Menu Flashcards
PRELUDE: Kanpachi Nigiri
– Fish is diced, then cured in sake & soy
– Sitting on DASHI MERINGUE (egg white, dashi kombu, soy, vinegar)
– Garnished with shiso leaf, yuzu mayo, fresh wasabi, and shiso flower
PRELUDE: Dashi Meringue
– Egg White
– Dashi
– Soy
– Vinegar
Dashi: kombu dashi (veg)
PRELUDE: Sage Hill Ranch Gardens
A “no till” farm in Escondido. Very focused on being “human-scale,” no/low petroleum, soil health, all that good shit.
– “a half acre”
PRELUDE: Sage Hill Ranch Garden Greens
– Puffed cracker dough (flour milk, yeast, salt)
– filled with “nettle puree” (goat cheese, marscapone, parmesan , almond, nettles, basil, olive oil, sun-dried tomato, picholine olives)
– topped with greens, banyuls vinegar, and parsley powder
PRELUDE: Ingredients in the puffed cracker
flour, milk, yeast, salt
PRELUDE: Leaves in the “salad”
– marigold leaves (bitter, citrus)
– Nasturtium (peppery)
– amaranth (spinach-like, sweet, hearty)
– blood sorrel (tangy, lemony)
PRELUDE: Sage Hill Ranch – “garden pesto”
– goat cheese
– marscapone
– parmesan
– almond
– nettles
– basil
– olive oil
– sun-dried tomato
– picholine olives (particularly delicate olive)
PRELUDE: Spanish Anchovies w/ Crispy Potato Rosti
– Potato Rosti (shredded potato bound with clarified butter)
– Cantabrian Anchovies from the Bay of Biscay
– Garnished with wild arugula, arugula mayo, lemon jam, lemon zest, and EVOO
PRELUDE: Chicken Liver Churro
– Feuille de brick (a Tunisian version of phyllo dough that’s thicker and less fragile)
– rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with chicken liver mousse
– topped with “bitter chocolate” (cocoa nib puree = cream, egg, cornstarch, cocoa)
PRELUDE: “Bitter Chocolate” on Churro
Cocoa Nib Puree
– cream
– egg
– cornstarch
– cocoa
AMA EBI – spiel
This is a rare, deep water sweet shrimp, sustainably trap harvested between 1500 and 3000 feet below the surface off the coast of Kawaii
and when served sashimi style as it is here, showcases it’s lovely natural sweetness, as well as its meaty but delicate texture, and buttery finish.
We advise beginning with the ama ebi, with each bite complemented by an array of perilla flowers and leaves, and enhanced by a pichuberry ponzu sauce.
Once you’ve enjoyed the ama ebi, move next to the rose of summer fruit for a kiss of sweetness — salted kiwi and wisner farms cavaillon melon — for a kiss of sweetness and for your final bite, as a palate cleanser, the lightly fermented ginger.
SASHIMI: Sauce
Pichuberry and Ponzu sauce
– Pichuberry = “cape gooseberries”, yellow with sheath, from South America
– Sweet and tart, like a star fruit and a tomato cross
Ponzu
– Fermented pichuberry juice
– Yuzu
– lemon juice
– Black soy sauce
– ginger
– ginger oil
– Vegetable dashi
– mirin
– Xanthan gum
2nd: Shellfish Chawanmushi – spiel
– “Chawan” means “tea bowl” in Japanese, borrowed from the Chinese in the 13th century.
It’s a silky dashi and egg mixture, steamed in cup, over which is Hokkaido scallops lightly warmed in garlic oil, Bafun Uni, also from Hokkaido. Broccoli, bok choy, and celtuce contributes a playful textural component, and chef recommends to dive your spoon to the bottom of the chawan for each bite, so experience the textures in harmony.
CHAWAN: What is the uni called, what makes Hokkaido uni special
Bafun Uni
– rich, creamy, and sweet flavor, with slight brine
– texture melts in your mouth
As opposed to SB uni
– a bit brinier, and a bit tougher
Ocean temperatures in Hokkaido average about 15 degrees colder in the winter months
CHAWAN: What the fuck is Celtuce
An asian lettuce, with a broccoli-like stalk. Gives a firmer texture to the dish.
