Kitchen 1540 (San Diego) – 11-Course Tasting Menu with Chef Jonathan Bautista

The first look when deciding on the next restaurant to visit is always for the online menu to get an idea about the cooking style and creativity of the chef and how it overlaps with our preferences. But the second look often immediately follows to the personal background page of the chef. It is always very interesting to read the vita of a chef and the different restaurants and chefs he worked for during his career. Having worked for well-known chefs or in prestigious restaurants obviously doesn’t guarantee that a chef will run a good restaurant himself but at the same time it is important to have experienced and successfully worked under high-pressure environments to fully comprehend the restaurant business. And so it is fascinating to put together “family trees” of well-known chefs like Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter or Daniel Boulud to realize their far reaching impact on the dining scene in pretty much every part of the US and even beyond. But the impact of established chefs is not only apparent on the national level but can be quite strong on a local level which was nicely illustrated recently in an article about the influences of just two chefs, Daniel Patterson of Coi and David Kinch of Manresa, on the dining scene in San Francisco. Both chefs have trained and mentored many chefs over the years in their kitchens that their influence on the culinary landscape in San Francisco is undeniable through restaurants like Outerland, Commis or Rich Table but goes even to national acclaimed ice cream shops like Humphry Slocombe. The impact is perhaps best summed up by Chef Evan Rich with “(Kinch and Patterson) don't only teach you to cook. They teach you how to think about food”. And it illustrates that one of the backbones of a great culinary city are strong, visionary chefs who provide environments for aspiring chefs and reasons for them to stay in that city.

 

San Diego might not yet have the depth as a culinary city as San Francisco which can also be explained by the missing opportunities for young chefs to grow and get mentored by such established chefs but over the last few years several chefs, like Trey Foshee, Jeff Jackson, Matt Gordon and Paul McCabe, and their restaurants have started to fill out this role. We recently had the chance to experience two former chefs, Zach Hunter and Steven Molina, who had worked under McCabe at a pop-up dinner at Delicias. Steven Molina has since then moved to Sea & Smoke to run the day-to-day operations of the restaurant but we also met Chef Bautista again at that dinner whom we first encountered as sous chef at a tasting menu at Kitchen 1540. And it reminded us that it was more than time to set up another tasting menu at Kitchen 1540 where he was now running the show as Chef de Cuisine. Chef Bautista finished his culinary education at the Art Institute in San Diego in 2005 before he started working at Roy’s where he moved up the ranks to sous chef. He then moved over to Kitchen 1540 where he started working under Paul McCabe, worked briefly at Michael Voltaggio’s Ink in LA, before returning to Kitchen 1540 as Chef de Cuisine.  Interestingly, when we finally made the reservation with Chef Bautista we pretty much found out at the same day that he was planning to start working as Chef de Cuisine at Georges Modern around the same time. Even though we briefly considered cancelling the reservation since it would be on one of his last days at Kitchen 1540 we also felt that it might be a good chance to experience his own cooking before he would work together with Trey Foshee, and it would be interesting to see how his cooking style will be influenced in the future. (The restaurant gave us a very nice but also very dark place and so the pictures are quite grainy)

 

 

1^st Course: Hamachi, fermented plum, soy, cucumber, daikon

Raw fish is often seen as a start to a tasting menu since the delicate fish acts as a welcoming canvas for a wide variety of flavors to awaken the palate. Here we had a nicely done version with hamachi which was lightly torched to give it a unique flavor that held up against the soy yuzu sauce and the fermented plum. The daikon and cucumber added some textural contrast. Overall a very good start to the tasting menu especially with the sake pairing and its floral undertones.

2^nd Course: Ocean trout, geoduck, aged parsnip, sorrel, wild trout roe

Wood sorrel gave the broth its deep green color and with its tangy, citrusy flavor paired well with the ocean trout. The crispy skin and a piece of geoduck added some crunch whereas the trout roe was integral to the dish with the small bursts of brininess.

3^rd Course: Vegetables, caper, lemon, brown butter

The bounty of outstanding produce in San Diego is often depicted with a salad course but Chef Bautista took a different path by showcasing it through some outstanding lightly grilled/seared vegetables from Chino Farms ranging from cauliflower, aubergines to turnips. This course was really about the natural flavors of these vegetables only accentuated by a light lemony sauce. One of the highlights of the tasting menu, raising the question why not more chefs in San Diego use these flavors as centerpieces of dishes instead of focusing on meat.

4^th Course: Cuttlefish, parmesan, dashi, basil

This course reminded us most on influences from Ink in LA – cuttlefish cut into thin pieces and pressure cooked so that it resembles visually and texturally pasta is combined with uni and abalone on one side and a parmesan and dashi sauce on the other side to give a Japanese inspired version of Spaghetti Carbonara. A really well thought out course which combines creativity with flawless execution and you would wish to have a really large bowl.

5^th Course: Hamachi belly, Chino turnips, nettle chimichurri

It was interesting to see the different approaches between this course and the previous one – the cuttlefish course showcased many different ingredients, flavors and complexity whereas this course was all about simplicity and clean flavors. Succulent hamachi belly and slightly sweet turnips complement each other without blending the flavors. Both are wood roasted to accentuate their roles and the nettle chimichurri connects both with its herbaceous taste.

6^th Course: Geoduck belly, razor clam, sunchoke, BBQ, yuzu

Tender geoduck belly stood up surprisingly well against the different variations of sunchoke, like sauce and chips, with its nutty flavor. The restrained use of yuzu helped to bring the plate alive. The sunchoke chips and razor clam added some nice texture.

7^th Course: Local spiny lobster, fermented onion, crosnes, black trumpet

This might have been actually the first time that we had black trumpet mushrooms and it is easy to understand why they are so thought after with their meaty consistency and fruity and earthy flavor with reminiscence of black truffles. The butter poached lobster and the fermented onion sauce with its slightly sour, funky undertones were unexpected companions to the mushrooms but worked remarkable well.

8^th Course: Pork short ribs, alba white truffles, potato polenta, kohlrabi

Beef short ribs might be one of the most overused ingredients on any menu currently and so it was a nice change to see pork short ribs especially with such an interesting mole-like glaze. The white truffles were an unexpected pairing but worked remarkably well as they stood up against the mole without overpowering the dish. The potato polenta acted as the base of the dish whereas the pickled kohlrabi, a vegetable which should be used more often by chefs, brightened up the dish with some acidity and muted sweetness. Another highlight of the night for which we wished for a much larger portion.

