George's California Modern - Wedding Reception

Date of Dining: 3/31/2013 

Location: 1250 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037
website

Due to my lack of writing lately, it looks like I will be doing the unthinkable and actually writing about the same place twice in a row!

While I'm not sure of the exact process involved with planning a wedding reception at George's, I do know that the bride and groom get to be involved with the menu to a large degree. As a result, the menu tends to get slanted towards seasonal versions of favorite dishes.

menu for the wedding

I was extremely fortunate to be invited my Yao of {insert-food} to his wedding. Yao worked with Chef Trey Foshee and his wife to develop a great menu for the wedding. As Yao hails from a family full of foodies and constantly enjoys culinary adventures with his wife, the food for his wedding was extremely important. While I don't know if it was his intention, I felt that Chef Foshee's food illustrated the themes of love between my friends and delivered the message in a way that only food can.

Canapes

As with any wedding, we started the evening with some canapes.

pea soup - chino farms peas, ham snow

The pea soup was very light and refreshing. Unlike other pea purees, the soup was not very viscous and worked nicely as a savory drink. The ham snow was a very nice touch that added just the right amount of seasoning to the soup. This dish was illustrative of flirting in a relationship. It lightly tickled the taste buds to get an interest before moving in for the next move.

lobster falafel - meyer lemon yogurt

The falafel had the perfect mix of lobster flavor with delicate spices. The lemon yogurt really tied together all the flavors and lowered the intensity of the spices. This was my favorite of the canapes. The falafel reminded me of when you find that common interest with the one you love as it really hooked me into the meal.

beef tongue tacos - cilantro, avocado, carrot

These were introduced as "beef tacos" since it was feared that some would not want to enjoy the tongue. Like other preparations of beef tongue I had at Georges, the tongue was cooked to perfection; there was a great balance of flavor, texture, and crunch. This course was more about the different textures and crunches as there was contrast between the tongue, the taco shell, and the pickled carrot. The Mexican flavors melded together very well and it was an enjoyable bite. The tacos were similar to the first fight a couple has as the crunch was similar to a fight, but the flavors were similar to the making up afterwards, forging and even stronger relationship.

First Course

chino farms peas - dungeness crab, almond milk sorbet, lettuce cream, yuzu, rhubarb

To me the first course was all about duality: the sweetness of the peas with the sweetness of the crab, the sweetness of the peas with the sweetness of the almond milk, the juxtaposition between the sweetness of the peas and the slight bitterness of the pea pods, the bitterness of the pea pods against the bitterness of the lettuce cream. All of these elements worked together to really illustrate that while the peas may be great alone, they are much better when paired with another. The amalgamation of the dish was an extremely complex, yet light and refreshing salad.

Second Course

mushroom stew - 60 degree egg, black truffle, roasted onion jam, potato foam

While chanterelle season has passed, the substitute of maitake and bushimeji mushrooms worked really well, and I hardly noticed the difference. This dish was every bit as good as I remembered it, and all I wanted to do was revel in the glory of the taste as all my other troubles were washed away. The stew had a very similar effect to love where one simply wants to enjoy the harmonic ecstasy of the moment. This dish was my favorite of the night.

Third Course (A)

lamb loin and shoulder - charred eggplant, peas, apple, pine nut risotto, lamb "caramel"

The lamb was cooked perfectly and the rich red meat flavors really shone through. The strong savory flavors of the lamb were held in check by the sweetness of the peas and the slight tartness of the apple. The lamb was similar to the strong raging passion of love while the vegetables were the sensible logic that holds back those emotions in public. Together, they formed a symbiosis that created a wonderful plate.

Third Course (B)

local black cod - peas, asparagus, fennel, razor clam-tomato broth, seaweed, meyer lemon

The black cod was cooked to be extremely delicate. The vegetable medley was a really nice textural contrast to the absolute delicacy of the fish. Meanwhile, the razor clams added a nice chewy element to the vegetables. The cod itself had a really nice and rich flavor, but it was really highlighted by the fennel. While the cod was the star of the dish, it only succeeded when backed with the fennel, whose contrast allowed the cod to really shine through. 

