Review: Fat Angel Food & Libations, San Francisco

As a foreigner living in San Francisco this can mean a lot of international visitors due to the proximity of Silicon Valley. Fat Angel is the perfect place to take visitors and business colleagues for a catch up and a good drink.

The theme is high end gastropub in the Fillmore district off the back of Japantown. An intimate environment that is just perfect for small groups or couples on dates - being so close to the Fillmore Theatre this would be a great choice for a pre or post show drink. The venue isn't large though so we tend to go early, either after working from home or on a weekend afternoon. This ensures a choice of tables and no wait, but be aware if you do this the kitchen only opens at 5pm. 

The craft beer list is extensive, several pages including imported and local options, ciders and gluten free beers. Watch the specials board and try their rotation to get a good grasp of the menu. We're particularly fond of some of the unusual beers like sour cherry and dark chocolate porters. 

2007 La Rioja Alta ‘Viña Alberdi’  Rioja Tempranillo $12USD and 2013 Domaine de Sulauze ‘Pomponette’  Aix en Provence, France Pino/Syrah $10USD

For the wine drinkers there's an equally impressive selection by the bottle and by the glass. Lots of new world and European wines are available that pair perfectly with the small plate food. 

Pretzel $5USD

Fresh pretzels with a lye wash and not too much salt are great with cold beer, they're served warm with a rich and hearty seeded mustard.

The real winner here though are the sharing boards; all equally delicious with wine or beer and served with crisp sour dough toast points. The cheeses come with a number of side additions like pickles, sweet marmalade and nuts that pair perfectly with the sharp cheeses. Extra points for a number of non cow milk options for those of us with more sensitive palettes. The pickled candied walnuts that they sometimes serve on the cheeseboard is one of the best things in the venue and worht looking out for. The charcuterie includes a number of dried and fatty meat options and a liver parfait. 

Charcuterie selection $5.25 each, 3 for $15, or 6 for $28 Chorizo  Duck Salami  Genoa  Pheasant Terrine  Speck  Soppressata

Cheeseboard selections $5 each, 3 for $14, or 6 for $27

• Vella Dry Jack hard cow 
• Capricious hard goat 
• Fleur de Marquis semi-soft sheep 
• La Oveja Negra semi-hard sheep 
• Petite Supreme soft cow 
• Buttermilk Blue Afinee soft cow

Not shown here are also fancy butter selections ($4.75USD each) served with warm fresh bread. This is exactly what I crave when I'm eating carbs and they don't disappoint. Selections include Lemon caper sage, Garlic chili, Maple bacon, Philz coffee or Honey Butter. 

Tomato, spicy sausage and arugula with parmesan $12USD

The flatbreads are served on a very thin bread crust with plenty of toppings. The arugula gi''ves as peppery edge to this dish that cuts nicely through the sausage, combined with the thin crust this makes a lighter more refined option for those craving pizza.

Apple Bread Pudding $7.50USD

There are a number of sweet and after dinner dishes making this also a good stop for post theatre coffee and sweets. This apple bread pudding is rich and delicious served with fresh whipped cream.

French press coffee - enough for 3 cups $9USD 

10 Year Old Malmsey Madeira Blandy’s  Madeira, Portugal  $9USD

Sadly they lack an espresso machine but the French press can be bought for 1 or in a larger format to be shared like this. It's a good quality dark French roast enough to keep a coffee snob happy. There's also a very large range of aperitifs and after dinner drinks including this delicious Madeira which can be hard to find in the US. 

Fat Angel - Food & Libation

http://www.fatangelsf.com/

1740 O'Farrell St San Francisco CA 94115 (415) 525-3013 Intimate gastropub and post Theatre share plates

Review: Fleur de Lys, San Francisco

When you're living on a different continent to your partner you want the times that you get together to be special.  What could be more special for two foodies than a degustation at one of San Francisco's most famous restaurants?

