Amuse Bouches
Asparagus on a spoon with a vinaigrette? Polenta Cake - diamond shapes topped with something I can't recall.
I actually forgot about these until a week later. It was such chaos at the beginning of the dinner with 3 different menus on the table - Champagne/Caviar, Wine List, and Dinner - granted it was our fault for the chaos as we asked for the other menus during the champagne and caviar cart arrival. My recollection is that both amuse were perfect on their own but an unusual pairing.
Note on the menu:
The menu gives choices of 3, 4 or 5 courses with the guest able to choose from any categories. You may have 5 desserts if you like or 3 courses of foie gras. There is also a special Chef's Tasting Menu.
Joanne had the 5 course menu - $74
Thai Marinated Lobster, Avocado, Mango and Fresh Hearts of Palm
One of the best lobster dishes I've had in Northern California. Lobster was perfectly cooked (not overcooked as it usually is) and the mango was absolutely perfect. The only fault was oversalting which we learned was from the use of Nam Pla (Fish sauce) which made the avocado and hearts of palm too salty for my taste.
Salt Cured Torchon of Foie Gras, Sauterne Gelée, Rhubard Compote, Warm Crumpets
Wow. This is the best torchon I've ever had. The sauterne gelée had little flavor but the rhubard compote (tiny cubes of lightly cooked (poached?) rhubarb) went wonderfully with it. The downside was the crumpets, which although made with great artistry and flavor in their own right, were overly greasy. Their yeasty flavor overpowered the foie gras. I tried the torchon with toasted brioche and with the tablebread (a whole wheat epi) and neither were better matches.
Roasted Beets with Blood Orange, Ginger and Watercress
Tiny cubes of 3 color beets formed in inverted glass shaped tower. Too much dressing and flavors that just didn't mesh. Plus the sweet potato chips which accompanied it were way too greasy and flavorless.
Roasted Squab with Gesier Stuffing and Dried Cherries
As I had this dish from this chef before and loved it I went for it again. The Gesier stuffing was again exemplary. I think the squab itself was not quite as meaty as the last time I had it but perfectly cooked with crisp skin and rare meat. The dish suffered from over-salting and too little sauce for the squab. The cherries which had been slightly rehydrated in the previous version of this dish I enjoyed, this time were not and I think that they should have been.
Cheese Cart: Our choices - Flixin, Robiola Pineta, Vacherin, Époisses and Fourme D'Aubert. Other choices available: Redwood Hill's Camellia, Andante's Minuet, Soumatrain, Pierre Robert, and Beeler's Hoch Ybrig.
Dessert: Toasted Almond Dacquoise, Espresso Sabayon Passion Fruit Granite
Meringue was wonderful, perfect squares. Espresso Sabayon very lightly flavored and well done. Almonds were crispy. The Granite was spectacular but a poor pairing with the dacquiose - the flavors clashed.
