OMG!!

Bill and I were going to spend a quiet evening at home to celebrate my 65th birthday on April 16th when, in the middle of the afternoon, a wine friend of ours, JP Miller, called to see if we could be the “fill-in” couple for a dinner at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos (a 2-star Michelin restaurant). We enthusiastically agreed because we knew this was not only going to be a gastronomical delight but an oenophile-y rich evening as well. We also met two delightful friends of JP’s and got to know his spouse, Roseanne, more too!

And, I have to inject here… I thought I was a “foodie” but I am but a mere “enfant” compared to JP, Roseann and their friends, David and Michelle. They were able to dissect each dish and taste and compare them to the nth degree. I was definitely impressed!

Also, as a tribute to the iphone’s incredible photo taking abilities, the photos of the entrés were taken with no flash, no special equipment. I forgot to take photos of some of the dishes so Roseann and Bill also took images of our artistic presentations. Yea, Rosann and Bill! I only loaded the photos that came out well so not all entrés have an accompanying photo.

It was a 3-star level dinner that rivaled the French Laundry. We were exquisitely served by the entire restaurant staff and especially my favorites: Estéban and Dana! Their timing was spot on! JP offered to write about our dining experience so the descriptions below are JP’s poetic estatic droolings!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Back in November, David Kinch told us he was planning to go to Japan for a two-week “cooking school.” It promised to be a special and intense opportunity to learn about the best in Japanese cuisine, traditional and contemporary. Remembering that, we contacted David in February and asked him if he’d like to try out some of what he learned on us. He agreed enthusiastically.

So, we brought our usual “mini-cellar” of ~24 bottles of wine (see list as addendum) and asked Jeff Bareilles to choose what he thought would be best with each course. This meal was, without doubt, the best we have ever had – at Manresa or anywhere. The food was perfect, not a single “just OK” course. Most of the courses are relatively new to David’s repertoire and show an evolving sophistication that is breathtaking. The wine-food pairings were miraculous. Jeff absolutely batted 1.000.

I surely hope DK and his staff took our advice – nay, command – that they have a couple of good tastes form each bottle and then try them out with the courses. A chef and sommelier really must taste what they have done and not just be voyeurs through these notes.

Details of the food and wine follow, but it must be commented that service has continued to improve. In previous meals, it had been sometimes the case that wines arrived after the dish, which should not happen. Wine first; then food. And, be sure glasses are refreshed when empty. Generally, the service hit these marks, although the initial Champagne pour was not followed quite quickly enough as glasses emptied almost immediately! Still, this meal showed a significant step-improvement in the timeliness of wait-staff service to the table, both on wine and on bread (which was offered frequently throughout the meal, another improvement!).

And, of course, it was great to have DK spend so much time chatting with us before the meal and then towards the end.


Amuse Bouche Black olive Madeleine and Bell Pepper Jellies
Good, as always; although the jellies seemed even more intense and fresh than ever.
(su note: These madeleines are one of my favorites of David’s standard fare. They are totally addictive if you like buttery, salty, slightly sweet, perfectly baked little bites!)

1st course: Beignets Two with Chickpeas & Green Garlic. two with Mizuno and Kale. topped with flash-fried baby kale leaves.
Served in matte ceramic bowls that were designed to look like a hollowed out rocks, these were delicious, with a warm, creamy richness and plenty of garden flavor. The kale leaves provided a wafer-thin crispy counterpoint to the dough of the beignet. The chickpea/ green onion was creamy and zippy. The other, rich and zesty. This is how to make vegetables flavorful yet substantial. This was a reminder, as if we need it, of the constant effort by DK to contrast and complement: to show how flavors and textures and temperatures can be different, sometimes surprisingly so, and in those differences provide a richer, more complete experience. A metaphor for life?

2nd course: A single, perfect Oyster steamed in its own shell with seaweed, such that the oyster juice turned into a light jelly. On top, a small, toasted slice of buckwheat bread with a pat of DK’s special butter.
Now, the meal began to ramp. It turned out, in retrospect, this was DK’s “surf ‘n turf” offering for the evening. Not obvious at the time (though it should have been). DK should be known equally for his surf ‘n turf ideas as for his vegetable ideas. After all, one cannot have a meal without both.