Fleur de Lys is Hubert Keller's delightful formal dining offering which offers some novel dishes and interesting taste and texture explorations. 

As it was a special date night we opted for the luxurious 5 course menu $98USD plus matching wine tastings for $75USD each. The wine tastings were a little overly generous in my mind, our formal dining manners went out the window somewhere around course 4 and lead to us raucously giggling throughout the final dishes. 

Fig and walnut bread to start

Amuse bouche of pesto volute and miniature pickles

"Symphony of" Toasted duck ham and mozzarella slider, French potato salad with white anchovy, "Faux gras" mousse and piquillo gazpacho 

You just know that I'm going to order any dish with liver mousse but the slider and the gazpacho (complete with straw!) really take the cake. 

"Colourful" vegetable ragout served with poached egg, truffles and truffle port wine sauce. 

Honestly poached egg dishes are one of my favourite things to order in formal restaurants as they really elevate a wonderful texture out of the breakfast plate. 

Muscovy duck breast with Eggplant, Olive Salad, purple olive jus and duck confit "cigar"

Cigars of rich meat are one of my favourite things of all time and even though I had duck in my apetizer this was delicious. The spiced pudding side dish was another textural deviation that surprised and delighted. 

Bacon crusted sea scallops with black beluga lentils, pork belly, pickled shallots and harissa

Pork belly topped with scallop *and* bacon? It's rather like he listed all the decadent ingredients he could and then played darts and added whatever he hit. 

Coffee rubbed buffalo steak with pickled figs caramelised leeks, espresso and fig red wine sauce and cornbread Madeleine

One of the most excellent signs of good service is when the waiter will let me make substitutions. In this case I asked for an additional meat course rather than the seafood course and was obliged without issue. 

Oven roasted venison loin with truffled baby bok choy accented with a rich cocoa nib red wine reduction, Spanish chorizo and a cocoa tuile

This dish just oozes with dark decadence. All it needs is a side of tobacco jus and the sticky rich combination is complete.

Fleurburger - lightly spiced dark chocolate ganache, home made Beignet Banana flavoured milk shake and frozen fennel ice cream "Pommes Frites"

The most famous (and most novel!) dish on the menu, a confusing delight of sweets made to look like a classic American takeout meal. 

Alsation pain d'epices mousse bar - Mango and raspberry flavoured ice cream on lime meringue Esprite gateau "Black Forest", cherry compote flavoured with Balsamic and fleur de sel

Another dish with so many tastes and textures, each a little morsel of wonder. 

Petit fours

But wait there's more! Coffee and cognac and another flight of taste adventures. 

What can you say? Hubert Keller is a celebrated chef for good reason and a celebrity chef that deserves his fame. The variation in textures and tastes and the decadent ingredients that formal dining affords (including so many of my favourite foods) are just wonderful. Added to this the price difference between food of this quality between the US and Australia means that I would have been fairly happy at twice the price. Hardly an every week outing but a very reasonable sum for such excellent food when out for a special date night. 

Fleur de Lys

http://www.hubertkeller.com/restaurants/fleur-de-lys.html

Formal dining degustation
Book well in advance and be on time for your seating


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Review: Nobu, Los Angeles

There are a number of restaurants on my 'food tourism' list that I slowly tick off as I travel the world and Nobu has been on this list for some time.



Nobu is the Japanese Fusion food mecha known more for its celebrity owners than its cuisine which is a shame since the food is amazing and unlike some other food tourism meals was everything I hoped it would be and more. I can say quite comfortably that this was one of the best and most memorable meals of my life and I shall be seeking out other Nobu locations for comparison.

The Los Angeles location is the home of the proprietor and much celebrated Chef Nobu who conveniently was in the kitchen on the date of our visit.

