Stones Throw

i am 110% thoroughly pleased with my experience at Stones Throw and have been raving the shit out of the this place since i went! 

for starters i did a super asshole move and came in with Peet's tea. my tea was still blazing hot and i'm at the beginning stages of sickness so i didn't want to toss it yet. most restaurants understandably frown on outside food or drinks but twice someone asked if i wanted my tea refilled with hot water. and it didn't seem like they were saying it in a snide condescending way either, they seemed to genuinely just want me to have hot tea. 

the service otherwise was excellent. each person that i encountered from the host to anybody who approached my table seemed to be sincere, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the food. my server checked up on me quite a bit to make sure i was enjoying myself and offered her opinions as well. i had a clear view of the kitchen and could see that everybody was working hard and remained quite silent for the most part. this tells me that the team indeed works as an actual in sync TEAM with the understanding of each persons role and time constraints. i could tell they were operating like a well oiled machine. 

i treated myself (birthday dinner!) to an indulging meal of four small courses which ended up being five because the kitchen sent out their soup just to be nice. maybe it's because i was by myself or maybe it's because i had my DSLR with me, clearly taking photos of their food (could they have mistaken me for an actual somebody? i don't think so but one can dream. haha), but i (of course) welcomed the extra dish. 

puffed potato and eggs/cauliflower mousse/chives/crispy chicken skin

 holy hell! the gnocchi-like potato was thin and light. you slice into the puff and out pours the lusciously divine egg yolk. eaten with bits of crisp chicken skin and creamy cauliflower mousse, this was what dreams are made of.

the server told me that they take egg yolk, whip it and then freeze it. then they form the potato 'dough' around it. while it's cooking the yolk melts back into it's original form. cool stuffs, right?

sunchoke soup-confit egg/green apple/black walnuts

 a single egg yolk is presented accompanied by finely diced apple and walnuts. poured tableside is an earthy smooth sunchoke soup. a verrrrry nice soup. at this point i'd eaten the equivalent of five yolks which is a whole hell of a lot...whew.

squid ink conchieglie pasta-spicy capers/clams/calamari/tender greens

 oh my god i could eat this for days. the pasta was perfectly cooked and had a nice texture to it without lacking bite. the sauce was super buttery and full of flavor and the seafood was just right. the onion sauce on the sides brought it's A game too, complimenting the already fantastic flavors of the dish. so so SO SO SO very good. 

pork belly and crispy pig's ears-avocado/citrus/Moresque spice/kale

 soft, tender, rich pork belly with creamy avocado and citrus to cut through the fattiness of the dish. the pig's ears gave it some textural balance. one of the better pork belly dishes i've ever had. the Moresque spices were an (in a good way) interesting addition and brought the whole dish to another dimension. 

this is the dessert menu inspired by childhood treats. they ask you to write down your favorite childhood treat and if they choose yours to be featured one month, they invite you back to check out the dessert you've inspired. 

not your grandma's apple pie

 which was really a maple panna cotta with apple granita and a paper thin rolled cookie topped with a maple sauce and finely sliced and decorative apples. this dish was super light and very balanced. it wasn't too sweet and had all the right flavors of your favorite apple pie. 

i die! suuuuuch a good meal! i was so very impressed by every aspect of this restaurant that i gave my server a 50% tip for all of it's awesomeness.