Ame Restaurant Hits the Target
May 25th, 2010

Ame Restaurant Hits the Target

Skillful hands make lots of gluten-free options at Ame, SF

Several nights ago I had a fantastic dinner that hit high marks at Ame (pronounced Ah-may) Restaurant in San Francisco, CA. It wasn’t hard deciding to go to this Michelin rated restaurant that serves up California Japanese fusion. Located in the St. Regis Hotel in downtown makes this dining a great place to meet up before a night out. They have a full sushi bar, lots of sashimi, but don’t expect California rolls, it’s just not that kind of place. Fresh seafood dishes and an extensive wine list make this place completely gluten-free friendly.

Here are some of the items that I savored.

Special crudo of the day, Red Snapper with lemon, olive oil, and sea salt – So fresh, amazingly melt in your mouth light and fantastic olive oil to let it slide into your belly. Carpaccio of Wagyu Beef with Arugula Salad and Fried Drakes Bay Oysters – The oysters are not gluten free, but everything else is delectable, I still don’t know how they get that beef so thinly sliced. Special main course of Halibut with a lemongrass coconut foam with puree of potato and veggies of radish and roasted cauliflower – The cooking technique was excellent. The fish was insanely moist all over, light, flavorful and the sauce not as strong as one might expect.

While dining here I couldn’t stop thinking about Le Bernadin in New York and how similar some of the techniques and delicacy towards fish there was. It’s a tough comparison, since both really delivered on food. For me it came down to the service. Le Bernardin is a lot more fussy, brighter environment yet less intimate setting. I loved that Ame was a bit darker, felt more casual and the tables were more spread out so you weren’t just placed in a large dining room. For San Francisco, I am shocked at how there isn’t as much talk about this place. There isn’t a week where someone isn’t mentioning Gary Danko, yet a superb place like Ame never gets thrown into conversation. High marks for Ame and next time I’ll know to spend some time at the lounge having a drink beforehand to really soak up all of the St. Regis.

Sow the Button Mushroom Tapas
May 13th, 2010

Sow the Button Mushroom Tapas

Barely had a chance to take the photo before it was almost gone.

When I get invited to someone’s place for dinner in less than a day and I know I have to bring something, I always turn to this trusty little Tapas book I bought for $3.99 at Marshalls. It’s one of those books that has huge pictures, little text, and 80% of the recipes are less than 30 minutes to make. What’s not to love. Back to the dinner. So I flip through my book and remind myself that on my friend’s dinner menu is mussels and homemade pizza. So rather than a heavy dish I go with a nice accompaniment of Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms, a total classic Spanish tapa dish.

Oh and did I mention, it might be the easiest thing to make if you’re in a pinch. Here’s how it goes:

8 oz package white button mushrooms 8 oz package brown mushrooms (all white mushrooms or mix chanterelles and local variety work fine, but I like a little to keep the shape uniform) 2 small chopped carrots (not necessary, but only because I like the brown and orange color combo) 3 tblsp olive oil 1 garlic clove dash of lemon juice salt pepper to taste Clean the mushrooms trim the bottoms and keep them whole. Any obese mushrooms can be halved or quartered if they’re a whale. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add garlic to infuse the oil a bit and lightly brown Add the mushrooms and carrots and let it absorb the oil, Heat is on high still Once it’s absorbed, turn heat to medium low. This is where you let the veggies sweat it out. Once they’ve shrunk and juices are released, turn the heat back up. 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and sprinkle salt pepper and if you like parsley or even a little green onion.

Fet. (That’s done in Catalan.)