9^th Course: Lamb, ash, parley, chestnut, oats

Very tender sous vide lamb is coated in ash which gives it a slightly bitter undertone, but what really sets this dish apart is the combination of three different sauces/puree – parsley puree, chestnut puree and fermented strawberry sauce. Each of the three sauces has a very different, distinct flavor which pairs well with the lamb and it’s interesting to try out various combinations of them with each bite. And as in many of his dishes Chef Bautista adds some textural component, here some oats, to avoid a too uniform overall consistency.

10^th Course: Cinnamon bun, bay leaf ice cream

Kitchen 1540 doesn’t have a regular pastry chef and so Chef Bautista is also responsible for the sweet part of the tasting menu. We started with a wonderful light and airy “unwrapped” cinnamon bun which was accompanied by bay leaf ice cream. Bay leaf is one of these spices you often add to your dishes and it doesn’t have a very prominent flavor but it adds often an important base to many dishes. Here bay leafs took the center stage and the ice cream showed some floral notes with hints of nutmeg and some surprising sweetness. The shaved apple pieces completed this great dessert with some welcomed tanginess.

11^th Course: Root beer, persimmon, maple

We normally don’t like root beer a lot and so we were a bit skeptical about the last course but actually the root beer foam had the typical herbal notes which often remind us on some medicine and toothpaste but paired well with the cake and the maple ice cream and was a good end to an outstanding tasting menu.

 

 

When we were setting up the tasting menu we were initially a little bit skeptical as it was on one of the last days of Chef Bautista at Kitchen 1540 and so it was hard to judge how much he would be willing to put a lot of efforts in this tasting menu. But at the same time we also felt that it was a last chance to experience his cooking (and potentially creative cooking in general) at Kitchen 1540. Once we started the tasting menu it turned out to be one of the best we had experienced in San Diego. This was one of these rare occasions where everything turned out to be a perfect night – great food, good pairings, relaxed yet professional service. Often even at the most well known restaurants or chefs some small annoyance happen, e.g. disappointing courses or rushed service but here we just sat down, had a great time and were surprised how fast more than four hours were flying by. Most importantly the food was on a very high level with many well thought out courses which often showed bold yet refined and complex flavors, perhaps best characterized by two of the highlights - the cuttlefish and the pork course. And so it is not really surprising that Chef Bautista decided to take the next career step by moving to Georges as Chef de Cuisine as he seems to be ambitious enough not to stay in this comfortable but not really challenging position at Kitchen1540. And since his cooking is already on a very high level the only logical step as he mentioned in a discussion was only to work under Trey Foshee or move somewhere else. It will be interesting to see where his successor, Chef Brandon Fortune, formerly of Amaya and Aquamoree, will push Kitchen1540 – continue as bastion of fine dining or converting it to a “hotel restaurant”. The cooking style of Chef Bautista shows influences from chefs he worked with and tends to be complex and perhaps sometimes even a bit overthought whereas Chef Foshee has a focused style often aiming at the elemental, pure flavor of the ingredients. Having both work together at Georges will be interesting especially for TBL3 to see how much they will influence each other and especially if Chef Bautista’s style will change over time. We are looking to meet him again at our next TBL3 experience !

 

Kitchen 1540

1540 Camino Del Mar

Del Mar, CA 92014

(858) 793-6460

Delicias (San Diego) - 9-Course Tasting Menu or Keeping up with Chef McCabe

There is hardly any part of daily life which hasn’t been deeply affected and changed by the internet over the last two decades. Starting from how we purchase nearly every kind of goods, how we keep up to date with news, how we gather information or how we communicate with each other. It is amusing and also sad at the same time to see how many people you see today in restaurants who instead of talking to each other are more occupied to stare on their smart phones and communicate through social networks with each other and the world. Suddenly everybody, even people you have never met in your life before, are “friends” and the importance of anything is measured in how much everybody “likes”. All those social networks from the established to the new ones have/had very little appeal for us as they seem to be more advertisement platforms or trying to extract every detail of your life even without any permission but there is one exception – Twitter. While Twitter is far from something we would truly call communication with its 140 character limitations and often pointless “discussions” it has one major attraction for us as foodies – the possibility of “direct” interaction with chefs. There are many ways to contact a restaurant through their web page or Facebook page but these possibilities normally only give you access to the FOH. Any time you wanted to discuss dishes or menus with any chef there was hardly any other way than going straight into the kitchen during a dinner. Twitter changed this as many chefs started to use it personally to keep in touch with colleagues and customers and it opened up many new possibilities to interact with them.

 

When we recently had unexpectedly some reasons for a celebration we considered a few possible restaurants as good places for an extensive dinner or preferably a multi-course tasting menu. But when we went over our lists we remembered that one of our best dinners we had last year was an outstanding tasting menu at Kitchen 1540 under Chef Paul McCabe. Chef McCabe started to have an impact on the culinary scene in San Diego about ten years ago when he worked as Executive Chef first at Top of the Cove and then Star of the Sea. But he really made a name for himself far beyond San Diego once he started heading the kitchen at Kitchen 1540 and made it to one of the premier dining spots in San Diego. And so it took many by surprise when he suddenly announced end of last year that he would leave Kitchen 1540 for Delicias in Ranch Santa Fe. Delicias was one of these restaurants which exist for many years, 19 in the case of Delicias, but never made a real lasting impact on the dining scene in San Diego. Our single visit some time ago showed good but unremarkable food especially for the relative high prices. Once more details about the move from Chef McCabe surfaced it become more apparent that it was quite lucrative as not only he took over the kitchen but also became partner to owner Owen Perry, at the same time as Alex Campbell, formerly of Bertrand’s at Mr.A, with not only plans to revamp Delicias but also opening additional restaurants over the next years. Through his Twitter account he posted regularly photos of his new dishes and it became obvious that even though Delicias might not have the same customer base as Kitchen 1540 the cooking style of McCabe didn’t change much. Once the renovation of the restaurant and the revamp of the menu were completed recently we felt that now was a good time to try out Delicias. And after just a few tweets with Chef McCabe within several minutes we were able to set up a tasting menu at Delicias on a short notice.

