Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos

[MobyP]

Manresa is now serving a 5 year comté from the french affineur Bernard Anthony, widly considered to be the best cheese from possibly the best affineur in the world. Yet another reason to sell my child for medical experiments so I can get myself over there.

[alexhills]

Oh dear lord!! The lack of cheese was my only possible complaint on previous visits... Thankfully I'm going to a wedding in the Santa Cruz mountains in September. Not sure I can wait that long.

[docsconz]

Manresa March 29th, 2006

Manresa has been at the top of my Restaurant wish list for some time. The Medical meeting I attended was a very good excuse to get out to California so I could make it down to Los Gatos to dine there. Having had some good discussions with Chef Kinch here on eGullet had also whet my appetite as I knew him to be very thoughtful with eclectic tastes. It was also going to be interesting following on the heels of The French Laundry.

Molto e and I drove down to Los Gatos from Yountville early enough to stop for a dim sum lunch at Koi Palace in Daly City, but that is food for another post. It had rained most of the way down, but fortunately began to clear as we arrived in Los Gatos. After all the eating I had been doing I needed to get out and get some exercise so I walked from my hotel into charming downtown Los Gatos, where I discovered the most amazing orchid shop called My Orchid. (Unfortunately I cannot find a web link). Of course, I was excited and couldn't wait until 8PM to get my first view of Manresa so I continued until I found it. Although he was busily engaged in prep work for the evening, Chef Kinch was kind enough to receive me and allow me to take a few photos in the kitchen and the restaurant. Not wanting to distract him too much from his task at hand, which at least partially probably involved my upcoming dinner, I didn't linger too long and headed back up towards the hotel.

The front of the house in daylight.

Chef Kinch at the stove

Mushrooms in a stockpot.

Browning meat

Intense activity

More intense activity. I was impressed with the earnestness of purpose demonstrated in the kitchen. Not wanting to be too much of a distraction or disruption I did not ask too many questions.

The dining space is comfortable and lovely without being over the top or pretentious.

These shots are of the window tables in the anterior portion of the dining room. When we arrived at 8PM we were taken to a two-top in the back portion of the restaurant adjacent to the wine rack. I don't know if this was by design or not, but we were thankful that this table had perhaps the best lighting for photography in the restaurant. That is not to say that it was particularly well lit for photography but it was relatively reasonable. One interesting aspect of the wine rack was that there were small holes through which one could get glimpses of the other dining room. Between that and the activity in our room I could sense that the restaurant was quite busy.

Shortly after we sat we received our first of what turned out to be 9 amuses, the delightful

Petit fours "reed pepper-black olive". These were sweet but held a welcome purity of flavor.

Molto...

[molto e]

http://www.manresarestaurant.com/

Manresa has been somewhere that I had wanted to eat at for a long time. Fortunately the trip allowed me the opportunity to do so. We opted for the Chef's tasting and Chef Kinch did not disappoint.

The front of the restaurant as we are walking in with Doc observing the kitchen

Medjool date and champagne cocktail

Interesting spin and paired with Champagne

Edited April 15, 2006 by molto e (log)

[docsconz]

After the petit fours and cocktail, there were some simple appearing plates to start.

Butter with salt was very nice butter with I thought a starkly beautiful presentation. This is one of those details that can often be overlooked, but shouldn't at a restaurant of this caliber. Anticipating a big meal, I refrained from too much bread as good as it was.

Chestnut and foie gras croquettes How can so much decadence fit into such atiny package? This was crisp on the outside with warm blissful liquid on the inside.

Sea Urchin Shooter Unfortunately, I think we received bad advice from our waitperson with this. She suggested that we take it all in one gulp. It was quite flavorful and tasted somewhat like a complex "Bloody Mary", however, I couldn't get any real sense of the value of the sea urchin in there. I would have loved a "do-over" here, but we had plenty more "fish to fry"

[molto e]

The Foie Croquette is a dish of Chef Kinch's that is loved by all that eat it. I wish that I could have stolen Doc's but he took his picture before I did.

Sea urchin shooter- the liquid part of the shooter had some soy, ginger and citrus and there was some radish and scallions along with the uni

Kisu with shiso and pancetta

Kisu is also known as needlefish ( or this is needle fish done as kisu Chef if you wish) and this was a very interesting presentation. The frying was also done perfectly in this dish-texturally perfect.

Edited April 15, 2006 by molto e (log)

[docsconz]

The Shisu dish was one of my favorites. It was delicious in addition to being visually beautiful in its elegant simplicity and form.

