Dishcrawl Carlsbad - Gregorio's, Knockout Burger, Relm, Swirlicious

Date of Dining: 6/12/2013 
Price: $45 per dishcrawl ticket

The Quick Bit:

+ great event to meet fellow foodies

+ vibrant upbeat atmoshphere

Δ Some restaurants could have taken the event more seriously

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free media pass to the dishcrawl event.

I was surprised to receive an invitation to Dishcrawl Carlsbad as I have not been so active in blogging lately, but I was happy to attend the event and brush off my camera lens to take some food photos.
Dishcrawl is an event organized by foodies for other foodies; it occurs throughout many cities in the US and is growing. During a Dishcrawl, participants always pay $45 for a ticket and get to sample dishes from 4 restaurants along the way. During the Dishcrawl, participants also have the opportunity to talk with chefs, owners, or managers of the restaurants in order to gain some additional insight to the restaurant. For restaurants, Dishcrawl is a great way to showcase culinary specialties to those from out of the area while maintaining and strengthening support with loyal local customers.
I was surprised that our event included 29 participants and that restaurants in the Carlsbad Village had agreed to serve the foodies. Participants of the Dishcrawl ranged from cosmopolitan Carlsbad Village locals to wayfaring gastronomes from Hillcrest and Temecula. Overall, the group was vibrant and had a lot of energy. It was great to have the opportunity to chat with many others who were devoted to cooking and eating well-prepared food.

Gregorio's Italian Restaurant

Location: 300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Ste 208

website

The Dishcrawl started at Gregorio's, a favorite of the locals who have all long visited and developed favorite dishes. Gregorio's prepares a rustic Italian homestyle cuisine that strives to be "your kitchen away from home." Further, Gregorio's donates all profits to charity including the Boys and Girls club four nights a week! These actions of giving back to the community has really resonated well within the community.

shrimp aglio e olio - shrimp, linguini, olive oil, lemon

The shrimp dish was what the restaurant considered its signature dish - it was a healthier take on a shrimp scampi with some additional pasta. The dish contained a healthy amount of garlic that was pervasive throughout the palate. As a minor critique, the dish could have used a little more salt.

eggplant parmigiano - fried eggplant, mozzarella, pasta

The eggplant parmigiana is considered the most popular dish at Gregorio's and it was also my favorite of the trio. I really enjoyed the different layered textures within the dish as well as the rich complexities within the interplay of the eggplant and cheese.

sicilian chicken - chicken, breadcrumbs, fusili, vodka cream sauce

The final dish was the Sicilian chicken, which is another popular dish of the restaurant. The chicken was pounded and deep fried and combined with a fusili made with a vodka cream sauce. I thought that the vodka cream sauce was very well made and served well to cut the richness of the fried chicken. However, I also thought this dish needed some additional seasoning, especially within the breadcrumb batter itself.

Overall, I feel that Gregorio's was a great place for locals to enjoy. While there is nothing fancy about the food, it was still simple food prepared well. It is also amazing that the restaurant can donate profits to charity four days a week.

Knockout Burger

Location: 2971 Carlsbad Blvd

Knockout Burger is a local burger watering hole that is themed around boxing. It's an alternative to In-n-out, but also slightly more expensive.

Knockout Burger was a restaurant that totally didn't take the Dishcrawl seriously and lacked professionalism when dealing with such a crowd. While I can understand that the restaurant happened to get busy prior to our arrival, it still took more than 45 minutes for them to prepare the food for the group. It also seemed unreasonable that they felt all the food needed to be completed at the same time. For a small burger restaurant trying to serve 30 people, they simply should have prepared whatever food they could in whatever time they could and sent it out as it was completed, completely fresh.

Further, the restaurant could have provided some food during the long wait such as fries or free beverages as those are generally low cost items that would not impact sales margins. The way it worked out - the burgers were not completed until after we had already reached the next restaurant and finished the food at that establishment.

cheeseburger

The burger seemed to be a frozen patty as it was largely tasteless and lacked any caramelization that is traditionally expected from a burger. Further the lettuce was wilted and the sauce was waterlogged creating a completely washed out flavor. Finally, the meat to bun ratio was completely off as the "flavor" from the processed white breaded bun completely overwhelmed what flavor was left from the patty. To add insult the injury, the fries were chalky lumps of starch that had somehow managed to survive past their intended half-life.

chicken sandwich

The only thing worse than the fries was the chicken sandwich. The chicken was completely dry, and the waterlogged lettuce completely washed out any flavor whatsoever. The only redeeming quality to the chicken was that it was fully cooked so that I know I'm not going to be infected with salmonella.

