prubechu

hey All You Guamanians in the Bay Area Hiding Among the Many Filipinos Out There, it's time to rise as food from your culture has made it's way out of the comforts of your homes and into the mouths of anybody willing to give it a try! hooray, right? right! 

walking into the space that is Prubechu, you wouldn't think the quality or creativity in the dishes could be anything more than simple home cooking. the three counter top burners, ice cream freezer and portable deep fryers don't seem like they are capable of putting out five course meals for tables full of people but somehow they do. and it's not just sloppily thrown at you in a rushed fury or hurriedness. the dishes are thoughtfully prepared and executed. the service was relaxed, informative and enthusiastic. whether it was the cook or the host/server/probably part owner, there was a passion when speaking about the next course we were to indulge in. 

the food's base is Chamorro or in recognizable words, Guamanian comfort food. but then they take it to another level by using quality seasonal ingredients chosen on a daily basis at the farmers market and amp it up even more by making it pretty. the five course dinner is accompanied by an amuse (ours was a fancy pants oyster) and a dessert (ours was a coconut with rock salt ice cream with a tapioca/coconut concoction that was incredible) and costs a very reasonable $45. while the rest of the menu sounds great and I'll definitely be back to try it, i recommend the tasting menu upon your first experience. 

oyster with coconut, tobiko, etc. 

slightly sweet but with the familiar brininess of the oyster. I don't even like oysters but this was awesome with the slight crunch/texture from the fruits and fish eggs.

corn soup with crab, coconut and crisped nori 

refreshing and light. creamy and crisp. a delightful start to the meal.

crispy egg with pork belly and tomatoes 

the egg had a good crisp to them while the yolk remained a nice luscious runny when sliced through with your fork. pork belly is never a negative but with the egg it's quite a rich dish. good thing there was the tomato to cut through all of that! 

chicken sausage cooked in banana leaf

this was probably my least favorite dish but not for lack of flavor. i personally am not a fan of mushy textures and it's unavoidable with steamed ground meats so i don't fault them for that. 

rice porridge with smoked meat, brussel sprouts, mushrooms and quail egg

aaaahhh the epitome of comfort food. rice porridge is prominent in asian food cultures so a tasting menu wouldn't be implore without this addition. revamped and more refined than your typical porridge, this was an absolute winner. 

tender short rib over mung bean noodles

as advertised, this was very tender and full of flavor. the mung bean noodles were cooked perfectly and were a nice change from the expected rice accompaniment to the hearty chunk of beef.

coconut ice cream with rock salt, hazelnut and oats, with coconut tapioca 

as much as I loved the rest of the dishes we had this night, my favorite dish was the dessert. the coconut tapioca was perfect in texture and was super coconutty. as a whole it was chewy, crunchy, creamy and utterly satisfying. 

i thoroughly enjoyed my meal at prubechu!

Kusakabe

if you're at all familiar with Sushi Ran in Sausalito then you must know their chef, Mitsunori Kusakabe. Sushi Ran is known to have some of the best sushi in the Bay Area and you are considered quite the lucky duck if you can snag a seat at the sushi bar for an omakase. but things have changed. for better or worse, who knows. maybe unbeknownst to the general population of eaters but definitely noted by the frequenters of the popular sushi restaurant, Kusakabe has left to open a restaurant with his own name. he serves one omakase kaiseki style menu ($95/ 8 courses) each night with the option to add nigiri, sashimi, simple maki and dessert a la carte to follow. the space is sleek and simple yet inviting once greeted by a host or server. while there are some tables near the front of the restaurant, it provides as a sort of waiting area until your seats at the sushi bar are ready. they don't want anybody to miss out on experiencing watching the chefs at work. 

from Sushi Ran Kusakabe brought with him Chef Ken Ngai, who we were happy to be entertained by. he created our simplistic sushi masterpieces for the evening while also making us feel welcome and playfully bantering with us or our neighbor guests. the sushi was incredible! beautifully simple, fresh and colorful. the hot dishes were also very good and adequately gave us breaks between raw fish dishes. if you truly appreciate good sushi, i absolutely recommend this place. it's only been open for about two months now and has not had very much press or advertising yet has received a lot of buzz. get your reservation sooner rather than later or you'll likely begin to see a month long wait list!

Mitsunori Kusakabe

Ken Ngai

chu toro

halibut

smoked bonito

tuna and scallop

truffle miso with eringi and shimeji mushrooms

unagi with rice cracker and avocado rice

crab with crispy agedashi tofu

mackerel

roe

alaskan king salmon

toro

A5 wagyu

tofu ice cream

matcha creme brulee

we were just trying to get a picture with them while they were making sushi but this is even better! Ken juuuust barely snuck on in there.

6th annual flag day at Quince

every year we use Flag Day as an excuse to eat a fancy pants dinner. originally we had reservations for Coi, however found ourselves lacking in excitement so we changed our minds last minute. luckily we were able to find reservations for another two Michelin starred restaurant within a weeks time. this year's dinner was at Quince, where i've dined before but was still very excited to experience again. we opted for the full tasting menu and it was awesome!

tomato

which tasted like a super glorified mozzarella stick

stuzzichini de benvenuto

meaning appetizers or small bites. 

buttermilk something or other with popcorn

simple in taste. i love popcorn so the inclusion in any dish is a win for me.

house smoked salmon on squash chip

not too smokey or salty. a nice bite.

cannot remember but it's some sort of crisp chip with pickled strawberry

i've been seeing this type of crisp around lately and i like it. reminds me of shrimp chips you see on this particular chinese dish with chicken but obviously this is not a shrimp chip. i digs it.

razor clam on a chip

LOVE razor clams and you rarely see it in the Bay Area. this was awesome!

melon gazpacho with watermelon wrapped in proscuitto

light. smooth. refreshing.

hawaiian bonito, cherry tomato, seaweed, lemon cucumber

my least favorite dish of the night, but still pretty good. nicely cured fish with tomatoes that had a super enhanced flavor. i can't tell if they did something to it or if they're just exceptionally ripe tomatoes.

bread service

white asparagus, morel mushroom, spring garlic, vin jaune

favorite dish of the night! holy cow who knew that a vegetarian dish could ever be theeee best dish? the asparagus was cooked nicely, the spring garlic puree was crazy flavorful, as was the morel sauce. and morels are my favorite mushroom, so that was a perfect component to the dish for me. my only qualm with the dish is that it looks so phalic. they could've cut the asparagus at a slant and it would've been even better.

