Gary Danko, San Francisco (June 2009)

Running into Aziza's Mourad Lahlou - known for wiping the floor with Iron Chef Cat Cora in Battle Red Fish - at the farmers' market today augured well for the evening's culinary excursion.

Only recently have I overcome my aversion to non-Opentable restaurants, so I booked a reservation to Gary Danko a little over three weeks ago.

With hindsight, I would discourage anyone who considers walking from the Powell Street BART to Gary Danko's restaurant. One steep hill after another plagued my thirty minute walk. As I neared North Beach, a downward slope greeted me, as did a gorgeous view.

Enough prattle, let me get to the food. Danko et al. seasoned the first three dishes immaculately, meeting my high salt threshold. The earthy mushroom amuse featured even earthier summer truffles.

Porcini bisque, summer truffle, parsley oil

Then came a warm blini, stacked with layers of creamy viands.

Buckwheat blini, salmon mousse, osetra caviar, crème fraîche

Both curiosity and concern came to mind as I ordered poached oysters. I had never tasted a cooked oyster, thinking it could only lead to a rubbery mess. My concern proved unwarranted after I ate four succulent bivalves.

Glazed oysters, osetra caviar, zucchini, lettuce cream

Continuing along the classically indulgent ingredient list, I selected foie gras. The cherries macerated in Brandy were a bit strong for a lightweight. Caramelized onions, cooked for two days, had a jam-like consistency, making for one of the better foie accoutrement. As for the liver, the kitchen cut a generous lobe, properly deveined it, and gave it a nice sear.

Sonoma foie gras, caramelized onion, Brandy bing cherries, mache

As my roasted lobster arrived, a young couple on a date sat next to me. The young bloke provided entertainment - aside from the articles I brought with me - manufacturing facts about food and chefs in an effort to impress his lady friend. I will share just one gem: "You wouldn't like foie gras," he told his companion, "because it has a really duck-y flavor." Pardon the digression. The roasted lobster dish included one claw and half of the tail. I found the claw more flavorful, and ended up reaching for the sea salt shaker after one bite from the tail.

Roasted Maine lobster, potato purée, shitakes, summer corn, tarragon

Picasso's squab ranks as the tastiest dish to ever grace my palate, so ordering Danko's version would be a bold move. When the server placed the dish in front of me, I smiled at the pink flesh, eager to dig in. Uh oh, I thought, as I bit into a carrot; cumin enveloped it, sending the scent of body odor up my nose. Without hesitation, I started cranking the sea salt shaker again, hoping to tame my Moroccan nemesis.

Moroccan spiced rare squab stuffed with couscous and carrots

Many yelpers extol Danko's cheese cart - justifiably. My lovely server allowed me to select five cheeses. After Fleur de Lys' musky triple creme, I decided to stick predominantly with hard, milder cheeses. Even the blue bestowed a sugary note.

Hook's Cheddar, Unpasteurized Gruyère, Pecorino Sardo, Manchego, Roaring 40s

Pleased with my cheese choices and close to full, I expected to receive a plate of migardises and the bill. My server, however, had other ideas, delivering a chilled cheesecake round, which I gladly finished.

Lemon cheesecake

Mignardises

Breakfast muffin

While Restaurant Gary Danko may not reside in Picasso territory, Chef Danko's North Beach boîte merits the praise it receives both for tasty food and top-notch service.

Fleur de Lys, San Francisco (June 2009)

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are," Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said. Tonight's meal probably places me somewhere on a continuum with 17th century Western European monarchs, save for the parlous gluttony.

Hewing to my appetite aggregating asceticism proved especially difficult since I patronized both the farmers' market and Chocolatier Blue - Berkeley foodies ought to know about this place - earlier in the day.

With my brother as a dining companion, I knew the menu selection would invariably broaden. Tenebrous photos, alas, conceal each dish's intricacy (I am working on the camera situation).

Past reviews convey my affinity for Chef Keller's refreshing amuse, so I will not belabor my half-dozen or so readers with repetitious comments.

Fava bean purée with vichyssoise and paprika oil

Madeleine, watermelon purée shooter, and seared watermelon with a pineapple reduction

Every so often, a yelp reviewer grumbles about torchons in contradistinction to seared preparations. If someone complains about Grade A foie gras, check their pulse.

White and green asparagus salad, foie gras torchon, beets, salsify

My brother seemed pleased with all of the kitchen's offerings, particularly the osetra and foie gras.

Symphony of beef tartare, chickpea fries, foie gras and duck breast burger, lamb sausage, and braised cabbage flan and osetra caviar

I have to admit, labeling this dish a salmon "soufflé" left me confused. Setting aside appellational issues, the flavors worked great - to wit, who does not like sea bass mousse slathered on top of salmon? The iron-packed pig's blood, moreover, imparted a hefty note to an otherwise dainty plate. When done right, a traditionally working class food like black pudding nears elegance.

