plumpjack cafe / angel fish / l'il ben's birthday
s and i had a celebratory dinner on friday. will perhaps add more later.
plumpjack cafe has a lovely, cozy space, like being in your hip friend's dimly lit dining room surrounded by well-endowed wine racks. they start you off with a demitasse of english pea soup, which is a dainty delicious teaser.
web: http://www.plumpjack.com/cafe2.html
i eat way above my station in life. $145 including everything for the two of us, and well worth it.
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i should describe my last sushi dinner if i can remember it all. i tried a few things that i'd avoided before and found them to be delicious.
at angelfish:
shrimp gyoza +
oh-buri (fatty hamachi) = oh-omega-3-bliss
aji = i love deep fried bones
saba = BEST THING EVER. i am told it was an exceptionally good piece of saba, which is probably why i didn't hate it this time.
sake (yes, wild, with a squeeze of lime)
toro = seriously like butta
suzuki (with shiso) = i usually don't like its texture all that much but it was excellent
unagi
kohada (shad) - wow. tiny. flavorful.
i am missing something but it was two weeks ago. taka was nice enough not only to make nigiri in threes (since there were three of us) but to finish us off with what i call "fish parts soup" -- they throw bones and the ends of cuts of fish into broth with carrots and daikon. refreshing way to end a meal. we ended up leaving a well-deserved generous tip and paying around $35 a person. it was one of my favorite sushi meals in recent history -- ranks up there with my birthday two years ago at fuji (fresh scallops in the shell!). everything, not just one or two pieces of sashimi, was remarkably good. angelfish has a special place in my heart -- certainly my favorite sushi place in the east bay, and in serious contention with fuji for my favorite place ever.
(obviously, i need to diversify my palette of adverbs as well.)
--
happy birthday to my favorite figure skater, quick_impulses. to make this food-related, i, on QUICK IMPULSE, brought a bottle of 2003 husch late harvest gewürtzraminer to his potluck dinner/dessert/wine/dessert wine birthday party. it wasn't until after i'd stuffed myself with chocolate-ganache-filled phyllo triangles and banana pudding with butterscotch sauce that i realized 1) we'd visited that winery on our mendo trip; 2) it was probably the one of the better choices i could've made in picking a wine for him, and i did it completely randomly! hurrah.
plumpjack cafe has a lovely, cozy space, like being in your hip friend's dimly lit dining room surrounded by well-endowed wine racks. they start you off with a demitasse of english pea soup, which is a dainty delicious teaser.
- we shared TUNA TARTARE CONES = Hamachi & Ahi Tuna, Avocado, Pink Lady Apples, Ginger-Coriander Emulsion, Yuzu Crème Fraiche, Wasabi Tobiko. i'm not sure what cones they wrap it in, but it's thin, crispy, fried, and a perfect foil for the delicate tartare.
- and i had PAN SEARED HALIBUT = Herb Roasted Chanterelle Mushrooms, Potato-Tarragon Gnocchi, English Peas, Meyer Lemon Beurre Blanc. i don't know what to say other than the flavors highlighted each other nicely and the entree was solid. i love all of the elements separately so WHY NOT TOGETHER? heh.
- s had LIBERTY FARMS DUCK DUO = Roasted Breast, Confit of Leg & Thigh, Sautéed Spinach, Roasted Acorn Squash Sformatto, Huckleberry-Duck Jus
- we split a bottle of 2002 mueller "emily's cuvee" pinot noir (i.e., i know nothing about wine and it was one of two that the waiter suggested -- light, fruit-forward, california)
- and then split dessert of EL REY MOLTEN CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL CAKE = Lavender Ice Cream, Chocolate-Caramel Sauces. i usually find all varieties of chocolate cake-like desserts to be unremarkable and run-of-the-mill but this one was very good and well matched with lavender. then again i'd had half a bottle of wine....
web: http://www.plumpjack.com/cafe2.html
i eat way above my station in life. $145 including everything for the two of us, and well worth it.
---
i should describe my last sushi dinner if i can remember it all. i tried a few things that i'd avoided before and found them to be delicious.
at angelfish:
shrimp gyoza +
oh-buri (fatty hamachi) = oh-omega-3-bliss
aji = i love deep fried bones
saba = BEST THING EVER. i am told it was an exceptionally good piece of saba, which is probably why i didn't hate it this time.
sake (yes, wild, with a squeeze of lime)
toro = seriously like butta
suzuki (with shiso) = i usually don't like its texture all that much but it was excellent
unagi
kohada (shad) - wow. tiny. flavorful.
i am missing something but it was two weeks ago. taka was nice enough not only to make nigiri in threes (since there were three of us) but to finish us off with what i call "fish parts soup" -- they throw bones and the ends of cuts of fish into broth with carrots and daikon. refreshing way to end a meal. we ended up leaving a well-deserved generous tip and paying around $35 a person. it was one of my favorite sushi meals in recent history -- ranks up there with my birthday two years ago at fuji (fresh scallops in the shell!). everything, not just one or two pieces of sashimi, was remarkably good. angelfish has a special place in my heart -- certainly my favorite sushi place in the east bay, and in serious contention with fuji for my favorite place ever.
(obviously, i need to diversify my palette of adverbs as well.)
--
happy birthday to my favorite figure skater, quick_impulses. to make this food-related, i, on QUICK IMPULSE, brought a bottle of 2003 husch late harvest gewürtzraminer to his potluck dinner/dessert/wine/dessert wine birthday party. it wasn't until after i'd stuffed myself with chocolate-ganache-filled phyllo triangles and banana pudding with butterscotch sauce that i realized 1) we'd visited that winery on our mendo trip; 2) it was probably the one of the better choices i could've made in picking a wine for him, and i did it completely randomly! hurrah.