Last minute decision to go here for lunch/brunch. I had a great solo dining experience here last October, so was happy to come back and I was starving since I had gone for a run this morning and this was pretty late for me to eat.
We were served the coffee cake to start, but really it was a large blueberry muffin and definitely not “just baked” or warm, but it was still pretty good. We both started with bloody mary’s – Ketel One vodka one for Andrea and I asked for one with mezcal, which ended up tasting great. Andrea went with the Blossom Bluff Summer Stone Fruits, the Butter Poached Maine Lobster Benedict, an d the Farmstead Cheeses. I went with the Dry-Aged San Francisco Rock Cod Crudo, the Herb-Crusted Don Watson Lamb Noisette, and the Beignets (which I enjoyed last time)
The canapé was Miyagi oysters with a bloody mary granita. I only though it was ok. Our first courses came out. The presentation on both were nice. My crudo had the makrut lime oil placed on my dish tableside with a dropper. I thought it was decent although the beef carpaccio I had last time was better. Andrea’s stone fruit dish was very good. I didn’t really read the description in the menu, but on tasting it I was pleasantly surprised at how savory the dish was thanks to the Sleeping Beauty cow’s milk cheese, chopped pistachios, and little bits of chorizo.
For our mains, my lamb dish definitely looked and seemed more like a dinner entree, but the lamb was quite tasty (they were cooked medium and I would have preferred medium rare). Andrea’s lobster benedict was fantastic (I had this last time) and I definitely helped her finish it. The english muffin was somehow more tasty than most any english muffin I’ve had, so that helped.
We were both getting pretty full by dessert. Andrea’s cheeses were Nicasio Square, Sleeping Beauty, and Bay Blue with a crisp of some kind, honey, some roasted nuts (but not candied or sweet) and a fruit compote. I liked the Nicasio Square and the Sleeping Beauty which was Andrea’s favorite. We weren’t that impressed with the Bay Blue. My beignets were as good as I remembered. They were freshly made and still quite warm and moist and all the better with the crème anglaise (with flecks of vanilla bean) and the dark chocolate. The dark was quite dark which was a pleasant surprise (most people would prefer milkier I would hazard to guess), but i still preferred the simplicity of the crème anglaise.
I’d be happy to come back again, although I might just go with my tried and true choices. I do still want to come back to sit at the bar and get a burger and martini sometime too.
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