Fourth Course

ginger panna cotta - vanilla crumble, tangerine, cucumber sorbet

The panna cotta again illustrated duality: the panna cotta itself was extremely spiced from the ginger, while the cucumber sorbet immediately cooled the palate. The orange and vanilla paired off with the panna cotta, but the cucumber was the voice of reason and brought the situation back to balance. 

Fifth Course

left - banana tiramisu - banana cake, espresso, marscapone cream, chocolate mousse, buttercream
right - hazelnut almond - praline, nutella mousse, swiss meringue buttercream
by Jenny Wenny Cakes

Both cakes were extremely moist and very well put together. I really enjoyed the banana tiramisu as it wasn't as sweet, which allowed the flavors of the banana and espresso to shine through more clearly. The hazelnut almond cake was also very enjoyable as the flavor of hazelnut was pervasive throughout. Overall, both cakes were enjoyable.

Conclusion

Overall I thought Chef Foshee did a great job with the wedding menu. I really thought his interpretation for the wedding dishes to highlight different facets of love was a wonderful interpretation of the relationship. As my friends had a hand in choosing the dishes, I felt that I learned a lot about them and their love for one another as I was eating the food. It was a truly masterful job and great culmination to a beautiful wedding day. I hope Yao and his wife have many years of happiness and wonderful life together. I hope they will live in good health and that their kids will also have good health. Finally, I hope they enjoy their honeymoon in Japan! (Yao, no blogging allowed during the honeymoon!)

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George's California Modern - New Years Eve 2013

Date of Dining: 1/31/2012
Price: $75 for 4 course prix fixe
Location: 1250 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037
website

The Quick Bit

+ high quality innovative dishes

+ great service and front of house

+ nice selection of wines

Δ some small inconsistencies in food

Δ dishes could have been explained better

For those wondering, I am still alive but I've been quite busy traveling around the country the past few weeks. While I did eat many a great meal, I decided not to try and get past TSA with my camera as I wasn't checking any bags, so unfortunately we'll have to re-live a few older experiences.

While I've covered TBL3 quite extensively, it's been awhile since I've visited George's for the regular menu. While my previous experience wasn't that great, I hoped that I would enjoy the "regular menu" more during this visit.

I ended up visiting as part of the New Years Eve 2013 celebration with a group of other foodies. When we sat down, we noticed a red wine stain on the tablecloth as well as some hairs as if the table had not been properly bused prior to our seating. When we pointed it out to the wait staff, they promptly re-set the entire table and gave a complimentary round of champagne for the table, which I thought was a great, Michelin quality move.

First Course

smoked beef tongue carpaccio - winter truffles, comte, burnt onions, thyme pearls

I ordered this dish remembering the fabulous beef tongue dish from TBL3. While this was not those standards, I still found the dish very enjoyable. There was a nice balanced smoky flavor on the perfectly prepared beef, and the onion and comte was the perfect complement to the dish. The only downside was that I did not detect any truffle as was advertised, but fortunately I felt the plate was great even without it.

Second Course

chanterelle stew - 60 degree egg, roasted onion jam, potato foam

As I previously pointed out, I felt this dish was one of the best of all of 2012. The creamy unctuousness of the egg was balanced with the harmonious earthy flavors of the chanterelles that were stewed to a soft texture so that the entire dish sung of umami flavors. The onion jam added just a touch of sweetness to brighten the dish as well. 

Third Course

roasted duck - beets, cocoa, black pepper gnocchi, strawberry, buckwheat, sorrel

The duck was cooked perfectly and the skin retained a nice crispy texture. The gnocchi were cooked to a nice soft pillow and worked well against the sauce. I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the sweetness of the beets, the bitterness of the cocoa, and the tartness of the strawberries. The elements were deconstructed on the plate, but amalgamated to a nice complex and rich sauce.

