The Dining Room, San Francisco CA

Chef Ron Siegel needs no introduction - from his time at Aqua to Charles Nob Hill to The French Laundry to his fame as the first American winner on Iron Chef - the man clearly knows his way around a kitchen. Having missed out on my opportunity to experience the Chef's brilliance during my last trip to the Bay Area (my family did not like the menu) I made sure reservations were secured early for my return -solo- visit. After an already excellent gastronomic trip with dinners at Manresa, Ad Hoc, and La Folie plus a day of great breakfast and lunch from Canteen, the Farmers Market, and Brenda's French Soul-Food I decided to end my trip, hopefully on good note, at The Dining Room. Before getting into the rest of the review, I want to offer a great deal of praise and credit to Angelo Severino for his superb service both via phone and e-mail - by far the most helpful and gracious contact person I've ever talked to at a major restaurant.

Having parked much earlier in the day near Canteen and having walked all about San Francisco for the previous few days I felt I had a good feel for the city and after some time browsing at the mall after dinner I made my way to The Ritz at 5:30 for my 6:00pm reservation - knowing I had to be back at the airport by 9:00 I figured this allowed plenty of time. Walking up to the enormous hotel I chuckled at the two Bentley's, a Maseratti, and a Lotus in the parking lot - glad I left the rental at Canteen. Walking up to the doors I was greeted with a gracious "good evening sir" as the double doors were opened wide. In similar fashion I was greeted with a "Dr. U, we've been expecting you" as I checked in at the hostess desk. From here I was led promptly to a plush booth...about 4 feet from the Hostess station. As the room was nowhere near full I must admit I found this an odd seating choice, but it did suffice. Before moving on let me note the service - exemplary in every single way. Multiple servers presented multiple dishes, but one "captain" stopped by frequently to check in and ask how I liked dishes, if I needed anything else, etc. All dishes were described in exquisite detail, everyone was all smiles and, honestly, all aspects of service were on par with the very best - Trotter's, The French Laundry, Providence, Alex - certainly not cold and disinterested like the service at Manresa.

Having already explained my disinterest in beef and desire for the 9-course menu with Angelo via E-mail my server was aware and presented me a menu "to browse - in case you changed your mind." Thanking him for the offer and requesting a copy of the tasting menu (to be sent at a later date as it is spontaneous) my server disappeared to the kitchen. Moments after he left I was presented with the glorious wine-cart which I politely declined and two bread options - the first a rather bitter olive loaf that I did not care for, but the second a wonderful sourdough that was baked with a crispy "crown" - excellent and hearty and even better with the smooth textured salted butter - I found the use of fleur de sel to salt as opposed to sea salt particularly interesting in terms of texture.

Browsing the room I was impressed (as expected) by the decor and next presented with three magazines to peruse - Esquire, a San Francisco high-living magazine, and film magazine - given the variable (sometimes quite long) time between courses I actually found this quite interesting and beneficial to my overall experience. Moments after starting into the first article I was brought my first amuse - small croquettes/puff pastry filled with an unmemorable goat cheese and potato. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, but generally quite boring.

The second amuse was vastly superior to the first and consisted of an extraordinarily fresh New Caldonia Prawn with Avocado puree and pepper oil. Succulent and flawlessly prepared, the prawn was quite sizable and actually one of the best I've ever tasted while the avocado/pepper combination gave the dish a somewhat "tartar" feel without destroying the textural contrasts - a great start.

Following the prawn I waited only minutes before my second amuse arrived - titled 64-degree Quail egg with golden osetra caviar and cedar smoke the dish consisted of a poached quail egg and caviar resting daintily atop a plastic film atop a glass filled with cedar wood smoke. With an "mg" feel akin to The Bazaar and Moto (and clearly inspired by Adria and Achatz) a simple touch of the egg released a puff of smoke from a small hole in the film and surrounds the diner with a dense aroma meant to enhance the flavor of the egg/caviar. While interesting (and even more fun to watch the elderly crowd confusedly interact with) the overall effect was somewhat blunted and the caviar, for being purported golden osetra, was somewhat bland.