 

1^st Course: Shrimps - White shrimp blanket, spot prawn sashimi, ceviche, eggs and tempura

This course was presented as a variation on shrimp ceviche which didn’t do the dish enough justice. In this complex dish we had a number of different shrimp preparations yielding a broad range of textures and flavors - starting from the soft and mild white shrimp blanket to the sweet and tender spot prawn sashimi to the citrusy ceviche with tempura adding some texture. Ceviches can often dominate a dish with their citrus-based sauce but in this dish it was well balanced with some spicy- and saltiness rounding out the flavor profile. A very good start to the tasting menu as the dish helped to awaken the taste buds.

 

2^nd Course: Salad - Compressed vegetables and fruits

The trend of having one dish to showcase the abundance of great produce in San Diego also continued with this tasting menu but at the same time it was fascinating to see how different the presentations are between the different chefs or even for Chef McCabe himself compared to his “produce” course during our tasting menu at Kitchen 1540. Whereas at Kitchen 1540 we had a very complex presentation with different dressings and powders here we had the mere opposite – simplicity. Using modern techniques to vacuum seal fruits and vegetables with looser cell structures and high water content helps to intensify the flavors yielding in dishes of stronger tastes of fruits and vegetables like watermelon and cucumber in this course. A great example that modern technique and pure and unadulterated flavors don’t have to be a contradiction.

 

3^rd Course: Corn Agnolotti, poached Maine lobster, chanterelle mushrooms, summer truffles

One would expect that a dish which contains lobster, chanterelle mushrooms and summer truffles would center around these special ingredients but even though they were integral for the dish they took a backseat to the most mundane one – corn. Wonderful sweet but not overly saccharine it elevated the agnolotti to light pillows of pasta but also formed the fitting foundation for all other ingredients.

 

4rd Course: Local White Bass, warm summer bean salad, house pancetta, pistou vinaigrette

The White Bass was cooked nicely and very tender and flakey. The bean salad had numerous different types of beans and was a good choice for the mildly flavored fish. But what really brought this dish together was the pistou as it paired well with bean salad as well as the fish and was the overarching theme of the course.

 

5^th Course: Pot Pie - Beef tongue, foie gras, vegetables, puff pastry

When we originally set up this tasting menu we agreed on an 8-course menu with Chef McCabe but at the beginning of the night he explained to us that there would be an additional course. For this course McCabe came out of the kitchen to present this dish as the additional free course – a variation on pot pie which included foie gras. Obviously with the current ban on foie gras in California having the rare opportunity to eat this delicacy alone was very exciting but what made the course really stand out was how it was integrated into the dish. The easy way to serve foie gras would have been in a classical presentation au torchon or seared but this pot pie dish was a prime example where the sum is greater than its parts. Using the often underutilized beef tongue as meat for the pie was refreshing as it infused a strong, yet unique, beefy flavor but the foie gras in the sauce elevated the dish to a completely different level. Every bite of the dish included the taste of foie gras but it was balanced enough not to dominate everything but yet the dish wouldn’t have worked without it – simply a brilliant dish and not only a highlight of this tasting menu but one of the best dishes we had in a long time. And it doesn’t happen very often that we talk so much about a dish even days after the tasting menu when we were hoping to have it one more time for dinner at home.

 

6^th Course: Colorado lamb rack, faro, harissa yogurt, compressed onion, cucumber, olive

It is always hard to talk about the philosophy of a chef as they often draw their inspiration from many different sources but perhaps this dish is a good example of what we feel is part of Chef McCabe’s philosophy. On one side a rather classical interpretation of a rack of lamb but at the same time supporting the earthy flavors with an ancient, and rarely seen on menus, grain like faro. On the other side using modern techniques to create ingredients and flavors like the compressed onion and cucumber which present an unexpected twist leading to interesting contrasts, might it be, as in this case, by temperature, texture or flavor.

 

7^th Course: Cheese – Coach Farm Triple Cream Goat, Roaring Forties Blue, condiments

The cheese course presented two different extremes – a triple cream goat which was very mild but rich and had some light tangy flavors. Whereas the Roaring Forties Blue had a much more pronounced, bolder flavor with nutty undertones.

 

8^th Course: Yuzu curd, miso graham cracker, meringue

Yuzu with its distinct taste somewhere between grapefruit and mandarin with some floral notes is a good palate cleanser between the savory courses and the dessert. The miso graham crackers not only added some texture but also interesting umami flavor which reinforced the transition from savory to sweet courses.

 

9^th Course: Chocolate tart, crunchy praline, toasted marshmallow, chocolate sorbet, maldon

The tasting menu finished in a classical way with a chocolate based dessert. The chocolate tart had some interesting textural variety by the crunchy praline and toasted marshmallow. Adding some salt flakes helped open up the flavor of the tart. Using chocolate sorbet instead of the ubiquitous chocolate gelato ensured a certain lightness of the course. Perhaps not the most creative and unusual way to end the night but still a satisfying end to a great tasting menu.

 

 

The outstanding experience we had with the tasting menu at Kitchen 1540 under Chef McCabe and his Twitter pictures of some of his dishes since he started working at Delicias set our expectations quite high. At the same time our first dinner at Delicias more than a year ago was unremarkable and the expected clientele at a restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe might imply that a chef has to hold back his creativity to be successful. In the end our concerns appeared to be unfounded and our experiences with a tasting menu at Delicias were on a very similar level as at Kitchen 1540. The creativity and execution of the dishes clearly showed the style we expected from Chef McCabe and it was interesting to see that some of the courses of the tasting menu were variation of dishes from the regular menu, like the lamb or agnolotti. And even though most of the off-menu courses showed a greater level of creativity the flow between off and on menu dishes throughout the tasting menu was uninterrupted and indicated the impact McCabe had on the quality of the regular menu.

 

As much as bad service can ruin a dinner with great food, good service as we experienced at Delicias can elevate an already great night. And it is often the small details like well paced courses, enough time to enjoy some cocktails without being “forced” to start the tasting menu and attentive but unintrusive service which you see surprisingly seldom even at higher end restaurants that set the tone for great service. If there was perhaps one minor quibble than even though the current dining room feels less stuffy than on our last visit it was surprising to see that they used booths with very high backrests close to the kitchen to separate the dining room from the kitchen instead of creating a dining room with an open kitchen which would bring a much better dynamic and liveliness to the restaurant.