Salmon "souffle," black pudding, choucroute, grapes

It's foie gras; fill in your own superlatives.

Seared foie gras, rhubarb

If my memory serves me right, the last time I ate prawns at the restaurant occurred about nine months ago at Acquerello. Their prawns risotto, replete in with its nonpareil insipidity, ruined the tasting menu. This time, I told myself, would be different, and it was. The brawny prawn's freshness could be detected immediately as a sea water aroma emanated from the plate.

Prawns, pickled beets, potatoes

Diver scallop, hazelnuts, grapes

I am not one for telling people how to eat a dish, but I think a little chronological advice would have helped here. Starting with the lamb loin was fortuitous. Cooked pink, the tender tournedos initiated a great start to the final savory course. The cumin-crusted shank, however, shellacked any other spice - cinnamon, anise, pepper.

Lamb loin and shank, choucroute, couscous, cinnamon reduction

Stuffed quail, baby leeks, foie gras, veal and smoked apple jus

When playing the percentages, five out of six is respectable. In the plate's top right, a triple creme cheese - from Virginia, I think - epitomized pungency. Normally, bread will cut through a harsh cheese, but even the fig-pistachio capitulated. This cheese had the flavor profile of a "smelly bellybutton" my brother said.

Swiss, Roquefort, hard cow's milk, chèvre, triple cream, Époisses

Adding a personalized touch to our dinner, one of the servers delivered a moist cake for us to enjoy.

Chocolate mousse cake

Mignardise

Most good things eventually come to an end, and Fleur de Lys does not defy the platitude. I can expect three studious days before my first dinner at Gary Danko. Until then, arrivederci.

One Market, San Francisco (June 2009)

After picking up my Zipcard near the Montgomery St. BART, I moseyed over to the Ferry Building to salivate over the dry-aging chamber at the Golden Gate Meat Market, before finally arriving at One Market. Upon arrival, alas, I noticed that the screen on my digital camera suffered a traumatic fracture, so if the pictures seem off-center, now you know why.

The canapé arrived in what felt like seconds after I sat down. Fava beans require multiple steps to prepare - shelling, blanching, removing each bean's individual membrane - adding up to a labor intensive process that I often chose to forgo. If someone else does the aforementioned prerequisites, blitzes the beans in a food processor, and smears the paste on toasted bread with pork fat, I am all for it. Not long after the server removed my canapé plate, another server came by with two kinds of bread - olive and baguette - accompanied by what can only be described as an impenetrable ingot once known as butter. Seriously, I did know whether I would need welding tools to get the butter on the bread. I consoled myself, attempting to deludedly justify the peccadillo with the thought that a meal without butter could possibly be salubrious. Ah, who am I kidding?

Fava bean purée with house-cured lardo

Not only was the soup's seasoning spot on, but it was also visually pleasing as the runny yolk elided with the puréed asparagus.

Asparagus soup, pastured egg sous vide, parmesan, prosciutto

After watching Mario Batali serve opah cheeks on Iron Chef America, I, too, thought fish cheeks would make for a tasty entrée. Do not let the halibut's eerily unattractive features fool you, for its cheeks are delicate enough to render a knife obsolete. I thought the progression from unsmoked pork belly in the soup to smoked belly meat for the main course was a clever - albeit probably overlooked by most - touch.

Braised halibut cheeks, micro greens, corn, clams, celery, applewood smoked bacon

This dessert had a great harmony between its tart and sweet notes.

Nectarine tart, blackberry compote, vanilla bean ice cream

Tonight was my third meal at One Market, and each time I have come away satisfied.

Providence, Los Angeles (May 2009)

Like a country looking to invest its large current account surplus, my six-week haute respite had reached a critical mass (Due to objections, I will henceforth keep the esoterica to a minimum). Nine months had passed and the Michelin Guide had awarded Providence a second Michelin star since our last meal, so it seemed fitting to revisit. Our effervescent server wasted his breath describing the entire menu because it was the nine-course tasting we were after.

The inimitable amuse introduced me to liquor. Imbibing the grapefruit-vodka gel brought on a paroxysm of citrus.

"Cocktail" trio: mojito, gin and tonic, grapefruit-vodka

Of all the courses, only the kanpachi missed the mark. Coriander masked the fish's delicate flavor.

Kanpachi sashimi, crispy rice crackers, coriander flowers, endive, soy crème fraîche

Kanpachi sashimi, radish, olives, coriander flowers

These luscious eggs could be eaten by the dozen.

Sea urchin roe, curdled farm egg, champagne beurre blanc, and brioche croutons

I have not seen chanterelles at farmers' markets in months, which makes me more than a little envious of Chef Cimarusti's supplier. Each component - the chanterelles, scallop, and purée - had a silky finish, leaving a desire for something crunchy.