Dish one of the proper tasting consisted of Asparagus soup and (per the menu I received later by e-mail - not the hard copy I was promised by my captain) shrimp with morel mushrooms. The dish I did in fact receive, however, was the same soup prepared tableside with lobster. While I certainly would never turn down lobster as a replacement for shrimp and was actually quite impressed by the dish at the time, it became an issue later in the meal. Creamy and tasting of very fresh (and very buttery) asparagus the warm soup was wonderful while the morel taste certainly came through with great aplomb. The lobster, while fresh, was rather overcooked in my opinion - almost as though it was an afterthought.

After a seemingly long delay (20ish minutes) dish two was presented and for myself consisted of Tuna Sashimi with live spot prawn, Japanese sea salt, and yuzu gelee. Playful in presentation and actually the best dish of the night, this dish consisted of wonderfully textured slices of toro served raw and layered with the deveined sashimi tails of the spot prawns - both perfect, both on par with the best sashimi I've ever experienced and both ever-so-slightly enhanced with the addition of spots of salt and yuzu. An additional aspect of this half of the presentation was the grating of fresh wasabi (explained ad nauseum how rare this is by my server) on sharkskin....good, spicy, but not as life-altering as they claimed. Furthering the "play with your food" concept of this dish, a second plate was served with deep-fried prawn heads and two types of lemon juice dipping sauce prepared at tableside. Though I've only had a similar preparation once before I can definitely say this version was several degrease superior - it was fantastic.

After a much shorter delay, likely 5 minutes (and an article about, ironically, Manresa in the San Francisco magazine) my third dish was presented - Salmon with pea puree and orange jus. While I admit I am not a salmon fan at baseline, I found this dish to be "good but not great." While the salmon certainly maintained its characteristic fattiness and mildly fishy flavor, the texture was somewhat grainy - almost as though it had been frozen. Similar to the previous asparagus soup the pea reduction certainly displayed the chef's hand with fresh vegetables and the orange jus lent a unique contrast of citrus acidity that did help to balance the dish. (Notably, the alternative dish - served to a female dining with her husband at the table next to me who also received the salmon - was Japanese Blue Fish with roux scented with red onions, white polenta, shiso, spot prawn essence. This dish, and others later, made me wish the menu were presented and choices were given as it looked divine.)

Once again arriving after significant delay (20ish minutes) dish four was a bit perplexing to me. Entitled Lobster with morel mushroom and lobster hollandaise on the menu my first thought was "didn't we already do this?" As it turns out -see dish one- this was supposed to be something new. What it was, instead, was quite similar in every way to the first dish with the only difference being the butteriness of the sauce. While I'll not complain too much about excess lobster, the fact that I received 21 dishes at The French Laundry without a single repeat ingredient and 16 at Manresa without a similar flavor or texture (though some similar ingredients) left me wondering about Siegel's purported creativity.

My next dish, again significantly delayed (without continuing to mention this, my meal took nearly 3 1/4 hours - nearly as long as my meal at TFL and I received vastly less food) was a winner, though once again upon seeing the alternative I was saddened. Presented simply and elegantly, Seared Foie Gras with pickled huckleberries and pineapple reduction was actually one of the best seared preparations I've ever tasted (Danko and One Market were slightly better) and the portion was quite substantial. Well cooked without any sinew or gaminess the tender foie was well balanced with the acidic huckleberries and incredibly sweet pineapple broth. While I wished for a bit more textural component, the dish worked. My disappointment? I prefer chilled/terrine preparations and the alternative was a terrine with port wine reduction and marcona almond that looked divine.

Following the natural tasting menu progression, dish six of the menu proper was Quail with black rice, enoki mushrooms, and mustard greens. Having had a superb preparation of quail at La Folie and a great squab preparation at Manresa I must admit that this version was on par and the with the other fowl I'd experienced on the trip and was literally fall off the bone tender. Given the two dishes of morels already presented I was glad to see the enoki mushrooms and their decidedly fragrant aroma was quite pleasing. With that noted – there was no rice on this dish, but instead (from my notes) a “new pomme puree” that tasted mostly like a liquid baked potato. Alll in all a very solid dish featuring multiple simple flavors that came together well. The alternative choice, Duck with pineapple and garlic flower looked quite pleasing on the neighbor's table, as well.

