us the menu...). The table (in the first room) could have been better (I had to look against the wall), but who really cares if the food is that good...
Would I go again? Definitely!
PS: @rjwong: are you a food critic or something like that? Or why were they "waiting for you"?.
PPS: How come I have the impression that the portions on the pictures in this thread look much bigger than the ones we had on our plates? Is it a "picture thing" or have portions at Providence gotten smaller lately...?!
-
hi everyone!
we are in vegas right now and think about going to the ATELIER these days -but since rjwong (great pictures!!) said something about the "most expensive meal in my life" we would like to know how much we should put aside for 2, icluding a bottle of "average" priced wine, tax and tip? (usually 370 for two is our self procclaimed limit. but if this place really lives up to french michelin-3*places...)
thanksalot for a quick reply!
greetings
kai
-
The link doesn't work anymore.
Can anyone tell me, if the new place has opened yet (and where it is located)?
I'll be in L.A. mid-may and would like to go there...
Thanks!
kai
-
Thanks eje! Can't wait to read your report...
melkor: since you wouldn't go for Zuni if you had several meals, what would you choose *if* you had more nights than one? (Because probably we will be there longer in SF than 2 nights...)
thanks
kai
PS: would love to try Manresa - but that is definitely too far away...
PPS: I read about "Betelnut" very often - any opinions?
-
Do you mean the "Canteen" at the Commodore hotel? I didn't find another one? (Would be a nice coincidence since we might stay at the Commodore...).
So far, we will go for Zuni or Clementine in the first category. (Zuni might be a lunch option, too...though after seeing this picture -from a favorable review- Iam not so sure anymore: http://www.miseblog.com/images/zuni_chicken020303big.JPG )
Iam surprised that nobody went for Cortez since it seems to be soo "in" at the moment...
Still haven't made up my mind about category 2...some places are already fully booked the whole week we are there (Danko for example). But it seems to boil down to Ame (it's the one at the St. Refis hotel, right?), Quince or La Folie...(will try Fleur de Lys in Vegas, maybe...)
Even though, I've gotta say this again, Quince's menu with all the pasta dishes and stuff doesn't really sound "surprising", but we'll see...
Again Iam surprised that nobody opted for the much praised Campton Place or Jardiniere...
edited for url
-
Thanks! And keep it coming!
The different takes on the question are really surprising and very interesting...
greetings
kai
PS: we are not THAT much into italian unless its really "fine" (as in "unusual") dining. Because if we have one thing in germany, it is real good italian restaurants...and when it comes to refined italian home-style-cooking, my sicilian mother-in-law is not to be beaten.
On the other hand "Quince" is mentioned so often on this forum...(but the menu sounds so "normal")
-
Thanks, JAZ!
Iam open for other suggestions of course, since Iam obviously not from SF (not even from the US). But in the end, what I need mostly is some help to decide where to reserve a table...
So: where would you go?
-
...meaning: one restaurant for a "casual bistro dinner with two friends" and one for "fine dining for two" in San Francisco. Which one in each category would you go to?
"Casual Bistro dinner":
-Clementine
-Chapeau!
-Piperade
-Cortez
-other-
"Fine Dining" (not to "formal/stiff", please!)
-Gary Danko
-La Folie
-Fleur de Lys (is it true what I read about their condescending treatment of younger diners?!?)
-Campton Place (anyone been there since the chefs changed?)
-Jardiniere
-Zuni
-other-
Thanks
kai
<edited for FdL question>
-
Thanks again for all those reccomendations! In 10 days our trip begins...
...not easy to get a table at the good places, though, even 6 weeks in advance...seems like Fleur de Lys, La Folie and/or Gary Danko will have to wait until my next trip to SF...(is the Campton a worthy alternative, or is it rather a "tourist place", since it is located in a hotel? I was surprised that it is not on the SF-top-100 list...)
One more thing: Do they have that "multiple seating"-policy in california restaurants/bistros as well (meaning that you get rushed through your 3-4 course dinner within two hours max. and then get the check even if you didn't ask for it, because the next customers are already waiting...)?
I remember that from NYC and found it really, how should I put it, bothering (and unthinkable in europe).
What I want to ask with that is: is it better to reserve a table later in the evening so as not to be rushed out to make place for the next paying customers?
Thanks
kai
PS: Not really a "food question", but are SoMa, the Tenderloin and the Western Addition areas in San Francisco really as "bad" and "dangerous" as the guidebooks say? Or are they just the usual red-light-districts or something like that?