 

It will be interesting to see how Chef McCabe will position Delicias as a restaurant in the near future. He has to find a balance to keep the regular menu interesting but not too unusual to attract his regular customers in Rancho Santa Fe but at the same time also create creative dishes to expand the influence of Delicias beyond being just a neighborhood restaurant. Perhaps he might take a similar approach as Chef Foshee at Georges in La Jolla who has an interesting regular menu to satisfy his regular customers but also more recently started TBL3, a special tasting menu, which gained a lot of attention for his restaurant far beyond San Diego. Using a tasting menu like we experienced with Chef McCabe will be the right step to make Delicias such a destination restaurant.

 

Delicias

6106 Paseo Delicias

Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

(858) 756-8000

Kitchen 1540 (San Diego) – 20 Dishes, 10 Courses – White Flag Tasting Menu

Our interest in everything about food, cooking and restaurants isn’t much of a secret to our co-workers and so it is not surprising that often discussions at work center around these topics. One question we are asked regularly is about the best restaurant and special memorable meals. It is impossible to answer about “the” best restaurant as we like a broad spectrum of restaurants ranging from small ethnic hole in the walls to high-end upscale restaurants and it really depends on the occasion and mood which ones we prefer on a given day. And so it is easier to just agree on general criteria for a good restaurant – quality of food and service paired with a fitting ambience. The more interesting question is about special memorable meals and how they are defined for us. Even though we are not fixed on one particular cuisine it became more apparent for us over the years that we truly remember and discuss for a long time those dinners in restaurants which are trying to combine unusual flavor and ingredient combinations far outside of what the majority of restaurants are serving often incorporating modern techniques. Most of the restaurants we enjoy most, like Bistro LQ, Saam or Coi are located in Los Angeles and San Francisco. San Diego has a number of restaurants we have on our heavy rotation list but for a long time none of them really belonged to the list of restaurants for one of these memorable dinners. At the same time the background and reputation of several chefs in San Diego is on par with their peers in LA and San Francisco and so we often wondered if there are hidden gems in San Diego we are missing. More recently we decided to focus on finding those unique restaurants in San Diego and were quite happy to indeed find those special places like Blanca under Gavin Schmidt and Rancho Valencia with Aaron Martinez.

Encouraged by these findings we decided recently to contact more restaurants in San Diego to discuss with several chefs if they would be interested in preparing special tasting menus without any limitations. One of the restaurants which was on the top of our list was Kitchen 1540 in the L’Auberge Hotel in Del Mar. The restaurant under Chef McCabe was our very first fine dining experience in San Diego several years ago when it was still named J. Taylor. But we still discuss today some of the dishes we had like a venison entrée or a dessert with a selection of different crème brulees. Paul McCabe, born in Arizona, started his culinary career as an apprentice under Chef Michel Blanchet at the L’Ermitage in Los Angeles. Over the next few years Chef McCabe held different positions with increasingly more responsibility at restaurants in California, Arizona and Hawaii including Sous Chef and Chef de Cuisine at the Enchantment Resort, Sous Chef at the L’Ermitage before in 2001 he finally settled in San Diego as Executive Chef at Top of the Cove. He moved in 2002 to the Star of the Sea before becoming Executive Chef at J.Taylor which after extensive renovation in 2008 reopened as Kitchen 1540.

After some email exchange with GM Bryan LaFontaine we finally settled on a 10-course White Flag Tasting Menu where we served up to ten courses but could “throw up the white flag at anytime we feel that we cannot eat anymore”.

Hibiscus Caipirinha: Leblon Cachaca, Domaine de Canton, fresh lime, house made hibiscus syrup

We started the night with an interesting twist on this classical Brazilian cocktail which got some refreshing floral notes from the hibiscus syrup balanced by the ginger liqueur.

Bread Service: Kitchen 1540 serves several different breads for the bread service.  Most of the selection is decent with the highlight of the grape-fleur de sel foccacia

Course 1A: Bison tartare, smoked bacon Sabayon, brioche, chives

We had many different tartars so far covering beef or venison but this was the first time with bison. The bison had a surprisingly strong and rich flavor with some subtle background notes from the mixed-in lemon oil. The bacon sabayon added a complementing smoothness to this excellent dish.

Course 1B: Hamachi crudo, shishito peppers, grapefruit supremes, shaved bottarga

We expected to get the same courses throughout the tasting menu but were surprised when our server brought us two different first courses and mentioned that Chef McCabe was planning to continue so for the entire menu so that we had a chance to taste more different dishes – a nice and welcome surprise. Here we had some beautiful pieces of hamachi with a firm but yet melting, tender consistency which were paired in a classical fashion for crudo with a sour-salty-peppery mix consistent of grapefruit, bottarga and shishito peppers. A very good example of McCabe’s approach to show his own interpretation of well known dishes by adding unexpected but yet fitting components.

Course 2A: Organic beets, Valdeon blue, pistachio brittle, caramelized yogurt

Beets can be a difficult ingredient to work with as it easily can overshadow a dish with its earthy sometimes even muddy flavor. And so we like beets as part of a dish but are often wary about it as the main ingredient. Here we have a prime example how it can take the center stage but its flavors are impressively incorporated into the whole dish – tender beets perfectly cooked so that they also show their subdued natural sweetness are nicely balanced with the sharpness and saltiness of the strong cow and goat’s milk cheese whereas the pistachio brittle not only gives a textural contrast but also some appreciated sweetness.

Course 2B: Farm house salad - organic vegetables, sundried tomato puree, pistou gelee, orange blossom vinaigrette

It’s interesting to see that some of the fine dining restaurants, like Blanca and Rancho Valencia, had on their recent tasting menus some interpretations of salads showcasing the abundance of outstanding local produce covering it from very different angles. Whereas Blanca’s approach focused on the flavors of the produce itself with very minimal distraction from anything else, e.g. vinaigrette, Kitchen 1540 incorporated the produce in a much more complex dish with many different flavor components including some dehydrated goat cheese, sundried tomato puree, orange blossom vinaigrette and olive powder. Both variations were very different but highlights of their tasting menus and for us a kind of “signature dish” for San Diego.

Course 3A: Bacon & egg - house made pancetta, 62°C egg, brioche, smoked ketchup

There are dishes where you immediately known that they are a success when they are brought to the table even before you taste them. What can go wrong if you combine pancetta, a runny egg and some brioche and perfected by some tangy ketchup and arugula to cut through the richness. A dish you want to have for breakfast every day.