Next up, not enjoying beef (Kobe, again with asparagus plus butterball potato) I was presented with Lamb served with black trumpet mushrooms, ramps, and madera sauce. While not as tender and succulent as the out-of-this-world Lamb at Manresa, the preparation was quite appealing and the mild gaminess of the lamb was well tempered by the pungent yet aromatic madera wine that brought out a great deal of earthiness from the wonderful mushroom and ramp medley. While ramps won't be in season in Ohio for another few months, I found these early season ramps to be better than ours at the peak of season and certainly on par with those of Manresa and Providence.

Transitioning from the savory to the sweet, my next dish was a Lychee sorbet with hibiscus gel and blood orange pearl. Tasty enough with its smooth and silken texture well complimented by the aromatic and flowery gel, I must say the sorbet was relatively forgettable when compared with the incredible dish at Providence and the "pearl" tasted significantly less "blood orange" than "navel orange" - lacking that sharp/bitter that may have added some nuance or "pop" to the dish. The alternative dish, Matcha Granita with genmai-cha ice cream and shiratama appeared quite oriental and would have been interesting, though given the option based on words alone I'd have selected the Lychee.

My final dish was called Chocolate Manjari Cake with caramel and sea salt, macadamia nut ice cream, cocoa nib crisp (I'm thankful I didn't get the alternative, Yogurt Panna Cotta w/ Kiwi Basil soup, tangerine granita, tarweed honey pearl as I really dislike kiwi) and...well, it was okay. Familiar with the rare and fine Madagascar beans after which the item was named I must admit that the dish was somewhat bland in taste and somewhat bitter. While the cake was appropriately moist, my attention was more drawn to the excellent salted caramel and creamy ice cream (which I honestly thought was a stellar vanilla until I read the menu - I did not sense macadamia nut at all.) Great ingredients, great technique, but relatively flat overall - especially compared to the desserts at other Michelin Starred restaurants in California - most notably Boulevard's incredible chocolate dessert.

My final treat of the long evening did manage to make up for my disappointment in the cake - in part because of the quality and in part because of the service. Solid silver, beautiful and ornate, the mignardises cart managed to impress where other dishes did not. Featuring a large array of items ranging from a delicious chocolate canelle to a Meyer lemon cheesecake, pistachio opera cake, marshmallow, passiion fruit chocolate, pecan brittle, caramels with a great buttery/olive oil nuance, plus lemon and rootbeer lollipops I would place this cart at number three all-time in terms of mignardises - behind only Keller's Laundry and the absolutely audacious version at Tru.

All told I enjoyed many aspects of my meal at The Ritz Dining Room and I have no doubt that Chef Siegel knows his way around the kitchen. My question, and the reason I'd likely not return, is why so many repeats and why such flat flavors in some regards while using whimsy and producing outstanding flavors in others? Certainly I didn't go in expecting the fireworks of Moto or the refinement of The French Laundry, but honestly there were moments of brilliance akin to both - but only mere moments. Looking at some of the exotic items I was able to taste and enjoy the restaurant clearly wasn't trying to skimp or cut corners - but in fact I think they may have been trying a little too hard to say "look what we've got" to rich old men with Bentley's than "look what we can do" to people who truly love great food. Sure, fresh wasabi and golden osetra are impressive - but only if used to truly impressive effect. Would I have enjoyed the meal more had I been able to pick/choose some of the courses - likely, but I didn't get to pick at Manresa, Providence, Charlie Trotters, TFL or many others and they shined above. Great service despite the prolonged time between courses and supremely fancy digs (though I'm not sure why I was sat -literally- at the door. Also, I've still not received a hard copy of the menu despite the promises of such. For the extra $30 drive South to Kinch's place......or pay double and try the Laundry - both are better "bang for the buck."

Brenda's French Soulfood, San Francisco CA

Q'uest que c'est soul food? Okay, so the last French I took was during sophomore year of college, but living around Detroit for most of my life I certainly know what Soul Food is – having heard great things about Brenda’s, however, I wanted to know what FRENCH Soul Food was. After breakfast at Canteen and some browsing/chowing at the Saturday Farmer’s Market it started to pour – thus necessitating me to dive into the Westfield shopping center where, after browsing, I opted to take in a movie at the Cinemark. Leaving the theater and the mall, the time was around 1:00 and I had no plans for the rest of the day – time for lunch!