Before describing this dish, it is necessary to address another element of this meal that stood out as a significant development at Manresa. The “plates.” The oyster was perched on a rock, steadied with a mound of sel gris. The oyster could have been attached to the rock, as oysters are in the wild.
As for the food, one needed to eat the buckwheat and butter first (turf), then the oyster (surf). The buckwheat and butter offered toasty richness. Then, the oyster was an absolutely wonderful mouthful – to be eaten in a single slurp from the shell. The ocean just washed right in. How wonderful: the smells and tastes of a farm at breakfast, then a plunge into the ocean!

Our wine with the first 3 courses was a 1996 Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs Champagne. A beautiful, intense champagne with light custard notes that kept the richness from being heavy.

This wine was wonderful with the starters. A balance of fruit and yeastiness/ earthiness to go with the richness of the Madeleine and the brightness of the jellies. Then, the toastiness and herbs of the beignets matching the toast and fruit components of the champagne – although this description is far simpler than the actual connection between the two. Here, the complexities of both food and wine were connected in a marvelously non-linear way. And, each beignet carried both to the wine, but in different ways.

Finally, the match with the oyster was sublime. Here, the components were sequential. First, the earthy/ buttery buckwheat and butter pointing to the earthy/ buttery aspects of the wine. It’s good this was a rich Blanc de Blancs rather than rapier. Had it been the latter, I think this connection would have been lost. Then, the oyster allowed the brightness of the Champagne to be on display. But, you had to let the oyster flavors linger for a minute or two before washing them away with the almost-salty-seeming Champagne.

Wow! Three very different dishes and all dancing a different dance with the Champagne. “Dancing with Stars” has a whole new meaning!

3rd course: Mandarin Orange Salad, with a sugar-juice glace, and spring fresh garden herbs, a touch of oil and brown sugar droplets.
The salad was brought on a white asymmetric oval plate, allowing the colors of the orange and herbs to stand out brightly as the flavors of the dish. This was an amazing course! The three Mandarin slices were perfect: no membrane at all. They were plump and bursting with sugar and acidity. The geleé on them was sweet, which created a marvelous sweet/ sour impression. Then, the herbs: rosemary flowers, infant bok choy, and tiny, tiny herbs from the Love Apple Farm, placed on the plates with tweezers, were so amazingly flavorful with a delicious savory bitterness: another sweet/ savory theme that DK loves to sprinkle among his dishes and wend throughout a meal. In this case, the contrasts were face slapping, in the most delicious way imaginable, followed by sweet tears and kisses. A dish for lovers, not friends.

We drank a 2001 Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Kabinett Goldkap with the salad. While the Champagne was obligatory to start, DK could not have chosen three better starters to match with it. Now, the challenge escalated. The course had to be huge challenge with its distinctive and contrasting flavors.
This wine could not have been better – it was served before the course, and I believe it was Sandi who said, “It has really nice citrus notes.” Yes, but with that flowery, not quite but almost, herbal flavors that are core to Riesling.
This wine enhanced but smoothed the sharp give-and-take of the dish. It was luxurious and lingering. I can’t remember a more complete food-wine pairing.

4th course: Foie Gras Crème Caramel with Cumin.
It has been a while since we’ve had this dish, but it was a wonderful flashback and perfect at this point in the meal. The foie grás was in a small, round flat-bottomed light green lacquer bowl. After the rambunctious brightness of the previous course, this one was like the warm glow after making love. Very soul-satisfying. The crème could not have been more velvety/ ethereal. The cumin just enough to provide that touch of savory balance against the sweetness of the fat of the foie. The previous dish was all drama and action; this course was enveloping and comforting.

And, what does one always drink with Foie Gras? 1990 Chateau Climens The wine was served first and we anticipated a foie gras course. This Climens is one of the most ripe and rich produced in recent years from this wonderful Barsac estate. It had a lovely light peachy note balanced against tangy botrytis. Still, lithe compared to Rieussec, de Fargues, etc.

And it performed perfectly with the foie gras crème caramel! The cumin and botrytis melded and the creaminess of the wine and crème had no seam between them. This combination emphasized texture as much as flavor, but there was no slight of the latter. I find Sauternes often overpowers foie gras (unless grilled). Not in this case, despite the delicacy of the dish. The Climens had the elegance to dance lightly with the shimmering custard. Very sophisticated.

Not a course but should be: Butter & Bread.
This, indeed, is its own course at Manresa. The butter is like nothing I’ve ever had: so rich and yellow, almost fermented. Initially, there was only one cow and the resulting product had to be rationed. Now, there are six cows and the butter is almost unlimited. And, if you’ve dined at Manresa, you know that this butter is like no other butter, anywhere. It is homemade, hand churned and so unctuously soft.