Because especially the Western addition seems to lie within an area -The Haights- that would interest me...
Thanks alot!
-
Has anyone here ever been to "Fleur de Lys" Las Vegas?
Thanks!
-
Thank you all for those great reccomendations...especially in the San Diego area.
Now two more questions regarding Santa Monica and especially San Francicso: Where would you go for fine dining? (I have mentioned some options for SF in my first 2 posts, but have to pick one or two...)
Thanks
kai-m
-
Thanks alot for all those great replies!
@rjwong: "streetcorner restaurant" would be something like "eckkneipe" in german. But thinking about, that is more a word for a drinking place...but judging from your post you get what I mean, I think...
@Ed: Iam from frankfurt.
To specify -as requested- what we are looking for:
Generally we like nice, relaxed restaurants/diners/bistros/trattorias, not too expensive with solid food and a younger to middle-age crowd (we are 33 years old, looking far younger). Places, where the local residents hang out, not only tourists and business-diners...
They don't need to be "fancy", but "special" in one way or the other would be great - be it for a speciality/dish only they serve (from "terrine de foie gras" to the "best cheeseburger with fries in town"), a certain idiosnycratic cooking style, a unique tasting menu or a great location/view and solid food...
We are also looking for good asian food, as we mostly have bad asian restaurants in germany; esp. chinese food is extremely bad here...
We are not really into mexican food (but that maybe because mexican restaurants tend to be pretty bad in germany, too...)
In S.D., Santa Monica and S.F. we will stay 3-6 nights, one of which always will be reserved for a "fine dining" restaurant...
By the way: which area in S.F. is the best to stay in?
Thanks!
Greetings from frankfurt
kai
PS. I hope I'll be able to give some recommendations in the germany-restaurant-threads some time...
-
Haven't made a reservation yet - but I guess I'll go for something in the area downtown/balboa park. We'll stay in the city for 5 nights, with 3 "free" evenings (my sister is getting married).
Generally we don't like restaurants that are too "formal" (not to say "stiff"), meaning: no "tie-required" places (I'm going to a restaurant, not to the office...), no snobby staff etc.
PS: Regarding San Francisco: I just browsed a bit through the countless SF-dining-threads...oh my god!! I'm all dizzy...we have 4-5 nights and now we have, like, 78 restaurant names that all seem to serve great food: Chapeau, Clementine, Quince, Jardiniere, Piperade, Gary Danko, Cortez, Fleur de Lys, Boulevard etc etc...
So please: Help me decide! (Is Danko really a "tourist spot", as I have read somewhere?)
-
Hi everybody!
Iam new here (and Iam from germany, so please excuse possible errors in my spelling and/or grammar).
I've been following the very intersting discussions on this board for quite some time now.
Now Iam planning a trip through california and could need some recommendations for good restaurants in the citys I intend to visit.
-Our journey starts in San Diego.
-Next stop Santa Monica/Venice/L.A.
-After that a little detour to Las Vegas/Grand Canyon.
-Then we are headed to San Francisco, with one or two stops on the way (haven't decided our route from Vegas to SF yet. One possible stop is San Louis Obispo, if we take Highway No 1 and don't take the route through Death Valley/Kings Canyon).
From some research on this site it seems to me that San Diego isn't really interesting when it comes to restaurants (to put it mildly).
Haven't searched for the L.A. and Vegas areas yet, but especially in the L.A. area there seem to be thousands of restaurants, so I could need some specific recommendations...(we'll be living in Santa Monica, though!)
San Francisco, in any case, seems to be extremely interesting restaurant-wise. We won't make it to the French Laundry, but in SF we are thinking about Gary Danko, Fleur de Lyss, Le Citron and Manresa (which seems to be located a little bit too far "out of town", though).
What surprised me, is that the food-prices in places like Gary Danko are relatively moderate, compared to german restaurants in that league (but maybe that is only a result from the rather good dollar/euro-ecxchange rate...). Wine prices on the other hand...(not to speak of champagne...)
Important note: We are not only looking for "high end" fine dining (can't afford that each night), but also for some nice little diners, ethnic food or good "streetcorner restaurants" (as we say in german).
Anyhow: Thanks a lot for any recommendations, advices, tips (or warnings)!
