To cap off a crazy schedule week of VMworld, I made reservations at Benu for myself, Forrest, Tiffany and Dean. Benu is the real life representation of Corey Lee's dreams. The space is beautiful...stark and modern but not cold and with a unique personality. The food - well shiz - there are not enough words to do it justice. Hailing from French Laundry fame he uses the most refined classical techniques and takes lots of asian flavors (many of which are crazy pungent) and turns it into a subtle and sublime creation leaving us "working" with every bite so that we wouldn't miss out on any of that perfection. I don't know how to describe it except that every last minute detail was considered, details beyond the food...the beverage pairing of course was perfect (go Mike Ireland!) and even down to the flatware and the magnets holding the custom menus on the metal trays... the dishes - don't even get me started on the custom dishes. The mind of madness and greatness are separated by a hair....
buckwheat crackers with nori to kick off the party
thousand year old quail egg, ginger, celery a
paired with Bailly Lapierre reserve Brut, Cremant de bourgogne france
tomato, dasi and summer blossoms. The first two courses came out together and were paired with paired with Bailly Lapierre reserve Brut, Cremant de bourgogne france
Geoduck clam, seaweeds, raspberry-bonito vinegar
Carmelized Anchovy gelee, peanuts, lilly bulbs, chili, basil both dishes were paired with Wittman Scheurebe, Troken, Theinhessen Germany 2004
veal sweetbreads, yuzu, carrots, pickles, mitsuba paired with Horst Sauer, Escherndorfer Lump, Silvaner Troken, Franken, Germany 2006
Eel, Feuile de brick, avocado, creme fraiche paired with BEER! Kiuchi Brewery, Hitachino Nest, White Ale, Ibaraki, Japan
Risotto, sea urchin, corn, lovage, black truffle paired with Paul Pernot, Bourgogne, France 2007
Monkfish liver torchon, turnip, onion, mustartd seed relish, cherry, brioche paired with Prina, Hallgartner Jungfer, Riesling, Spatlese, Rheingau, Germany 2007
Poularde cuit en vessie served in 3 courses - meaning chicken cooked in pig bladder. did NOT taste like pee.
Breast - celery, almonds, black truffle paired with Michaud, Pinot Noir, Chalone, Monterey County, 2005
Leg - mountain yam custard, abalone, snap peas, radish paired with Kiuchi, Gekkakow, Junmai Daiginjo, Ibaraki, Japan 2003
Bouillon - jardiniere summer vegetables paired with Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2000
Pork Belly, fermented pepper, cucumber, perilla paired with Jean-Michel Gerin, Cote Rotie, Rhone Valley, France 2005
Beef Saucisson, crisy maitake mushrooms, lettuce, scallion, asian pear paired with Prieler Johanneshohe, Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria 2007
Sweet rice sorbet, pine nut puree pine needle infused honey
Strawberries, vanilla soymilk, buckweat sable, green tea. I think this was paired for the entire dessert course but now i'm not sure - eek! Chateau Pierre Bise, Les Rouannieres, Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Loire France 2007
buckwheat crackers with nori to kick off the partythousand year old quail egg, ginger, celery apaired with Bailly Lapierre reserve Brut, Cremant de bourgogne france
tomato, dasi and summer blossoms. The first two courses came out together and were paired with paired with Bailly Lapierre reserve Brut, Cremant de bourgogne franceEel, Feuile de brick, avocado, creme fraiche paired with BEER! Kiuchi Brewery, Hitachino Nest, White Ale, Ibaraki, Japan
Risotto, sea urchin, corn, lovage, black truffle paired with Paul Pernot, Bourgogne, France 2007
Monkfish liver torchon, turnip, onion, mustartd seed relish, cherry, brioche paired with Prina, Hallgartner Jungfer, Riesling, Spatlese, Rheingau, Germany 2007
Poularde cuit en vessie served in 3 courses - meaning chicken cooked in pig bladder. did NOT taste like pee.
Breast - celery, almonds, black truffle paired with Michaud, Pinot Noir, Chalone, Monterey County, 2005
Leg - mountain yam custard, abalone, snap peas, radish paired with Kiuchi, Gekkakow, Junmai Daiginjo, Ibaraki, Japan 2003
Bouillon - jardiniere summer vegetables paired with Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2000
Pork Belly, fermented pepper, cucumber, perilla paired with Jean-Michel Gerin, Cote Rotie, Rhone Valley, France 2005
Beef Saucisson, crisy maitake mushrooms, lettuce, scallion, asian pear paired with Prieler Johanneshohe, Blaufrankisch, Burgenland, Austria 2007
Sweet rice sorbet, pine nut puree pine needle infused honey
Strawberries, vanilla soymilk, buckweat sable, green tea. I think this was paired for the entire dessert course but now i'm not sure - eek! Chateau Pierre Bise, Les Rouannieres, Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Loire France 2007
3 comments:
Holy Shit...
Very neat. We've been considering a meal a visit to Benu on our next trip to SF (coming soon). If you don't mind me asking, how much was the tasting menu with the poularde?
Don't mind. It was $700 a couple for the extra special menu + wine pairing x2. Menu-wise we talked to the chef and said, whatever you recommend so it was lots of stuff in addition to the chicken + pig bladder thing.
I think it's around $125 for a regular tasting though.
If you are into food I HIGHLY recommend it. My hobby is eating fancy food and this place blew my mind after entering a white tablecloth fatigue phase
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