Walking, once again, through the streets of (now suddenly sunny) San Francisco, I turned onto Polk and was greeted by a line of about twenty…twenty five people waiting in front of a place no bigger than my living room. Walking up I chuckled at a couple of guys playing hacky sack wearing Weezer and Kyuss shirts with a beanie and dreads, respectively…it reminded me of Berkeley…or OSU’s High Street. Walking up to the line I saw a “sign in” sheet on the door and placed my name…party of 1…below 9 other names/groups. The friendly server told me “it would be about an hour, but we take role call every now and again, so it could be less.” Getting in line I, ironically, got into a long conversation with two elderly ladies who were both from Ohio and assured me that the wait was worth it…the fella’ in the Kyuss shirt then chimed in “damn right, we drove down from Berkeley for beignets!”

True to her word, the waitress emerged after 20 minutes (and allowing a few groups in) and called roll – three parties had either walked off or given up and were struck from the list. Another 20 minutes passed and the waitress came out and wrote CLOSED below the two names below mine on the list – no more spots for the day. 5 minutes later, me drooling on myself after reading the specials board and standing watching people eat through the windows, I was finally let in – “is the bar okay?” “Sure.”

A native of New Orleans and Filipino-Creole raised, I assumed Brenda would be good with the southern style – my question was how this could/would translate into “French technique” especially at a small restaurant with (obviously) limited facilities. Browsing the menu it was hard to find something that didn’t sound excellent and although I’d originally planned on a croque madame plus some beignets the daily specials drastically changed my mind…and then I saw the beignets…great scott, they were huge! Uncertain of how to proceed given my upcoming dinner at The Dining Room I asked the server if half orders could be accommodated on the specials to which she said “absolutely!” This still didn’t make my choice any easier given the Croque, the Cornmeal oyster and bacon scramble, the gulf shrimp and goat cheese omelet, the pineapple upside down pancakes, the two decadent sounding French toasts…lets just say Brenda and I would be on good terms if I was in town. Finally making my selections and watching my neighbors eat any variety of amazing dishes I sat back, drank some water, and waited in the congenial yet loud atmosphere.

The first item to arrive was my flight of beignets – quite frankly I couldn’t resist. Starting with “Plain – for the die-hard traditionalist” I must admit I was impressed right off the bat. Delicate and light, warm with a notably buttery undertone yet hints of cinnamon and perhaps clove, these already beat out Kinch’s version at Manresa. Finishing only half (to save room) I moved on to the savory.

Beignet #2, Crawfish with Cayenne, scallions, and cheddar raised the bar at least two notches (much like what this trip did to my belt size) with its milky yet sharp cheddar complimenting the perfectly prepared and shredded (and mildly briny) crawfish meat – the addition of scallions provided an aromatically pleasing component to the dish while the dusting of cayenne added just a wee-bit of heat – like a great crawfish etouffee sans roux in a puffy shell – where are ya on this one, Hot Pockets?

Moving on to the sweets, the third beignet was noted to consist of Granny Smith Apple and Cinnamon Honey Butter. Admittedly an admirer of all things made with cinnamon this was most certainly the beignet I'd been looking forward to most, but unfortunately it was the least "wowing" of the group. Filled with an ample amount of apples, I do fear that the selection was a bit poor and (even for Granny Smiths) the apples were very sour. Tempered somewhat by the sweet honey, the pervasive flavor overall was actually the butter and I fear the cinnamon got somewhat "lost in the mix." It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as impressive as the others.

The final beignet, billed as being filled with molten Ghirardelli chocolate, was -honestly- stunning. In general not a fan of the overly sweet Ghirardelli chocolates and their lack of subtlety, this concoction was clearly Ghirardelli plus something else - or else a higher end dark chocolate option from their collection that I've not tasted. Strong and potent the heavy ganache blended quite elegantly with the airy beignets - I cannot even imagine eating a full order of these, but one hit the spot quite adequately - I'd strongly recommend these to share for anyone going to Brenda's.