Course 3B: Diver scallop, popcorn puree, candied almonds, salted caramel, nasturtium

The combination of tender diver scallop and popcorn puree with its intensified corn flavor worked surprisingly well. The candied almonds gave some additional sweetness and textural contrast to the dish and so the salted caramel played a key role as it provide some much need saltiness to counter the sweetness of the other ingredients.

Course 4A: Pan roasted sweetbreads, smoked almond milk, blis maple, apple celery salad

Too often sweetbreads are covered in a thick crust of breading so that it is hard to discern their natural flavor. Here we had a perfectly roasted sweetbread without any distracting coating just with a crisp outer layer and a creamy core. The apple celery salad gave a refreshing touch to the dish whereas the smoked almond milk acted as overarching component pairing nicely with the sweetbreads and the apple celery salad independently.

Course 4B: Stone seared foie gras, tangerine pop rocks, tangerine reduction, black pepper financier

Very interesting preparation and presentation of a flawless piece of foie gras seared by the hot stone. The thyme under the hot stone added an enticing aroma component to the dish. The tangerine reduction proved to be sweet enough to cut through the richness of the foie gras but not to be overly sweet to dominate the dish. The tangerine pop rocks were a nice gimmick adding some acidity whereas the black pepper financier had some noticeable spiciness from the pepper.

Course 5A: Pan seared Barramundi, clams, Yukon potato, pancetta, celery, Tabasco

This dish was a play on a deconstructed clam chowder centered around the moist barramundi with its crispy skin. The clams brought some of their characteristic brininess which was enhanced by the saltiness of the pancetta. The potato and the celery acted as the base of the dish with earthiness and tied the components of this successful “clam chowder” together.

Course 5B: Pan seared Black Cod, cipollini onions, fingerlings potatoes, chorizo-mussel broth

Conceptionally a similar approach but with a different flavor profile as the other fish dish – centered around the very flaky black cod, a good combination of brininess and saltiness from the chorizo and mussel broth and again potatoes, this time accompanied by cipollini onions, as the base of the dish. Both dishes showed that the strength of Kitchen 1540 of working with fish.

Course 6A: Organic chicken – sous vide breast, crispy thigh, chicken-fennel sausage, lobster mushroom, scrambled cauliflower, jalapeno-apple gastrique

Chicken is often dreaded in tasting menus as too boring and flavorless but here we had an impressive take on different parts of the chicken – chicken breast which was cooked by sous-vide to ensure a very tender and moist piece, crispy, flavorful thigh and housemade chicken sausage. The jalapeno-apple sauce was a key part of the dish as it added a complex sweet-sour-spicy mix which lightened up the preparation.

Course 6B: Braised Kurobuta pork shoulder, herb gnocchi, braised cabbage, bacon, pickled onion

The most rustic dish of the tasting menu was appropriately served in small Staub cocotte. The braised pork shoulder and cabbage was quite close to dishes we have made at home but what elevated this dish for us were the herb gnocchi – light and fluffy yet with distinct flavor supporting the braised ingredients and at the time they transformed the dish to a surprisingly light course.

Course 7A: Natural beef tenderloin, kim chi fried farro, fried egg

Farro is one of the grains you don’t see too often on menus which is a shame as it has a wonderful nutty flavor which works nicely with many different dishes. Here is was quite uniquely combined with kimchi to give the dish a subtle sour character which paired well with the tender, sous vide cooked, beef tenderloin and the fried egg. The dish appeared to be a strange combination of components which didn’t really fit at first but really grow on us after a few bites.

Course 7B: Pork belly, smoked potato croquettes, lobster mushrooms, tomato-cabernet reduction

Pork belly might be one of our favorite cuts of meat and it didn’t disappoint here - very tender with a crisp skin it clearly showed all the strong points one expects. Even though the pork belly took the center stage in this dish it was fittingly accompanied by potato croquettes which could have a stronger smoked flavor and the tomato-cabernet reduction which added some acidity to cut through the richness of the pork belly.

Course 8A + 8B: Cheeses with accompaniments

The cheese plates presented a surprisingly large array of cheeses covering different flavors and textures mainly focusing on cow milk cheese with Schlosskrans, Vintage Gouda, Morbier, Valdeon Blue and Roaring Forties Blue and one goat cheese with Boucheron.  Definitely one of the better cheese plates we had in San Diego.

Course 9A: Chocolate caramel tart, orange marshmellow, carbonated orange

A rather classical chocolate caramel tart which came alive by the inclusion of orange. The fruitiness balanced out the sweetness and richness of the chocolate to lighten the dessert. We also liked the addition of marshmellow as it provided an interesting textural contrast to the tart.

Course 9B: Frozen key lime pie, coconut streusel, fried cashews, dehydrated mering

Overall for us the more successful dessert with a very good combination of different textures, temperatures and well balanced flavors. The frozen key lime pie showed the right amount of sweetness and tartness to be refreshing without being too rich. The coconut and cashew flavors helped to tame the sweet- and tartness of the pie even more and added a welcomed complexity to the dish.

Course 10A + B: N₂-Ice cream Sunday

At this time of the tasting menu we were one of the last guests in the restaurant and once the server brought out a large metal bowl, ladle and dewar vessel to the table next us a number of servers and cooks gathered around our table to watch the preparation of our last course.

Sous chef Jonathan Bautista came and started to do his work with an iSi creamer and liquid nitrogen…

…to form a sphere of frozen vanilla cream. Together with an array of condiments, like chocolate and caramel sauce, nuts, whipped cream and macerated raspberries, we could than build our own ice cream sunday. The liquid nitrogen gave the frozen vanilla cream a range of different consistencies. The outer layers were frozen very hard whereas the inner layers became softer and softer - a perfect ending to an outstanding tasting menu.

We came with high expectations after our good experience with J. Taylor and Kitchen 1540 easily met and exceeded them. It was refreshing to see that after Blanca and Rancho Valenica there is another restaurant and chef in San Diego who doesn’t only try to satisfy the mainstream by playing it safe but trying to create a unique restaurant with its own identity. The dishes at Kitchen 1540 covered a wide range of ingredients, flavors and inspirations but it always felt as Chef McCabe was trying to create his own vision and not just mimicking other well known restaurants. It was also nice to have a chance to talk to the chef a few times throughout the night and hearing about different topics including the sourcing of his ingredients but also his whole grilled pig which he prepared for a Chef Confab dinner some time ago.

