However, this year, I decided that I didn't want to be a sad bear again. Instead I made a dinner reservation at Chef Mavro, and set forth to have a delicious meal. They only do prix fixe menus, and although they do allow substitutions (so you can change what you get in your N-course meal), they also offer the "Grand Degustation," which supplies a tasting size of everything on the menu. Even though I live here, and could theoretically go every week, and slowly try everything, I figured that if I'm going to do this, I might as well do this right:
Helpfully, since I'd signed up for a thirteen course meal, they supply a personalized menu to follow along with. I did not go with the wine pairings, because although that would have been nice, I did have to drive myself home afterwards. I did start with the Domaine Huet, 2007 vouvray "Le Haut Lieu" (the swordfish pairing). I think this was my favorite wine of the evening, as it had a sharp acidic taste that cut through a lot of the richness of the first courses.
Let's go course by course:
Amuse Bouche: vichyssoise, sumida farm watercress foam
My first thought was "this tastes like a garden." The watercress foam adds a very herb-y taste to the incredibly smooth vichyssoise. I'm not particularly fond of watercress, but this worked well.
Roasted Maitake Mushroom: sesame accented artichoke puree, pickled shallot, yuzu vinaigrette
I don't think I've had maitake before, but I've certainly heard of them before, given that Iron Chef Japan used them in nearly every episode. I will certainly be seeking them out in the future. It simply has the best mushroom flavor ever. The artichoke puree was somewhat lost in the richness of the maitake, but the shallots and vinaigrette offered a nice sharp contrast. This was when I started to realize that this had been a good decision.
Tako cevice: wow farm tomato granite and juice seasoned with espelette, jalapeno cucumber brunoise, red onion shavings
I don't like octopus. If the Cthulhu spawned sea demons were wiped out, I wouldn't particularly mind. If they were wiped out by being converted into this, I would probably join in to help. The tomato granite had a super strong flavor, and the other veggies added flavor that tako usually lacks. My other main complaint about tako is the texture, as it's usually impossibly chewy. I suspect that being marinated in such an acidic sauce is the reason that's not the case here, but it was certainly nice to see my main issues with the main ingredient completely solved.
Oh no! The shame of dripping on the tablecloth!
Ahi Tartare & Caviar: taro chips, ponzu sauce
This shows up in a lot of places as many people's favorite dish, an opinion seconded by one of the waitresses. The tartare is served on a "country crouton," which was not crispy as I expected, but served as a great base to hold it all together. I, of course, knocked it all over the place, and had to use the taro chip to help push it all back together. In any case, this is delicious, and it's certainly understandable why this is so popular. My definition of umami is pretty much now "did you eat that ahi tartare? Yeah, that's what umami is."
Shutome Crisped with Rice Flakes: island swordfish sauteed, indian poha rice, pressed white & red rice, jin hua ham, green papaya chutney, pondicherry almond vadouvan
Swordfish is pretty much always good, and the rice flakes add a good texture contrast. I should have realized before tasting that "pondicherry" is Indian, and so the curry flavor shouldn't have been a surprise. The pressed rice and ham cake was another texture contrast. It wasn't crispy, but wasn't simply a mushy wad of rice. It flaked apart releasing the chewy rice. This was another one of my favorite dishes, just because the blend of fish, sauce, ricecake, and chutney had a delightful range of flavors and textures to mix together.
By this point, I'd finished my glass of wine, and ordered a glass of the Domaine Michelot, 2007 Meursault, "Les Narvaux," which was the pairing for the next dish.
Keahole Lobster Risotto: white asparagus, essence of lobster
I think this was my favorite dish of the evening. Large chunks of lobster in the risotto, a nice chunk of tail, and a sea of lobster foam to scoop up with each bite. I don't know what else to say about this one. Maybe not as creative as the maitake or as wonderfully contrasting as the shutome, but the richness and flavor make up for it.
As a side note, this was the point where I started to think that a thirteen course meal was possibly larger than I was really ready for.
What's this?
The next course is served tableside by Chef Mavro himself. You can see the cute little googly eyes on the salt crust as he cuts it open. The picture is just of his hands because a) I hate having my picture taken, and assume everyone else is the same, and b) I had to get a good picture of googly eyes, because, duh, googly eyes.
Dayboat Snapper Baked in Hawaiian Salt Crust: tomato-ogo-fines herbes
Chef Mavro listed off all the herb ingredients in the sauce, but I quickly got lost. This was another course that immediately presented a single idea in my head: "flavor forest." Most things have only a few flavors that poke through and you can identify as "oh, cucumber," or "oh, onion." This sauce just had a smooth richness that seemed to my mouth to be hundreds of individual flavors all blending together into a dense "forest." The snapper was perfectly moist due to the salt crust, but was not salty at all. The bottom of the fish is protected by a bed of spinach (hidden in this picture, I think), and the top by the skin, which Chef Mavro removed before plating.
Since I was now moving away from the seafood portion of the meal, I got a red wine, the Fiddlehead Estate Pinot Noir, "Fiddlestix," a suggestion by the sommelier.