Overall, the only good quality of knockout burger was it's name; the food knocked me out, and I'm actually surprised I didn't have to visit the hospital. Perhaps I'll need to send them a bill for cleaning out my toilet though. Stick with In-N-Out which is both cheaper and tastier, or better yet visit the gastrobits favorite fast food burger Elevation Burger while in Carlsbad.

Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro

Location: 2917 State St, Carlsbad, CA

website

The third stop of the Dishcrawl was Relm Wine.Beer.Bistro. I would classify the establishment mostly as an adult lounge as much of the seating is comfortable leather sofas that are spread throughout the room.

Relm's owner Rene Fleming serves as the establishment's curator, sourcing only special boutique wines in the restaurant. These wines are all small production, hard to find wines that have all passed the grade of Mrs Fleming's discerning palate. Most importantly, Relm is an acronym for relax, enjoy, laugh more and epitomizes the experience the Dishcrawl had while at the establishment.

mediterranean salad - strawberries, mixed greens, kalamata olives, cucumber, perponcinis, cherry tomatoes

The salad was a standard salad, but was still put together very well. All the ingredients were fresh and the flavors amalgamated in a satisfying combination even without the dressing.

hummus 

The hummus was a milder variation of hummus in that it didn't contain a lot of garlic. However, I found this to be good because garlic doesn't really go well with wine.

hot spinach artichoke dip

The dip was hot and went together well with the other elements. It also paired better with wine in comparison to some of the other offerings. I enjoyed that there were actual artichoke hearts within the dip.

Overall, Relm was my favorite stop of the Dishcrawl; the atmosphere was extremely comfortable and relaxed and the service was top notch. When the initial food ran out for the Dishcrawl group, they immediately re-filled all the food; the management was more concerned with satisfying the customer than padding their pocketbooks. I was also happy with the selection of wines at Relm as they truly seemed unique. I would definitely stop by Relm again if I was in the area, but in the meantime, I will hope for an outpost to open closer to where I live.

Swirlicious Frozen Yogurt

Location: 2992 State St, Carlsbad, CA

website

Swirlicious is a local spin off of the popular frozen yogurt places that have opened all around the country lately. While the owners have modeled the establishment after some of the more Asian yogurt establishments in San Diego, Swirlicious adds its own distinct ideas to the establishment as well.

At Swirilicious, one gets a cup and then fills it with as much yogurt and toppings as they desire. Yogurt flavors change monthly while toppings vary more frequently. From what I noticed, some of the toppings were truly unique; there were juice poppers which are pearl-shaped balls that contain flavored juice and a nice pop when chewed. Adding this topping would create a nice textural contrast against both the yogurt and other more traditional toppings.

swirlicious yogurt

I opted for a healthier yogurt selection as I got mostly the tart yogurt and filled up with fruits and nuts. The yogurt was very well flavored and all the toppings were fresh and added a unique flavor to the entire product.

Swirlicious is nice yogurt establishment that adds a dimension to the community that otherwise cannot be found. 

Conclusion

Overall, I found the Dishcrawl event to be a success. Many times when eating, it is not necessarily about what the food tastes like, but moreso about the company you enjoy while eating the meal. With a group of enthusiastic foodies, the experience was a great one as I was able to make many new friends and explore an area of town I have never been to otherwise. Further, there was easily enough food for everyone to enjoy.

Note: For the restaurants that participate in a Dishcrawl, it is important to keep some perspective - the participants of the Dishcrawl will be members of media, influential local food-lovers, and potential foodies from further away. When one takes the Dishcrawl seriously and delivers a good experience, the rewards are obviously. Conversely, by not taking the customers seriously, the consequences seem just as predictable. 

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Updates: Big News and a Dishcrawl

This will be a shorter post, but it will cover some news as I haven't written in awhile.

First, you can expect some major news to break in the next few weeks. In addition the news, I'll be looking to write about a few places I've been to the past few months as well. Look for these articles to hit starting this week.

Next, after starting in San Diego over a year ago, Dishcrawl is making its way to Carlsbad, and I've been invited to check out the event. Dishcrawl is an event that is completely open to the public where the attendees visit 4 restaurants in a region and have a chance to meet with the chef or owners of those restaurants to ask questions, while enjoying the signature dishes of each establishment. Overall, it should just be a great time in visiting with other like-minded foodies and having a great time. Expect a report of this next week. In the meantime, you can check out some past dishcrawls at the facebook page and discover which 4 restaurants will be featured by following the dishcrawl twitter @DishcrawlCarl.