CHAWAN: Crab stock in the Chawanmushi
Crab stock
Thickened with “kuzu”
Kuzu is the starch from the Kudzu plant, which is a semi-woody vine that can grow up to a foot a day
– root can be cooked like a potato
– known as “mile-a-minute” or “the vine that ate the south”
–introduced to Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, where it was touted as ornamental
– 1930s to 1950s, promoted as a tool for soil erosion control, planted in abundance throughout the south
– looks like a blanket of green
CHAWAN: What makes Hokkaido scallops special
Hokkaido is the big island north of the Japanese mainland, less than 30 miles south of Russian island of Sakhalin – between 41st and 45th 43rd parallel, think Vermont
Water is colder
Sweet and rich, with a delicate and buttery texture
CAVIAR: What’s Koshihikari rice?
A premium variety of Japanese Short Grain rice.
– It was developed in Japan after WWII.
– Cross bread of Nourin No . 1 with Nourin No. 22, originally to find a better resistance to “rice blast”
– Registered with Japanese Ministry of Agriculture in 1956.
– Short, plump, a high starch content makes them sticky without dissolving into greul.
CAVIAR: Rice Seasoning on the Caviar?
– rice vinegar
– mirin (sweet rice wine)
– shio koji (japanese seasoning made from fermented rice, salt, and water)
The enzymes in shio koji help break down proteins and starches, making meats and vegetables more tender and flavorful.
CAVIAR: Sabayon
Applewood smoked
– smoked clarified butter
–egg yolks
–smoked soy sauce
Sabayon’s are usually sweet, made of egg yoks, alcohol, and/or stock
CAVIAR: What is uni brushed with
unagi sauce
– soy, sugar, cornstarch
CAVIAR: rice “pearls”
“ARARE”
Arare are usually bite sized japanese rice crackers, usually flavored with soy, and these are those reimagined as tiny pearls, to give a playful texture and pleasant crunch to the dish.
CRISPS
“Chips and Dip”
Kennebec potato chips, dusted in malt vinegar powder, with a toasted dill and burnt onion dip.
Finishing here is a pickle cornichon, topped with sweet and sour cornichon relish, chives, and dill pollen.
Chef advises you to enjoy as much of the chips and dip as you like, and for the cornichon to be your final bite of this little interlude.
CRISPS: Types of potatoes in the crisps.
– Kennebec potatoes
– thin skin
– medium starch
– very low moisture a
– uniquely good for frying.
CRISPS: WTF is a “Kennebec”
Kennebec is a river in Maine
– 170 miles long
– potato was bred and selected by the Presque Isle Station in Maine in 1948
CRISPS: How are crisps treated
– Fried, and dusted with malt vinegar powder
CRISPS: Dip on the crisps
“Toasted Dill and burnt onion dip.”
Dip made from
– dill-infused mayonaise
– dijon
– cornichon pickling liquid
– creme fraiche
– dusted with burnt onion powder and dried dill powder
CRISPS: Cornichon on crisps
pickled cornichon
– topped with sweet cornichon relish
– chives
– fresh dill
– dill pollen.
4th: Splendid Alfonsino
– This is the splendid alfonsino, so named for the brilliant red/orange coloration that you see before you.
– This is sourced from the deep waters off the Izu peninsula in SE Japan and to prepare it, the kitchen bamboo steams it wrapped in a banana leaf
– This preparation lends the fish a subtle fruity note and preserves its tender, almost shellfish-like texture.
– We serve it over kombu poached radish, purple daikon, and garlic confit, accented by thai basil, chervil, and iceplant
– And finish it tableside with a shellfish consume
ALFONSINO: Shellfish Consumme
– crab
– shrimp
– lemongrass
– ginger
– seasoned with koji, MSG, and Yondu (veggie umami)
ALFONSINO: Components in steaming
Bamboo leaf, with
– lime juice
– tomato powder
– bottarga (salted, pressed, dried fish roe)
ALFONSINO: Total components on dish
– fish
– purple daikon
– turnip
– kombu-poached radish
– shaved radish
– garlic confit
– iceplant
– thai basil
– chervil
– ginger oil
Sourdough Bread
– Garden green butter with tarragon, thyme, rosemary, and ramp
– Goat’s milk butter
– Honey brown butter
– Central Milling with 100% dark Northern Spring Wheat – high protein, volcanic soils of PNW
– Tehachapi Grain Project Red Fife Flour (heirloom grain, warm, nutty flavor, notes of cinnamon)
– Spelt flour
BREAD: Central Milling
– employee owned company
– three mills in Utah
– distribution in NorCal
– “150 years of experience”
BREAD: Tehachapi Grain Project
Aims to preserve and grow heritage organic grains which are naturally drought tolerant
– Red Fife flour
5th: Tom Kha Gai Goong
Gai: Chicken // Goong: “Shrimp”
Main bowl:
– King crab
– beech mushrooms (cooked in dashi, contains soy)
– lemongrass/pimienton oil (type of paprika)
– pickled ginger
– finger limes
– coconut emulsion (has soy)
– thai basil and coriander
Soup poured tableside
– galangal
– lemongrass
– lime leaves
– honey
– coconut oil
– coconut milk
– red curry paste (has shrimp)
Side bowl: Chicken oysters (breaded in flour, dijon mustard, and panko), fried, tossed in lime aigre doux, fresh lime zest, and swarndwipa (Sumatran spice blend, lemongrass/kaffir/paprika)
SOUP: Ingredients in the Tom Kha soup broth
– lime leaves
– honey
– coconut oil
– coconut milk
– red curry paste (has shrimp)
SOUP: Tom Kha Gai Goong – what does it mean?