The excellent impression of Kitchen 1540 didn’t stop at the kitchen but was equally spotless with the service – very knowledgable and we never felt rushed so that the food was perfectly paced which was especially welcomed as the dishes were considerable larger than at regular tasting menus and we could understand why it was called white flag tasting menu.

It seems that it is indeed possible to get excellent and creative food in San Diego even though it might take a little bit more efforts than in other cities as it is often necessary to contact many chefs directly to give them the creative freedom they need to create memorable tasting menus. And so we were pleased when shortly after our visit Kitchen 1540 made the white flag tasting menu a regular menu option without any necessary prior notice. Unfortunately very recently Chef McCabe surprisingly decided to leave Kitchen 1540 to become partner at the Delicias restaurant. Even though he mentioned in interviews that the culinary direction at Delicias won’t be as ambitious as at Kitchen 1540 we hope there will be some kind of creative outlet at the restaurant for him to continue to present such outstanding food. It will be also very interesting to see who will follow him as Executive Chef at Kitchen 1540 and if the management at L’Auberge Del Mar is willing to continue to support such an ambitious restaurant concept or if it will convert it to a more “conventional” hotel restaurant. It would be disappointing to lose another important restaurant for San Diego after the closing of Blanca and the changes at Rancho Valenica.

Kitchen 1540

1540 Camino Del Mar

Del Mar, CA 92014

(858) 793-6460

French Laundry (Yountville) – Special Extended 18-Course Tasting Menu

In today’s media-driven world you constantly hear and read about new interesting restaurants opening or closing somewhere. If you are interested in food it is really hard not to get continuously bombarded by news on discussion boards, blogs or magazines about new restaurant trends emerging or new chefs making an impact in the culinary scene. And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that like many foodies we also have many different lists of interesting restaurants we want to visit all over the US and the world. At the same time every foodie seems to have the one special restaurant which fascinated them early on, which they always wanted to visit and which is their ultimate destination. Similar to explaining why a certain music band is so special or a why a painting has this particular fascination it is often hard to explain why one restaurant sticks out to all the others. Of course the food and cuisine is a major factor in the interest for a restaurant but real fascination goes far beyond and includes also the mindset and philosophy of the chef, the focus on ingredients and techniques and even the location. Since moving to California about ten years ago and getting highly interested in high-end restaurants this special restaurant for us was always Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Yountville.

Thomas Keller was born in California but lived most of his youth in Palm Beach, Florida. During this time he started to work during summers or after school first as a dishwasher at the Palm Beach Yacht Club but also soon as a line cook which ignited his interest in cooking. During summers he also started working at the Dunes Club in Rhode Island where he met his key mentor – Chef Roland Henin. Henin was important in exposing to and teaching him French cuisine but also to start developing his own philosophy of cooking. After working several cooking positions in Florida Thomas Keller started working at La Rive in the Hudson Valley River valley where he had for the first time larger responsibilities but also the possibility to work more with local and seasonal produce and farmers. Unable to buy La Rive Keller decided to hone his skills by working in several Michelin starred restaurants in France like Guy Savoy and Taillevent. After returning to New York he worked at La Reserve and Restaurant Raphael before opening in 1986 his first own restaurant – Rakel. Rakel got good reviews but due to the hard financial times the restaurant didn’t survive for a long time. He then had a period of time where he worked at different restaurants in New York and Los Angeles before he finally found in 1992 the French Laundry at that time owned by Don and Sally Schmidt. After raising money for quite some time Thomas Keller could finally purchase the French Laundry and open it in 1994. Even though since then Thomas Keller opened several other successful restaurants for us the biggest fascination always focused on the French Laundry. Not unlike with music albums of rock bands the earliest releases often represent the purest and most honest approaches and tend to give the best chances to experience the original work and philosophy.

Even though we visited many high-end restaurants over the last years and the French Laundry was for a long time high on our restaurant list we somehow never really started seriously tackling getting a reservation at the restaurant. But recently we decided to go on a three week culinary trip to the Bay area and felt that it was finally time to experience the French Laundry. After some preparation we were able to get a reservation on our preferred day for the last seating – what better day to choose for our first visit than a special birthday celebration. Like we have done with many restaurants before we contacted the French Laundry and we wanted to give the chef absolute creative freedom and asked for an earlier seating to have a chance for a special tasting menu without any limitations. After some extended phone discussions over a few weeks we finally got a table for the first seating and a promise to have a special menu on our visit which turned out to be a memorable extended 18-course tasting menu at the French Laundry highlighting why this restaurant had and still has such an impact on the culinary scene.

The French Laundry is located in the small village of Yountville a few miles north of Napa. Yountville seems to be existing mainly to host a large number of restaurants and hotels for its small size. Yountville is also the epicenter of the Thomas Keller culinary empire with French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc within walking distance. Whereas all other three restaurants are closer to the center of the village French Laundry is a little bit more outside. Across from the French Laundry are the restaurant’s vegetable gardens which should play an important role for many of the ingredients on our visit. These gardens are quite impressive with their large variety of often unusual produce.

The French Laundry restaurant is in a historic building which was built more than one hundred years ago as a saloon before it was converted in the 1920s into a French steam laundry. The building was renovated in 1978 before it was used as a restaurant. If one wouldn’t know that the building was used as restaurant it would easily go through as a residential building. Only a smaller sign reveals the true purpose of the building.

The restaurant is spread out over two floors with the main dining room on the lower floor. The maitre’d knew of our long tasting menu and gave as a nice four top in the corner of the main room. We were once asked if we were interested to see the menu before or if we trust the chef and just want to be surprised. Obviously we just wanted to sit back and start the journey into the culinary world of Thomas Keller and the French Laundry.

1st Amuse Bouche: Gougères

Pâte à choux filled with warm aged Gruyère mornay sauce. Very light pillows filled with a slightly salty crème which still showed the typical aged Gruyère flavor. A rather classic French start to the dinner and for us a kind of palate cleanser for the coming dishes.

2nd Amuse Bouche: Scottish Salmon Coronets

One of the signature amuse bouche’s of the French Laundry. The cone had a buttery and soft texture with some sesame seeds. The salmon was almost pate-like with a delicate taste. The bottom tip of the cone was filled with some crème fraiche to give it a slightly tangy finish.

