Café Pinot

Upon hearing Chef Kevin Meehan taking helm at Café Pinot, I was drawn to try this place. To my surprise, the night I visited is when Chef Meehan went out of town and Sou-Chef Brandon Dorsey took helm. Since I'm there and I was feeling a bit adventurous that night, I just thought "what the heck" and went along with it. And to my WTH, I was not disappointed, and the following is why.

1a) Tuna Tartar/Smashed Avocado/Tomato Mousse

The fresh tuna tartar is light and refreshing, combined with the smashed avocado and fresh tomato mousse purée creates a mildly sweet flavor to the starter. 

1b) Lemon Dungeness Crab Salad/Grapefruit/Pepper Espuma

This crab salad draws in the natural flavor of the Dungeness crab and carries a tiny bit of saltiness with it. The grapefruit brings in a mildly sweet flavor, sort of a palate cleansing piece. The Espuma is nice, but perhaps my palate is working too hard on the dungeness crab, it completely overpowers the Espuma. Nevertheless, it's nice to have it there.  

2) Scallop "en Papillote"/Fennel/Mushroom/Artichoke

I call this "the mystery bag" since it came out literally a sealed bag. This bag of goodies, once opened, pops out a few nicely cooked scallop. Although cooked inside a sealed bag, these scallops are perfectly cooked. They are juicy and flavorful, while keep scallop's natural texture. The broth/juice is cooked with three different kinds of mushrooms: shitaki, button and oyster mushroom. It's clean, yet, rich in flavor. The complexity, yet,  simple ingredient of this dish surprises me the most. This definitely is one of my top dish of the night.

Ah...Look at the black Truffles.....

3) Arborio Rice/Black Truffle/Parmesano Reggiano

To my surprise, instead of the infamous Mushroom Risotto served at Cafe Pinot, I was offered a different version of the risotto, and it did not disappoint. The silky smooth and creamy risotto show case the strength of Chef Dorsey' skill. The black truffle added brings in a nice earthly flavor to this elegant dish. 

4) Beef Bourguignon/Smoked Fingerling Potatoes/Winter Vegetables/Rosemary Essence

According to Chef Dorsey, this is a Thomas Keller's inspired dish. The juicy steak here is very tender and carries a very nice "mama's cooking" flavor to it. The juice marinated through the potatoes and other vegetables, making this dish a "whole" dish. The potato was thoroughly cooked while the vegetable provided a nice complementary to this meat course. A very simple dish, yet, very close to home. This dish definitely carries Thomas Keller's ideal. 

Intermezzo - Raspberry/Mint/Selzer

The mildly sweet sorbet provides a nice palate cleaning effect, and the nice carbonated soda helps enhance that effect.

5a) Chocolate Mousse/ Hazelnut Crunch/Chocolate Soil/Chocolate Gelato

This mildly rich chocolate mousse, combined with the nice hazelnut crunch is best described as a really good version of the Ferrero Rocher. The chocolate mousse carries a nice chocolate flavor, yet, not too sweet while the hazelnut crunch provides the crispy part for the dessert. The paired chocolate gelato brings in the additional contrast to the dish, which I like, since it allows me to have a nice contrast of different kinds of chocolate. This dessert is one of the strongest dessert I've had thus far.

5b) Carrot Cake / Goat Cheese Mousse / Huckleberry / Carrots/ Ginger

I usually am not a carrot cake and a goat cheese fan, but I have to give Chef Dorsey credit that he made something that I can endure and enjoy, even though I dislike those ingredients. The carrot cake is mildly sweet while the goat cheese provides a nice contracts to it. Nice play of texture here.

It's definitely is a very successful night. Several dishes definitely got my attention and the menu Chef Dorsey had prepared for me definitely exceeded my expectation. The simple ingredient paired with elegant execution was not something that I have prepared for. It's a nice surprise and I am looking forward to try more of his creation in the future.