Porcini Donuts with Raclette.  These were amazing. Light fluffy chunks of fried dough dusted with powdered porcinis, served alongside whipped raclette. Super rich, but not as heavy as it sounds.

Sardine chips & Horseradish. I’d read about these sardine chips, but wasn’t sure what a “sardine” chip would be… Turns out to be a potato chip with a sardine tucked into it. Personally, I liked the porcini donuts more and I’m not sure how these get written up more… But they were also pretty interesting. The horseradish is great at offsetting the greasy, rich flavor of the sardine chip.

Here is a closeup of a sardine chip. I wonder if I can make bacon chips.

Next up was lamb tartare, with biryani spices and fried pita bread. The seasoning was great, and I was very happy to find that the pita were fried, and not toasted. I’m not a big fan of pita. Also, raw onionssss. I usually hate onions, but these were sliced thinly enough that they were a nice clean taste to offset the richness of the lamb and the grease of the pita.

Chicken lasagna with popped sorghum, wheatgrass puree and spring onions. The waiter suggested we get the chicken lasagna, mentioning that the chefs were particularly strong with pasta. Sadly, I found this dish underwhelming. It wasn’t bad, but it paled in comparison with the previous dishes. I thought it was a little mushy and, while the popped sorghum was really neat (probably my favorite part of the dish), it didn’t feel like a cohesive dish.

 

Poached rabbit with mole. The mole sauce was delicious. Strong, but in small dabs, delicious on all the bits and pieces of this dish. The poached rabbit was moist, and not too gamey, pairing well with the strong mole. My one complaint about this dish was that the chunks of rabbit were wrapped in rabbit skin, which I found rubbery… But I’m not a big fan of chicken/fish skin either.

Dessert! Sourdough bread pudding with pomelo curd, pistachio tuile. The bread pudding itself (the light brown goop in the middle) was nice, but I found the curd a bit too sweet. I tried a couple bites with a little bit of everything, then found that I liked just the bread pudding and chunks of pomelo together the most.

And our check! $89 for all that food was more than worth it. I want to go back and try more of the pastas… And just stuff myself with the porcini donuts.

I forgot to take a picture of the bread… But it’s worth mentioning. Unlike most restaurants that serve complimentary bread, Rich Table charges $4 for two hefty slices of their Douglas Fir Levain bread and house cultured butter. The bread is served toasted, and is delicious. The aroma of fir is pretty mild, but it goes well with the toasty bread and rich butter.

I’ve got another reservation to take my parents at the end of the month!

After reading about coworkers’ glowing recommendations of Atelier Crenn, Shamiq and I ate there this last Saturday. We opted for the shorter 5-course, $95 menu. Overall I found the food satisfying, inventive and well matched.

I did have a major case of menu-envy as I watched the tables around us enjoy the longer Chefs Grand Tasting Menu ($160). I’d like to go back and try the longer menu since the presentation seemed more whimsical and over-the-top. Four of our five dishes were from the longer tasting though, so I’ll wait till the menu changes, perhaps to spring or summer.

Amuse Bouche: White chocolate shell filled with apple cider.
I managed to explode the first one on myself, so they brought me a new one. Lesson learned, keep your mouth shut.

First course: Grains & Seeds, Dashi, Yuzu Kosho

I wish I could eat this for breakfast everyday. I found the broth very slightly too salty, but I tipped the bowl away and the mix of grains was both interesting and delicious.

A palate cleanser of hibiscus and some sort of sorbet. I don’t remember. :( But it was lightly flavored and I love the flavor of hibiscus.

Second Course: The Sea. Grilled shellfish, fish, uni & fennel.

The seafood was perfectly grilled, the uni was super fresh (none of that hint of sewer) and the fennel was a great pairing.

Brioche. I found it lacking. The crust was a bit… mealy, I’m not sure why. It was warm and soft, so not too many complaints, but I thought it was the weakest part of the meal.

Course Three: Walk in the forest

A mix of mushrooms, pine meringue & lots of other subtle but unique flavors. Most interesting was that it was a horizontal plate, and the flavoring of the mushrooms seemed to go from savory to sweet from one end to the other.

The other side of the walk in the forest. One mushroom tasted like steak.

Course Four: Ocean & Land

Quail, squid ink, black sesame and sea grapes. The quail was perfectly cooked, medium rare with crisp skin and appropriate garnishes. The sea grapes were a novel and interesting touch, textually… but they don’t seem to taste like much.

Our Cheese course, a $20 add-on. Three cheeses, walnut bread and wild flower honey.

Course Five: Betterave (Dessert)

I’m not sure why the course is called that on the menu… But, beet sorbet, grains (a nice book ending touch with the first course) and a chocolate beet root. I love beets. I want more beet sorbet. But less chocolate roots.

Mignardises: Strawberry gelee, some sort of citrus marshmallow and a salted caramel that didn’t fit my Santa-Gnome theme so I didn’t include it in the picture.

And an obligatory slightly creepy photo of Crenn from a distance. She did stop by our table twice, make small talk with us and was really nice (and told us all to eat more).

 

State Bird Provisions serves most of it’s food dim sum style — on carts that are pushed around.

State Bird is super, incredibly popular right now. Shamiq and I were lucky to get a table in September and I’m going back tomorrow! It seemed like a good time to revisit what I ate last time and do something with the pictures…

Avocado something, tortilla chips, seafood salsa

Salmon & corn salad with heirloom tomatoes. I really liked the flavor combination in this dish.

Guinea hen dumplings in broth. Good, but very mild. Probably the dish that stood out to me the least.

Fried bread with burrata, one cannot go wrong with carbs and fat.

Short stack: corn pancakes, garlic chives, mt tam. I’m stealing this flavor combination.

Cocoa nib flatbread, chantrelle paste, cured yolks. This was magic. I’ve since tried to cure my own yolks, but I have no hope of recreating the flatbread or the chantrelle paste. Must go back.

State Bird with Provisions. I guess this is the dish they’re named for. It was good, but not as good as some of the other dishes. I propose they rename themselves to “Short Stack,” or “Magic Flatbread with Stuff.”

Steak tartar with shishitos.

Yeasted sesame pancake with bocalones.

Fried eggplant with avocado aioli. I love eggplants.

Japanese cheesecake with strawberries and tomatoes. Good, but paled in comparison to…

Fig ice cream sandwiches of amazingness. I think it’s both the flavor combination and being really, really well made.

Favorite dishes: Salmon + corn, Flatbread, Short stack & Ice cream sandwiches
Total cost for two, ~$110 (all of the above + a $6 pot of tea)