For the next article, expect an update on a popular food truck with lots of soul...

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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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Collaboration Kitchen (Terra American Bistro) - July 2012

Chef Jeff Rossman

Date of Dining: 7/29/2012
Price: $65 per person
Location: Catalina Offshore Products, 5202 Lovelock St, San Diego, CA 92110
Collaboration Kitchen website
Terra American Bistro website

The Quick Bit

+ top quality fresh seafood products

+ interactive session with a professional chef

Δ courses could have been paced when the chef was not talking so that guests could mingle and enjoy the full dining experience

Collaboration Kitchen is a monthly cooking demonstration program put on by a partnership between Specialty Produce and Catalina Offshore Products. Each month, a chef from one of San Diego's top restaurants conducts a cooking demonstration and answers questions from the audience. It's very much like being on a live cooking show such as Emeril. (Update: It is also an event where proceeds benefit children for the Monarch School Backpack for Kids program. (I didn't receive a charitable donation receipt 501(c)(3) as a part of the event though))

The past month's demonstration was held by Chef Jeff Rossman of Terra American Bistro. Chef Rossman has no formal training in cooking, but instead worked his way up from a dishwasher at his family's restaurant. Eventually he learned from Boston Chef Michael Schlow before returning to San Diego to establish the Pam Pam Cafe and Grill. After that restaurant's success, Rossman convinced his family to open Terra, which he now owns and operates.  Chef Rossman's style uses all the elements of farm to table and integrates flavors of contemporary food from North, South, and Central America (I guess this means he cooks just about everything).

While I didn't really know what to expect coming into the event besides a lot of seafood, I did find the format a somewhat refreshing change of pace. The entire Catalina Offshore Products team played a large role in the entire dinner, and a team of volunteers prepared the food in the rear while Chef Rossman gave the demonstrations.

Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore Products

When arriving at the event, each person is given a printout of the recipes along with a plastic fork and spoon. No alcohol is served at the event, but guests can bring their own alcohol and are free to share. However, no glassware/stemware is provided so those wishing to have that will need to bring their own as well.

Food

scallop crudo - sprout salad, dijon vinaigrette, champagne grapes

The scallop was a high quality while the sprout salad brought a bitterness to contrast the sweetness of the scallop. Overall, the scallop was the star of the dish.

seafood sausage - lobster, fish, pickled cucumber, tarragon

While the menu spoke of lobster sausage, we ended up with a mix of lobster and sea bass. For me, this combination didn't work as the fish seemed to dominate the entire preparation. Additionally, the balsamic reduction on top of the sausage was perhaps uncalled for as the stronger flavor masked the delicate flavors of the seafood.

white sea bass - lobster spaetzle, uni sauce

This was the best dish of the evening. Specifically, the preparation of the lobster spaetzle was incredible. The spaetzle were cooked perfectly and really conveyed a flavor with the essence of lobster - they even worked well with the uni-sauce as a sort of pseudo-starch. The sea bass was cooked perfectly, but I'm not sure I found the flavor worked in harmony with the uni sauce. The richness of the bass had a minor skirmish with the richness of the uni, but this didn't detract from the overall impact of the dish.

At this point, some pomp and showmanship occurred as an entire yellowtail was brought out.

The Catalina Offshore team quickly broke down the fish and made a quick yellowtail crudo for everyone to enjoy.

As there was a large line around the crudo, I unfortunately didn't get a picture of the final dish. The crudo was excellent as the sauce was a great mix of soy with sesame and light wasabi. The freshness of the fish really came through and was the star of the show.

For the final dish, Chef Rossman brought out an assistant to help grill some of the yellowtail that had been broken down. To accompany the yellowtail, Chef Rossman made a Thai coconut curry sauce

grilled yellowtail - coconut milk, cucumber, carrot

Each plate came with three slices of grilled yellowtail. After eating the crudo, I felt that perhaps the fish was a bit overcooked. Ultimately, this dish lacked some seasoning as the flavors didn't really come out and sing. As the yellowtail was being grilled, there was a lack of seasoning in the cooking process, which detracted from the end product.