This was also Restaurant Week in Los Angeles; there was a special set menu and the option for an omakase chef chosen tasting menu but my knowledge of Japanese food and the palettes of my fellow diners meant that I custom chose our menu from amongst the dish types. It is worth noting that the Omakase chef's tasting was $150USD and our personally selected meal came to just short of this per person including a bottle of Piper Hiedsick NV at $75USD. If you have a member of your dining party who is familiar with such a menu you may wish to choose your own meal rather than have the chef do the same. The adventurous may wish to trust the chef, be sure to explain your allergies and tastes!

Nobu like to do their rotation in an unusual fashion and put the sushi/sashimi at the end rather than the beginning but as I like to leave any dish of toro till last this was fine by me.



We arrived early due to the chaos of Los Angeles traffic and so sat in the bar for a drink before dinner.



Lychee Martini $14USD and Yamazaki 12 year old $12USD



The dining room is subdued Asian stylings with heavy emphasis on privacy screens, presumeably to hide well known patrons from each other. Unlike other LA restaurants though Nobu seems to attract actual food fans and so there is a lack of the Size 0 brigade I have seen elsewhere which I am thankful for, the poor girls just make me want to feed them.



Arctic Char in a Yuzu Soy with fresh Jalapeno and Coriander (Cilantro) $22USD


This is Asian fusion done just right, in fact when the waiter explained that they are a fusion restaurant rather than pure Japanese I remarked "Oh well Yuzu and Cilantro were made to be together" and then found this on the menu. I was not let down, it is a food combination which always delights and combined with the delicious sashimi and spicy pepper was entirely memorable in a small bite. A great sign for the rest of the meal.




Shishito Peppers $7USD


My partner is very fond of hot food and had enjoyed the shishito at Inakaya so I ordered this. They were lovely and fresh however inconsistently hot and so we opted not to finish the entire dish of peppers for fear our palette would be ruined for the subtle food in the rest of the menu.





Heart of Palm Salad $12USD


After the spicy peppers this cold dish of shavings of heart of palm with pink peppercorns was a real refresher. Heart of palm is a favourite ingredient of mine often found in my father's pantry and glad to see it appear on an Asian Fusion menu.



Yellowfin Tuna Spicy Taro Chips $14USD

This is one of those dishes that is so good, so perfect, such a delight in one mouthful that you think about it for days to come, that all the diners at the table pause and close their eyes when it is mentioned. A sliver of taro perfectly crisped is topped with a spicy fermented miso sauce and a roll of immaculate quality raw tuna. Amazing, a mouthful worth a visit to the restaurant alone. 4 pieces for 3 diners though? Dangerous




Oshinko $8USD


It may seem funny to order pickles in a fine restaurant but I can't fathom a Japanese meal without them. These were all obviously made fresh on the premises and included a standard daikon, fresh water radish, carrot, cucumber, cabbage and an Asian spinach. Deeeeelicious!



Beef Kushiyaki $12USD

Good quality marbled beef is basted in a sweet mirin and umami filled fermented soy base and grilled to perfection. So good we ordered a second order of this dish.



Wagyu beef and Foie Gras Gyoza $6USD each (minimum 2)


As a woman obsessed with both Japanese food and liver I don't know that you could possibly tailor make a better dish for me. This was without a doubt the best dumpling I have ever eaten and the dish contained everything one could ask for in textures and tastes. Silky light dumpling skin was crisped to perfection, rich meat and smooth liver set off by a tangy Jalapeno dressing or a sweet caramelised garlic and ginger sauce. Unforgettable, and again; we ordered another of the same as soon as these were eaten.



Foie Gras Fennel and Apple Special $18USD


My partner fails to see the light when it comes to foie gras so there were only two bites but I cannot pass up any chance for real foie gras, banned in Australia and with a texture that sadly no humane feeding technique can reproduce. Shavings of fennel and apple are soft and crisp in turn with a sweet sauce, gone in a second but delightful nonetheless.



Tempura: Asparagus $4USD, Sugar Snap Peas $3USD and Sweet Potato $3USD


Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas are my favourites and unsurprisingly this is a fantastic rendition with light batter and not too much oil. There are any number of other seasonable vegetables on offer here and you could easily order a large meal of just tempura to appease the vegetarians.



