What a place, what a meal! We were going to try their new chef’s counter but the Sous Chef was injured and so Joshua Skenes had to be in the main kitchen. However on Fri and Sat nights all eat the Discovery tasting menu so it was none-the-less an over the top menu. We opted to not have their wine pairing and instead Mark Bright, co-owner and wine guy, chose several half bottles to accompany things and then through in several glasses of stuff we ‘just had to try.’
bar areakitchen in full swingJoshua Skenes, chef and c0-owner of Saison
He knows how to win my heart and loyalty. (It helps that we’ve been several times.) Besides the 2 owners there was just one familiar face in the crowd of workers so many things had changed a good bit since last year, which is positive in my book and obviously in Michelin’s who elevated them to 3 star status last fall.
They have now bought their own farm so there are more greens, vegetables and milk products as well as their own poultry. Watching the kitchen is like watching a symphony orchestra perform -each person has their task at which they are hugely proficient. Many of the tastes are subtle but there is an underlying freshness and quality to the tastes. Some are just plain outstanding though, like the sea urchin on toast. Each bite of that was a little bit of heaven. Each course is presented in such a beautiful fashion that you almost hate to disturb it. You’ll also eat some stuff you never thought about eating like sea cucumber ribs, which were mild, but the chicharron made from their skin was scrumptious. I loved the fire roasted brussels and cabbage – what a nice new spin on those. And then there was the duck that was the best we’ve ever had. I of course went crazy about the caramel sauce on the cream and so they sent me home with 2 bottle of it. That’s the kind of place this is – a unique evening of edible bliss.
tea with herbs from their gardentea cupAnaheim peppers preserved in the wood burning oven with buttermilkCaviar, plum, asparagus and baconFirst several courses called for chopstickswineBlack cod, grilled mushrooms and pine bouillonLobster warmed over the coals, Meyer lemon and broth from the shellsBattle creek trout with its skin and roeAbalone grilled over the embers, sauce of the liver and capers, grilled pork jowl. Topped with seaweedas platedLive Spot prawn and its roe with salted plum sauceclose up of prawnSea urchin and liquid toastas platedSeaweeds in seaweed vinegaras platedwineSea cucumber, the ribs roasted in the fire, sauce of the innards with a chicharon made of the skin (separate photo)as platedChicharon of the sea cucumber skinas presentedDungeness crab with seaweed and cardooninsideone of the few chefs still there since last visitBrussels and cabbages blistered in the fireas presentedwineFire in the sky beet: pressure cooked beet stuffed with bone marrow and hung over the fire several daysas presentedwineSavory duck liver toffee with milk, bread and beerMuscovy duck grilled near the fire and saladDuck bouillon made from the bones of the previous coursepresentation of beignetswineBeignetsCheese and honey to eat with beignetsMilk from their cow with caramel (I had extra!)Buckwheat tea with citrus and twigFrankie got thirsty!Buttermilk ice cream presentationInside ice cream with citrus flavor
