San Francisco--Colibri

     Last month my family and I went to San Francisco and the Napa Valley. This was more of a food trip than a wine trip. We chose this destination since we had reservations for the French Laundry Holiday Party. We stayed at the Hotel Nikko in union square--very nice suite--we had stayed earlier at a Hotel Nikko in Niigata, Japan.

    First meal we had was at Colibri--great Mexican food withing walking distance from the hotel. They had the BEST guacamole I ever had--there were scallions, tomatoes, and garlic in it. The vegetables were so crunchy. I had the carnitas--ode to Art. They were stunning.

Kim had the Mole de Pato and it was great. The myriad of spices in the chocolate based mole was great. 

Chef's Dinner at a my house

Menu

    My mother-in-law was staying with us for her yearly visit. We decided to hire a private chef to make a 5 course dinner for family and friends to commemorate the year. I pared wine from my cellar to match. The menu is above. We started first with Canapes

The canapes were good. I really enjoyed the carpaccio.

The takeoff on spanakopita was very good. I like the crunchy phyllo dough.

This course was the macadamian nut crusted mahi mahi over coconut risotto. This was fantastic, The risotto was cooked well. Next course was the ribeye over potatoes and crimini mushrooms. The meat was from Hawaii and tasted great. I paired this with 1998 Opus I. It was fantastic. Dessert was mango-macadamian nut spring rolls. I will post a photo when I find it. They were so good that Logan licked the plate. All in all a great meal.

Michelin-Starred Restaurants--Where have you been?

   The Michelin Guide is the authority for restaurants that take food to the next level. Generally, the ratings are as follows:


One star indicates a "very good cuisine in its category", a two-star ranking represents "excellent cuisine, worth a detour," and three stars are awarded to restaurants offering "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."


Below is the list of restaurants I have been too, and a few restaurants I believe should have stars


3 Stars
Pierre Gagnaire--Paris
Joel Robuchon--Las Vegas
Le Bristol--Paris
Guy Savoy--Paris
French Laundry--Yountville


2 Stars
Picasso--Las Vegas
La Manresa--Los Gatos
Domaine de Haut Loire--Onzain
San Pau--Tokyo
La'Atelier de Joel Robuchon--Paris


1 Star
Chez Panisse--Berkeley
Beige--Tokyo
China Blue--Tokyo
Le Tour de Argent--Tokyo
Masa Grill--Las Vegas
Gordon Ramsay--Tokyo

Fleur de Lys--San Francisco

Jules Verne--Paris

Restaurants that should have Michelin Stars:

Chef Mavro---Honolulu--should at least a one star maybe two

Slanted Door--San Francisco--one star--can't believe it doesn't have one yet

O'Connell Street Bistro--Auckland--one star

Herzog--Marlborough--two stars

Pescadore--Christchurch--one star

Elenore--Yarra Valley--one star

La Rochelle--Tokyo--Iron Chef Hiroyuki Saki's restaurant--one star

Please comment on restaurants that deserve Michelin Stars.

Hawaii Food and Wine Festival

I was fortunate to attend the Hawaii food and wine festival. It was a celebration of Hawaii cuisine and ingredients. There were several renown chef, Chef Mavro, Merriman, Wong, Yamaguchi, and other mainland chefs. I was able to take some photos with the chefs:

John Besh--he made a wonderful chorizo and shrimp over grits.

Myself and Rick Moonen

Myself with Hubert Keller---great evening

Main Courses....

Sous vide short rib, over celeriac mash, and sauteed peas, with a red wine sauce. Sous vide makes the meat so tender and the short rib has such a rich flavor. I love celeriac mash, less heavy than mash potatoes and an earthy taste.

Next a classic French dish--Beef Bourguignon--just wonderful filling, one pot dish to make on a winter night.

My wife loves lobster--so baked them this time. I took them out of the shell and butterflied them and put them back and baked Also, filetted an onaga and sous vided it. Onaga is the most wonderful fish. It is flaky abd tender. It is also know as red snapper. Added sauteed haricot de vert.

Lastly, a friend of mine described his fried pork chop. I interpreted my version. First, bread the pork chop with egg wash, and flour. I put in in the pan, with butter. Once it was browned, I added onions, and garlic. I returned the port chop and finished them in the oven. I took the meat out to rest, and deglazed the pan, with white wine, and added dijon mustard and flour. I whisked it and added salt and pepper. I served over a potato mash, with carrots. The tastes were wonderful. So many aromatic vegetables and I love the tangy taste of dijon mustard

My own dishes----A Panorama of Food--First-- Appetizers

All--I have been busy making more dishes using on my own:

 Sesame crusted ahi tombo, over avocado, tomato salad, with a sesame seed vinaigrette. I love using this dish to impress visitors on the freshness of the fish here. Although, you should ask if the fish is fresh or frozen--Costco, Wholepaycheck, Monarch Seafood, and Tomashiro's all have fresh fish.

Next appetizer is a beefsteak tomatoes, with a blue cheese dressing with fresh corn, I found beefsteak tomatoes at Food land, and used my Iso Whipper, to make a blue cheese foam. I plated it on a romaine lettuce bed, and added crumbled Point Reyes blue cheese on top with vinegar and olive oil The Kahuku Corn I picked up at the farmer's market. This salad screams freshness--summertime tomatoes are wonderful.

Catching up....Chef Mavro

   Been busy--but still no excuse not to update the blog--this will be a catch up day. In the last 6 months, I was lucky to go to Chef Mavro, attend the Hawaii Food Festival, go to the Norfolk, and top it all with a holiday party at the iconic French Laundry.

  My wife took me to Chef Mavro for my birthday, George Mavro is from Cassis, France, and has been a huge proponent of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement--he is also a James Beard winner, and a Food and Wine magazine top 40 restaurants in the US. The dish above was hamakua mushrooms over a puree of artichokes--wonderful. I love the earthy taste of mushrooms, and warm, sharp taste of artichokes.

    The next dish is was a day boat catch fish, crusted in macadamian nuts, with coconuts. The fish was a Opah, also know as a moonfish--I have to tell you--the fish out here is wonderful. The third course was beef and with Chef Mavros version of spinokopita. About time he uses his Greek background--Meat was tender, sous  vide style, and the spinokopita was great--spinach, and goat cheese.

    Lastly, for dessert, I had the favorite--Lilikoi Malasadas. Wonderful play on a local pastry, but sweet, and warm--amazing. Also, he has his own chocolates--

  If you are in Honolulu, you must visit Chef Mavro--the BEST chef in Hawaii.