Dinner on the patio with some friends.
We met up with Jeremy and Amanda for a little teamwork dinner. They included a sous vide venison roast caramelized with a blow torch. We included my Pixar style ratatouille and her new zucchini salad. Of course the food was excellent and the day was beautiful, but in the end it's...
Dinner with friends 10/10
Amuse Gueule of mushrooms
Ebi Shiso Age - Shiso-wrapped crispy Blue Prawn
Bambo shoots
Nukazuke - House fermented Japanese pickles
Tofu Salad - Silken tofu with sweet beets and baby greens
Sautéed beef
Just a beautiful presentation of the house soy sauce
Osusume - Featured ten piece Nigiri flight
Yaki Wagyu - 4oz grilled A4 Wagyu, potatoes, shishito peppers
Kado No Mise has a beautiful space with large windows out to the sidewalk and comfortably intimate tables that allow easy conversations without having to either bump into each other or shout. Our dinner was an opportunity to catch up with some friends and try someplace new. The staff were lovely and attentive and had a great knowledge of the food and drinks.
The food was, for the most part, excellent. The only slightly sour note was the nigiri. We both felt that the flavors were flat and that the different fish lacked definition. In the same way that things that have been in the freezer too long start to pick up each other’s flavors. I didn’t take a photo, but the Salmon Roe nigiri lacked the briny ocean flavor I would have expected and was actually a little seet. All that said, though, the Wagyu was excellent - tender, juicy, and with a delightful beefiness. The potatoes were perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and the peppers were charred to the ideal smoky flavor. The piece of ribeye I was able to pry away from my friend confirmed that mine wasn’t a fluke.
After dinner we retired to the bar upstairs for a Japanese whiskey and conversation. The bar is comfortable with a few nooks that are great for talking and sharing and the chairs are comfortable. The only critique I might have is that the walls and furniture are quite dark and the light is very low making for a slightly disorienting darkness that pervades. That aside, the bartender was very knowledgeable and helpful and the drinks were excellent.
9/10
Met some friends for dinner and to try Book Club. Had a lovely evening at one of the Kim Bartmann empire. Normally this would give me pause, I’ve not been particularly impressed with other offerings, but in this case it’s being run by Chef and Ower Asher Miller. If that doesn’t mean anything to you don’t worry, all it says to me is “not Kim”.
The space is nicely done with some changes from its earlier life as Cafe Maude. The most notable, to me anyway, difference being the removal of a quiet seating nook in the back. In the end this has the effect of opening the room but also amping the noise level.
We tried several items from across the menu:
Appetizers were:
Fried Oysters - crispy kale, sweet chili mayo, lemon
Green Curry Mussels & Dumplings - green curry coconut broth, chive dumplings, ginger, lemongrass, kefir, Thai basil
Crispy Fried Tofu - sweet ginger marinade, chili mayo
Korean Steak Satay - miso, tamarind, Fresno chili, ginger
Mains were:
Balinese Half Chicken - broccolini, lemongrass pickled vegetables, brown jasmine rice
Pork and Beans - 3-day porchetta, cannelloni beans, kale, rosemary, honey mustard sauce
Whole Fried Sea Bass - Nuoc Cham, lettuce cups, lemongrass pickles, brown jasmine rice
Fried Chicken Sandwich - lettuce, sweet pickle chips, white vinegar BBQ sauce
Dessert was:
Warm Chocolate Cake - Stuffed with raspberry preserve, vanilla ice cream
All of the appetizers were done to perfection:
The oysters still firm in their crispy shells, and accompanied a nice little mayo. The mussels just opened up and dripping with the curry while nestled in with little cloud like pillows of dumplings. The satay’s marinade was delightful and the steak done perfectly. And, finally, the tofu were clouds in an idyllic crunchy shell.
Thes mains were a mixed bag. The Sea Bass was tasty and beautifully presented. It was flaky and flavorful. The chicken sandwich was, perhaps not surprisingly, bland and chicken like. I didn’t find anything good or bad to say about it. The best thing to be said about the Balinese Chicken was the next day, when it was eaten as leftovers. Sometimes things need time to round out their flavors. The Pork and Beans were the standout here. The porchetta was zingy with spices and perfectly tender with a delightful little crust. I imagine the heal of this gem to be a delight that only the chef gets to enjoy.
Can’t go wrong on a night out with good friends. - 10/10
Book Club - 6.2/10