Kurobuta Pork: Loin roasted, crispy kau yuk, vanilla glazed molokai sweet potatoes, etuvee sumida farm watercress and essence, pork jus
Kau yuk is the pork belly on the left, and the loin is wrapped in swiss chard. I've mostly stopped eating pork, since it's so hard to find any in the store that has any flavor or fat at all. This pork did not have this problem, and makes me think that I'll be looking around for more of this. The sweetness of the potatoes was mirrored by the sweet potatoes, which were probably one of my favorite accompaniments of the night.
Certified Angus Filet Mignon: oxtail rillette dumpling, pickled baby beets, essence of pinot noir
It's not listed, but you can clearly see the oxtail gelatin sitting atop the dumpling. From this point on, I will not make fun of meat jellos ever again. The gelatin didn't have much flavor, but melted in my mouth to soak into the oxtail dumpling. The filet was cooked nicely, as can be seen by the pink color throughout. The thing that I noticed the most about the filet was how dense it seemed. Very good, but after everything else, steak just doesn't seem that adventurous.
I didn't take a picture until I was almost done with it, but on the right is a small tasting of the Domaine Dupont Tisserandot, 2004 Gevrey Chambertin, the pairing for the pork. The sommelier stopped by to pour the taste "just because." This was the wine that made me regret not choosing to take a cab and skipping the wine pairing. This wine had a spicy finish that would have gone wonderfully with the sweet pork. Live and learn, I guess.
Colorado Lamb "Djerba": roasted loin, brick crusted "moussaka," braised baby turnips, harissa-lamb jus
I was looking forward to this course, as lamb is pretty much my favorite meat (you might be able to tell this by the cut piece that I almost had in my mouth before remembering to take a picture). However, I was surprised to find that the moussaka was my favorite part. The rich flavor of the tomatoes and aubergines was a surprise. I don't think it would be possible for any one to eat this and then claim afterwards that they don't like eggplant. Of course, this isn't to say that the lamb wasn't good, especially with the harissa sauce. Since it was the loin, it wasn't as fatty as other cuts (despite what that sliver of fat would say), and therefore any "gamey" or "mutton-y" flavors were much diminished. I know I'm probably in the minority, but those flavors are why I like lamb, so I missed them.
Hawaii Island Fresh Goat Cheese Mousse: one minute strawberry jam, frankie's nursery green peppercorn, ma'o farm arugula salad.
The jam was a wonderfully sweet, and matched well with the gentle goat cheese mousse. I was wondering if the mousse would be very goat-y, but it really wasn't, having just enough to distinguish itself. The arugula was frustrating to pick up, given the soft base it was on, but that just forced it to pick up as much mousse as possible for each bite. The peppercorns (that's not a blackberry) were much stronger than I expected, but covers the woefully underappreciated strawberry/pepper flavor combination.
Alas, more tablecloth spot shame!
Pre-Dessert: molkai watermelon in champagne gelee
Four quick bites of crunchy, nearly frozen watermelon in a lightly flavored gelatin. This made me realize that I've not had any watermelon at all this summer, but given that each bite had as much flavor as most entire melons, I think I've made up for that. This also makes a good split between the rich savory flavors that precede it and the sweet treats that follow.
Dessert Trio
Pavlova "Moderne": seasonal berries poached in maple syrup, lemon scented creme fraiche, lychee sorbet
The pavlova serves here largely to present the berries, and the other berries seemed to me to simply be there to point out how delicious blueberries poached in maple syrup can taste. My first bite had one, and I immediately thought of biting into a homemade blueberry pancake, and getting just a berry and the syrup it's drenched in. Wonderful. The sorbet reminded me that I actually like lychee, and should eat more of them.
Lilikoi Malasadas: guava coulis, pineapple-coconut ice cream
I probably should have eaten this first, instead of going in menu order. The warm malasada had partially melted the ice cream, blending the two temperatures together. In any case, the fatty grease of the fried dough cut through the ice cream in a way I wouldn't have expected.
Valrhona Chocolate Cremeux: jasmine honey kanten & chantilly, cacao sand, fennel sesame crisp
This was my favorite dessert, as it's basically a super dense chunk of fudge. I have never thought of fennel and chocolate before now, but will have to start coming up with ways to pair these in the future. I think this works like the strawberry/pepper combo above: it's thoroughly unexpected, but after trying it, you wonder why it isn't more common.
Mignardises: mocha pave, cassis macaron, guava pate de fruit
Trio means four here. Or six. Or two times three. Whatever. These were single bite treats to wrap everything up. The mocha was another that I should have eaten in a different order. After the cremeaux, nothing chocolaty could come close. The macaron on the other hand, is the kind of thing I wish I could eat everyday. It crushes in your mouth to release the cassis cream center, with all the wonderful fruitiness that contains. The guava pate was a great finish, as after eating everything else, it's a simple, light, single flavor.
Thirteen courses and three hours later, I think it's a safe bet that this was a wonderful idea for a birthday dinner.
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