Already comfortably sated I could have left here and been happy – but remember when I said I wanted a croque? Well, I didn’t get a croque. What I did get, instead, was something so much more sublime – one of the daily specials entitled “Banana Bread Pudding French Toast with bourbon pecan sauce and chocolate chips.” Essentially a piece of banana bread that had been saturated/soaked in bourbon custard and then griddle fried, topped with Ghirardelli chocolate chips, and slathered with whipped cream and an absolutely flawless pecan sauce with strong degrees of cinnamon plus subtle nuances of bourbon whiskey – stunning. Better than the French Toast at Dottie’s in texture and consistency and potentially more sweet than that at Griddle café – thankfully I only ordered a half-order (which was, amazingly, charged exactly half for instead of the $2 up-charge at Dottie’s and others for half-orders!)

Friendly service, water that was refilled long before I reached the bottom of the glass, and a hustling/bustling environment…..oh, and really great food. I understand why the lines are so long, but if I end up in town permanently I’m going to have to ask Brenda to get a bigger space so I can come back more often!

Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, San Francisco CA

I will fully admit I was curious – how could a farmer’s market garner so much hype? I’ve been to the North Market in Columbus, East Market in Detroit, West Market in Cleveland, the Grove Market in Los Angeles, and any number of small town markets throughout Ohio, Michigan, and the Midwest – I’d also been to the Ferry Plaza on my previous visit to San Franciso and, while impressive I wasn’t “blown away.” Eating breakfast at Canteen and making my way through Chinatown on my way to the Ferry Plaza on a rain-threatening Saturday I first stopped into ABC Café for an Egg Custard since A) I’d never had one and B) The Chinese man at the hotel desk told me they made “really good ones” when I asked. Buttery, crispy, and egg-y with just a hint of sweetness I’d say the 80 cents was well spent, but it isn’t something I’d crave. Continuing my walk and snapping pictures I was yelled at by three women not to take pictures as I was amused by dried sharks fins, fruits I’d never seen, and all sorts of hanging meats – we don’t have this in Ohio, sorry to be such a tourist!

Arriving at the Embarcadero I could already see a difference from my past visit to the Ferry Plaza – about 30 booths on the west side of the street (Arts and Crafts) and 40+ on the East side (yay, food!) Raised by crafty ladies I browsed the Arts and Crafts section, but being so early and the weather being so bad there really wasn’t much to see – some fine Metals, but my sister does better. Making my way across the street the first booth I saw featured all sorts of Organic produce at prices that undersold many/most non-organic sellers in Ohio – I shed a couple tears (or was that rain in my eye?) Sampling some wonderful Jonagolds, Blood Oranges, and Quince I walked along past the outdoor Blue Bottle, Bruins Farms Tomatoes (never seen this many varieties in one place), and found myself in front of Marshall’s Farms Honey – where I proceeded to sample about 15 varieties including a sublime almond and pumpkin honey…the nuance of each was simply mindblowing. One of my biggest regrets of the current airline “charge for luggage” system is that I can’t buy liquids over 2oz without having them confiscated – I’d prefer just order online than buy, pack, and find a place to ship home.

Wandering a bit more I stopped by Hare Hollow where I tried some interesting olive oils and a particularly sublime 7.5% acidity ginger-blackberry and date-fig vinegar that, despite being pricey, will be in my cupboard soon. Next up, making my way North, was Saint Benoit Yogurt with their interesting stone-ware containers and deposit system – if I lived locally their honey yogurt would be replacing Dannon plain on a permanent basis. Browsing some beautiful orchids, eating some more fruits (more quince and some plumellos,)and tasting some interesting chutneys and baba ganoush it suddenly began to pour thus necessitating I duck into the market itself for a bit – just like the other 500ish people.

Warm, moist, and crowded – the inside of the market actually reminded me of a crowded concert venue – wandering along I spotted the new indoor Blue Bottle and thought about stopping…until I saw the 50+ person line and realized the last thing I wanted was something warm to drink.

(Wanting at least 2lbs to take home and needing a Blue Bottle that took credit I later stopped by the awesome Mint Plaza location to see the glorious $20,000 Halogen roaster and was appropriately wowed – and the India Jasmine Estate is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.)

