One of my closest friends, Christine, flew in New Year's Eve to visit those of us who are living in the Bay Area (aka, those of us who never left Stanford). For those of you who don't know, Christine and I lived in the same freshman dorm and have been close friends ever since. During undergrad, we never got a chance to live together, because I ended up being an RA (residential assistant) in the dorms for two years. Fortunately, she stayed at Stanford for an additional year to get her master's degree in Biology, and we were able to be roommates then. Anyway, back to the story...
I picked Christine up at 7pm and went back to Stanford. We were originally hoping to go to Afternoon Tea (her flight was originally supposed to arrive in at 3pm), but instead we went to dinner, as Afternoon Tea is obviously closed by 7:30pm. I had found this restaurant called Shokolaat on University Ave. It is supposed to be a modern bistro where you can sit for coffee or tea and pastries and chocolates. They describe the concept on their site as a "neighborhood Restaurant, Patisserie, Chocolatier, and Lounge serving lunch and dinner with take out pastries." It is located on University Ave right after Cowper if you are heading towards 101.
The restaurant is a fairly small restaurant with an outdoor seating area behind these canvas curtains. Inside, they had two glass cases, one for chocolates and another for desserts/pastries. The chefs cook behind the counter much like Il Fornaio. The decor was very modern yet elegant, and the restaurant was dimly lit for an "romantic atmosphere". Christine said it reminded her of the scene in the Sex and the City Movie where Miranda and Carrie go to a romantic restaurant for Valentine's Day.
They had a special New Year's Eve tasting menu which consisted of an Amuse Bouche (a single bite-sized appetizer) of Wild Mushroom and Mint Soup which was served in a small shotglass which fluted outwards.
For the Appetizer Course, we had a choice between a Heart of Romaine, Herb Vinaigrette, White Anchovy, Shaved Parmegiano-Reggiano salad or the Ahi Tuna Tartare, Grated Black Truffle, Toasted Brioche, Citrus-Vanilla Vinaigrette. Christine and I both got the Ahi Tuna Tartare, which was beautifully served on a rectangular dish with the Tartare molded in a tuna-can shape with three rectangular pieces of the Toasted Brioche artfully stacked on the other side.
For the Entree, we had a choice between the Filet Mignion, Puree of Potatoes, Confit of Shallot, Toy Box Carrots, Black Truffle Sauce or the Cinnamon Brioche Crusted Halibut, Roasted Sweet Potato and Cauliflower, Caramelized Hazelnut or the Roasted Pumpkin Risotto, Fromager D'Affinois, White Truffle Oil. I had the Filet Mignion (medium rare) and Christine had the Halibut. Both were delicious. The Filet Mignion was cooked perfectly and the black truffle sauce was absolutely delicious. I don't really think I have a good enough palette to describe the taste. Christine's Halibut was also extremely delicious with the cinnamon providing just a hint of spice that wasn't overpowering.
For Dessert, we had a choice between the Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bar, Raspberry Sorbet, Creme Anglaise or the Grand Marnier Souffle. Christine had the Crunch Bar and I had the Souffle. The souffle was served freshly made (Christine and I heard them beating the eggs in the background while we were eating our Entree). The waiter served the dish and opened the souffle for me and poured in half the Creme Anglaise for me. The souffle was absolutely delicious, light and airy. The Grand Marnier provided a nice touch. Christine's crunch bar tastes somewhat like a Ferrero Rocher candy. The "crunch" was a praline, and there was a hazelnut chocolate mousse-like part on top. It was served cut in two pieces and placed at one corner of a square plate. At the other corner was a scoop of raspberry sorbet.
For the Mignardise (for the table), we were served a selection of petit fours. Christine and I were so full by this point that we ended up taking them home instead. I don't even recall what we got... Overall, it was a fabulously delicious meal. Next time, I really need to take pictures.
Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts
I fell asleep fairly early yesterday, probably around 11pm. Around 3:30am, I woke up with a start and couldn't fall back asleep for awhile. While I was up, as a perused the internet, I found this article on Sustainable Sushi (don't ask me how I ended up getting there...it was late, I was browsing).