Tom = soup
Kha = “Galangal”
Gai = Chicken
Goong = Shrimp
SOUP: Components in the main bowl of the Tom Kha
– King crab
– beech mushrooms (cooked in dashi, contains soy)
– lemongrass/pimienton oil (type of paprika)
– pickled ginger
– finger limes
– coconut emulsion (has soy)
– thai basil and coriander
SOUP: Allergies in the soup
Soy
Shellfish
Coconut
Honey
SOUP: How are chicken oysters prepared
– breaded in flour, dijon, and panko
– fried
– tossed in lime aigre-doux, lime zest and swarndwipa
SOUP: Chicken Oysters WTF
– An “oyster” is a circular, small piece of dark meat on the back of the chicken thigh
– there are two “oysters” per chicken
– among the most prized parts of the chicken
SOUP: Sorry…. Swarndwipa?
A Sumatran spice blend, typically lemongrass/kaffir/paprika
LAMB BROTH: Components in the lamb broth bowl
– Elysian Farms “Pure Bred” Lamb Tongue braised for 6-hours
– Steamed purple cabbage
– spring onion
– charred and raw scallion
– baby tokyo turnips (small, all white turnips)
– fava beans
LAMB: Lamb pre-dinner consommé
– Elysian Fields Farms “Pure Bred” Lamb Tongue (North Carolina), braised for 6 hours
– Lamb consommé (braised lamb bones clarified with ground lamb beef)
– Steamed purple cabbage, spring onion, charred and raw scallion, baby tokyo turnips, and fava beans.
A5: Beef Broth
American Wagyu beef tongue (12 horu slow braise)
Dashi broth:
– Kombu
– dry porcini
– shiitake mushrooms
– katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
– white soy
Where are Elysian Fields Farms?
– Cedar Grove, NC
LAMB: pickled ramp
– champagne vinegar
– white balsamic
– bay leaf
– garlic
LAMB: aged sherry (TKTK?)
– black garlic
– aged sherry
– garlic oil
– koji
– egg yolks
– dijon
LAMB: pani puri tart
– “Pani” = small, round, hollow cripsy shell
– “puri” = flavored water, from tamarind, mint, cilantro, chaat masala, or other spices
LAMB: whipped parmesan
– parm
– heavy cream
– milk
– xanthan gum
LAMB: aged and cooked?
– 25 day dry aged Elysian Fields Farms “Pure Bred” Lamb Ribeye
– roasted with rosemary garlic
– dusted with prime rib powder
LAMB: “Prime Rib Powder”
– rosemary
– thyme
– garlic
– onion
– parsley
– ramp tops
LAMB: nettle puree
– Nettles (spinach-like – earthy, grassy, nutty, sometimes minty)
– spinach
– butter
– cream
– shallots
– garlic
Lamb Ribeye
Elysian Fields Farms “Pure Bred” Lamb Rack “Ribeye,” dry aged in house for 25 days, roasted with rosemary and garlic, and dusted with prime rib powder.
This is served alongside a nettle puree, whipped parmesan, pickled ramp, aged sherry ____TK___, pomme puree, watercress, and a pani puri tart. TK MOREL?
Olive fed wagyu
A5 from Shodoshima, or Shodo Island.