I enjoyed every aspect of this dish.

[molto e]

Turnip-brioche and foie gras royale

This was a rich and satisfying dish

[Chris Amirault]

Well this is a fantastic tag-team! I'll be fascinated to read more of your comments, especially, John, about the BOH.

[docsconz]

The turnip-brioche and foie gras royale had a visual simplicity that belied its textural and flavor complexities.

We were next brought out two oysters, including one of Chef Kinch's signature dishes.

Warm Oyster with apple, coulommier

Oyster in urchin jelly

Once again, I think we were given bad advice by our waitperson. We were told to have the warm oyster first then the one with urchin jelly. The warm oyster was spectacular. It was full of rich flavor. The coulommier added additional richness, that was nicely cut by the little bit of apple. The one with the urchin jelly in contrast was tasteless. This turned out to be my biggest disappointment of the evening. had the order been reversed, I think it would more likely have been more enjoyable. Once again, I would have liked a "do-over".

Thanks, Chris. Although we did have a nice sit-down chat with Chef Kinch at the end of the meal, we didn't really venture back into the kitchen again.

Edited April 15, 2006 by docsconz (log)

[molto e]

Chef Kinch showed his inate ability to pair flavors with the oyster course. His freedom to pair the oyster with the leek, apple and coulommier cheese ( some of the same characteristics as a brie) was a smash hit for me. "Oysters Kinch" a la Oysters Rockafeller, I will eat the Oysters Kinch any day.

The workmanship of the other oyster was great with the Uni and Oyster encased in the urchin jelly. Unfortunately this oyster could not match the flavors of the other oyster for me.

Chef Kinch giving a nod to Passard with the Arpege egg, did put his own mark on it with Tahitian vanilla instead of maple syrup. The combination of the yolk with sherry vinegar whipped cream and then the sweetness of the Tahitian vanilla is rather pleasing to say the least.

Mesquite grilled foie gras, calamondin caramel

This was a very interesting dish to me. The foie picked up a smokey flavor from the mesquite that I had not encountered before. I should have asked how they cooked this because the foie did not get a sear on the outside and stayed very soft.

Edited April 15, 2006 by molto e (log)

[alanamoana]

it is a pretty involved dish where they clean and poach the foie, roll it, smoke it...ahhhh i can't remember the order of everything...i think at one point they roast the whole shebang to give it the color you see on the outside.

at any rate, it is about a three day process.

[docsconz]

I've never had the egg at Arpege, but have had other renditions elsewhere. As with this one and a couple other variations I have had, it can be a great dish and worthy of emulation and homage.

I have never had foie gras anything like this before. This was a fascinating and delicious dish.

Assorted spring fish, dried sardine consomme This dish was brought out with the consomme' added tableside. The flower sprig (I forget what kind) was there to add aromatics, though it was not to be eaten. This was a lovely dish with the fish lightly cooked by the broth.

Beet "gazpacho", cured mackerel and osetra caviar salad This was another beautifully presented dish with delicious, balanced flavors.

Bluefin "tete du fromage", its cheeks on the plancha The flavors were strong, but to me this dish was all about texture. The "head cheese" was simply unctuous. The cheeks were different than any tuna preparation I had had before and fascinating.

The next dish was the single most interesting one of the evening for me.

Scallop and its tripe, black truffles Another first for me was having the rest of the scallop in a preparation. I have had scallop and its roe before, but not the whole body. This dish reminded me of the first time I had first growth chablis at a blind tasting of 23 white Burgundies. At my first taste I was turned off by the unusual (for chardonnay to my experience at the time) mineral flavors, but the more I tried it the more I liked it so that by the end of the tasting I was craving it. I could see that happening with this dish. The flavors were strange to me, but ultimately haunting. I would love to try this again.

[docsconz]

it is a pretty involved dish where they clean and poach the foie, roll it, smoke it...ahhhh i can't remember the order of everything...i think at one point they roast the whole shebang to give it the color you see on the outside.

at any rate, it is about a three day process.

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Thanks. Chef Kinch should probably put a warning that this is done by trained professionals - do not try this at home.

[molto e]

I think the sprig in the spring fish, dred sardine course was shiso buds.

The beet gazpacho, mackerel course was excellent and one of my favorites of the night.

John Dory, sweet pea bouillon

This was a great course the fish cooked perfectly and the flavors rocked.

Salt cod confit, saffron and surf clam rice

This preparation made the salt cod so tender. I really do not remember a salt cod that I enjoyed as much as this one. I think the rice in the risotto was Bio-dynamic and the risotto was great.

