Gee! "D" posted! Good to hear from you.

Update on the Plumed Horse...

This has become my favorite restaurant in the entire south bay area. Chef Peter is absolutely amazing. He always has some great surprise. And the service has been impecable. Josh runs a tight ship. Whether it is the tasting menu in the main dining room or filet sliders in the bar I think the place can't be beat. I've put together a dozen or so wine dinners there in the past six months and everyone has been first class if not out of this world. And the value received for the money can not be IMO be beat.

Their wine list is one of the best in northern California too and corkage is negotiable. If you go tell them I recommended the place. That may be a good thing or a bad thing but who knows. The two somms are good friends. When you sit down ask for Paul or Robert and ask them about corkage.

Anyone been to Gervais in Saratoga nearby Plumed Horse? Thoughts?
http://www.gervaisrestaurant.com/

My wife and I went and it was really good...Casual, good timing of each course, seared gras touchon and filet with foie gras were excellent, price was reasonable.

Haven't been to Gervais since they moved from the Rose Garden location off Park Avenue. Back then they were very good with reasonable prices.

Welcome to Vinocellar John! Post often!

This thread is so timely.

I am heading to San Jose this coming week!

Thanks eveyone!

CM,

Send me your itenerary. I've got a bottle of Opus for you sitting in the corner of the cellar.

David, David, David.

I know it has been a long time since we spoke about this but I wil refresh your memory!

It was a '47 Cheval Blanc or a Screaming Eagle. Remember??
I had my pick of the litter!!

Carefully keep your eyes on the swinging watch in front of your eyes as I say..........................

Chevaaaallllll. Screeeeagle.....!!!!!



Trip details to follow in a pm. Looking forward to seeing you!!

 
 

Charles Shaw?
He is my x.

David, I just sent an email. Please let me know if you received it.

I still can't figure out how to do pm's.

S-l-o-w!

Having dinner tonight (Tuesday, 7/29) at James Randall in Los Gatos.  They're having a dinner for Bill Brosseau.  We're sharing a table with his mom and dad.  I don't know if there are any places left but if you're don't have plans you should come along.  It is $100 though so not cheap and you need a reservation.  

They did a good job at James Randall. The place is small and because it was a wine dinner with several tables of six or eight it was quite noisy. The food was really delicious and Bill's wines really outstanding; much better than they have been in the past. The chef did a super job of pairing the food to the wines. A totally enjoyable 4.5-hour dinner.

Wow, this thread needs a dusting.

Went to Manresa last night. We last went there over three years ago for my 45th bday; it was a disaster. We had multiple emails with the restaurant and even some of the owners. Well, we waited this long, because I don't really like to gamble when spending >$400 on a dinner for two.

Why don't I like to gamble? Because sometimes you lose... like last night. The sad part is that Manresa is a TFL "wanna be". The amuse bouches are outstanding; the parmesan churro with anchovy butter is excellent, as is the amazing soft coddled egg with crème fraiche, sherry vinegar, chives, and coarse sea salt. The flavors play on the tongue amazingly well together.

Then you reach the main meal. For the appetizers, we had "Into the garden" and the "Corn and tomato salad". Neither dish was compelling. Into the garden is supposed to showcase the freshest ingredients from their garden, and the waiter recommended the corn&tomato salad. There was just nothing noteworthy about either dish; yes, the flavors were fresh, but I could do as well or better at home with a short trip to the local farmers market. The chef has a thing for foam; foam was a big thing a few years back, but none of the dishes were enhanced by the presence of the foam.

Next we had the monterey bay abalone and the waiter-recommended black cod. The smokiness of the black cod dish was overwhelming; the abalone was merely adequate. I was amazed that parts of the abalone were overcooked, but compared to the black cod I was unwilling to complain.

For the main course, we had the meyer lemon duck and the saddle of lamb. The lamb was a solid dish; nothing to rave about, but certainly nothing wrong. The duck, on the other hand, was atrocious. They should be ashamed to serve such a dish; it was so tough that we had to request a sharper knife. Then, it was so chewy that we may as well have requested duck flavored chewing gum. Clearly it was undercooked; even an amateur chef should be able to do better.

At the end, we had caramelized Brioche which was acceptable, along with the cheese course. If we could go for only the cheese course, I would go all the time. Fantastic cheeses, the server was extremely knowledgeable. The cheese course was the highlight of the entire evening.

All of this for $450 for 2 people. Wine pairings were competent, but nothing stood out as extraordinary.

Bottom line: spend the money to drive to Napa where there are a number of excellent restaurants of this type. I will not ever return to Manresa. In the south bay we have a lot of great restaurants of various types; we will just have to muddle through without a french laundry imitation.