Seared scallop, yellow chanterelles, fava bean purée

As a white fish devotee, I really liked the halibut; its alabaster flesh flaked into bite-sized quadrilaterals.

Wild Pacific halibut, tomato compote, burdock, shiso, Meyer lemon foam

Having professed my affinity for white fish, I should mention that no complaints surfaced when the medium rare wild salmon came out. Cracklings, mirroring the airy texture one finds in a pork grind, provided the right counterpoint to the fish's fatty flesh.

Wild Washington King salmon, carrot-miso butter, carrots, baby leeks

Deceptively large, this dish nearly filled me up. A caramelized onion, roasted garlic clove, and hazelnuts kept the tender loin, sitting in its own jus, from becoming too rich.

Veal tenderloin, hazelnuts, roasted garlic, King Edwards potatoes, onion, veal jus

Providence boasts a formidable cheese cart. The tangy goat cheese, unpasteurized Époisses, and crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Oregon towered over the recumbent swiss' herbes de provence rind.

Goat, Swiss, Époisses, Oregon blue

As the savory courses receded, a quenelle fest ensued: raspberry, strawberry, and litchi-shiso. All were smooth and refreshing. Passing on the cheese course, my mother enjoyed the yuzu cylinder-raspberry amalgam.

Raspberry sorbet, yuzu meringue, macerated raspberries

Adrian Vasquez, Providence's pastry chef, makes dessert worth looking forward to. His ice cream's concentrated flavor leaves one wondering, why cannot all ice cream taste so good?

Strawberry sorbet, rhubarb, cassis, yogurt

Kalamansi gel, white chocolate coconut soy milk soup, litchi-shiso sorbet, granola

After finishing the petite fours and the ten courses that preceded them, I sat in effete contentment, knowing that I had just experienced one of Los Angeles' best restaurants.

Petite fours: milk chocolate amaretto, salted caramels, hibiscus jellies

Fleur de Lys, San Francisco (April 2009)

I figure the two or three people who actually read these commentaries must be scratching their heads at this point. Another meal at Fleur de Lys, you ask? Indeed. The friendly "Hello, Mr. Feher" from the sommelier, and the "Welcome back" from the servers makes one feel right at home.

As for preparation, I learned from my previous meal, in which I could not finish the petite fours or the madeleines. I chalked up the failure to eating a large lunch the day before the dinner. This time, however, I mended my past errors, eating only a plate of wilted kale and caramelized onions the day before, which meant I would have to contend with inanition during a research meeting this afternoon. The discomfort proved worthwhile.

Along with the butter comes a pile of smoked sea salt. The seasoning was spot-on, though, so not once did I need to reach for that most majestic of minerals.

This amuse featured clean flavors, and the chilled temperature left the palate with a silky finish.

Fava bean purée with parmesan and lemongrass Vichyssoise

Mustard seeds overwhelmed the endive. I am just glad that I ate the micro-casserole first, so that I could end with the cucumber, crème fraîche, and caviar.

Poppyseed-onion brioche, bloody mary shooter, and braised endive casserole

Poaching the egg in the shape of a sweetbread was brilliant. In addition, pan-searing the sweetbreads lent a light crust, in contrast to the creamy interior. The morels partially cut through the veal jus' richness, but, hey, veal jus' richness is what makes it so great.

Veal sweetbreads, poached egg, morels, and veal jus

Some might think my animadversion against this dish is nitpicky, but here it is: it gilded the lily. There was no need for so much black truffle. Well-cooked vegetables are delicious as is. Everything was tender - what needed to be al dente was al dente. Mutatis mutandis, this could have been my favorite dish because the artichokes, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, soy beans, asparagus, and carrots were so tasty. Add the xanthous vitellus oozing onto the vegetables, and you have a dish that could proselytize a wowser.

Vegetable ragout and a poached egg

The wolf of the sea lived up to its name. The potatoes and artichokes tasted good, but the sea bass remained the main attraction.

Loup de mer, olive jus, olive oil potatoes, and fried artichokes

The pleasure this plate brought me defies punctuation. Something about eating game gives me primordial jouissance. Black truffle reared its earthy head again, engulfing the bok choy. I ate so much black truffle tonight that getting tested for fungal parasites crossed my mind.

Venison chop, truffled bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and carrot purée

Maple ice cream and a fruit gelée

Dessert selections included soufflés, cheesecake, assorted chocolate-centric dishes, but I wanted something a bit savory.

Squash and ginger meringue pie, cranberry sorbet, frozen grape, and a chocolate truffle

Petite fours

As I dug into the madeleines, the General Manager and sommelier stopped by my table to discuss the San Francisco dining scene, and we ended up comparing our experiences, before it was finally time for me to go.

Madeleines