See Us Eat: Dinner at Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Dinner at Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA

For Alexis' birthday, Giao took her to Gary Danko, a place he'd been, but she hadn't. It was very, very good, although not particularly innovative. The atmostphere was intimate and there was some surprisingly good art. The service was almost too nice and familiar at first, but we learned to like it. They passed the water test in an interesting way: they labeled the the water with the seat it was for, although they should have labeled it prior to bringing it to the table. The 5 course menu (you can choose any 5 courses) is $92 per person.

Beet Gelee on a Meringue with Caviar ("Gift from the Chef")
The flavors were nice, but there was not enough texture contrast.

Lobster Salad with Citrus and Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette
The flavors were very nice, but the lobster was a bit tough. The 3 kinds of citrus each provided their own flavor profiles to the dish. I think perhaps the chef is going citrus-crazy due to the crops dying the in inevitable increase in price of all things citrus.

Glazed Oysters with Oestra Caviar, Salsify and Lettuce Cream
This dish was truly ethereal. The lettuce cream was surprising in its depth of flavor. Even Alexis liked the oysters.

Seared Foie Gras with Caramelized Onions and Fuji Apples
The foie was large in portion and delicious. The apples were sort of unnecessary because the onions provided a sweetness of their own.

Pancetta Wrapped Frog Legs with Sunchoke Garlic Puree, Potato and Lentils
These litle frog lollipops were tender and delicate, although they did taste a bit like chicken. The lentils had a nice chew and the puree was falvorful and served as a good dipping sauce for the frog legs.

Roasted Maine Lobster with Abalone Mushrooms, Edamame and Tarragon
This lobster was incredibly tender. The edamame added an interesting twist as well.

Beef Tenderloin with Potato, Leeks, Bacon and Black Truffles
This dish was just ok. The temperature was off--Giao asked for rare and got something way closer to medium that he desired.

Herb Crusted Loin of Lamb with Soft Polenta, Olive Tapenade and Pepper Ragout
The lamb was tender and cooked perfectly. The polenta was tasty, if a bit gummy. The tapenade added a great saltiness, but the pepper ragout was totally unnecessary.

The Cheese Course
We both ordered the cheese course and so we got to try eight different cheeses. The waiter wrote them down for us. All of them were truly delicious and interesting except for the cheddar, which was not all it was cracked up to be. The cheeses were:
Capriole Farms Crocodile Tears (goat)
Ibbaye de Belloc (sheep)
Serra da Estrella (sheep)
Sweetgrass Dairy Double Cream (cow)
Goume an Santiems (blue)
Montbriar Rochebarron (blue)
Hooks Cheddar (cow)
Jivarat (rind washed in Sancerre)
Epoisses (this delicious cheese was so gooey it dripped through the holes in the bread)

Trio of Creme Brulee
Instead of 3 small 2-bite brulees, we were served 3 full sized brulees: hazelnut, dark chocolate and citrus. They were all very good, but we were so stuffed we could only eat a bit or 2 of each. The chocolate macaroon was very good as well.