Tag: restaurants

Last week we ate at a hyped new restaurant in town, Qui. It is Paul Qui’s first solo joint, which he has founded since leaving his role as exec chef at Uchiko.

The restaurant doesn’t take reservations so we arrived promptly at 5pm and were joined by Matt and Amanda who had the night off from their baby. It was no trouble to get seated by 5:30 after we’d enjoyed a custom cocktail at the trendy, locally stocked full bar. I popped up to snap a pic of the very jolly and friendly Paul overseeing his kitchen:

The food was high-end but not too pricey, and universally delicious. My favorite dish was rabbit 7 ways, which included consomme in this cute rabbit cup:

The rest of the presentation was nice too:

The food was inventive, playful, delicious, and the whole place was very down-to-earth and unpretentious. The staff seemed to be having a great time and was really into the food and the service. Paul visited our table several times to see how we were doing and gently nudge us toward the real wasabi (“the good stuff,” he called it) and to make sure we ate our cheddar cracker ice cream sandwich with our fingers and not utensils.

There are a few more pics on gallery. I would definitely visit again!

You heard that right, folks: Leslie and I finally made it out to that ultimate west-coast food Mecca: The French Laundry. The trip was sort of a combination long-delayed graduation celebration combined with an anniversary dinner. That’s enough justification, right?

It would take quite a while to describe the whole meal (officially nine courses, but also two bonus amuse bouche and an extra dessert course). If you really wanna know every detail, here’s the menu with our notes:

We arrived about half an hour before our 9pm reservations, figuring there would be stuff to see. And sure enough, there was! Right across the street from the restaurant is the incredibly well manicured restaurant garden, where they get a lot of their produce. Representative pic:

The garden was right off the road, in the middle of town, almost like a public park. It had no gates or entry control at all, so we just walked around through it. Very fun. So I guess what it takes to support sustainable urban agriculture is… to use it to supply a super-high end restaurant across the street.

The food itself was… well, just plain outstanding. It was course after course of expertly combined ingredients (LOTS of them, and never one repeated!), always in harmony, always with high-art-grade presentation. The second amuse bouche was a “coronet” of salmon, but obviously it’s supposed to look like a tiny ice-cream cone. So fun!

I got pictures of several more of the courses, but not all of them, and posted them on gallery. I’ll put one more in here for fun, though, check out this crazy-ass dessert (too many ingredients for a succint name… maybe just “anglaise?”):

The interior of the restaurant itself was pretty interesting… it was in an old house, and it felt pretty cramped (the staff and diners were constantly impeding each other up and down the narrow stairs, for example). I overheard one of the servers say it had 16 tables, which sounds about right. Most were 2 and 4 tops but there were a few bigger, and a private dining room with a table for 10 (every table was constantly occupied, of course!).

We sat down promptly at 9, after I was fitted with a borrowed jacket. Such an anachronism, requiring jackets for men, at a modern restaurant on the west coast! My shirt, tie, and slacks made me better dressed than many of the other male diners I saw, but there’s still something magical about a ratty sport coat that makes you acceptable I guess.

As for drinks, they initially brought out their wine list, on an iPad I shit you not. There we were, in this elegant restaurant, with the blue glow of a frickin’ iPad blinding us. I guess in someone’s demented mind (Thomas Keller? Yep, I’m sure this was his idea) this was trendy and a cool solution. Luckily, we didn’t really have to interact with it: we just gave our server a budget ($150/person, wince) and she brought all the pairings, which were great on the whole. They even included a champagne made exclusively for the French Laundry! They’re mostly written in our notes on the menu.

After working our way through every last course, we speculated as to the time and were pretty shocked to discover it was 12:45am–we’d been eating for almost 4 hours! I guess that’s the kind of marathon meal of relentlessly excellent food you’d want to have experienced before being handed this:

Yeowch! At least the tip was included.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. There wasn’t anything about any individual dish that was unlike what we’ve eaten before–we’ve had courses at several places (most recently Commis in Oakland) that could go head-to-head with anything served at the French Laundry. The difference was the scale of the meal, the ambitiousness and variety of the ingredients, and the complete consistency of the flavor and presentation.

Will we go again? I doubt it… when we eat we’re more interested in exploring new things than seeking out extremes. It was a fun adventure, but I think there’s more to learn by eating everyday examples of regional food from all around the world (plus, that’s the stuff we could actually cook!).

Still, I’ve got to say: The French Laundry is a shining example of what complete, single-minded obsession with great food can yield. Wow.

2975 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 704-1789

This is another place we at with Leslie’s parents. I feel like it’s a nice counterpoint to Rivoli–cheap, counter-service mexican food in the middle of a cute little shopping district south of campus.

I had the fish tacos, made with wild salmon. Usually fish tacos are made with some heavily seasoned white fish, and that’s pretty good. Here, the salmon tastes great on it’s own, helped out by the breading and seasoning they add for the perfect crunch. A little skimpy as far as size for the price, but great taste–ranking among the best fish tacos I’ve had.

I also tasted Susan’s mole, which was nice and spicy but too sweet for me. It also came in enchilada form, a particular mexican food trope I’m not a huge fan of.

In any case, it’s one to remember when in the mood for a quick lunch/dinner south of campus.

1539 Solano Ave
Berkeley, CA
(510) 526-2542
www.rivolirestaurant.com

Tonight I had the pleasure of eating for the first time at Rivoli, a gem of a restaurant on Solano, a strip with plenty of food and shopping that we haven’t explored much because it’s more than walking distance from our apartment. I don’t know how this place slipped under the radar for so long, but luckily someone more knowledgeable than I about Berkeley food pointed it out to me.

The layout of the restaurant is a bit unconventional. It’s tiny, so you walk right into a combination bar/waiting area/service prep room. You’re greeted by warm lighting, well selected but unobtrusive jazz and blues, and a very friendly and accommodating staff. You walk right through the service area to get back to the main dining room, which is maybe 30 feet on a side at most. The entire back wall is filled with windows which look out onto a well-kept garden–word has it that you’ll see raccoons and skunks frolicking back there, though all we saw was a hungry-looking but cute cat.

The food was inventive and unusual, not at all forbidding, and universally tasty. To start we had the “signature” appetizer of portabella mushroom fritters with aïoli, parmesan, arugula and caper vinaigrette, as well as Grilled scallops and dungeness crab in phyllo with ginger relish, avocado, cucumber, watermelon radish and saffron yogurt. The first was simple, but delicious. The mushrooms held a lot of their water which helped to offset the heaviness of the fried breading, as did the bed of greens they sat on. The scallops were heavenly in my opinion: nice and rich (made even more so by the shredded crab they were surrounded by), made light by the cucumber, creamy by the avocado, and finally given a bit of zing by the yogurt.

As usual, for entrees we shared four different dishes. My pick was the slow cider braised pork roast stuffed with wild mushrooms, served with sweet potato gnocchi, braised tuscan kale and pink lady apple and walnut vinaigrette. All four parts of the dish were good, but I need to especially call out the gnocchi as the best I’ve ever had. It had all the great taste I expect from good gnocchi, but it was light and fluffy, and not pasty at all as gnocchi tends to be. I think Les put it best when she said it was as though this was the true Platonic form of gnocchi, and all my life previously I had been eating only the shadows it cast on the cave walls. Ahem. Second was cassoulet of duck leg confit, chicken sausage and ham hock with runner beans, tomato, thyme, garlic and breadcrumbs. While delicious, this was probably the least interesting dish. Hearty and fall-like, but a bit heavy (there was more left over if it than anything else). Marc got the grilled mint and garlic marinated leg of lamb with artichoke, bacon and scallion bread pudding, braised cippolini onions and french beans with lemon. This was your straightforward red-meat dish, cooked well, seasoned well, and simply presented. There was some spice involved that reminded the two licorice sensitive palates at the table (mine was one) of anise, but we confirmed with the waiter that there was none. Finally was Leslie’s butternut squash and chestnut torta with pecans, oyster mushrooms, braised rainbow chard, pearl onions, fonduta, red wine sauce and salsa verde. It tasted as complicated as it sounds–if I worked at it, I could pick out all of the distinct pieces, but that wasn’t really necessary; the flavors fell in well together. In all the choices were seasonal, creative, and not at all pretentious or meager as is sometimes the fear with “upscale” food.