Aji grilled in cherry blossom leaves

Aji can be strong, but this was so good.

Abalone, meuniere-style, pigs trotters

This was another course that was delicious.

Sweetbreads, roasted whole, wild onions

The texture from roasting the sweetbreads was amazing. Great Dish

[docsconz]

Thanks, Molto. You are correct. It is nice dining with someone who has a memory. My sentiments on the dishes presented by Molto echo his. All i would add is that I love fresh peas and pea shoots. To me they are the essence of spring. The John Dory with sweet pea bouillon evoked that sense.

Squab and our boudin noir, salt roasted beets with homemade vinegar I love squab. I loved this squab. It was perfectly cooked. The accompaniments went well with it.

At this point I would like to comment about wine. Unfortunately we failed to take a listing of our wine pairings. We had a tasting flight to go with the courses. The pairings worked quite well. I just wish that I could give proper credit and relay them here.

[molto e]

Braised kid goat, exotic Indian spices, white yam

The goat was very tender and tasted good

[docsconz]

Manresa is now serving a 5 year comté from the french affineur Bernard Anthony, widly considered to be the best cheese from possibly the best affineur in the world. Yet another reason to sell my child for medical experiments so I can get myself over there.

←

and here it is...

It is delicious and presented in a way to really highlight the cheese.

[molto e]

After tasting the Comte, it was evident what all the fuss was about

Strawberry sorbet with lemon

[docsconz]

Warm date cake, pineapple and vanilla bean ice cream

Chocolate Risotto with sour cherries, gianduja

The desserts were my favorites of the trip. I particularly enjoyed the risotto. It's creamy consistency lent itself well to the chocolate. I will take sour cherries with anything. With chocolate, mmmm - gianduja too.

By this time of the evening we had struck up a conversation with our neighboring table that included an important wine personage from up napa way and a well known food editor of a California daily. Their menu was essentially the same as ours. They seemed to enjoy themselves as well.

Chef Kinch came out to chat with us at the end of the evening as we closed the restaurant. He is as bright and thoughtful a person in the flesh as he appears in print. It was a lot of fun talking food with him in person as his knowledge of food and other things is vast. We discussed some of our thoughts on the dinner as well as the greater scope of food and restaurants. I am very happy that I finally made it out to Manresa. I am even happier to say that the trip was worthwhile. Chef Kinch's talents are prodigious. He is a thoughtful chef with a thoughtful, challenging cuisine. I believe we had a pretty good sampling of his current ouvre that night and his skill and artistry were indeed impressive.

We still had one more small course to go...

[molto e]

Petit fours "chocolate-strawberry'

Right back where started excepte sweet not savory

Chef David Kinch is Manresa and Manresa is Chef David Kinch.

This is a Chef that has followed his passion from the Big Easy to NY, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and points in between. This has enabled him to have a broad repetoire and the ablility to put his riff on many types of cuisine. If there was a true Iron Chef competition with no advance notice of ingredients, my money is on him

He has the soul of a French Chef and I think in a former life he must have been one. He shared his vision of Manresa with us; next year he is starting a farm that will produce vegetables for the restaurant. This farm will be biodynamic, which is more involved than organic farming. Next year 30% of the vegetables will be grown at the farm and the following year that will be up to 70%. He is looking to grow the perfect leek and the such. He wants the best ingredients to be available to him. He wants their true essence to shine thru his cooking without manipulation. He is seeking purity... If one lives in this area and have not taken the time to try Manresa then you have made a big mistake. I know that I will keep track of this talent and look forward to my next visit.

[greensNbeans]

Well done - gentlemen! Plan on visiting Texas anytime soon?

[ulterior epicure]

Well done - gentlemen!  Plan on visiting Texas anytime soon?

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A hearty ditto - bravo! doc and molto, you've got me giddy with anticipation for my upcoming trip! At first, I only saw the of pre-dinner petite fours and amuses was quite happy with the meal (you can tell i did nominal reading - skimming through for just the elements) - only find out the pictures from the meal proper hadn't been posted yet!

Look forward to it!

u.e.

[Andy Lynes]

Scallop and its tripe, black truffles .... The flavors were strange to me, but ultimately haunting. I would love to try this again.

←

I was lucky enough to try this dish at this year's Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel when David prepared it for 190 people! It was at least on a par with a lamb dish from Alain Passard cooked at the same event and one of the best I had during an 8 day Californian trip.

[MobyP]

Pig's trotters, sweetbreads, pigeon, goat, comté...

aw man...