Fourth Course

goat cheese panna cotta - cranberry compote, orange segments, bacon, sage gel, honey foam

I really enjoyed the contrast between the bacon bits and the dairy flavors of the panna cotta. I also felt that the safe gel and honey foam really provided nice highlights to brighten up the flavors of the dish. Unfortunately, the crust of the panna cotta was too hard; it was difficult to eat and didn't seem to add any interesting flavors to the dish. Fortunately it was easy to scoop the panna cotta off the crust and enjoy the meal without the hazard.

Conclusion

Overall, my second visit to George's was much more successful than the first visit. While there may have been some roadblocks, the front of house skillfully overcame those obstacles and made the entire evening a night to remember. The chanterelle stew was one of the best dishes I had all year, and I can't wait to potentially see it again in the future.

While TBL3 won the terrabyte, the regular George's California Modern is still a great destination, and is awarded the gigabyte award.

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2012 gastrobits awards

After some a short absence, I was compelled to make an update based on my 2012 year end awards.

Looking back at 2012, it was the year where I truly embraced food writing. I set a torrid pace to start the year and then experienced some burn out as we neared the end. Looking back at all the photos, there's so many good dishes that I had during the year. For this year's awards, I've decided to just highlight the best dishes and assign them some arbitrary awards.

Best New Restaurant - Akinori Sushi

Akinori opened just recently has and has been serving an inspired trendy style of high quality sushi. If you like your sushi in the kaiseki style (some hot dishes as well as sushi), then Akinori is the place to experience omakase done right.

Best Vegatable Dish

carrot - TBL3 @ George's California Modern

The carrot cooked from the coffee crust grill was an amazing preparation. The carrot was prepared to actually taste similar to meat in heartiness and texture. The flavors meshed together incredibly well.

Best Ethnic Thai

som tum muazuar - Zabb Elee (NYC)

This papaya salad from Zabb Elee was a masterpiece. There was a wide range of flavors and textures while delivering a rich thai flavor. Best of all, it only cost $10. Unfortunately, you'll have to fly to New York City to sample this dish.

Best Ethnic Latin

octopus - Mision 19 (Tijuana)

The octopus from Mision 19 had a variety of latin flavors with incredible technical execution. Each octopus was cooked very well and had a complex range of sauces to highlight the flavors and texture of octopus. Not only was this dish the best Latin, dish but it was one of the best dishes of the year.

Best Ethnic Chinese

famous prawn in hot wok - Lao Hunan (Chicago)

The prawns were cooked perfectly in the hot wok and had a great balance of flavors and spice to resemble Thai food to some extent. The accompanying garnish added a lot of flavor in the form of herbs and spices to add depth to the dish. 

Best Noodles

tonkotsu ramen - Tsujita (Los Angeles)

The tonkotsu ramen at Tsujita packs a might flavor punch as the broth is boiled for 60 hours prior to serving. The result is an extremely thick and luxurious essence of pork flavor.

Best Ethnic Italian

tagliolini nero - Balena (Chicago)

The squid ink pasta from Balena was sauced perfectly and contained a great amount of flavor of both sea urchin and crab. This is pasta cooked properly

Best Ethnic Japanese

matsutake mushroom soup - Akinori

The matsutake mushroom soup was full of fresh seafood cooked to perfection along with a slow cooked mushroom soup. The flavor of the mushroom transferred well into the broth and was an extremely surprising and fulfilling highlight to the omakase meal.

Best Sandwich

porchetta sandwich - Ariccia Italian Market

The porchetta at Ariccia is amazing in flavor. Recently, the pig was changed to a local acorn-fed pork, which has imparted even more flavor into the finished porchetta product.

Best "Pizza"

tuna crisp - Flavor Del Mar

With nothing comparable to Pizzeria Mozza, the best "pizza" I had was the tuna crisp at Flavor. The mix of the tuna with the umami crisp underneath was the perfect bite.

Best Raw Preparation

raw beef - Totoroku

The raw beef dishes were all amazing at Totoroku, but none were more impressive than the beef throat. The yield to serve a table of 4 requires the slaughter of 1.5 cows. The throat has an incredible balance of natural fat with a pure beef flavor. I enjoyed the raw beef throat even more than the finest toro.