Greetings from Germany!
kai
Ame at the St. Regis Hotel
in California: Dining
Posted · Edited by kai-m (log)
It's amazing how different the impressions of a restaurant can be from person to person.
Because: we had dinner at Ame last sunday and it was the most disappointing meal of our 3-week-trip through california.
Let me start by saying that Iam always a bit reluctant when it comes to hotel-restaurants, since it mostly has a negative effect on the atmosphere, even if the restaurant is as separated from the hotel as Ame. It's just that you kind of "feel" that you are in a place that is part of a larger, "anonymus" kind of entity, as opposed to a small, intimate place where the chef is also the owner (hope you get my point despite my dodgy englisch). Apart from that I found the interiour design to dark and "cool" and impersonal. Even though the restaurant was not even half full when we arrived at 9 p.m., we were seated away from most other diners, next to a group of noisy russian businessmen. (Maybe our german accent sounded russian to the staff that seated us?!).
Front desk staff was "polite", but cool and reserved (and believe me: we do not approach people in an arrogant or unfriendly manner...nor do we look like bums). Our waiter only seemed to warm up a little and became more talkative when he realized that we were seriously into food and not just some "noveau riches" guests from the hotel...
Now some might say that this rather ambigious first impression reflected on the way we approached the food. But I can very well differentiate.
The Sonoma Valley sparkling wine we tried as an aperetif was excellent (you never get californian sparkling wine in germany...).
Since Ame does not offer a tasting menu (how silly is that, especially since they obviously do it with pleasure on request?!?) the 2 of us had four different courses each.
There was no amuse bouche (!!).
Five minutes after ordering it started with: (we didn't even have a chance to select/order wine...)
-Kampachi Carpaccio with Mountain Caviar, Pickled Wasabi Leaves and Ponzu
-Sashimi with avocado, beet root, grapefruit and olives
They dishes *looked* terrific. But let me just say that both were hopelessly overpowered by the wasabi and the (extremely flavorful) olives. You could barely taste anything else. So that was that.
After that course we were given a chance to order wine...
Then:
-Japanese Egg Custard “Chawan Mushi” with Maine Lobster, Sea Urchin and Mitsuba Sauce
This dish was very interesting at least, if not really to our taste. But okay, that is a personal gusto thing. But comparing it to the tasting menu-size of the dish which I saw on the picture above, ours was not half as well balanced: in relation to the the large size of the bowl we had far less, how shall I say this?, "to bite" in it.
-Fried soft shell crab with bean salad
Okay dish. Nothing particulary special but nothing "bad" about it either. Just mediocre. The evening before I had virtually the same thing in chinatown. But for one third of the price.
Main courses:
-Grilled Quail on Morel Mushroom and Fava Bean Risotto with a Roasted Garlic and Foie Gras Sauce
The quails (it was 2 of them) were quite good. But he risotto lacked taste and the morels and the beans were reduced to 2 or 3 each. The presentation was terrible: a large plate full of risotto with 2 quails plucked on top with no place left for the sauce, a few drops of which were splattered over the risotto here and there. (Again the dish looks way better and tastier on the tasting-menu-picture above)
-Tail of Lobster with mashed potatoes, tomato confit, coquilles st. jacques and pesto-sauce
The single standout dish of the evening! Very well prepared and delicate in taste and combination. Only the very intense pesto-sauce tended to overpower anything else. Neverthelees: very good!
Desserts:
-Coconut Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Sauce and Tapioca Pearls
Nice, just nice and mediocre, the sauce beeing too sour, but the pearls beeing a nice idea since they added texture (though not taste). On the other hand the flower made from paper-thin greek filo-dough or something like that on top of the panna cotta was uneatable (that the word?). It was like biting into cardboard or something...
-Warm chocolate cake with caramel ice cream and cracker jacks
Again, a just nice dessert, but nothing special. I think the cake would have been much better, had it been still liquid on the inside (as is the classical way of preparing this dish) so that the thick, warm chocolate flows out a bit, once you crack the cake with your spoon. But that was not the case, unfortunately, which made the whole thing a bit dry. The cracker jacks turned out to be just that -caramelized popcorn...and they tasted only slightly better than the ones we had bought at "whole foods" a few days before, so we were not that impressed...
There were no petit fours with the coffee...
So that was our night at Ame. We had great expectations. Sorry to say that we were disappointed. The food was not "bad". Just mediocre. And given the prices, that is definitely not enough.
greetings from frankfurt
kai
(edited for spelling and grammar)