Gary Danko II, Dry Creek Kitchen, and more


This report made possible by funding from Ma and Pa Poirier.

All ratings are based on the Pudaite scale (-10 to +10).


Part I: Poiriers in the City

Mamma Mia!      -4
For those unfamiliar: Mamma Mia is a musical whose songs were originally recorded by ABBA. ABBA makes Britney sound like Frost and N'Sync sound like Mahler. I'm not wrong about this, am I? I'm willing to entertain the possibility that objectivity withers in the face of my child-of-the-80s bias.

Apparently, part of the appeal is the way in which the songs have been reinterpreted. So, for example, a song that may have originally intended to sound as if sung from one lover to another, is, in the show, delivered from mother to daughter. It's not as creepy as it sounds. Or at least not compared to being in a theater filled with ABBA fans/tolerators.

Then there's the retro appeal, which I understand cerebrally if not viscerally. I'd read somewhere that Tool has shown interest in developing a theatrical version of Lateralus, so maybe my day will come. Maybe in 20 years I'll have the opportunity to tell my kids: "I always thought 'Prison Sex' was about how the U.S. penal system perpetuates the cycle of abuse, but now I see it's really about a Bavarian farmer's widow trying to cope with her daughter's deviated septum."


Gary Danko

Bread
    with Butter		      +4
Amuse Geule: Chilled Zucchini Soup
    with Scallop Ceviche		      +6
Seared Foie Gras
    with Caramelized Red Onions, Peaches and Essencia Sauce		      +8
Seared Ahi Tuna
    with Avocado, Nori, Enoki Mushrooms and Lemon-Soy Dressing		      +7
Encrusted with cumin. Arranged in a very Japanese-y butterfly pattern. Kinda dumb, but then I'm not much for oblique representation in art.

Duck Prosciutto and Foie Gras Torchon
    with Pickled Cherries		      +7
Silky, half-dollar-sized pucks atop buttery wafers. Cherries, nice; salad, nice. Prosciutto, to my taste, waxy and gamey.

Sturgeon
    with Corn, Soybeans, Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes, Rosemary Potato Cake		      +5
Little novelty, but otherwise near perfect.

Pan Roasted Quail, Wild Mushroom Ragout
    with Leeks and Pine Nuts, Pearl Cous Cous		      +6
The previous owner of the plate ravaged it bare, save the drumsticks and remnants of the supporting cast. All of which were excellent.

Veal Sweetbreads
    with Tomato Fava Compote, Asparagus, Maitake Mushrooms		      +3
Sweetbreads were a little dry and chalky. Everything else was perfect.

Cheese Plate      +2
A couple of the cheeses had begun to generate ammoniac fumes and, besides, paled to the selection at Cheeseboard. The only really special cheese was the Roaring Forties, a butterscotch-hued blue from Tasmania. It's not very blue tasting. More like a rich, salty, sharp cheddar.

(Cheeseboard doesn't carry Roaring Forties, but apparently The Pasta Shop on 4th does, sometimes. I was told a shipment comes in this Wednesday.)

Baked Chocolate Souffle      +3
Baked Apricot-Grand Marnier Souffle      +2
As noted from the last visit to Gary Danko's, their souffles are as light and artfully baked as any I've encountered. But something's lacking. Maybe it's time for me to find someone who'll make me one for $50.

Flambeed Peaches
    with Puff Pastry and Almond Ice Cream		      +6
Idiosyncrasy prevents me from rating tableside flambeed fruit much higher than this. What I mean to say is: the staff at GD knows how it's done.


Part II: Poiriers in the (Wine) Country

Hotel Healdsburg
The hotel/rooms      +8
The breakfast      +5
I can imagine a bigger room than the one we had at HH, but not one with much more style.


Dry Creek Kitchen

DCK is a new restaurant from the Charlie Palmer enterprise.
Pan Seared Bay Scallops
    with Vegetables Escabeche, Fresh Purslane, Herb Puree and Sesame Seeds		      -2
Scallops slightly fishy, and the escabeche, itself piquant, jarred with the scallops.

Seared Sonoma Foie Gras
    with Dry Creek Peach soup, puff pastry galette, and blackberry honeycomb		      +2
Nowhere near either of the fabulous foie dishes at GD. The meat tasted gamier, less refined. The broth dampened the seared crust.

Sauteed Ling Cod
    with Sweet Corn Puree, Roasted Asparagus, Golden Chantrelles, and Lobster		      +4
Outstanding flavor and exquisitely crisp skin. A little too rare. Corn puree overly thickened.

Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin
    with Scarlet Runner Bean Succotash and Marinated Plums		      +3
Good, albeit unexceptional, delivery. The plums were actually "plucots" as we discovered during a subsequent visit to Monterey Market. Succotash tender and melty, but the mutant beans were a little off-putting. (From SNL: "Big Fat Bean: Why have a bunch of little beans when you can have one big fat bean?")

Caramelized Fulton Farm Chicken Breast with Basil
    and Fresh Ricotta Gnocchi and Sauteed Spinach		      -1
Unremarkable. The gnocchi were little more than nuggets of paste.
Chocolate Napoleon: Milk Chocolate Ganache, Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse, Milk Chocolate Ice Cream, and Chocolate Phyllo      +3
Looked incredible, perfect texture contrast. But the ganache was actually chocolate-peanut butter, and salty. The mousse was chocolate-espresso, and bitter. Put it all together and...well, there was a lot of cream and sugar so my mouth wasn't too unhappy.

Mascarpone Cheesecake
    with Wild Strawberries, Candied Rhubarb, Fresh Thyme, and Filo Tuille		      +2
Can someone explain why "phyllo" and "filo" appear on the same menu?

Everything but the cheesecake was excellent. A for effort, C for delivery. D for menu writing.

Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake
    with Banana Cashew Ice Cream Sandwich and Frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana		      +3
Adequate cake, no registration on the ecstasy meter. Ice cream sandwich cookies salty.


Part III: Tyler's Menu

Avocado and Orange Salad
    with Basalmic Reduction		      +3
Perfect avocados and oranges. Reduction a little thin. Salad could have used another dimension.

Chilled Carrot Soup with Creme Fraiche      +2
Fresh, bright flavor. A bit too much vinegar. Creme fraiche ineffective.

Trio of Pizzettas: chile and garlic; pear and feta; pepperoni and tomato      -2
Off night. I can do and have done much better.

A+W Root Beer and Godiva Chocolate Ice Cream Float      +5
Spared my incompetence.


Addendum: I came away from Gary Danko with the best souvenir I've ever gotten from a restaurant. See it here.



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