3rd
Restaurant Gary Danko
While I am the greatest lover of food in my family, the rest appreciate it and enjoy going on epicurean adventures. My sister is increasing becoming a foodie like myself; my mother enjoys trying new restaurants and dishes and my father is a very good sport. As a family we are entering a different stage of life and have less time together so it is all the more precious. One way we spend our time is to take “mini vacations” at restaurants when we are together since taking 2-week car trips is less practical today.
Last weekend we “vacationed” at Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco. It has been open for seven years and has received six 5-Star ratings from Mobil Travel Guide, so needless to say, it had much to live up to. Upon entry, we were seated immediately, about 20 minutes minutes prior to our reserved time. The wait staff was warm and provided an introduction to the unique menu. Here, you are pick the total number of courses (3, 4, or 5 you wish to receive which isn’t too different from what I’ve seen before — however, you can select ANY combination of the dishes on the menu to fulfill your quota. You could select 3 starters and 2 mains for 5. Or 5 desserts. Or 1 of each. The combination possibilities are endless. Despite that being fun and entertaining our party opted for the other option, the 6-course truffle themed tasting menu:
… and the wine pairing of course. I have a default habit of ordering off chef or wait staff suggestions when trying a new place simply because they know the cuisine more than I do. I don’t think they’d ever recommend a dish that wasn’t prepared well, and although their tastes may differ from my own, I’m always down to try new things. It also has the added benefit or making my decision easier and overall experience less stressful. After all, I was there to relax. I was on vacation. It started with an amuse bouche - Tuna, Jicama and some other things which I no longer recall:
I’m beginning to think that just as you can tell a car by its headlight profile or exhaust note, you may be able to distinguish restaurants by their butter service. Restaurant Gary Danko serves a round butter with a top reminiscent of an Eggo waffle in a turned stainless steel dish:
For the first course we were served Risotto with Lobster, Shimeji Mushrooms, Butternut Squash and White Truffles:
… paired with a 2008 Friulano-Based Blend, Zuani, Vigne, Collio Bianco, Italy. This dish was a good introduction to the menu and provided balance of flavor. The lobster was terrific, and if it weren’t for the piece of shell I bit in to, I would have raved about it a bit more. Next up was the amazing Crispy Farm Egg with White Polenta, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Frisee, Pancetta and White Truffles:
… paired with a 2005 Mersault, Francois et Antoine Jobard, En la Barre, Burgundy, France. This course was best of the menu because of the presentation, combination of textures and overall composition. On slicing into the fried egg, it burst open and the yolk mixed with the bed below blending the flavors. This dish was also the lightest of the 6 (possibly excluding the dessert) which I enjoyed. It also helped develop the spectrum of the meal since the dishes were on the heavy side. The surf was a Seared Sea Scallop with Parsnip-Potato Puree, Braised Scallions and Black Truffle Sauce:
… paired with a 2005 Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Chateau de Fonsalette, Reserve, Rhone Valley, France. Diver scallops are a personal favorite of mine, so when I saw it on the menu I was ecstatic. This specimen was prepared perfectly. The truffle sauce was icing on this one and won the award for best simple execution of the tour. The turf was a Seared Filet of Beef with Spaetzle, Butternut Squash, Crimini Mushrooms, Bone Marrow Butter, Shallot Marmalade and Black Truffles:
… paired with a 2004 Barolo, Massolino, Piedmont, Italy. Both the wine and the Filet were wonderful. It has been a while since I’ve had spaetzle so it was exciting to see this one the menu, which soaked up quite a bit of the meat juice, and made for a perfect accompaniment. This course was followed by a selection of Farmhouse and Truffled Artisanal Cheeses including a Roaring 40s Blue (center rear):
… paired with a 2005 Amarone della Valpolicella, Sartori, Veneto, Italy. The other cheese’s names I do not remember but were all quite good and different. As pointed out above, the Roaring 40s Blue was quite palatable. As I am not normally a blue fan, this should comes as some of my highest regards. As a table we shared about 10 or so different cheeses. My one note is that none of us finished our servings - the were far too large (at I think over 1oz each.) I would have much rather had portions about half as large since I felt terrible leaving so much goodness on the plate — but had to since I was simple too full. Dessert was a Black Truffle Cremeux with Vanilla Foam:
… paired with a 2006 Jurancon, Charles Hours, Clos Uroulat, Southwest France. This wine comes from a near by region of Sauternes so it had a very similar profile. While I am not a sweet/fruity “normal” wine drinker, I do enjoy a small glass of Sauternes/Icewine which paired well with the cremeux. They left us with the “due and proper” and a myriad of bite-size farewells:
My favorite of which is the miniature flourless chocolate cake (center) and the nut/spice “pyramid” (front right.) While I do favor avant garde dessert fare, a chocolate cake does a great job bringing back tradition. Finally, on departure we were given autographed copies of the full menu in a black folder & gold envelope (pictured previously) with amazing stock texture and single serving wrapped spice cakes for a midnight snack. I ended up having mine for breakfast the next morning:
In summary:
The food was impeccable but doesn’t deserve higher marks because a full menu of “traditional” truffle dishes is bound on the heavy side, which this unfortunately confirmed. I’m no truffle cooking-extraordinaire but I imagine there has to be some other way to lighten this menu up. Does every dish need some sort of butter/fat? I would definitely go back and try the a la carte menu for greater variety. Additionally, I gravitate towards more “Progressive American” menus on which Gary Danko did not deliver — but instead provided near-perfect traditional fare.
Decor was excellent as well, refined as expected of this caliber of restaurant. Waitstaff commented that the chandeliers present were hung specifically for the holidays (?) on top of the spot lighting which irks me. I don’t believe that furnishings should be changed based on the seasons unless it is an integral part of the entire experience — which it was not. The chandeliers diffracted light every which way and blocked the direct light to my plate. This is simply not acceptable, and part of the reason the pictures are so poor.
Service was excellent but suffers from committing one of my pet peeves: Don’t serve the course when one or more members of the party is in the facilities! It really doesn’t take that much work to look if the table is full and if its not, simply wait to serve the next dish. While my food was covered until my return, I can’t belabor this point enough, simply don’t do it. I missed the dish’s introduction too!
All and all I would rate the experience as excellent appropriately with the following numbers:
Food - 27
Decor - 26
Service - 27
Until next time, I will leave you with my contentedness at Restaurant Gary Danko:
