We statyed at BV with a two people in the restaurant business. They said Bottega was great, so we went there too.
We started with raw Himachi and then a lukewarm polenta with sauteed wild mushrooms. The himachi's texture was incredible. I could have eaten 12 orders of it. I wasn't a polenta fan, but Bottega's version made me enjoy it a lot.
The sweetbreads I ordered were great and my friend's duck ravioli left him in a daze. They were well made.
Mirepoix was a treat. The remodled the restaurant and changed the menu from a bistro style place to a fine dining, fixed price menu. A friend and her friend from San Fran I met at our sommelier class came up to visit some places in Sonoma. Mirepoix as the Bistro was great enough, but this meal kicked ass, and it was $45 for 4 courses. The wine flights were under $30.
The soup was an almond cream with a curried creme freiche. It was good. Next, my sweetbreads were unbelievable. They were served with roasted baby artichoke and a thick demi glace. After that was seared Foie Gras, thick cut bacon with a maple glaze and I forget what else, but twas great. Their duck fat fries had to have been fried three times. Amazingly crispy, rich and down right orgasmic. For dessert, browned butter ice cream. I'd never experienced such a thing. I'm not a dessert fan but, it's on my death row menu, now. This was one of the best meals of my life.
In and Out Burger was my first fast food trip of the year. I've been dieting and my double double, animal style and animal style fries made my heart hurt. Tasty, tasty food, though.
Taylor's Refresher was great, but damn expensive. I had their Kim Chi burger. It was marinated in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and mirin. It was the best burger I've ever had. It was juicy and messy. Great onion rings as well.
We crashed at my friends place in San Fran and went to her favorite restaurant, Delfina. It had great Italian food. Their "spaghetti sauce" puts my families sauce to shame. (It pains me to say it, we used to own an Italian restaurant.) It was mindblowing. I had their house cured salmon with greens and a simple vinaigrette. The salmon was very good and the quality of the olive oil in the vinaigrette was outstanding. I love sweetbreads and had Delfina's version. The poaching liquid they used imparted such great flavors. They were pan roasted and topped with a cool, cured ham. It was great. The first thing I saw on the menu was tripe. I had never had it before. It was served in a crock, roasted with a ragu. The flavor was great, but the texture threw me off. It just felt weird in my stomach. My friend kept mentioning what tripe was and I was eating it. For dessert, Delfina's roasted peanut biscotti was so good. It went pretty well with Vin Santo.
I think that just about covers it.
