"six chefs you should know"

please excuse the terribly blurry picture, as i took this at the gym after having run five miles (=not the stillest of hands)

i recently picked up the latest (i think latest....) issue of Sunset Magazine and saw this article on restaurants in Northern California. the article itself focused on the use of sustainable ingredients and the expertise on how to cook or present these ingredients. on a side page there was a mini-article on the "Six Chefs You Should Know" from Northern California. i noticed that while all of these chefs are experts in their craft as far as meticulously amplifying or highlighting specific ingredients per dish, they all also utilize molecular gastronomy in their cooking techniques. exciiiiting! i love that stuff. i do, truly, salute those that stick to a more classical way of cooking, however the use of science in the kitchen puts me in a state of awe. 

lucky for me (not so lucky for my wallet), over the past year i've been able to enjoy dinners at three of the six restaurants listed, Commis, Commonwealth, and the Restaurant at Meadowood. all very good, by the way.  the other three have been on my list for quite some time now. especially Saison. for that, i need an occasion. hmm good thing my birthday is coming up! friends, if you love me, you will feed me. at Saison. and leave with an empty pocket, but a heart full of love! because if you're taking me to Saison, i'm loving you forever! (see how i just put an exclamation point on that, tricking you into thinking this is a good idea) Coi and Atelier Crenn will hopefully be check marked sometime within the span of the next year but for now my focus is to get to Saison. 

errr...and La Folie. and Masas. (both which are more classic). oh and Sons & Daughters. truthfully, it's a neverending list and i will likely never be completely satiated. while tackling Northern California, in the back of my mind are still Alinea, Joel Robuchon, and many others within the US. le sigh....