I was appalled to find that many of the fishes I eat for sushi are becoming increasingly endangered due to overfishing. I never even gave a second thought to fish, the ocean is big, there should be a lot of fish in the sea. Fish has always been promoted as being a healthy choice of protein with its omega-3 oils and whatnot (with exception of the mercury problem). Overfishing has become an increasingly apparent problem due to globalization. I guess I have always known about Chilean Seabass nearly becoming extinct and Sturgeon caught in the wild (known for it's expensive eggs - caviar), but for some reason, I never thought of applying it to sushi.
Apparently, the bluefin tuna which has the prized fatty belly meat required for toro has declined by 90% over the last three decades. All because of sushi fad spreading around the world! The method of catching bluefin tuna using longline fishing gear can easily get entangled with sea turtles, sharks, and seabirds. And since bluefin tuna is slow to mature, most are caught before they are able to reproduce.
Another extremely common (and delicious) sushi dish that should be avoided is unagi (which is one of my absolute favorite sushi dishes). Freshwater eel has a unique life cycle where adults actually spawn in salt water thousands of miles away from their freshwater habitat. They only spawn once, and late in their lives. Eel processing farms catch the adolescents on their way back from the ocean to a freshwater habitat and raise them until they are large enough to eat. This method of farming prevents eels from ever spawning, and the farming plants produce a large amount of waste. Eels raised in the farm are more likely to contract disease and/or parasites, and if they escape (which is highly likely) they can transmit these diseases and parasites to wild eels and other oceanic life.
Other sushi to avoid are octopus (tako), yellowtail (hamachi), imported shrimp, farmed salmon, and many others. There are actually plenty of fish that can be ethically consumed and have sustainable populations (however, most are not traditional sushi dishes).
Monterey Bay Aquarium recently published a guide to sustainable fishes targeted at sushi found here.
Also, a new restaurant that opened in San Francisco may be the only sustainable sushi restaurant in the entire U.S. Tataki Sushi & Saki Bar only serves sustainable fish, so they don't even serve salmon. Instead, they replace salmon with Arctic Char. I hope to try it sometime. I don't know what I'm going to do about sushi overall on the whole - most likely lower my consumption of non-sustainable fishes (I don't know if I can cut it out completely >,<). //Sigh, just more evidence that the human race is ravaging the world.
I was appalled to find that many of the fishes I eat for sushi are becoming increasingly endangered due to overfishing. I never even gave a second thought to fish, the ocean is big, there should be a lot of fish in the sea. Fish has always been promoted as being a healthy choice of protein with its omega-3 oils and whatnot (with exception of the mercury problem). Overfishing has become an increasingly apparent problem due to globalization. I guess I have always known about Chilean Seabass nearly becoming extinct and Sturgeon caught in the wild (known for it's expensive eggs - caviar), but for some reason, I never thought of applying it to sushi.
Apparently, the bluefin tuna which has the prized fatty belly meat required for toro has declined by 90% over the last three decades. All because of sushi fad spreading around the world! The method of catching bluefin tuna using longline fishing gear can easily get entangled with sea turtles, sharks, and seabirds. And since bluefin tuna is slow to mature, most are caught before they are able to reproduce.
Another extremely common (and delicious) sushi dish that should be avoided is unagi (which is one of my absolute favorite sushi dishes). Freshwater eel has a unique life cycle where adults actually spawn in salt water thousands of miles away from their freshwater habitat. They only spawn once, and late in their lives. Eel processing farms catch the adolescents on their way back from the ocean to a freshwater habitat and raise them until they are large enough to eat. This method of farming prevents eels from ever spawning, and the farming plants produce a large amount of waste. Eels raised in the farm are more likely to contract disease and/or parasites, and if they escape (which is highly likely) they can transmit these diseases and parasites to wild eels and other oceanic life.
Other sushi to avoid are octopus (tako), yellowtail (hamachi), imported shrimp, farmed salmon, and many others. There are actually plenty of fish that can be ethically consumed and have sustainable populations (however, most are not traditional sushi dishes).
Monterey Bay Aquarium recently published a guide to sustainable fishes targeted at sushi found here.
Also, a new restaurant that opened in San Francisco may be the only sustainable sushi restaurant in the entire U.S. Tataki Sushi & Saki Bar only serves sustainable fish, so they don't even serve salmon. Instead, they replace salmon with Arctic Char. I hope to try it sometime. I don't know what I'm going to do about sushi overall on the whole - most likely lower my consumption of non-sustainable fishes (I don't know if I can cut it out completely >,<). //Sigh, just more evidence that the human race is ravaging the world.
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