The restaurant-baked bread was completely delicious: levain and brioche that could have been in Paris. And wonderfully small and fat rosemary bread sticks, like very fat thumbs, spread with Manresa butter….OMG!

This course gave us a chance to return to the opening Champagne,1996 Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs (redux), of which most of us still had the better part of a glass. Hmmm, warm bread, butter, and Champagne. Yeast and toast and delicious!

5th Course: Uni in its own clarified broth with radish The uni was served in an urchin-shaped earthen-color ceramic bowl, mimicking the shell of the urchin sans-spines. Without doubt, the sweetest, cleanest tasting uni we’ve ever had. And the broth was wonderful; just salty enough. The radish was a crisp/ bitter complement to the sweet, fat unit. Some thought too much of a contrast. Others relished it. The serving of uni was substantial. In fact, each course this evening seemed more substantial than from previous meals at Manresa.

The Ginga Shizuku "Divine Droplets" Junmai Daiginjo Sake came before the food and we were left wondering what food would come. And when it did, we smiled. The earthy flavors of the sake were perfect with the earthy flavors of the uni. Some thought the sake fruity, its flavors floating above the sweet uni. Either way, another gorgeous pairing, especially the think texture of the sake, given its alcohol, mimicked the velvet of the urchin.

6th Course: Butterfish Sashimi (skin cooked) on vegetable leaf with touch of soy and brought to table in a linen sling This dish was remarkable for its simplicity and deliciousity (yes, that’s a word in my dictionary). Pure, wonderful fish with the most succulent leaf imaginable. Not lettuce, not spinach-family. I must get the name. It was sweet and slightly succulent. It reminded me of a lily pad or lotus leaf. Its flavor was clean and fresh, like pea or bean. It added a subtle balance to the fish that made it much more than sashimi.

The 2002 Jean-Noel Haton Blanc de Blancs Champagne came first and we all said: Sushi! And so it was. This Champagne is quite the thing for its modest ($35) price. Clean and crisp, the way a Blanc de Blancs should be, but with some real ripeness and weight. It is hints of yeast woven throughout its pure Chardonnay fruit. The perfect sushi Champagne. And it was! Interestingly, after taking a bite of fish, then a swallow of Champagne (no sipping allowed!), you had to wait 30 seconds for the finish to build and for the flavors to develop. Very, very interesting that the initial impact is that of cleansing; the ultimate impact is that of fresh incoming tidal spray on the rocks.

7th Course: Spot prawn grilled with Indian Spices with Butter-poached Peas. These were the largest spot prawns DK has ever served in this dish, which we have seen before, but never with the peas. The prawns were full of roe, which mimicked the color and graininess of the Indian spices, but with contrasting flavor: fresh fish versus earth. The prawns were grilled, but only lightly, their translucent flesh still there in places. The peas were so sweet and perfectly ripe – no starchiness – they gave a lovely top-note to the dish. And the butter. What a way to pull everything together! While we have had this dish before, this was far beyond the previous creations in intensity, complexity, and satisfaction. (su note: Spot Prawns, if you’ve never had them before, must be tried! They are the sweetest variety of prawns, in my opinion, and when I had them in Washington and Alaska, right out of the ocean, they weren’t any fresher than they are at Manresa!)

The first wine offered to go with this course was the 2000 Chablis Bougros (Fèvre). However, it was madeirized. A 2002 Joly Savennieres “Les Clos Sacres” was the second choice, but the way it worked with this dish it could have been the first choice. On an evening such as this, even problems became shining successes. This wine was clean and minerally and vibrant and crisp and its flavor profile really brought out the complexity in the Indian spices. Its herbalness was perfect for the peas.

8th Course: Into the Vegetable Garden What to say about this dish? The concept is the same, the ingredients vary, the result is always mind-boggling. How can a simple salad be this good? This flavorful? This, yes, robust? I could not hope to list all the ingredients. However, the amazing thing is the diversity and intensity of flavors. Not your ordinary lettuce; not a speck of radicchio (at least in this version). The poached baby potatoes at the center added substance. The vegetable foam a delicate, but very tasty dressing. The chicory and hazelnut earth crunchy. David puts so-called “vegetarian” restaurants to shame.

The 2008 Domaine Ott Rosé was from the restaurant’s wine list. Jeff wanted to show us what he could do with this dish and felt nothing we had brought would do justice as well as this wine. A bold gamble. But, tonight, the odds favored Jeff. Or, maybe he simply knows how to “count cards” in the world of wine and food. He ran the table, to mix metaphors, if only slightly. So, this wine: crisp, clean, fruity. Thin on its own, maybe, but totally together with the impossible-to-match mélange of flavors in the garden salad. With some pairings you can pick out a specific element of the food and wine that create the 1+1=3 effect of great wine/ food pairings. In this case, not possible. It was the total effect of both.

