Eating Umami

Everything on the menu is in celebration of umami... With the ultimate experience of umami being a mouth watering sensation that is then rewarded with a fullness and richness of flavors that provide sensory satisfaction.
A flight of three different wines to accompany our tasting menu. From right to left we have;
2006 Ludwig Riesling, 2006, Handley Chardonnay and 2002 Philippe-Lorraine Cabernet Sauvignon....these were pretty healthy pours for being "tastes."

Above is the most beautiful plate I have ever seen....they dimmed the lights when they were bringing this course out and in a more intimate venue, I can only imagine what the effect may have been..... Chef Kunio Tokuoka flew in from Japan to create the appetizer course for the umami celebration - and in some ways, I think his achievement celebrated the many nuances of umami the best.

The candle is wrapped in a thinly sliced daikon that has been dipped in a reddish/pink dye on one end, creating a ethereal effect by illumiating the veins of the daikon and creating a soft glow onto the plate of delectable little morsels....

The first is a set of lightly simmered onions with chicken and pickled plum gelee, seaweed, shiso and sesame. This was crunchy yet not crispy....the shiso was sliced finely and dried but had a more intense flavor then anticipated...

On the right is the seared lobster with tosa vinegar gelee, fried rice, ginger and bonito....I found this to be the most tasty for my palatte. I prefer tangy and salty things with intense flavors and this one fit the bill perfectly while having various different textures - the gelee melted in the mouth while you chewed the lobster - fantastic!

On the left is a savory egg custard with a smoked chicken mousse, parmagiano-reggiano shavings and pepper leag bud. HOLY SHIT - this was hands down the most interesting thing on the plate for me. The mousse was basically a whipped cream that has been infused with smoked chicken...then sitting on top is an egg yolk that has been cooked at a low-ish heat for 30 minutes creating a creamy yet firm consistency...together with the parm cheese it was like a subltle flavor-gasm in my mouth but it was the mouth feel that won me over...it was like eating savory silk.

On the right we have Wagyu beef rolls with a japanese pepper dipping sauce... Did I mention it was Wagyu? enough said there I think.

On the left are potato frites with a topping of salt pickled vegetables...it was like a mashed potato with the tangy pickles chopped on top..very refreshing yet satisfying.

Chef Hiro Sone of Ame in San Francisco prepared the salad course. He took a Thai/Vietnamese twist to his dish by preparing Ginger-Poached Shrimp and Watermelon salad with a lemongrass vinaigrette. The green dots that you see there is a cilantro oil and he also has some thai chiles in the vinaigrette....what brought out the umami most was the use of fish sauce in the dressing. That savory and spicy goodness was a wonderful complement to the respective sweetness of both the shrimp and watermelon.

Chef Thomas Keller prepared the main course of lamb, byaldi and roasted fennel with pickled shallot sauce. All kinds of umami in this bad boy - although Chef's opening was interesting in that he says he isn't specifically trying to bring out umami or anything...that we should all realize that this (umami) was here before we recognized what it was so we should just accept and enjoy it. Kind of funny considering it was an umami celebration - but true nonetheless as he was emphasizing that we should just love it because it tastes great and not single out one compound.

Also, at one point when someone asked him "what do you think is next?" he had a very humble and reflective answer by saying....we have to honor the farmers and providers of our food (ingredients) otherwise nothing is next - in this country people want the best for as cheap as possible and that is not sustainable - we must support the providers of the very best with money (our purchases) so that they can continually produce the best.

I do like that he always gives the "shout out" to his purveyors and brings awareness to that side of the business, especially in these times where we are facing outbreaks of food borne illnesses, potential extinction of entire species of crops and many other sins from our factory farming and monoculture approach to agriculture. And yes - I did read the Omnivore's Dilemna...but before that I read Fast Food Nation and Food Politics and a whole host of other food related literature. It is amazing what our fiddling around with the science of food has done to us in the long run....