In my walk to Blue Bottle, however, I did pass in front of Miette and the smiling lady behind the counter actually asked me if I wanted a sample – given their awful service on my last visit I must admit I was shocked. Stepping closer I asked her what I was being handed and she told me a Rose Geranium Macaron. Biting into the crispy exterior and sensing the wonderfully moist and fragrant interior I must admit I was amply pleased – this was a VERY good Macaron. Adequately impressed I decided to give in and make a purchase, buying another Rose Geranium as well as a Pistachio Macaron and a “Classic” Cupcake. While the Pistachio didn’t quite hold up to the superb flowered cookie, it was actually quite good and nearly on par with my favorite Pistachio Macaron ever at Pistachia Vera in Columbus. The cupcake, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well in that while the cake was quite moist and delicious in texture, the frosting was actually quite gummy and bland – as though there was simply too much xanthan or guar gum and too little liquid.

Walking into Boulette’s Larder I was handed a small chocolate chip cookie by a tall man in a chef’s garment and told it was fresh baked – amazing in its texture and featuring (I was told) Sharffen Berger chocolate from the stand just down the way the cookie was still warm and on its own made up for the averageness of the $3.00 cupcake I’d just purchased at Miette. Watching a short cooking demonstration I noted it had stopped raining and made my way out past the incredibly crowded Frog’s Hollow to the back half of the market.

Larger than the front and featuring even more prepared goods (and samples) my first taste occurred at Spring Hill Jersey Cheese where I tasted somewhere between 8 and 10 wonderfully accented artisanal cheeses that escape my mind at this time aside from a truly superb lemon and chive feta – the staff was wonderful and actually encouraged “as much sampling as you like” and I felt bad not buying anything. I next made my way further along where I enjoyed more fruit (never realized there were 3 types of blood orange – let alone 11 varieties of heirloom strawberries,) some Meyer Lemon Marmalade and Black Mission Fig Jam ::drool:: and a myriad of dried fruits at Blossom Bluff.

Making my way along the path past the Gandhi statue and a garden of herbs, mounds of organic meats, and other delectable artisan goods I spied a man eating what appeared to be a fantastic chocolate croissant and drinking some of the liquid hot chocolate from near the back door – asking him where he got the croissant he told me Della Fattoria but “I think they’re sold out.” Pointing me in that direction I made my way to Della and indeed they were sold out of the croissants – what they weren’t sold out of, however, was something far more divine – caramelized brioche bread pudding. Organic, natural sea salts, extra virgin olive oil, pure caramelized organic cow’s milk – sold! Served in a small tart wrapper and still somewhat warm I was handed the treasure just as it once again began to rain – heavily. Nestled under the umbrella I dug in and once again was mesmerized by how such simple ingredients can make something so wonderful. Not overly moist like the bread pudding at Ad Hoc or Jeanty the day before the texture was more donut like (like Keller’s at Bouchon Bakery in Vegas) and absolutely excellent with hints of cinnamon, sweet, and salty all in great balance.

Feeling quite stuffed (and soaked) I made my way back to the indoor area past Prather Ranch and a large rotisserie chicken outfit with a long line standing in the rain. Stopping in Sur La Table I realized there was at least one thing in the Market that we do have in Ohio – similarly priced, too. Entering the market again I watched a young man next to Tsar caviar form perfect crepes for a group of onlookers and walked past another long line of customers waiting for fresh Italian Pastries that had apparently just arrived via bicycle delivery man. Realizing that if I stuck around any longer I’d be incredibly full (and broke) and unable to eat lunch I made my way to the street where I watched a few performers play the drums and a saxophone – quite impressively, I must say. When the rain finally ceased I started my walk towards my hotel only to get caught in yet another storm at which point I opted for the Westfield shopping center for a movie and some digestion time.

All told the market absolutely lives up to its hype in every conceivable manner. What exists at a 9 out of 10 experience on any day of the week literally becomes a 15 out of 10 on Saturday. If I lived in San Francisco I really can’t imagine myself shopping anywhere besides the Farmer’s Market and the Berkeley Bowl for fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and breads. Stunning – and quite honestly, you could eat breakfast and lunch nearly for free if you were so inclined!