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.

Lazy Bear

Lazy Bear is the most awesome underground fine dining experience that i am aware of. Chef David was a lawyer who passionately taught himself to cook to maintain sanity through law school. he eventually decided that he was good enough to make it his full time gig and forget about all that schooling he suffered through. a Lazy Bear meal is officially about seven or eight courses but ends up actually being about twelve or thirteen courses. they lie to you when they mention "snacks" on their menu. they are share plates between your group but they are muuuuuch more than your typical idea of a snack. think soft shelled crab with ramp butter or an oyster in tomato jelly. they have a BYOB policy and provide you with the glasses, which is awesome because you can bring whatever you want and as much as you want. the location is hidden until you've confirmed your reservation and paid the deposit (equal to the cost of one meal, $110), but i think they've been serving in the same spot for a while. and just fyi, it's a quirky spot that is perfect for this sort of thing. also, at any point during dinner you can walk into the kitchen and see what they're preparing as well as talk to the chefs. this is definitely not typical. other fine dining establishments will allow you a short guided glance into their kitchen but it stops there. the combination of everything that Lazy Bear is about makes it such a unique experience. 

Lazy Bear began a few years ago but due to it's insane lottery system reservation process it's possible that you may never be opportunistic enough to get an invite. currently you submit your online application and mark the days within a two week span that work for you. after that it's out of your control. you patiently wait for a call or email but if you don't hear from them then your chances are shot. if you are lucky enough to get an invite, you better be available for whatever date they've got or you'll have to go through the process two weeks later. it's pretty much the same mind f*ck you experience when you've just started dating someone and are waiting for them to call you and make moves. the ball is completely in their court and you have no jurisdiction about where this is going. but maybe that'll change. it is in it's last couple of months operating as a pop-up and will soon have it's very own brick and mortar. maybe their reservation process will change to a more standard system. i've got my fingers crossed on that one. 

i hope you can one day experience Lazy Bear for it is truly an awesome experience!

smoked whipped egg, bacon with hot sauce

warm and savory. a great start to the meal.

my guy, Ted, who scored the reservation! thankssomuch!

Caroline. her boyfriend Ed was with us but i failed to get a picture of the two of them

doesn't sound like much but you just wait and see!

prep in the kitchen

oyster in tomato jelly

not a fan of oysters or jelly in general but i didn't mind this so much. it doesn't make sense but somehow the jelly made it less slimy

smoked salmon and dill mousse

there was a citrus note in this that rounded out the rich creaminess of the mousse. loved this.

soft shell crab with ramp butter

this was crazzzzzy good! the crab was fried in a seasoned batter so on it's own it had great flavor. the ramp butter enhanced it all and was awesomely delicious. you can't tell from the picture but it was a bright green color. an awesome dish.

cultured butter with butter curds

who knew you could make butter so delicious. i don't know what it was about this but it was so creamy and flavorful. i could've kept eating it all night long if i didn't know there was an actual seven course meal ahead of me.

mackerel escabeche. melon, peach, bay laurel

this tasted a lot like sardines. it was fairly fishy but masked slightly by the melon. the part with peach did the best job of masking the fishiness. this was my least favorite dish but still quite good overall.

rabbit confit. rainier cherry, pistachio, ramps and brioche

so much went into the production of this single plate! rabbit done a couple of ways, this was a sophisticated dish. salty, sweet, rich, bright. all good things. 

sea cucumber congee. cucumber, peas, celery.

i'm not a fan of sea cucumber because of it's sliminess but they did a good job ridding that texture from the dish. the peas were beautiful and just barely cooked.

squab. blueberries, porcinis, fir tips

squab and blueberries? AND granola? seriously? who would've ever thought this up?? this dish was so good and the squab was tender and flavorful. loved this!

fatty beef. padrons, pepper juice, basils, finger lime, rice.

ughhhh!!! so tender. and lovely. i wanted this 10x in size. absolutely perfectly cooked and ultra flavorful.

apricot brulee. humbolt fog, frangipane.

charred apricots, cheese and almonds. sounds great, tastes great.

berries. cookies, cream.

simple but somehow hit the spot. refreshing, creamy, packed with flavor and textures. this was awesome! 

treats

cutest little plate of bites!

strawberry jelly with balsamic vinegar, doughnut

i don't even like jellies but they made this really dense so it wasn't like a squishy jelly consistency. balsamic always pairs nicely with strawberries and that little basil bud was crazy fragrant and packed with flavor. this was my favorite of the "treats."

almond cake, smores, caramel bite??

100% worth it. i would've paid more without any hesitation.