Best Seafood Dish

salad of dungeness crab - A Simple Supper with Gavin Schmidt

The dungeness crab salad capture the pure essence of crab flavor to explode in my mouth. The accompanying spring vegetables really highlighted the sweetness of the crab dish. To top it off, there was some special preparation to the gelatinous wrap that could only be served in an underground dinner.

Biggest Surprise Dish

chanterelle stew - George's California Modern

I didn't eat this until there was 38 minutes left of 2012, which was the first surprise. The second surprise was the incredible unctuous texture of the dish. It was simultaneously rich, while being anchored with the earthy flavors. Each bit was also incredibly light and delightful.

Best Dessert

watermelon, prosciutto, love & break dancing - Evolve Explore Your Senses

The dessert from Jeff Bonilla was not only one of the best desserts, but also nearly the best overall dish I had all year. It combined elements of the savory prosciutto to enhance the sweetness of the watermelon. Every bite was light and packed full of flavor.

Best Overall Dish

smoked beef tongue - TBL3 @ George's California Modern

The beef tongue in this dish had a delicious smoky flavor, but it was the brandade cream that really highlighted the dish. Each bite of this dish was a party in my mouth.

Best Overall Restaurant - George's California Modern

With another awesome TBL3 and a well executed New Years Eve, George's California Modern takes home the title of best restaurant 2012. George's raised its gastrobit rating from gigabyte to terabyte and includes a great wine list worthy of the oenobyte. Last but not least, I had an incident during my New Years Eve experience that was handled masterfully by the front of house. Another food writer commented that it was a "Michelin move," and I agree.

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Banker's Hill Bar and Restaurant

Date of Dining: 11/25/2012
Price: $10-13 appetizers, $15-20 entrees
Location: 2202 4th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
website

The Quick Bit:

+ high quality local food at more reasonable prices

+ good portion size

+ among the best desserts I've had at any restaurant

Δ it was difficult to carry a conversation due to the acoustics

Δ unnaturally dark room

About three years ago, James Beard finalist Chef Carl Shroeder opened Banker's Hill Bar and Restaurant to expand his culinary empire out of Del Mar. The concept of the restaurant was that it should serve as an everyday neighborhood restaurant where people can go to enjoy some drinks and get some good food at affordable prices. I actually visited Banker's Hill about a month into its opening and enjoyed the food, but thought the portions were too small to follow up the "affordable prices."

Within the ensuing three years, Chef Shroeder was a finalist for the James Beard Award and has made some changes as owner of  Banker's Hill while still remaining head chef of Market Restaurant and Bar. Chef Ted Smith heads the kitchen of Banker's Hill. Prior to Banker's Hill, Chef Smith served under Chef Shroeder at Market. Meanwhile, at Banker's Hill, Chef Smith has carried out Shroeder's culinary vision.

The #5

As Banker's Hill also serves as a local watering hole, it is vital that the drinks are good. The #5 was a spin off of a mojito infused with cucumber. I really enjoyed the freshness from the drink and it served as an excellent palate cleanser in between courses. I did feel that the cocktails were a bit expensive as they seemed to retain the Del Mar pricing.

First Course:

coriander spiced albacore tuna tartare - sesame seed crackers, serrano chili vinaigrette, lemon aioli

The quality of the albacore was top notch, and the quality of the fish really shone through in this dish. The serrano vinaigrette was had a nice touch of heat to really liven the dish. The sesame crackers worked out really well as they contributed a hit of umami to unify the flavors within the dish. While I did enjoy the coriander, I did feel that it was a bit strong for a more delicate fish such as albacore. However, it did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the dish.

roasted beet salad - citrus vinaigrette, shaved fennel, marcona almonds, caprasan goat cheese

The beet salad was extremely refreshing and extremely satisfying. The beets were cooked to perfection, while the almonds added a crunch, the goat cheese added a savory flavor, and the fennel brought in much needed freshness. The entire dish was extremely well rounded and enjoyable in every way. While it was "just" a beet salad, this particular salad was executed to perfection.

