Here are some additional notes from my dinner at Manresa:
1. Lamb or beef? Which would end our meal? My two previous dinners at Manresa had ended with beef, the calotte, actually. And I loved those endings. chuckeats noticed that most of his meals ended with lamb. A rosy, roasted, bone-in lamb rib chop we each got. It came with the most wonderful tomato-golden marjoram jam.
2 The bread program seems to have diversified. The last time I ate the restaurant, I raved about an awesome farmhouse bread with a thick, caramelized shell that shattered to kingdom come. Sadly, gone is that bread. Instead, the restaurant now serves a selection of breads, including a country bread, black olive batons, and a brioche bun, which was my favorite of the lot.
3. I absolutely loved the impossibly buttery and pillowy “Garden Beignets.” I seemed to recall they were more cakey – hush puppy-like – before. But these were so light and soft, you could almost dent them by looking at them intently.
4. The “Foie Gras and Cumin Caramel” was like creme caramel, except it was spiked with salt and cumin. The foie gras custard was exceedingly smooth and delicate. The caramel was sweet and slightly dark, a needed contrast to the almost-too-salty custard. Overall, a very powerful flavor dynamic.
5. I can’t say that I understood or enjoyed the curiously composed Corn and Tomato Salad “Version 6.2.” A cool and light parfait served in a martini glass, the flavors – and textures, especially – didn’t quite come together for me. The demi sec tomato here was a bit too firm and hard to separate in a long-stemmed glass; taking the entire thing in one bite seemed a wee indelicate. As the course notation, “Version 6.2,” suggests, perhaps I might have enjoyed a previous iteration more, or will hope for a more agreeable incarnation in the future.
6. I didn’t really care for Kinch’s latest version of the “Farm Egg.” The spiced melon didn’t quite register, and the yolk at the bottom was a bit overcooked for my taste.
2 replies on “notes and scribbles: syzygy…”
6. Really? That melon had the celestial choirs singing for me. I thought it was just brilliant.
@Moby: It didn’t work for me (I really can’t recall the flavor of the melon at all). Perhaps it was because I was distracted by the overcooked yolk at the bottom.