With the weather being chilly outside and the loom of fall around the corner, its hard to believe that just one week ago I had chosen to eat at Chez Panisse. Naturally, in the summer we harvest and eat the best produce of the year, which is why I thought it would only be the best time to go to a restaurant that prides itself on the fresh quality of its produce. In all honesty it was not the best meal of my life ( which made me ask the question of what was), but the ingredients were definetly deeply cared for. In fact it was so fresh that the buttery yukon potato tasted unfamiliar. I also ordered salmon which is highly uncommon due to the boring nature of ordering salmon, but turned out to be the best salmon I had ever tasted. Wrapped in a fig leaf and served with a morel sauce. You can never go wrong with morels really. There were flaws in some of the dishes, the Californian Sea Bass for instance was slightly over-cooked and a bit bland. I can't expect that a restaurant that changes a menu nearly everyday could be spot on with every dish that they create which is why the bits of the meal that weren't fantastic were excusable. I feel that sometimes we have to work with a dish to get it really right. All in all it was great, especially since I was able to end the 5 year quest of eating there. I've included the key ingredients for my favorite dish of that evening a simple and elegant salad. With salads you can always mix and match the green as long as you don't throw in a bitter green as that may throw off the balance of ingredients.
Bibb Lettuce (or some other type of buttery green)
Toasted Whole Almonds split in half
Fried rosemary(frying it takes out the strong nature of this herb)
Fig Vinagrette( oh lucious, lucious figs)
No comments:
Post a Comment