"tortelli alla cecilia chiang" caviar, smoked sturgeon, shallots

non-fishy caviar with light filling. who would've ever thought to put fried shallots with caviar? they seem at opposite ends of the spectrum but worked so well together. i looooved this!

tagliolini e oro, cocoa, japanese surf clam, melon

i don't think the gold flakes were necessary for this dish but it was super tasty. i happily slurped this up.

suckling pig tortellini, parmigiano reggiano fonduta

you'd be amazed at how pungent (in a positive way) the suckling pig could be coming from pasta pieces the size of a nickel. this was also super creamy and verrrrrrry cheesy.

four story hill farms poussin, rainier cherry, sicilian pistachio, corn

i am not typically impressed with fowl dishes but this was pretty great. the poussin itself was super moist and seasoned well with a very crisp skn. the corn in the center reminded me of the corn you get as a side at Chili's but a more refined and more savory version. 

andante's minuet cheese, plum, buckwheat honey, chevril 

yum! love cheese. served with two types of bread.

apricot 

this dish was a palate cleanser and wasn't a part of the official menu but it was one of my favorite bites of the night. it was refreshing yet creamy. the meringue type thing tasted like champagne!

middleton farms berries, yogurt, maras des bois, valrhona opalys

a simple dish. under the cream was sort of a berry crumble with cooked berries and a crunchy top. twas delicious (i could probably eat it all day long) however i expect a little more from a restaurant of this caliber. that little tiny strawberry, on the other hand, was sort of amazing. it was the size of my pinky fingernail but packed so much punch it was sort of astonishing, really. 

mignardise

Canlis

while i was on a trip to Vancouver and Seattle i decided to slip in a fine dining experience because i love me some pretentious eats. i am not afraid to eat solo but this was the first time i'd dined on a full tasting menu by myself. 'twas pretty not funny to get the email reservation confirmation stating that they were looking forward to serving my "party of one." i'd say that's a little lacking in the party department. an insecure person might take offense to that but i just thought of it as an oxymoron. i could hear the servers asking the tables surrounding me what brought them to Canlis that evening. common responses were "it's our 10th anniversary" or "it's his 50th birthday!" my response: "i really like food!"

aside from masterful food, service was above and beyond. for example, you've got no option to park your car on your own. there is a valet service that greets you from the moment you enter their space. they take your car but don't give you a ticket or ask your name. when you've finished dinner and step outside your car is magically ready and waiting for you. they must write down what you're wearing, the make/model of your car and then find out what table you're sitting at. when you're done they reverse the process with fine orchestration and voila your car is sitting pretty.

the meal was a little over two hours, seven official courses (not including amuse bouche, bread service, mignardise and the take home treat), and $300 out of my wallet. well worth my time and money if you ask me. and if for nothing else, it's worth checking out solely for the beautiful view.

the amazing view from any seat in the restaurant. a beautiful way to spend an evening.

amuse bouche. mushroom tart with pickled onion, rice crisp with egg yolk and wasabi tobiko, tater tot

fun!

escarole, olives and anchovies

acidic. tart. salty. a wonderful surprise.

bread service. fennel sourdough.

artichoke, nastrium, radishes and quail egg

artichokes done three ways. poached, fried, pureed. a nice nod to spring with the fresh vegetables.

fluke, strawberries, pickled green strawberries, nori, fresh wasabi

lightly sweet and quite refreshing. the cured fish was seasoned just right. i sort of lurved this dish. i wasn't expecting so much strawberry but it was awesome to pair it with a fish like this. 

black cod, garbanzo beans, tarragon, tapioca

i think the fish was sous vide based on the texture. it was a good piece of fish and the consumme was just the right consistency. the tapioca in it added some interesting texture. surprisingly though, the crisp on top was my favorite part of the dish. 

wagyu beef, potatoes

i asked if i could supplement the squab for the wagyu, which they agreed to for a $25 supplement. i didn't realize they were going to give me a standard size NY strip! this was enormous and a meal in itself. i was only able to eat a little over a third of it. unfortunately it wasn't as marbled as other wagyu varieties i've had. maybe i'm just being snobby but i've definitely had better. 

strawberry, fromage blanc, buckwheat wafer

loved this! more strawberry, yes, but who doesn't like strawberries? the cheese was subtle and the sorbet tart. a good cheese couse that also served as a palate cleanser. 

chocolate ganache, apple and brown butter

you know what i didn't like about this? the apples. i could've done without poached fruit. replace the fruit with honeycomb and we would have had the ultimate winner of a dessert. the ganache with an almost shortbread bottom was my favorite part. it was rich without overdoing it and the ice cream helped cut through some of that lusciousness. 

lemon poppy seed pomegranate, pistachio cherry

a take-away. this was awesome! i ate this three days later and it was stellar! it was coffee creme filled with cherries and an almond paste. such a good way to remind me of my awesome meal at Canlis!