Sushi and Sashimi: Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Toro fatty tuna belly $28USD, Magoro Bluefin Tuna $9USD, Cucumber Rolls $6USD, Avocado Rolls $6USD, Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Hand Roll $7.50USD each


The quality of the seafood doesn't fail to disappoint in the sushi course; the only let down here is that the hand roll is performed somewhat like hosomaki rather than the conical shape I am used to in Australia and Japan. This means that rather than the seaweed being crisp it is damp and clings to the sushi rice making it difficult to chew when it is multi-layered.

On the other hand the vegetarian rolls and delightful and light after the rest of the meal and the tuna is mouthwateringly delicious. For those who question the cost of two small pieces of fish I urge any foodie to purchase high end toro at least once, the fatty tuna belly is unlike any other sashimi you will eat. Like any good tuna the toro here lingers in the mouth after the fact and I am loathe to give up the taste to another dish... but there's dessert to be had!



Espresso Martini $14USD

Real coffee a rare delight in the US is made into a refreshing after dinner drink, not too bitter not tasting strongly of alcohol.



Ginger and Carrot Cake $13USD

A soft cake is surrounded by a soft cream cheese icing and topped with a ginger ice cream, accompanied with a salted caramel. Amazing.



PB&J Satandagi $12USD

I'm a sucker for peanut butter everything and the Americans really know how to treat their nut products but after a taste I'm glad I didn't order this as it was rich beyond compare and would have sat heavily after the light and floating meal. Light Japanese style fried dough is injected with hot peanut butter and dark chocolate sauce, accompanied by peanut butter ice cream topped with an ume shu jelly. An inspired fusion dessert.




Froyo Nobu Style $11USD

A light vanilla frozen yoghurt served simply with fresh seasonal berries and toasted black sesame.

Well... what do you say about a meal like this? Delightful, inspired, delicious and matched with immaculate service and surroundings. This is a restaurant worth travelling for and with locations in Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific one needn't go too far.

Nobu Los Angeles

http://www.noburestaurants.com/
903 North La Cienega Boulevard
+1.310.657.571

Formal dining Japanese/Californian fusion
Vegetarian and allergen friendly if these are discussed with the server


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Review: Sean's Kitchen, Star City Casino Pyrmont

When you think of Casino food you probably think of cheap buffets and $5 steak vouchers, but Sean's Kitchen is anything but. The warm classy interior is hidden on an elevated floor above and behind the gaming floor so that the blinking bleeping poker machines are out of sight and out of mind.



Sean's Kitchen specialise in European charcuterie and good quality Australian beef and seafood and it is a great restaurant for a celebration meal. We were off for a birthday, the boy's this time and after a not so pleasant day at work for both of us it was time to wash away the stress with some good wine and excellent food.



Veuve Clicquot by the glass $27



Flavours of Jamon Charcuterie plate $40

If you've never had Spanish ham this is a great way to try it as a progression of Fermin Serrano, Seven Hermanos Iberico de Bellota and Fermin Iberico de Bellota. Jamon Iberico de Bellota is a high quality ham cut from acorn fed Black Iberian pigs. High in fat and raised without stress this is the kobe of pork and the small amounts in the serving are deceptively filling. Served as it should be with good quality bread and pickles this is a great start to any celebration meal.



Liver Parfait and toasted brioche $17

I of course have to order the liver parfait and this is an excellent rendition made with chicken livers but cut with duck fat and sieved to perfection. This is a very heavy and large serving and would probably have done for both of us if only the boy ate liver. Generally I am not a fan of aspic sealing on pate however this is a sweet balsamic jelly that I am rather fond of, especially as the dish did not come with a chutney or other sweet acid to cut through the fat. The brioche is simply excellent, heavy and rich and toasted perfectly.