Entree

bone in pork chop - brussels sprouts, sweet potato, homemade apple sauce, maitake mushrooms

For the entree, we decided to share the pork chop; we were lucky we made this decision as the chop was enormous. While the pork was cooked a little more than I like (we weren't asked about temperature), it still retained a a nice moisture. The pork itself was really well cooked, and the combination of pork and mushrooms was extremely satisfying as it had a great umami flavor. I also enjoyed the sweet potatoes to go with the pork. Unfortunately, the apple sauce and brussels sprouts did not work as well - the apple sauce was a little too sweet and overwhelmed the pork (this is usually why you need to cook the apples with the pork), while the brussels sprouts were too salty. Fortunately these elements were easy to separate and the dish was saved.

Dessert

seasonal fruit crostata - pear crostata, ice cream

For dessert, we enjoyed the seasonal fruit crostata made of pears. The crostata was baked fresh and was extremely enjoyable. Further, the ice cream was of top quality and the hot and cold contrast of the hot tart to the ice cream made for a satisfying conclusion to the meal. For a mere $7, this dessert was a real home run in price to deliciousness ratio.

Conclusion

Chef Carl Shroeder excels at executing his dishes to perfection. For a neighborhood restaurant such as Market, this is the perfect formula to success. Since my previous visit, the portion sizes have increased dramatically to justify the prices and serve as an every day stop. I was extremely happy with the mostly well-executed food, and would recommend Banker's Hill to anyone looking for a casual low-key, but delicious meal. While the prices are still a bit beyond "every day" they are reasonable for the quality of food that is served.

For executing the vision of the restaurant so well, Banker's Hill Bar and Restaurant gets a megabyte award.

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TBL3 @ George's California Modern (November 2012)

Date of Dining: 11/8/2012
Price: $170 for TBL3, $80 for wine pairing
Location: 1250 Prospect, La Jolla, CA 92037
website

The Quick Bit

+ seasonal ingredients prepared masterfully

+ great selections of wine for pairing

+ completely different experience from previous TBL3

Δ the storytelling of the experience could have been more consistent

While I've enjoyed a variety of other tasting experiences in the past year, it would have been wrong of me to not visit the penultimate progressive meal this year (and during my personal favorite food season of the year). During the TBL3 meal last year, I learned much more about Chef Trey Foshee's food and was so happy that many of the dishes won my end of the year awards.

For this TBL3, many other food writers were included - it was organized by Yao at {insert-food} and also included Rodzilla as well as (newly launched) Foodie Flirt. It was a great opportunity to catch up with Yao after his trip to Australia and meet Foodie Flirt for the first time.

Perhaps as a disclaimer, I've been sick for about a week prior to this meal, but felt good enough to go eat the food. I feel like I was able to taste about 80% of the flavors but may have missed some of the more delicate touches.

First Course

local lobster - spiny lobster leg meat, citrus whipped cream, northern divine salmon roe,
jerusalem artichoke, sorrel
pairing: NV Henry Devernay Brut

The meal opened with the seasonal spiny lobster of local waters. I sampled a piece of the leg meat at first and I was really surprised to discover that the flavor was in fact more intense in the leg meat. The citrus cream was really well done in that the cream was extremely smooth in flavor but the citrus really came through in the flavor. The caviar added a nice element of saltiness. Taken together, the entire dish really worked nicely as an opening course.

Second Course

cup covers the smoke inside the oyster

oyster - fannie bay oyster, candied buddha's hand, apple, celery root puree, smoke
pairing: NV Henry Davernay Brut

As the cup was lifted, a pervasive smoky aroma permeated through the air. The smelling experience of the smoke was truly part of the dining experience. The oyster itself was extremely creamy and had a nice flavor. The celery root puree added a creamy textural component to carry through the dish, which the apples added a bit of sweetness and textural contrast.