9th Course: Abalone in Bouillon with Mushrooms
Another signature DK ingredient – such a luxury to be able to have this. This could be considered a stew; rich with the bouillon and golden trumpet mushrooms. Rich and flavorful with a satisfyingly chewiness in all the ingredients. The previous course now seemed, in retrospect, to be a palate-cleanser; an intermezzo. This course was more “main” than “first.” Again, it must be said, the portion was substantial. You needed to come with an appetite – and not get completely carried away with the bread and butter. But, using a piece of de-crusted bread on the various juices of this dish and others was another amazing side trip that had to be taken.

As I have already said, Jeff did not miss a beat in the pairings this night. He had three Corton’s to choose among and this one, a 2004 Morey-Blanc Corton-Charlemagne, was perfect. It was round and ripe and intense, with all the substance needed to stand up to the abalone. The abalone was a dark stew, this wine was a freshening element that made each bite a new experience of flavor. And, if you used the bread-as-sop, the Corton was even more needed to allow a second bite and a third to each stand on its own ground

10th Course: Black Cod with Oyster, Bok Choy, Butter Foam An OMG dish, if there was one. This cod was the sweetest, flakiest ever, almost gelatinous in its just-barely-cooked consistency. The oyster brought a piquant flavor; a sweet mélange of seafood (fish and shellfish – how often do you get them paired?). Then, both were given balance with the Bok Choy. A dish light and flaky and fishy, yet rich and satisfying. In the past, DK has on occasion been possibly too intellectual, too minimalist in his approach to some dishes, especially fish. Tonight, he showed us his robust side, his hedonism. Maybe this is an evolution – I certainly hope so, because he has not given up a bit of his creativity and insight into ingredients and cooking methods. But now, he has all that and a delicious hedonism that comes just this close to overwhelming.

It is no surprise we found a home for a 1997 Domaine Laroche Les Clos Chablis in DK’s dining room. It was lucky, no it was predestined, that we brought two Chablis. What made this Chablis the perfect accompaniment was the fact that the cod was almost crab-like in its flaky richness. And, then, of course, there was the oyster. And, for the flowers of the fruit of the wine there was the vegetable. So here we are: shellfish piquancy and minerally wine; glistening cod flakes and rapier fruit. Vegetable component, herbal component. There have been meals at Manresa where the wine/ food pairing for two or three of the dishes during the evening was truly glorious, most quite nice, and possibly one or two not quite right. Tonight, was the impossible: shooting 59 at the US Open, bowling three perfect games in a row, winning every individual event in Olympic gymnastics.

11th Course: Kid Goat with Curds and Whey, Scallions It should not escape anyone that every course has had a vegetable component. How often does one experience that at a Michelin-starred restaurant? And how often does one have a dish such as this? Goat gets a bad rap because, well, it can be too “goaty.” Goat is a peasant food, after all, right? Not like this: tender, pink flesh, roasted, I believe (but worth checking), then plated with sweet, but unmistakable goat curds and whey. Their soft, semi-liquid consistency perfect for the soft flesh. Hedonism in a simple dish.

We shared a 1999 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanée with the kid goat. Maybe “just” Villages, but who can make a glistening, ethereal wine like Rouget? This might be the perfect red Burgundy for food. OK, for this food, anyway. I mention again that I truly hope DK and others had a chance to try out some of these wines and these dishes. This wine looked to be less than five years old: pinkish to the rim, but mature; sweet, but a little spicy. Satisfying on its own, but glorious with the goat. Burgundy loves game and goat is the closest in flavor to game of any domestic meat. And, one must not overlook the palate impression: cashmere; no, pashmina.

12th Course: Salt-encrusted Duck Wrapped in Walnut Leaves, French Breakfast Radish, Walnut Wine Sauce
No fruit glaze for DK’s duck. No siree. This is duck from places man as not yet settled. No treacly orange or cherry goo to insult this duck’s breast. This duck lived proud, chest out and has been brought in from the wild to get proper seasoning. Its fatty, rich gamey-ness had to be accented and the bittersweet walnut flavors did just that. If the goat dish was blonde, this duck dish was brune. There were flavors of cardamom and cinnamon, but I don’t think from the herb and spice so much as from the walnut leaf and wine. A delicious, earthy dish.
(su note: I tried to take a photo of the duck before it left it’s beautiful salt & seaweed jacke in its cast iron pot, but alas, not enough light to share the impressive presentation of the duck before it was plated for us.)

