Monterey, Millbrae & San Fran .... Cisco

Continuing on my Nov. vacation from Monterey, the pastry chef from L'Auberge Carmel recommended this bakery as I head up north to the Bay Area:

Parker-Lusseau Pastries
731 Munras Ave.
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 643-6300

http://www.parker-lusseaupastries.com

Once I arrived to my hotel near the San Francisco Airport, I decided to have some dim sum at Zen Peninsula.

There were no carts strolling by. I had to order from a list. I only chose a few things, since I had early dinner reservations at 5:30 p.m.




The jellyfish & seaweed salad tasted really good, nice balanced flavor. Overall, my lunch was pretty good. I would go back. If you want to see what I ordered, here's the list:

Don't ask me to translate. I don't read Chinese.

Zen Peninsula
1180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 616-9388

http://www.zenpeninsula.com/

For dinner, I went to Quince Restaurant. I ordered the tasting menu. Unfortunately, I don't remember what I ate exactly, I didn't ask for a copy of the menu and I was informed of Quince's policy of no photography of the cuisine. Mind you, here are the pictures I was able to take that evening.

The meal was wonderful. The pasta dish was what I remembered most, very delicious. Afterwards, I expressed to the host my appreciation of the tasting menu, as well as my condolences of Quince's current absence of its Michelin star. The host mentioned that it was more of a suspension until the Michelin inspectors can dine at Quince's new location later in 2009 near the Financial District. Nevertheless, I will look forward to dining there as well.

Quince
1701 Octavia
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 775-8500

http://www.quincerestaurant.com

Urasawa

I've heard about this restaurant called Urasawa for a long while. The whole place seats about ten people, thirteen tops. Dinner by reservation only. No website. $300 per person, food only. One restaurant owner told me Urasawa should be a three-star Michelin restaurant.

I made a dinner reservation for that evening and I went. I drove over to Beverly Hills to a valet parking garage. Once I got out of my car, I take the elevator to the second floor, where Urasawa is located. From there, I walk down a hallway until I see ...

... the entrance of the restaurant, I suppose. It looked bare and simple, definitely not over-the-top. Then, the door opens by this female Japanese server/attendant. I think I was the first one to arrive that evening. Around the same time, maybe before, a young Korean couple enters. There will be another couple arriving about one hour later. Five customers, one chef, two assistants, and one server/attendant. And that was it!

Chef Hiro Urasawa is a quiet man with a slight sense of humor. After initial introductions, I asked if I could take pictures. "Yes, that will be five dollars," he replied with a wink in his eyes. This is going to be a wonderful experience.

Hiro-san's domain and my place setting

Even though I did take pictures, I didn't take any notes. So, enjoy the pictures!

This is a magical sushi platter.

Every so often, a piece of sushi made by Hiro-san appears on this platter.
It needs to be eaten within ten seconds.
At this point, I stopped taking pictures.

Uni & Mushrooms

These were a couple of the many different kinds of sushi that appeared on that magical sushi platter. One of the highlights of my Urasawa dining experience was Hiro-san's lesson on eating sushi with my fingers, no chopsticks.
If you want to know, get over to Urasawa and experience this place yourself!


Desserts

green tea, barley tea and the end of a wonderful meal

Hiro-san

Urasawa
218 N. Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 247-8939

L'Auberge Carmel

I began my culinary vacation Wednesday night with dinner at a restaurant named L'Auberge Carmel.

The restaurant is part of a hotel that started back in 1929. The dining room is quite small and intimate, with about 10 tables. I was sitting beneath the lighting next to the painting on the left.

Table Setting

I chose chef Christophe Grosjean's tasting menu with a request: a separate dessert tasting menu by pastry chef Ron Mendoza (formerly of Sona and French Laundry). Even though I met Ron previously, I never tasted his pastry creations. Here is my opportunity.

Gougeres ; Endives & Radishes with Olive Tapenade ; Bread Service

Amuse Bouche ; Cucumber & Sea Urchin

The presentation of the sea urchin is very eye-appealing, ehh?

Little Gem & Red Abalone ; Truffle & Eggs

One can't get enough of that delicious abalone with the beautiful chanterelles.
And the truffle & eggs course! With the wine pairing, that was my favorite dish of the evening.

Butternut Squash & Duck ; Carrots & Natural Beef

You can't go wrong with adding a piece of sauteed foie gras to the duck (or was it squab?).
The beef with oxtail and bone marrow foam ended the savory chapter of the dinner very well.



Wines served ... by the glass, mind you

Cheese Course (Bleu de Bocage, Tomme Brulee, Fourme d'Ambert (Roquefort), Epoisse) ;
Tea Service (Fresh Mint)

The selected cheeses were quite familiar to me. Nevertheless, they were very good to this rat.
Not among the tea selections in the box, the mention of fresh mint really appealed to me that evening.

Coconut & Passion Fruit ; Apples & Caramel ; Milk Chocolate & Shiso Sorbet

The acidity from the added lemongrass soy and the passion fruit counteracted the sweetness of the coconut.

The apples & caramel dessert was my favorite. Definitely appropriate for the autumn season.

Using milk chocolate instead of dark is fine. I'll try not to be aristocratic about it. And the shiso sorbet is a nice change from the ubiquitous yuzu.

Persimmon & Chocolate ; Mignardises

Warm chocolate mousse with cardamom ice cream and persimmon makes a fitting conclusion to this wonderful tasting menu.

I got to meet chef Christophe Grosjean and pastry chef Ron Mendoza. I toured the kitchen which looked similiar to one from another restaurant I frequent. The meal was wonderfully delicious. The desserts, overall, were quite good. They had variety while reflecting the proper seasonality. The decor was small and intimate. I was treated very well. Admittedly, I was pondering whether L'Auberge Carmel would get a Michelin star in the near future. Regardless, I wouldn't mind coming back and dining at this restaurant again.

L’Auberge Carmel

Monte Verde at Seventh

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

(831) 624-8578

http://www.laubergecarmel.com