1st Course: Nantes carrot velouté, medjool date, marcona almonds and cilantro

As the next course the server put small bowls of an orange soup in front of us and informed us that the carrots for this velouté were harvested just a few hours ago in the gardens across the street. This carrot soup was unlike any other carrot soup we had before. It had a very intense carrot flavor like it was made out of carrot extracts but at the same time a velvety and light texture. The dates gave the soup just the right sweetness to balance the flavors and almond added some nice textural change. We could have easily eaten a large bowl of the velouté.

2nd Course: “Oysters and pearls” - “Sabayon” of pearl tapioca with island creek oysters and white sturgeon caviar.

Perhaps the most written about savory course at the French Laundry and one of the few courses which are part of nearly all tasting menus. Even though we wanted to experience the French Laundry as a whole event we were looking forward to finally try this dish – and it didn’t disappoint. The creamy and rich sabayon laid the foundation for the dish and the tapioca supported this richness with its texture. The perfectly cooked oysters had a wonderful sweetness whereas the quenelle of caviar provided the right balance of saltiness. It’s easy to understand why this dish has such a reputation as being a showcase for Thomas Keller’s cooking as it is a perfect combination of texture, flavor and creativity. The use of a mother-of-pearl spoon to serve the dish fits perfectly into the picture.

3rd Course: Salad of Dungeness crab, apple gelée and “fines herbes”

Another course which demonstrated Thomas Keller’s cooking philosophy – on one side high quality ingredients like cooked Dungeness crab which was presented in a way that its natural flavors speak for itself. At the same time he uses every kind of technique necessary to add components to the dish which complements and enhance this flavor and brings it to a new and often unexpected level. Here the slightly sweet and tangy apple gelée was key to the success of the dish.

4th Course: Hokkaido coast “uni” with sake granité

Over the years we really have learned to love uni and its unique flavor reminding us of ocean, salt and sea air. Normally we had Santa Barbara uni which has a light yellow color whereas the Hokkaido uni had a much darker orange color. The flavor of the Hokkaido uni was similar to one from Santa Barbara perhaps a bit more pronounced and stronger. The sake granite was a good addition as itself had similar to the uni first a slight sweetness which changed after melting in the mouth to some bitterness without overpowering the delicate flavor of the uni.

5th Course: “Ris de veau en croûte” with “pruneaux d’Agen”

We had to smile when the server brought this dish to the table as its shape reminded us of a caterpillar. The flaky, light puff pastry shell broke easily to reveal its tasty inside – perfectly seared veal sweetbreads. Sweetbreads can easily be overcooked but this version had the right consistency – not too soft without being too dry. The dish got some refreshing fruitiness from the prune sauce made out of the famous prunes from the region of Agen in France.

6th Course: Hen egg custard, ragout of Périgord truffles

This plain looking egg had some amazing content – at the bottom was white truffle custard which was topped with a ragout of black truffles made out of veal stock. This creation was crowned by a chive potato chip perfect for mixing the tasty mixture. Not only could you smell this course long before it reached our table but was an impressive flavor explosion when eaten from the different truffles and the veal stock.

7th Course: Salad of French Laundry new crop potatoes, baby beets, broccoli and horseradish mousseline.

Another dish in which the garden of the French Laundry across the street played a major role. A few new potatoes were slightly roasted so that the roasting flavor didn’t overwhelm the tastes of the different vegetables. Especially the baby beets added some nice earthy component to the dish. The horseradish mousseline helped to add some mild spicyness.

All these courses so far really didn’t need any bread but now we were presented with the pain au lait from the Bouchon Bakery down the street. This warm and buttery role had a wonderful soft texture and was accompanied by two different butters - an unsalted goat’s milk butter from Andante Diary in Petaluma and a whipped salted cow’s milk butter from Animal Farm in Vermont.

Before bringing the next course our server came to our table and presented this – white truffles from Alba. The smell was so strong that people at other tables turned around to look at our table.

8th Course: Castelmagno cheese “lasagna” with white truffles from Alba

The lasagna was a good vehicle for the white truffles. Many layers of perfectly al dente pasta where covered in noisette sauce which helped to bring out some of the truffle flavor. We were a little bit surprised that despite the very strong aroma of the truffle and the generous slices the actual truffle taste was quite subdued.

For the first part of the menu we decided on a Gruener Veltliner – Hirsch, Heiligenstein, 2008 – which was a light-bodied wine with some acidity and some green apple and lemon aroma.

The second part of the dinner was accompanied by a Burgundy – Denis Mortet, Gevrey Chambertin 2007 – which had some quite strong berry flavors, some earthiness and a long aftertaste.

9th Course: Sautéed fillet of striped bass, razor clams, butter beans “en persillade”, San Marzano tomato compote, petite lettuces and extra virgin olive oil emulsion.

Perfectly cooked striped bass filet was tender and flaky, the razor clams were also tender but still had some “bite” whereas butter beans remained, as you would expect by their name, soft and buttery without being mushy. The “en persillade” coating, bread crumbs and parsley, was a nice textural change as were the “al dente” haricot verts. Key component of this dish was the tomato compote which brought the dish together with its acidity and slight sweetness.

10th Course: Sweet butter-poached Maine lobster tail, piperade, young fennel and “sauce Noilly Prat”

A large piece of succulent lobster tail which had the wonderful slight sweetness of perfectly poached lobster. The soft piece of young fennel added unexpected slight anise flavor which worked nicely with the Noilly Prat based sauce. Similar to the tomato compote in the course before here the piperade helped to bring the dish together with its more subdued acidity.

11th Course: Moulard duck “foie gras au torchon”, Gros Michel banana, celery, cashew, oxalis and honey-banyuls “gastrique”

Thomas Keller is well known for his great dishes including foie gras, and this classic foie gras au torchon was no exception. Wonderful buttery foie gras smeared on the warm brioche showed its characteristic melt-in-your-mouth livery flavor. The foie gras was outstanding but what really elevated the dish were the “condiments”. Foie gras is often accompanied by some sweet and savory components but it was first surprising to see bananas and celery with this foie gras and we were initially skeptical if it would work. After just a few bites it was clear that this was a fantastic combination. The banana puree and the celery provided just the right amount of sweetness with some savory undertones without being cloying and worked nicely with the foie gras. The roasted cashews added some textural variety. After we had eaten about half of our brioche the server brought us new warm pieces of brioche to ensure the best foundation for the foie gras.