1989 Vieux Chateau Certan One must be careful in choosing wines for Manresa. The temptation to bring “the best” is hard to resist, but what must always be kept utmost in mind is how wine works with food.

DK’s style is not to overwhelm with power, so one must avoid the temptation to pick wine for the wine’s sake. Thus, this wine. I’ve always thought of this Chateau as making elegant wines, not like some Pomerols that are brut, monolithic, and good with a grilled steak. Not like Médoc with cigar box and lead pencil smoke and mirrors. Just clean, elegant, with minerally fruit. And so, this wine was up against “ze duck.” How would it account for itself? Brilliantly! Its age had taken away any overt fruitiness and allowed its earth and minerals to be on display. This wine cleansed the palate. This was the final savory course and it was not time for complex pyrotechnics, but rather for a sense of seamless continuity. And there we had it!

13th Course: Roasted Strawberries, Hibiscus, Condensed Milk Cream DK’s desserts have taken a huge step upward if the offerings this night are any indication. I always thought his desserts “OK” if not spectacular. This and the next two can be described just that way: spectacular! The piquant, almost-too-much hibiscus was miraculously balanced by the richness of the roasted spring fruit. Now, we’re back to the beginning of the meal with powerful flavors balanced like sumo wrestlers in poised embrace. This needs wine! And so, it was.

Tanzer was lyrically over-the-top describing 2001 Alfred Melkelbach Erdener Treppchen Auslese #10 Goldkap – even for Tanzer. Some snippets: “Sassafras, apple, orange blossom aromas…” “…incisive citrus, pointed slate, and ingratiating spice.” “…incisive citrus… and ingratiating spice…” Oh my, I’m blushing! And so, over-the-top meet over-the-top. I guess that must be a 720 double twist half-gainer, or some such. But unlike two skiers crossing paths from two too close black diamond runs, this wine and this dish caught elbows like two skaters rushing madly at each other, then together spun around into a death-defying spiral with ice chips flying. To be more direct: the fruit of the wine and the fruit of the dish matched up spiral for spiral; and the slate of the wine and the hibiscus perfume wove together like the yin and yang of this entire dinner .


14th Course: Brioche with ice cream and candied rhubarb
Echoes of the brioche to start the meal, this dessert brought another interplay of flavors and textures. The flavors were sweet and sour; the textures were smooth and toothy. Brilliantly rendered.

I thought the 1990 Chateau Climens (redux) the most unlikely pairing of the evening, but not so! The botrytis worked with the brioche, interestingly, and also smoothed out the underlying bitterness of the rhubarb. The fruit of the wine had enough acidity to stand up nicely to the rhubarb.

15th Course: Chocolate and Fruit Ice with Herbs
Yes, chocolate and fruit; always a tricky combination in my experience. This worked partly because the herbs tied the flavors together in a way I can’t describe. AND, they served it with a "Happy Birthday" wafer just for Sandi!

16th Course: Chocolate Madeleines & Strawberry Paté de Fruits were then served for our next dessert. This was a wonderful take on the chocolate dipped strawberry flavors that we all love, except with the madeleines, the added richness of butter is added to make this over the top!

1945 Rivesaltes. Yes, the birth-year wine for Sandi. Imagine, 65 years! Well, not so hard at this point… This is a special wine, indeed from Bill’s cellar. Light mahogany and filled with scents of ripe fruit sweetly aged. It was perfect for this chocolate, fruit, and herbs.

17th Course: Chocolate Truffles
(su note: JP and Roseann had to leave before they were served the last taste of the evening so David and I filled in for him here….) And lastly, to take a “taste of sweet” home on our palates, simple soft, powdered chocolate dusted ganache truffle in the spirit of Maison du Chocolat that, of course, melted on contact. OMG! What an evening!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

And, as we walk out the door, the ever present candy jar filled with freshly made salted caramels beckons for one last memory of a divine evening!

This 19-course (counting the amuse bouche and bread & butter courses) gastronomy began at 6 a.m. and ended at midnight and this description, while long, like the dinner, shares with you as only JP can, each bite of our celebration of my 65th Birthday.

I don’t know that you’ll be satisfied with my paltry descriptions of our Cookbook Club dinners any more. Thank you JP for being our guest writer, you are the best!

Bon Appetít!

Sandi