2005 St Henri Shiraz $157

It's a celebration meal so I decide to splash out on a bottle of the St Henri, easily one of my favourite wines and just perfect with a rich steak meal. The St Henri is the more affordable second cousin to the Penfold's Grange and the 2005 is a recent release but already at drinkable age, especially after being properly decanted. The wine itself is dark and luscious, heavy on berry tastes with a spicey touch similar to tobacco leaf, highly recommended with aged beef.



Dry aged Rib Eye 500g (on the bone) $58



Grass fed Greenham Natural Scotch Fillet 350g $42

Both steaks are perfectly cooked, my rib eye shows no innappropriate scorching on the bone and the more delicate grass fed beef is perfectly rested and sealed. I am less of a fan of the grass fed beef which has a 'younger' taste but we both enjoy the meat spectacularly. Be aware that Sean's Kitchen is of the "if you order a steak, you only get the steak" philosophy of things so be ready to order sides separately.

A choice of sauces is given, we ask for both mustards and veal jus. The jus is to be recommended they have a marvelous sous chef preparing this to perfection; rich, clear and succulent the tiniest amount provides a lingering taste sensation. There are a number of higher marble steaks on the menu including two wagyu steaks however after our experience of being bested by the meal at Glass we decide to avoid the richer choices.



Mustards and Murray River Salt provided with main meal



Butter whipped potatoes $9

Why yes that is a small pool of melted butter you can see in the side of the image. Be sparing with the spoon as this puree is more butter than potato and could easily remove your appetite for the delicious meats.



Baby cos salad with Chardonnay dressing $9

A kitchen hand with OCD has carefully selected and placed these lettuce leaves with peculiar care however they really are delicious and the perfect accompaniment to the rich food.



Remy Martin $15 (back) and Hennessy $18 (front) VSOP Cognac

Nothing particularly fancy here I just rather like a glass of cognac at the end of a rich meal. To be honest I rather wish I'd poured it in my coffee (because I am a bad person).



Panna cotta with Mango $12 with Espresso $5

The test of good service is to be fussy and see how they respond. Sean's Kitchen dutifully brought me soy milk, on the side, removed elements of the dessert and replaced them to order. This dessert should be served with strawberries and a coulis, neither of which I'm particularly fond of. The staff changed the orders readily and brought all items out as I had asked for them in record time, to be commended. The panna cotta sadly I cannot recommend after all that, it was a "yoghurt pannacotta" twist on the classic that left the texture slightly dense and not at all quivering. Sad news indeed.



Valrhona chocolate mousse with Blood orange sorbet and caramelised blood orange $12

The boy's dessert was far more successful (his photography not so much so) and much larger than expected. The dark chocolate mousse goes surprisingly well with the bitter sweet blood orange - if you're expecting overtones of Jaffa you will be disappointed. Still the heavy sweetness and crisp acid make an excellent mix particularly with the textural surprise of the chocolate crisp.





I must make mention of these delightful vintage style butcher's etchings that are printed on the tableware, it's this kind of sweet but macabre note that I think makes Sean's Kitchen a little more endearing.

The service at Sean's Kitchen also deserves a serious nod, while not silver service the hustle and bustle is kept out of chaos by an army of service staff that somehow still make you feel as though you are being especially attended to. That itself is an art form and here it is executed wonderfully. Sommelier's are dispatched with care, French bread boys appear like Carbohydrate Ninjas and the waitress managed to memorise the entire meal order prattled off by a starving gourmande without so much as a blink or a flash of paper. Combined with my fussy dessert ordering it really is something worth noting.

Next time you're looking for a really good steak in Sydney think about Sean's Kitchen, keep your head down in in the gaming room and march upstairs for a rich but soul satisfying dining experience.

Sean's Kitchen at Star City

http://www.starcity.com.au‎

80 Pyrmont Street

Pyrmont 2009, Australia

(02) 9777 9000

Formal dining, fully licensed

Not family or party friendly

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