– a small island, west of Osaka, in the inland sea of Japan
– raising cattle for over 1300 years
– island makes 99& of Japan’s olives
– in 2010, rancher realized cows could be induced to eat the pressed olives
–dry and roast the pressed olives, caramelizing the natural sugars, getting the cows to eat it
“this process fits perfectly with the Japanese ethos of mottainai, to waste nothing”
Japanese ethos of wasting nothing
mottainai
A5 Upgrade
Olive-fed Shodoshima
– finished with soy glaze
– porcini powdered
– grilled over binchotan
Shellfish rice cracker
– A5 tartar
– caramelized cipollini onion
– pickled cucumber
– diced raw radish
– chives
– aged miso
– dijon mustard
– black garlic aioli (egg, oil, dijon, pureed black garlic, squid ink
Shoyu Sauce (tableside)
– soy
– mirin
– sake
– brown sugar
– vinegar
– garlic
– scallions
– ginger
– dijon
A5: Shellfish Rice Creaker
– A5 tartar
– caramelized cipollini onion
– pickled cucumber
– diced raw radish
– chives
– aged miso
– dijon mustard
– black garlic aioli (egg, oil, dijon, pureed black garlic, squid ink)
– kosho yuzu paste
A5: Shoyu
– soy
– mirin
– sake
– vinegar
– brown sugar
– garlic
– scallions
– ginger
– dijon
7th – pre-dessert
– Harry’s Berries “Mara des Bois” Strawberries (small, soft, richly perfumed perfumed)
Strawberry rhubarb tart
– butter
– buckwheat
– sugar
– eggs
– vanilla
– brown butter
– xanthan
Jam
– rhubarb
– strawberry
– orange
– sugar
– vanilla bean
– ascorbic acid
Frangipane
– almond flour
– vegan butter
– almond extract
– egg
– sugar
Lavender Panna Cotta
– cream, sugar, lavender, gelatin, vanilla
Strawberry granite
– strawberries
– sugar
– sudachi
– lime
Champagne Emulsion
– reduced champagne
– heavy cream
– sugar
– gelatin
“Panna Cotta” WTF
Italian for “cooked cream”
– simmer cream, sugar, and vanilla, then set it with gelatin
PRE: Lavender Panna Cotta
Lavender Panna Cotta
– cream
– sugar
– lavender
– gelatin
– vanilla
PRE: Champagne Emulsion
Champagne Emulsion
– reduced champagne
– heavy cream
– sugar
– gelatin
PRE: What’s a “sudachi”
– small, green citrus fruit from Japan
– similar to lime but more complex and floral
PRE: types of strawberries
Harry’s Berries “Mara de Bois”
– small, soft, sweet, richly perfumed, almost rose watery
PRE: Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Strawberry rhubarb tart
– butter
– buckwheat
– sugar
– eggs
– vanilla
– brown butter
– xanthan
PRE: Frangipane
Frangipane
– almond flour
– vegan butter
– almond extract
– egg
– sugar
PRE: Jam
Jam
– rhubarb
– strawberry
– orange
– sugar
– vanilla bean
– ascorbic acid
8th – Sweet Treats
Praline and Cocoa Crunch
– Valrhona chocolate, hazelnut puree, and Feuillitine (foy-u-tine),
–finished with a mezcal, passionfruit, vanilla bean caramel
Yuzu Custard
– Made in style of posset
– cream and citrus juice boiled together to set
– finished with green tea emulsion (contains soy)
Berry Beet Tartelette
– tart shell: Beet Puree, isomalt, cornstarch
– verjus, vanilla cheesecake w/ raspberry hibiscus glaze
– garnished with oaxalis and violas
SWEETS: Praline and Cocoa Crunch
– layers of Valrhona chocolate (milk, semi sweet, bitter sweet, and white)
– hazelnut puree
– Feuillitine (foy-u-tine): shards of wafer, contains gluten
– “Fluff” (stablized meringue with vanilla)
– Chocolate tuile
– Mezcal passionfruit vanilla bean caramel (tableside)
SWEETS: Yuzu Custard
– Made in style of posset
– cream and citrus juice boiled together to set
– finished with green tea emulsion (contains soy)
SWEETS: Berry Beet Tartelette
– tart shell: Beet Puree, isomalt, cornstarch
– verjus, vanilla cheesecake w/ raspberry hibiscus glaze
– garnished with oaxalis and violas
SWEETS: Allergies in the Yuzu Custard
Soy: in the green tea emulsion
Dairy: in the custard itself
What’s a “cornichon”
A pickled gherkin, which is a type of small cucumber.
