delfina and salt

[identifiler]

I travelled to San Fran last week. We ate in various places and our free night was meant to be spent in a casual affair. Upon arriving at Delfina, it was clear we were going to be treated to some very fine food and wine. And we were, everything looked amazing, from the first quality produce, to the cooking time, service, etc...

There was one slight problem... our plates were laced with pounds and pounds of salt... I mean, we could really have had salt poisoning, we were barely able to enjoy the wine and the food. Some serious issues with salt, I'm sure it's a one off and maybe the sous chef is lacking marathon fitness (we walked in at 10:00h and have noticed how early folks eat in San Fran...). I thought I would post this because I am curious to know if I should blame love, a one off drunkedness in the kitchen or the fact that all patrons of Delfina should run to their doctors to have their thyorid checked...

[eje]

I haven't been to Delfina recently, so I won't comment on the salt issue.

noticed how early folks eat in San Fran

My wife and I usually find late night dining in San Francisco frustrating, especially on Friday and Saturday. What usually happens, is, we make a reservation for 9 or 9:30 and don't end up getting seated until 10, 10:30, or 10:45. By that time, we've had too much to drink, are starving, and don't really feel like eating a big meal. It's not usually a problem at the truly upscale places; but, at the "upper mid-level" restaurants we dine at most often, we find the early evening service and food to be almost uniformly better.

-Erik

[canucklehead]

I left one the Bay Area about 10 months ago and right before I left, I made repeated trips to Delfina and every single time the food was top notch.

It seems like to me the oversalting may have been a one off. When it first opened up - I resisted going to Delfina because the reviews were so OTT. But the top notch ingredients and deceptively uncluttered cooking make it one of the places that I really really miss now that I live in Canada. In fact, I have always felt that they err slightly on the underseasoned side.

I am sorry that you had such a bad experience. Did you say anything at the time or did you just let it slide?

[Malik]

That's an interesting observation. I have eaten at Delfina at least a dozen times since it first opened, and have never had a problem with oversalting. But a friend of mine went there once and found everything to be oversalted, and she refuses to go back now. On the other hand, I do like salt a lot, so maybe I would not notice oversalting as much as others would.

[malachi]

It might just be personal taste.

I've eaten at Delfina a lot (mmmm... maybe close to a hundred times, seriously). I've never found it to be over-salted.

The fact that you found all the dishes to be too salty might indicate that you simply prefer less salt than other people.

Shrug.

[identifiler]

Nope, I don't mind salt. Bring on Lafleur or any Kosher at full value... There is salt and then salt. What I mean by that is for example greens, the vinaigrette was heavily salted, the salad must have been prepped with salt and then the combination of both was re-salted. When salt takes over a larger size of it's tasting region in your mouth, there is an issue, especially when you have a top notch wine on the table. I think I'm failry well versed in salting dishes (I have family in the Charentes and Gerande regions)... maybe it's a US thing and as a French I am not used to it, but there was definitely an absolute lack of balance because of the salt. Unfortunate since everything under the salt looked amazing. However, there was no salvation since salt was added at prep and at cooking and was present from top to bottom of dish. The deserts, bread, coffee were all to die for and all but one plate of main was not oversalted (a porc plate). We talked about it to the staff and they recognise that it was a SALT night, they shaved off the deserts which was nice... That's probably the dangers of borderline too much salt, if you so slightly cross that line, you destroy the plate. Maybe that's what happens at 10:30 PM. We literaly had to rince our mouth to even have a sip of wine. I will definitely go back to give a anothyer try.

[melkor]

Delfina is a pretty bad place to drink a top notch wine, their wine glasses are closer to jelly jars on a stick than they are to proper glassware. I've never had a dish I considered overly salty at Delfina either - I'd have to say it was either an off night or you're more salt sensitive than most.

[lizard]

Delfina is a pretty bad place to drink a top notch wine, their wine glasses are closer to jelly jars on a stick than they are to proper glassware.  I've never had a dish I considered overly salty at Delfina either - I'd have to say it was either an off night or you're more salt sensitive than most.

←

Along those same lines, the person preparing the dish may have been particulary INsensitive to salt.

I've also found that many chefs build a growing tolerance for salt that may be only noticed by guests who aren't inured to the flavors of the same dishes night after night. I have more than once tasted a too-salty dish before going out, confronted chef (a well-trained CIA grad), had him taste it, and was told that he couldn't see a problem with it. Salt tolerance is definitely on a long sliding scale.

[Pan]

My brother and I had dinner at Delfina last night (I'll post about it in more detail when I'm not paying by the minute at an internet cafe). No problem with salt, and I'm sensitive to excessive salt.