State Bird Provisions

aaaahhh State Bird Provisions. in every sense of the word, it's awesome! from the concept and the ambiance to the food itself, it's a fantastic experience. this restaurant is quintessentially "Californian" in that the dishes are conceptualized based on seasonal ingredients, fusion cuisine, and interesting combinations of flavors, tastes and textures that aren't always standard. i mean, Bon Apetit named it the #1 new restaurant in America so they've got to be doing something right.

over a year ago, during one of my frequent walks through the Western Addition in SF i noticed that a restaurant was taking shape on Fillmore St. i had no idea what it was but became quickly intrigued when i saw that they were a "cart and tray service restaurant." what does this mean? it means small plates served in a manner like dim sum is traditionally served. people walk around with carts or trays carrying the various dishes for the night and you decide on the spot whether  you want it or not. often times you read a description of a dish on a menu and it doesn't sound appealing. but when the dishes are presented to you in this manner, you immediately ignite the visual sensory as well as the smell sensory. then they describe the dish and you can't help but want every dish that passes by, though ordering every dish is pretty impossible because nobody could ingest twenty or so dishes in one sitting. 

this is what i was fortunately able to consume:

ciccioli with chantrelle mushrooms and cocoa nib cracker

not sure how to describe this but the umami of this dish was balanced out by a nice sour element.

duck liver mousse with almond biscuit

oh shit, guys! miss foie gras since the ban? well this will cure you from your withdrawls! so creamy and savory! and the almond biscuits were good as well. i saved my last biscuit and slab of duck liver mousse for my last perfect bite of the meal.

salmon tartare with egg

a good dish. nothing amazing, but still very good.

sweet corn and garlic chive pancakes with Mt. Tam

mMmmm. i love corncakes. with whole pieces of corn in a pancake, there was no way this wasn't going to be good!

pork belly kimchi

pretty much exactly what you would think this would taste like. my least favorite dish of the night, though it was still good.

garlic bread with burrata

yeah, the same one i had at the SF Street Food Fest. garlicky good! creamy and chewy. all great elements.

glazed pork ribs with swiss chard

good pork ribs, but nothing amazing. 

ground cherries

didn't know what these were. the woman described them to taste like gooseberries, which i've never had. they just sold them raw, as is, but i've never had them before so i wanted to try them.

this is the inside. some of them were sweet like candy and some were almost tomatoey like a tomatillo.

double chocolate pudding, pistachio crunch and passion fruit

chocolate pudding and passion fruit pudding. they put the seeds of the passion fruit over the pudding, giving it a nice texture.

thanks, Mickey, for joining me in this experience!!