How is the alfonsino cooked (crispy)
“Matsukasa-Yaki” – literally “pinecone cooked”
– High-temperature oil is ladled over the fish, scales first
– makes them crispy and raised
Sourdough grains
– Central Milling’s 100% Dark Northern Spring Wheat
–Tehachapi Grain Project Red Fife flour
– spelt flour
Types of Dashi (in the world)
Kombu Dashi (made from kelp)
Katsuo Dashi (made from bonito flakes)
Awase Dashi (made from both kelp and bonito flakes)
And there are others
– Niboshi Dashi (sardines)
– Shiitake Dashi
SWEETS: Tres Leches Taco
Taco shell
– butter
– flour
– sugar
– egg whites
– lemon cake
(1) fleur de lait semi freddo “gelato” (milk, sugar, vanilla, corn starch, salt)
(2) milk rompope gel (cooked rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, agar agar)
(3)tamarind cajeta (goat’s milk, baking soda, sugar, tamarind paste)
(4) cream chantilly (heavy cream, condensed milk, gelatin)
Topped with feuilletine, gold dust, and (5) dehydrated milk foam.
SWEETS: Sorry, “Chantilly?”
A town in northern France, home of the Chateau de Chantilly, where they make vanilla whipped cream (and lace).
SWEETS: Five leches in the “tres leches”
(1) Fleur de Lait Semi-freddo “gelato”
salt)
(2) milk rompope gel
(3)tamarind cajeta
(4) cream chantilly
(5) dehydrated milk foam
SWEETS: Sorry, “Rompope?”
Like a Mexican egg-nog, made from milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.
AMA EBI: On the plate
– brushed with shrimp oil
– topped with pickled myoga, perilla flowers & leaves
– shrimp oil mayo
– perilla mayo
– yuzu gel
– fermented pickled young ginger
– pichuberry ponzu
MACKEREL: Breading
– vodka
– C4C
– corn starch
– baking powder
– lime zest
MACKEREL: Basil Butter
– clam
– butter
– cream
– basil
MACKEREL: Plate Components
– avocado puree
– basil oil
– charred tomatillo milpero (tiny varietal of tomatillo)
– steamed garleek
– lime gel
– chives
– epazote
– mustard green
– apple sorrel
BASIL BUTTER
– clam
– butter
– cream
– basil
TARTE TATIN: Components
– puff pastry crust
– thin sliced braised red onions (plum syrup, ultratex, maggi seasoning, thyme, rosemary)
– gruyere
– whipped goat cheese (capricho de la cabra, goat fromage blanc, evoo, ultatex)
– pine nut sauce (pine nut, evoo, parm, sherry)
– pistachio oil
– pistachio mayo
– fermin iberico ham
– clover truffle and brown butter honey
– alba white truffles
TARTE TATIN: red onions braised
– plum syrup
– ultratex
– maggi seasoning
– thyme
– rosemary
EGG DROP SOUP
– 5 hr cured quail eggs
– brown quail broth w/ eggs
– chives
– chive oil
– silken tofu
– whipped mushrooms
EGG DROP SOUP: Broth
“Brown Quail Broth”
– thickened with kudzu
– ginger
– garlic
– scallion
– yundu
– MSG
– Eggs
EGG DROP SOUP: Mushroom iSi
– dried shitake
– porcini
– non-fat milk
– cream
– MSG
– soy
– oyster sauce
– soy modified protein
QUAIL Marinade
– soy sauce
– mirin
– ginger
– scallions
– garlic
QUAIL: Peanut Puree
– roasted peanuts
– peanut butter
– salsa huichol (hot sauce)
– miso
– oil
QUAIL: Shoyu Sauce
– soy sauce
– mirin
– sake
– brown sugar
– vinegar
– garlic
– scallions
– ginger
– quail fat
– chinese 5 spice
QUAIL: Veggies
– baby bok choi
– yu choi
SPRAYED WITH:
– garlic oil
– brown rice vinegar
QUAIL: Black Garlic Aioli
– egg
– dijon
– pureed black garlic
– squid ink
QUAIL: Components
Wolfe Ranch Quail
– deep fried and roasted
– quail heart yakitori (soy marinated)
– quail & liver mousse wrapped in cabbage (egg whites cream, quail, garlic, onion)
– peanut puree
– shoyu sauce
– sage hill ranch baby bok choi and yu choi
– black garlic aioli
MANGONADA (components)
– Mango Ice
– Chamoy
– Mango lime semifreddo
– Mango peach sauce
Mango Lime Semifreddo
– Mango
– Lime
– Cream
– Creme Fraiche
– Sugar
– Gelatin
– Salt
Chamoy
– prunes
– dehydrated mango
– tajin
– hibiscus
– chiltepin
Mango Ice
– mango (puree ataulfo)
– lime
– agar
– chamoy
– salt
Mango Peach Sauce
– mango
– peach
– lime
– citric acid
– pear vinegar