Third Course

cup that was covering the oyster

pairing: GCT - gin and tonic with celery and candied buddha's hand

beef tongue - brandade cream, cherry tomatoes, purslane, germanium

This was the best dish of the night for me; moreover this is a strong contender for best dish of the year. Chef Foshee described this dish as a "play on smoke" with the previous dish and also his take on a vitello tonnato.

The beef tongue was incredibly tender and contained a strong essence of beef flavor. It was complemented with the incredible salted cod flavor of the brandade cream. The greens enhanced the flavors of everything and added a needed acidic contrast. When I had everything in my mouth and bit into the tomato, the tomato juice literally burst the flavors throughout my palate as an explosion.

To cap off the dish, the drink was incredibly well done. The smoke in the glass really worked well with the gin and tonic and the celery and candied buddhas hand added a very nice flavor.

Fourth Course

peas - chino farm pea puree, tosse peas, lettuce puree, lemon foam
pairing: 2008 Gutzler Pinot Noir (blanc)

While I was wondering what could possibly follow the amazing beef tongue, this dish was an incredible followup that completely caught me off guard. At first we were wondering if peas were in season, but were informed that there are actually two pea seasons and that the fall pea season is preferred because the sugars in the peas are a bit purer in flavor. This pea puree was incredibly flavorful and supplemented well with the perfectly al dente crunchy peas. The popping texture was an amazing feeling in the mouth. Finally, the lemon foam really worked in brightening the dish and adding a bit of acid without compromising the quality of the peas.

Fifth Course

turnips - sous vide turnip, seaweed butter, uni, white truffle
pairing: 2009 Evening Land 'Summum' Seven Springs Vineyard Chardonnay

Chef Foshee came tableside to shave the white truffles on top of the turnips - this is actually my first time to have white truffle, and I can definitely confirm that I prefer it to black. The aroma of the truffle was enough to still permeate through my sick haze and I really enjoyed the aroma.

What I really enjoyed in this dish was the strong umami flavors complemented by the earthy truffles. The turnip cooked sous vide oozed of umami, but was topped with the seaweed butter that even further enhanced these flavors. The uni added a nice salty and seafood contrast while the earthiness of the truffles rounded out the dish.

Sixth Course

chino farms squash - butternut squash puree brussels sprouts, persimmon, pomegranate, brown butter sauce
pairing: 2011 Long Shadow's 'Poet's Leap' Riesling

(photo provided by insert-food - my camera battery died and I lost the save of this photo)

The squash was prepared very nicely as the puree had a really sweet and creamy flavor that was complemented but the crunchiness of the pomegranate seeds. This course was perhaps somewhat lacking without the wine pairing, but really made sense when drinking with the wine. The squash and other fruits acted as the "front end" component to the wine while the Riesling had an incredible long and complex finish to carry through the dish.

Seventh Course

poached chicken - poached chicken, chicken jelly, chicken skin, maitake mushroom
pairing: 2009 Weingut Knoll gruner veltliner

Prior to the meal, Chef Foshee found out I was sick and joked that he would include some chicken soup on the menu; I imagine he was referencing this dish when he mentioned that comment. When Rodzilla read the tweet, he jokingly blamed me for "wasting" a course while Yao and I assured him that it would include some other fabulous ingredients.

While I'm not exactly sure how to interpret this dish, I still felt that it was a great take on a deconstructed chicken soup. The chicken jelly acted as the broth while the poached chicken pieces were the meat. The raw matsutake mushrooms were sliced very thinly and acted as noodles. Those three components taken together had a very soulful and delicate amalgamation of flavor. While the chicken skin was absolutely delicious and a great textural crunch, the boldness of the flavor did somewhat cover the other delicate flavors. However, it was still a great component to be included in the dish.

Eighth Course

snapper - snapper, grapefruit, verbena, fish bone and verbena stock
pairing: 2010 Salwey Pinot Gris

As this was more of a delicate flavor dish, I felt that I perhaps missed some of the delicate flavors from being sick. I really enjoyed the quality of the snapper in the raw form.