For dessert the four of us shared an utterly perfect hot-fudge sundae, and then staggered out the door, bellies full from the dinner (which capped off a day full of tasting of caterers’ food). I think this place is right up there with the cafe at Chez Panisse (and it’s worth saying that we got a table without having to plan a month ahead), and in the same ballpark price-wise ($20ish entrees), so it’s a place I’ll only see on my birthday or when parents are in town, but that being said, it was worth every penny (that I didn’t have to spend). Yum!

2181 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA

Jupiter is the last of my long-delayed reviews. I may have been here more times than any other restaurant in Berkeley. This is mostly because it’s such a great place to take guests, and we have a lot of guests. Jupiter is a brew-pub, run by the same people who run Triple Rock, just about a quarter mile down Shattuck from that venerable old pub. It’s closer to the heart of downtown. The interior is very welcoming, all dark wood, soft light, hammered copper wall coverings, hand-made, astronomy-themed tables. Outside is even better–a large patio with multiple levels, little heating-lamp things for when the weather turns “cold,” and giant painted versions of their beer posters that I love so much.

The draw here is dual: the beer and the food. To start with the latter: they have sandwiches at lunch and pizzas at dinner. The sandwiches are more interesting than you with think, with boring-sounding options like the tuna-melt or roasted chicken breast both ending up outstanding. The pizza is the same–cooked in a wood-fired brick oven, nice and crispy, never burned, with a large and universally tasty menu of toppings. My favorite is probably the Triton (all their food and beer has astronomically-themed names), which is covered with Italian sausage, sweet onions and basil. I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Because the pizzas are made one at a time, you’ll have to wait a bit for your order to come in. That’s okay, though, it will give you the time you need to drink a couple of thier massively-sized (20oz) ultras of some of my favorite beer, anywhere. Their hefeweisen is definitely my favorite, fruity and rich without being cloying. It’s not for everyone though; they aren’t kidding when they describe it’s taste as including “banana-like esters,” but don’t let it scare you away, it really tastes great!

Although I spend most of my time their drinking the hefe, all the beers are good. Other favorites include the insanely hoppy and alchoholic Quasar double IPA, and the simple, classic Red Spot red ale. Go ahead! Take a look at the whole list.

Jupiter has already earned a special place in our hearts. In fact, if you’re coming to party with us next may when we get hitched, you’ll be treated to some their great food and drink at our rehearsal dinner after party. So if you were on the fence about flying out to California, maybe this will tip the scales.

4293 Piedmont Ave
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 652-3676

Okay, so this is cheating a little bit; the restaurant is actually in Oakland. Whatever. It’s worth the write up anyway. The place is small, brightly lit, huge glass windows, filled with blonde wood, an enormous open kitchen, and not that many tables. People on yelp predicted a wait (they don’t take reservations) but we had none (it was about 6:45 when we showed up, on a Tuesday). Within about 20 minutes however, all the tables were full and people were sitting outside waiting in the little patio area.

We started with a sort of mashed-together-and-fried-into-patties appetizer made with sausage (house made), fingerling potatoes, and greens. It was really good–an unexpected mix of flavors, kind of heavy but in a small enough portion to be enjoyable to the last bite. For the main course we had prosciutto, rosemary, and red-onion pizza and chanterelle pasta. The pizza crust was perfect: light and crispy, non-scorched, and so tasty that even I finished my crusts (this is saying a lot). There was no red sauce on the pizza, just some olive oil and garlic sitting on the dough with big slices of prosciutto layed over the top. The mix of flavors was delicious. The pasta was my favorite (Leslie’s was the pizza). It was fresh pasta (also made in house), cooked just right so that it has a lot of body without being gummy, covered in a basil-based cream sauce with sauteed chanterelles. It was almost like the pasta had been tossed in the sauce; the coating was very light. The flavor was subtle but heavenly.

For dessert we had esspresso-soaked pound cake filled with mousse and topped with whipped cream. I wasn’t crazy about the espresso (big suprise) but the mousse knocked it out of the park. It was that perfect balance between chocolatey and sweet, and not too wet so it was almost crumbly. Mmmm. Overall, a great experience, great service, and stellar food. A bit on the pricey side for the size of the entrees ($10-$15), but a definite will-visit-again kind of place.