The foodie adventures continue...
Last night, my office had our annual Holiday dinner at Quince. It was easily one of the most incredible dining experiences I have ever had.
The restaurant is a teeny tiny bit of a place--16 tables--in a cozy Victorian on a quiet corner in Pac Heights. So small in fact, that it could not accommodate our party of 8 in the main dining room. Our only option was a table in the kitchen...
A table in the kitchen? One might think, ick, we will be crammed in there, it will be hot and rushed... ohhh, no no no. We sat in a spacious back section of the kitchen, in what was either an adjoining building or perhaps the carriage house to the original building. Our gorgeous old hard wood table--set with dishes that had to have been antiques--sat next to the pastry station, where we had the pleasure of watching a lovely girl named Shawna whip up the most amazing desserts all night. We had our own server, Sigrid, who was dedicated entirely to our party. Her passion for and knowledge of the seasonal Italian cuisine was infectious, if a bit comical at times. And the service was stellar. Every time a course was ready (and we had 4 in total, plus an amuse bouche), we would watch the servers line up in the upstairs kitchen, one plate in every hand, and then, when all plates were ready, they would descend the stairs in a line, arrive to their places, and deliver each of our plates at the same moment. At one point, after several glasses of killer Pinor Noir, this inspired me to start belting "Hello, Dolly" in my best Carol Channing voice.
As for the dishes... the amuse bouche was a Miyagi oyster shooter in some sort of cream -- delicious but the Miyagi was a bit too briny for my taste. My first course was a Dungeness crab salad with ruby red grapefruit and avocado puree -- delicious in a very plain, all-about-the-crab way. Second course was salt cod and potato ravioli in two sauces (pumpkin and something else) -- the salt cod was also too briny for my taste but the freshly made pasta was t.d.f. My third course was--ohmigod--black sea bass and chanterelle mushrooms, which was out of this world. And finally for dessert, heaven in a ramekin... gingerbread souffle with black stout anglaise poured in. [drool] We had the benefit of watching her make all the desserts ahead of time, so the choice was a no-brainer. It was absolutely delightful -- light, rich, sinful.
In summary, it seems
nakednsf and i have a new favorite.
The restaurant is a teeny tiny bit of a place--16 tables--in a cozy Victorian on a quiet corner in Pac Heights. So small in fact, that it could not accommodate our party of 8 in the main dining room. Our only option was a table in the kitchen...
A table in the kitchen? One might think, ick, we will be crammed in there, it will be hot and rushed... ohhh, no no no. We sat in a spacious back section of the kitchen, in what was either an adjoining building or perhaps the carriage house to the original building. Our gorgeous old hard wood table--set with dishes that had to have been antiques--sat next to the pastry station, where we had the pleasure of watching a lovely girl named Shawna whip up the most amazing desserts all night. We had our own server, Sigrid, who was dedicated entirely to our party. Her passion for and knowledge of the seasonal Italian cuisine was infectious, if a bit comical at times. And the service was stellar. Every time a course was ready (and we had 4 in total, plus an amuse bouche), we would watch the servers line up in the upstairs kitchen, one plate in every hand, and then, when all plates were ready, they would descend the stairs in a line, arrive to their places, and deliver each of our plates at the same moment. At one point, after several glasses of killer Pinor Noir, this inspired me to start belting "Hello, Dolly" in my best Carol Channing voice.
As for the dishes... the amuse bouche was a Miyagi oyster shooter in some sort of cream -- delicious but the Miyagi was a bit too briny for my taste. My first course was a Dungeness crab salad with ruby red grapefruit and avocado puree -- delicious in a very plain, all-about-the-crab way. Second course was salt cod and potato ravioli in two sauces (pumpkin and something else) -- the salt cod was also too briny for my taste but the freshly made pasta was t.d.f. My third course was--ohmigod--black sea bass and chanterelle mushrooms, which was out of this world. And finally for dessert, heaven in a ramekin... gingerbread souffle with black stout anglaise poured in. [drool] We had the benefit of watching her make all the desserts ahead of time, so the choice was a no-brainer. It was absolutely delightful -- light, rich, sinful.
In summary, it seems
nakednsf and i have a new favorite.