Ninth Course

swordfish - swordfish a la plancha, chino farms yellow, green, white cauliflower, italian parsley, bacon
pairing: 2010 Chateau Thivin Gamay

The cauliflower had three preparations - grilled, raw, and puree - and really was the star of the dish. The different contrasts of the cauliflower really supplemented the flavor of the swordfish and added moistness to the fish. The bacon added nice bits of salitness as well.

Tenth Course

soil-crust grill - salt, egg white, star anise, cafe motto coffee

carrot - yogurt, carrot jam
pairing: 2008 Falcor Sangiovese

This dish was a complete revelation and the playfulness was extremely enjoyable as well. The carrot was rich enough to act as a protein from the soil-crust grill and retained much of the coffee flavors. The house made yogurt was incredibly tasty and the sourness of it acted as a nice contrast with the rich earthy sweetness of the carrot. The carrot jam added a nice sweet tartness to really round out the flavors of the dish. 

Eleventh Course

lamb - paella rice, hollandaise squid ink, seaweed, lamb, squid, lamb jus
pairing: 2003 Chateau Simard

A classic surf and turf rounded out the savory courses. The cooking temperatures of every component on the plate was spot on. I especially enjoyed the squid preparation. One interesting thing I found about this dish was that eating each of the proteins with the other components worked well, but eating them together also brought out an entirely different flavor profile that was enjoyable as well

Twelfth Course

frozen yogurt - late season kumquat, kalamata olive,bourbon, vanilla gelee

This course served as a great palate cleanser with the acidity from the kumquat. The frozen yogurt was also extremely well done with the vanilla gelee enhancing the vanilla flavors of the yogurt. What really worked in the dish was the kumquat olive and bourbon mix that complemented the flavors of the vanilla frozen yogurt.

Thirteenth Course

brown butter pear - pear, hazelnut, parsnip panna cotta, parsnip chip
pairing: 2008 domain de durban muscat de beaumes de venise

When Chef Foshee brought out this dish, I was extremely impressed with his description of the parnsnip chip - he described it as a "dynamic garnish." The way my parsnip chip was bent into the great shape, I thought it was dynamic indeed. The pairing of the pear and parsnip was an excellent choice as it contrasted a root vegetable sweetness with the sweetness of a fruit. The hazelnuts was the intermediate earthy flavor that tied the elements together, and the dynamic garnish even seemed to emulate the branches of the tree. I appreciated that this dish was not too sweet, but was packed with flavor.

Fourteenth Course

chocolate cremeux - red wine quince, sesame brittle, cumin ice cream, chocolate cremeux
pairing: 2009 cargasacchi 'invincible sun' late harvest pinot grigio

This was the first time I had quince and I was really impressed with this preparation. There was a nice sweetness and tartness to the dish that really worked well with the cumin ice cream. If I had to pick a star of the dish, it was the cumin ice cream. The spice of the cumin was just the right level to work with the quince and also enhance the flavors of the cremeux. The cremeux was a nice and rich dark chocolate flavor that was a nice way to finish off a meal.

Conclusion

While I felt my first TBL3 experience was a real showcase of Chef Foshee's culinary vision and talent, this experience combined that vision and really showcased all the flavors of fall as well. So many of the components in our meal were extremely seasonal to this time of the year and they were featured prominently throughout the meal. While I consider myself having eaten many things, it was great to enjoy this meal with several components that flavors that I haven't had previously - namely the white truffles, quince, and buddha's hand (as more than a garnish). 

The company I had to enjoy the meal was superb as well. I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones as well. 

 While the service was much improved from the last meal, it still has a small ways to improve. While I felt that there was a progression and story to this meal, I got lost in the story somewhere in the middle. Had there been a bit more consistency to how the dishes were brought I feel that the experience would be perfect.

Still TBL3 is easily San Diego's premier tasting experience. My experience at TBL3 this year is enough to upgrade my award to the coveted Terrabyte award. Congratulations Chef Foshee!

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