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| Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2008 to 11/20/2008 is -46.7%*
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| sadly, after eating the most spectacular meal i have had at manresa, within a week, i have outdone myself and had an even more spectacular meal, this time in good ole southern california:
melisse - santa monica,ca
"carte blanche" menu, master chef/owner josiah citrin even decided to stop by our table to say hello.. awesomeness
follow the pics for:
oyster shooter - horseradish granite, tabasco pearls, japanese tomato consomme
fennel flan - orange gelee, cashew
sweet pea soup - mushroom and leek hash, almond butter
egg caviar - lemon creme fraiche and american osetra caviar
trio of melisse foie gras - date confiture, heirloom carrots, blood orange, apple marmalade
santa barbara spot prawn - abalone, asparagus, morels, shellfish lemongrass nage
crispy golden snapper - laratte potato, fennel, tomato herb jus
sonoma duck breast - swiss chard, porcini, duck jus
roasted venison loin - chantarelle mushrooms, cabbage, chestunt, sauce poivre
fromage
vanilla yogurt - strawberry sorbet
frozen passion fruit parfait - pistachio, coconut, lemongrass broth
chocolate, chocolate, coffee - chocolate souffle, chocolate peanut butter crunch, coffee and mascarpone
see the pics:
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| eating adventure this weekend: perhaps the most spectacular meal i have had in my life (certainly the most expensive!)
MANRESA - Los Gatos, CA Tasting Menu as best as I can remember, since it was so complex I may have misconstrued a few of the items:
- olive madeleine & red pepper gelee
- croquette with some hot liquid pistachio stuff?
- oyster with celery ice
- arpege egg
- butter with sea salt (no pics of the bread, which was french, wheat, and olive)
- mussel, crab, clam, kelp
- prawns with indian spice
- garden dish - mix of vegetables/flowers from their garden
- abalone & foie gras in a bonito broth
- cod a la plancha in a red bell pepper broth ?
- roast squab and squab confit, grapes, touch of bacon
- spring lamb, peas, wheatberries, kelp
- black tea with some ice cream, crispy rice
- custard in white chocolate, and ice cream with pea leaf
- chocolate fondant, salty cracker, sourdough ice cream
- chocolate madeleine, strawberry gelee  | | |
| another napa/sonoma trip last last weekend but i'm lagging behind in my posts:
here's the photo collage:
going by row from the top:
oxbow public market , annette's chocolate factory , bistro jeanty , crusty bread
bone marrow appetizer , cream of tomato soup in puff pastry, seafood risotto, pomme frittes
steak tartare, steak tartare with the yolk dumped on (and a few nibbles by me), banana cream pie, some salad
chicken pot pie, sundae, breakfast food, more breakfast food
synopsis:
oxbow = bad version of SF ferry building, annette's chocolates was pretty tasty though
lunch @ bistro jeanty = great bistro, bone marrow appetizer was super, steak tartare is a bit too much for an entree (got sa little tiring eating all that raw beef).. i'll remember to order it as an entree from now on, banana creme pie was good, but still not as good as the one i had at emeril's in atlanta.... mmm memories.
dinner @ starlight wine bar = good and unique chicken pot pie.. basically all the stuff with a pastry on top. salad was good because there were really thick pieces of fatty bacon chopped up in it
dessert @ screaming mimi's = learned my lesson, will try not to order sundaes anymore, all the hot fudge/sauce/whatever just ends up melting the ice cream and you end up with a big mess... and i just like the ice cream by itself the most, so must tell myself not to order these ridiculous sundaes anymore!
breakfast @ two niner diner = diner at petaluma airport, was a second choice as many restaurants were closed on easter. it was good enough food, typical greasy spoon fare. nothing to complain about.
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| took a weekend trip up to wine country... mainly to relax, eat, taste some wine, and get away...
using the trusty michelin guide, picked 3 restaurants to dine at:
descriptions will be short, because it's late and i'm tired, but pictures for all to see and drool over
saturday lunch:
bouchon (of thomas keller fame), yountville, ca, 1 michelin star
main entree was the cote de boeuf for two, it was awesome, they brought it out before the chef sliced it and diced it, and i wish i really took a pic of it, but oh well, i forgot to.. sadness... anyways, had parsnip puree soup, mussels, the cote de boeuf (22-24 oz ribeye, served with creamed spinach, bone marrow bread pudding, and forest mushrooms)... was too full for dessert, but picked up some goodies from the next door bouchon bakery...
afternoon: wine tasting
really only went to two wineries, tried to go to another one, but it was by appt only:
pictured are plumpjack & sterling
plumpjack is really small, just a small tasting bar and gift shop, but we ended up picking up a bottle of their cade sauvignon blanc as it was really good... sterling is much more grand, a full fledged self guided walking tour throughout the winery, you need to take a tram up as well, which provides beautiful views, and included with the tram ticket/wine tour, they give you a taste of 5 wines... and also gave us some chocolate truffle samples
dinner:
k&l bistro, sebastopol, ca, another 1 michelin star rated restaurant
let me try to recant: fritto misto, french onion soup, tomato bisque, goat cheese salad, skate
no dessert, because we were too stuffed
sunday brunch:
el dorado kitchen , sonoma, ca, michelin rated, but no stars (hey it's hard enough just to get in the guide)
meal was: schramsberg brut rose (had to order since i was denied the tour of the schramsberg winery), truffle fries, curry fritto misto, fried egg pizza, beef hash & poached eggs, once again, skipped dessert as we were way too stuffed (see the trend).
that about rounds up my epicurean endeavors, but to sum it up:
bouchon was awesome, best steak (that had sauce poured all over it) i ever had, pricey, but worth the experience i suppose
k&l bistro was good, but nothing too spectacular (maybe we were too full), prices are very reasonable here
el dorado kitchen, excellent brunch, truffle fries are perhaps the best french fries i ever had.. tastes like they're fried in truffle oil with parmesan sprinkled on top. yum yum yum. the rest of the food was great too , but after we got through the fries & curry fritto misto, it was really hard to put down the rest of our meals, but still grrrrreat. sonoma is a cute little town too, it's right on the downtown square, lots of shopping and other restaurants and such to explore
and as for wine tasting, i still am trying to learn how to appreciate it... i guess i'm just not that hardcore, and i like the tamer stuff.. i.e. i think the sauvignon blanc is better than a chardonnay, and prefer the cabernet vs the merlot... or perhaps the explanation is i'm just weak sauce
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