Conclusion

Overall, Collaboration Kitchen was a nice change of pace. Apparently this format has been going for the last two plus years, and each session has always sold out. While there were some great elements to the meal, there were some other elements flawed to the point where I somewhat question the price tag of the experience. (Update: Even with proceeds benefiting charity, I still feel the price was high when compared to a comparable event)

One thing I did enjoy was the interaction with the Chef. A lot of times, the Chef is hidden behind in the kitchen and you really don't get to know the Chef. Listening to Chef Rossman, I was able to get a nice idea about his personality and how his passion for food comes out in his recipes. For this reason, I would highly recommend attending a Collaboration Kitchen if one of your favorite Chefs is the one giving the demonstration.

I was still happy that I was able to have this experience, and look forward to dining in Chef Rossman's restaurant some time in the future.

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Evolve - Explore Your Senses

Date of Dining: 6/2/2012
Price: $79 for 8 course tasting
Location: 9340 Dowdy Dr, Suite 102, San Diego, CA 92126
website

The Quick Bit

+ very fun dinner

+ great innovative tasting combinations

+ exciting atmosphere and ambiance

+ well thought-out menu

+ foie gras protestors

+ no corkage fee

Δ foie gras protest

Before we begin, I figure I will explain the absence. Unfortunately, right after the previous post, my computer decided to get sick and ultimately die. Being a resourceful tech person, I attempted to rebuild my computer myself, but received some defective parts the first time through. Subsequently, when I re-installed all of my applications, I had some difficulty with syncing all of photos. Hopefully all the issues are resolved and we can get back to regular blog updates.

I've previously covered Evolve Cuisine Forward twice in this blog. While I had been hoping for more dinners, all good things come to an end, and this dinner was announced as the last for some time. The reason was that Chef Daniel Barron has some personal obligations to handle and would not be free to explore this culinary artistry for the foreseeable future.
However for the final Evolve dinner, Chefs Barron and Bonilla along with Mixologist Mike Yen decided to go for broke and finish with a big bang. The premise of this dinner was an "explore your senses" event. While we have five senses, we usually dine primarily with just the taste and sight senses. I've mentioned several times in my blog that when dishes incorporate smell, I usually come away impressed. While some experiences go dor sense deprivation (see Opaque), Chef Barron decided that he would create dishes that highlight each sense for this dinner.

Molecular Cocktails

I've been extremely impressed with the creations of Mixologist Mike Yen, and I was really looking forward to what he would have ready for this experience.

fig allagash - tequilla, clove, orange lemon foam, lemon juice

The flavors of the clove and citrus really came through in this beer cocktail. I really enjoyed the refreshing quality of the drink as it got me prepared for the small bites to precede the meal.

rapsberry cosmo - stoli rapsberry, white cranberry, gellan, lime, quantro

While I'm probably going to take a lot of heat making this comment, this cocktail was perhaps my favorite cocktail from Mike Yen. First the striking visual quality of the drink set it apart from the others. However, it had a gamut of flavors from sweet to tart to sour to refreshing. The pearls were similar to the tapioca balls, but much easier to chew and much tastier. The drink was a triumph on all levels.

Hors d'oeuvres

Chef Barron announced a voting contest on the hors d'oeuvres; each was prepared by one of his sous chefs.

Sheena Villegas - yellowfin, mustard aioli, yuzu

The yellowfin dish was reminiscent of a crudo. It was aggressively seasoned and contained some edible flowers. The philosophy of the dish seemed to focus on letting the taste of the tuna itself shine through, but to supplement it a little to highlight those flavors. The dish succeeded on those levels.

Tiffany Senin - duck confit ravioli, spicy strawberry sauce

The ravioli was fried to extreme crispness and there was a large crunch as I bit in. The duck confit filling was aggressive and complemented by the sauce. The spicy strawberry sauce had a great balance of sweetness, tartness, and spice.

Alex Emery - roasted duck breast, shiso powder, bing cherry, spicy coconut emulsion

The duck was cooked perfectly on this dish. The inclusion of the cherry, just coming in season was a great touch as well as the sweetness really added to the duck. The shiso powder was a great touch and really glued the dish together as everyone at the table really appreciated it, but was unable to come up with the component right away.

First Course - Smell

crab consomme,  sweet pea, truffle, sprouts

The first course really hit on the smell with the crab consomme. After pouring:

The sweetness of the peas was really top notch as they really contrasted the crab broth. Once poured, the hot consomme really combined with the gelee to give an added aroma of truffle. The crab consomme was prepared beautifully as the smell of the crab really shone. As an added plus, the consomme came out extremely hot, which was really needed to make this dish work.

