Daily Archives: April 22, 2012

Monkfish liver – Benu

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Project 365: Day 104

The conference began today, and I’m both excited and dreading it. There’s people from all over the country and let me just say that the wardrobe is across the board. There are people in shorts and sandals, and there are others (like myself) in pressed slacks and dress shirts. It’s also during times like these that I wish I worked at a place where they can at least afford to provide coffee during breaks, hehe. The coffee in the lobby costs nearly $5 and doesn’t taste very good. I ran over to Caesars Palace to grab lunch at the bar at Mesa Grill. I’m not a huge fan of Bobby Flay, but I wanted to give his restaurant a go. It was pretty good and the bar service was friendly and expedient.

I kind of got carried away after the conference. I went for an early drink (Manhattan) and snacks (clam chowder and raw oysters) at P.J. Clarke’s, then went with a colleague for a full-on dinner at Grand Lux Cafe. Suffice it to say that I totally over-ate! Ugh, I have NO self-control when it comes to food.

Monkfish liver Benu

With caviar, pistachio, cauliflower, lemon jelly, and brioche. Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

This was a very decadent course. It tasted great, but it was definitely on the heavy side. I’m still not sure what all the components were. The green crumbles were dried pistachio, but I’m not sure what the green blob was – it didn’t taste like lemon jelly. The orange disc was the monkfish liver. I got one! 🙂

Monkfish liver Benu

So many components, so little time (and tummy space, hehe)!

Brioche Benu

Brioche. So rich and buttery.

Thousand year old quail egg – Benu

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Thousand year old quail egg Benu

With potage, ginger, and micro greens. Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

I guess potage is a kind of thick soup. I must say that the potage was the best part of this dish! It had such a depth of flavor. Everybody has made such a fuss about the thousand year old quail egg, but unfortunately it doesn’t taste like anything! It’s more a texture in the dish than a flavor. This dish was beautiful though and I loved the bowl it was served in.

Thousand year old quail egg Benu

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011

Oyster, pork belly, kimchi – Benu

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Project 365: Day 103

Today I flew to Las Vegas to attend a work conference which starts tomorrow. I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of Vegas as a vacation destination. I don’t like the majority of tourists and everything is ridiculously overpriced. Vegas is a place that I can’t truly relax, even poolside. There’s inevitably going to be a bunch of douche-y college kids (and adults for that matter) partying it up WAY too hard in a trashy way. Oh well, what can you do? To each he’s own. It makes for AMAZING people watching though. Besides the conference, I’m going to try and focus on the food to keep me busy. I don’t have any plans tonight but I’ll probably hit up Secret Pizza at The Cosmopolitan for a quick bite, then head to a local bar off The Strip to relax and take the edge off.

Oyster, pork belly, kimchi Benu

Pre fixe dinner $180
Benu, San Francisco

Every dish at Benu has so many ingredients that it’s often difficult to know what every component is or how it’s incorporated into the dish. This was the second course, and I’m gonna say that it was one of my favorites! This small bite was presented on a wooden pedestal and you’re urged to eat it quickly because the warm filling might melt through the thin cellophane-y container. As proof of my ignorance, I’m still not sure where the kimchi was in this, hehe.

Oyster, pork belly, kimchi Benu

Beautiful and delicious!

Lavash bread Benu

Lavash bread. Complimentary