For this and the next few courses we were provided with an array of different salts. It was really fun to taste these and it was astonishing how such small amounts of “impurities” have not only such an effect on the color of the salt but also the flavor.

12th Course: “Aiguillette” of Liberty Farm pekin duck, melted cabbage, Satsuma mandarin, chestnut purée and ginger”jus”

An interesting “asian” take on duck – very tender sous-vide cooked duck breast where especially the ginger-infused jus gave the dish an “asian” touch which was intensified by the chestnut puree. The sweetness of the Satsuma mandarin helped to cut through the fat of the duck.

13th Course: Broken Arrow Ranch venison, Hobbs’ bacon, arrowleaf spinach, flowering quince, white pearl onion and juniper-scented “soubise”

Very tender vension wrapped in bacon was rather classical accompanied, as game often does, by a juniper-scented sauce. The small ball of arrowleaf spinach was not only a nice visual variety in this dish but also helped to lighten up the dish.

14th Course: “Sweet potato pie”, “Cavatina”, marshmellow, pickled huckleberries, watercress and black winter truffle

Instead of an “official” cheese course we were served this combination of a dessert and a cheese course. This was a cheese cake made out of cavatina goat cheese from Andante Diary and had a pronounced, slightly salty, typical goat cheese flavor. The pickled huckleberries and the black truffle sauce were similar to what you expect as condiments for a cheese course. An interesting and well executed course but we felt that a regular cheese course would have been a better progression between savory and sweet courses and that this course didn’t really fit in at this point of the tasting menu.

15th Course: Feijoa sorbet, “tres leches”, coconut and pineapple

This was the first time for us that we had feijoa which is also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen and it had an interesting flavor combination of kiwi and papaya with some slight banana flavors in the background. It matched perfectly to the light tres leches cake. The coconut powder and the lightly roasted pineapple completed this very refreshing and light dessert which was an outstanding start for the sweet part of the tasting menu.

16th Course: “Coffee and doughnuts”, cinnamon-sugared doughnuts and “cappuccino semifreddo”

The most famous dessert of the French Laundry – wonderful light freshly made and still warm doughnut and doughnut hole with a light cinnamon flavor which was perfectly matched with the espresso semifreddo. The popularity of this dessert is not surprising and fully justified.

17th Course: Gianduja chocolate “ganache”, Guiness “génoise”, sour cherry, hazelnut and malt ice cream

As the last dessert we were presented a plate with a “collection” of different “classic” desserts like sponge cake, ganache and malt ice cream which all by itself were already great but eaten together really showed a nice variety of complementing flavors.

18th Course: Granny Smith cake with streusel

When we thought that we were finished with our tasting menu one of our servers came, presented us with these cakes and mentioned that the kitchen thought we would like to have another dessert. How can you not like such a classic approach to an apple cake – light, fruity and with a good balance between sweetness and sourness of the apple – a perfect ending to the dinner.

The espresso was brought in unique cups which according to our server are nicknamed “flying saucers” by everybody and it’s easy to see why. The espresso was surprisingly good for restaurant espresso with a good crema.

Mignardies: And the night ended with some tasty treats

Before we left the French Laundry we were given several bags of shortbread cookies and chocolate which we would enjoy over the next few days

We were really looking forward over several years to visit the French Laundry but at the same time once we scored a reservation we were also a bit anxious if we would be expecting too much and ultimately be disappointed. It was similar to liking a rock band for many years and then finally meeting the musicians in person, and quite often you might find out that the imagination is better than the reality (except when we met the Scorpions last year). But we were very happy to find out that the reputation of the French Laundry is more than justified and the restaurant lives up to the hype, yet it even exceeded our already high expectations. One of the criticisms you hear sometimes about Thomas Keller and the French Laundry is that the cooking is soulless and just focuses on techniques. After our visit to the restaurant these accusations are hard to understand as we felt that the cooking and the dishes at the French Laundry not only showed an extremely high level of technical sophistication but also true dedication to creativity and food and ingredients in itself. It was impressive to see how much the produce grown in their own garden across the street had an impact on different dishes throughout the tasting menu. At the same time the restaurant is looking to also use the best ingredients available anywhere for all their dishes – it’s a symbiosis of cooking locally and globally driven by such a high interest of the culinary team in the quality of their dishes. We also liked that even though the dishes showed such a high level of creativity and often unexpected twists the chef always made sure to use all the techniques to still let the natural flavors of the ingredients speak and not muddle them unnecessarily. For us the French Laundry is an ingredient-driven restaurant which just uses all available techniques in a very creative way to get the most out of the flavors of all ingredients.

The service at the French Laundry is, as you would expect for a three-star Michelin restaurant, very good and professional, even though they made a few small mistakes like forgetting to ask if we wanted coffee before bringing the bill, and formal but also a bit impersonal. We have seen at other high-end restaurants like Providence in LA that professional and formal service can be at the same time warm and personal. An outstanding service team is able to adapt their service style throughout a dinner according to the style of the customers. The exception was the sommelier who clearly was able to judge fast what kind and style of service each customer wanted and adapted his style accordingly so that everybody felt comfortable with him. It was very nice from the maitre’d that he invited us to the kitchen after our dinner so that we had a chance to see inside, including the famous video screen to Per Se and the “Sense of Urgency” sign under the clock, and exchange a few words with chef de cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth.

Overall our first visit to the French Laundry was an outstanding night and even though we hesitate to name any restaurant visit as the best we ever had, since this can often change depending on our mood, there is no doubt that this visit was and will always be one of the highlights in our culinary journey. Over the last few years we regularly visited many favorite high-end restaurants like Providence and Bistro LQ in LA which deliver outstanding food and service and were wondering before our visit to the French Laundry if a restaurant can really be better than those. The visit made us realize two things – restaurants like Providence and Bistro LQ perform indeed on a very high level but it also showed us that the French Laundry is a class of its own. It’s very rare that there is not a single course in a long tasting menu which disappoints but even more each course was always a new and unexpected culinary exploration. The French Laundry is not a restaurant you put on your regular rotation list but when we left the restaurant after more than six hours we already discussed how and when we will return to the French Laundry.

French Laundry
6640 Washington Street
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 944-2380