Second Course - Sight

sculpin, honeysuckle, red chile, garlic chive, asian scallion pesto

For the sight course, Chef Barron chose a fried sculpin filet plated to be visually striking. On the visual appeal, I would say he succeeded. The garlic chive and the scallion pesto really brought out the flavor of the fish. The added spicy kick was reminiscent of the Chef Barron I knew from Blue Point, and it was really appreciated to get that amount of spice in the food. 

Third Course - Sound

pork jowl, lavendar, mustard greens, pop rock mustard, pork tenderloin

The pop rocks in the mustard "sauce" gave this dish the sound aspect as the pop rocks continuously popped throughout the course. The playfulness of the dish really fulfilled the theme.

Fourth Course - Touch

"chicken liver", ahi, pumpernickle, peach

Note: While I'm not an expert from just pure taste, I'd wager the chicken liver was not really chicken liver

 In this dish, the "chicken liver" that resembled the more classic torchon preparation was actually a panna cotta. There was also an accompanying "chicken liver" cookie. This dish was the touch course because the "chicken liver" was supposed to touch our hearts.
The highlight of the dish was the panna cotta; it really carried through a nice pure flavor while having the expected texture of the panna cotta. While the ahi was remarkably fresh to the point I thought it was going to jump off the plate, I didn't understand how the freshness of the ahi was supposed to go with the richness of the chicken liver.

Fifth Course - Cocktail

acid rain - cotton candy, vodka, cardamom, lemon, lemon bitters, lemongrass straw

The fifth course was another creation from Mixologist Mike Yen. In this course, we got more to "play" by pouring the cocktail over a dried ice drink.

the rocks were actual rocks

The cocktail had a nice lemony sweetness and was an excellent palate cleanser. Not only was the drink a palate cleanser, but the smell from the dry ice effect served as a sinus cleanser as well. The drink was very fun.

Sixth Course - Taste

beef cheek, uni, fiddleheads, pumpernickel hominy nitrogen grits

This was my favorite course of the evening. The uni was used with a mix of eel bones, sugar, and other ingredients to create a very rich sauce. The effect of pouring the sauce over the grits was an extremely decadent surf and turf. The beef was cooked perfectly tender and contained a great deal of grass fed beef flavor. While the protein was excellent, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the grits. Make by freezing hominy and pumpernickle and then grinding it down, the grits were very creamy and served as the perfect bed for the beef and sauce.

Seventh Course - Sensory Overload

As all the senses had been used, Chef Barron prepared a final dish that was supposed to bring all of the senses together.

duck confit, spot prawn, blackberry, horseradish, charcuterie sausages, blackberry

The duck confit was stuffed into the prawn:

The dish was suspended over some liquid to create some additional smells

This dish brought together many of the elements of the all the previous dish in one grand finale. There was a lot going on in this dish - the surf and turf theme was revisited, every part of the duck was utilized in the dish, there were smells coming from under the dish. As the dish set out to overload the senses, it really did succeed in that regard. I was extremely happy to get a dish like this to finish out the meal - as the final Evolve dish from Chef Barron.

Eighth Course - Dessert

To round out the meal, Chef Bonilla took over

watermelon, proscuitto, basil, love & break dancing - caramelized goat cheese, watermelon semifreddo
olive oil grilled corn cake, candied prosciutto, clarified watermelon fluid gel, whipped cream

While my senses had been overloaded from the previous course, I still had some space to finish out dessert, especially from Chef Bonilla. As with the trend of Evolve, Chef Bonillas desserts just keep betting better. He didn't disappoint with this one. While the biggest star was the corn cake, the candied prosciutto really brought this dish to another level. The savory, yet sweet element of the pork really contrasted well with the sweetness of the semifreddo and the denseness of the corn cake. Every element on this plate was extremely tasty and made the dish better.

Conclusion

I'm very sorry that Evolve is finished for the next few months. While they started at a high level, each successive event and crescendoed even higher. Now at the coda, the Explore Your Senses Event was not only the tastiest event, it was also the most fun event and experience.

I wish Chef Barron well on his next venture and hope he will still be able to bring is culinary creativity to the restaurant.

I plan to visit Chef Bonilla and Mike Yen for some future meal.

Until the next Evolve event....

Oh yeah, Evolve gets the (long overdue) gigabyte award.

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