San Francisco Trip:
Me and a couple of my friends decided to take a week vacation up to San Francisco to wine and dine at some nice restaurants. Our trip was basically planned around restaruants, we made reservations for dinner for each night of the trip. It was a fun and memorable trip, we ate at a lot of different place and visted plenty of places.
On the first night we ate at a restaurant named Evvia, however since the picures were taken on a mobile phone, that post will probablly come at a later time. The second night we ate at a restaurant named ISA. ISA is nestled in the heart of San Francisco's Marina District and serves small plate French crusine. Executive Chef Luke Sung, who is talented beyond his years, creates the types of satisfying combinations one can eat every day. His food is deeply flavored, elegant, yet straightforward.
ISA Chef's background:
"Sung arrived the United States at the age of 14 from Taiwan. After working for his dad Tony Sung at Eric’s Restaurant in Noe Valley and his uncle Ping Sung at Eliza’s Restaurant on Potrero Hill in High School, he started cooking while attending college with Chef Roland Passot at La Folie (of which we later dined at) for almost two years.
He then moved on to Masa’s with Chef Julian Serrano (now at Picasso Restaurant in Las Vegas) and spent almost two years with him. He traveled to New York one summer and staged at Restaurant Daniel with Chef Daniel Boulud and Chef Alex Lee. He also staged at Les Panisse with Chef Gray Kunz. After returning to San Francisco, he spent three years with Chef Sylvain Portay at the Dining Room of Ritz Carlton San Francisco. Sung now owns and operates Isa, named after his daughter, Isabelle, where he prepares French-style tapas in the Marina District."
Courses from the menu are ment to be shared, family style. So my friends and I ordered a few things.
We started off with the organic Loch Duart salmon carpaccio with lemon, creme fraiche, cucumber, egg, capers & crostini. The salmon wasn't too salty and was soft, the the capers brought out the saltyness of the dish and the creme fraiche balanced it out with a settle cream flavor. The crostini, little toasts, were crunchy and when paired with the salmon carpaccio it was delicious! The taste of this dish reminded me of creme cheese on a toasted bagle, except this dish tasted better. The taste of this dish was accented by the various texture of the cucumber, egg, and capers as the differnt size changed the chewing feel and dynamic.
We then proceed with the Dungeness crab salad, with avocado, apple, grapefruit & tarragon dressing. The Dungeness crab brought it a tint of sweetness while the grapefruit added hints of sourness, it was both light and refreshing.
Next up we had the Grilled local calamari, with honey spice, flageolet beans, lemon zest & arugula. This dish was flavorful, it reminded me a little bit of how my mom cooks calamari, kind of Chinese in nature but with bit of French flare in the dish. When you take the first bite, the sweetness and hint of sourness from the lemon zest bursts in your mouth with flavor and fades away with the flavors of the flageolet beans. The dish was great; however, I was a little dissapointed because the insides of the calamari was remvoed, the part surrounding the plastic like lining of the squid, of which i enjoy quite a bit, but that's just my personal preferrence.
Following the previous dish, we had the Dutch valley Veal sweetbreads & mushroom fricassee, with mirepoix, white wine, mash potato & potato rosti. The dish was well balanced with just the right amount of ingredients, and the texture contrast of the dish is superb. The potato rosti was fried just right, crispy on the outside and soft and on inside; when eaten with the soft and tender sweetbread the texture of the two are a perfect match.
Next, we had the local petrale sole with mash potato, broccoli di ciccio, capers & lemon brown butter. The fish wasn't bad but it was not one of the more memorable dishes of the meal.
We then proceeded with the seared scallops, with brussels sprouts, bacon, potato puree & truffle jus de poulet. The scallops were good, the outter layer seared just right and tender on the inside. The mash potato has bits and pieces of bacon inside, it wasn't dry as it was flavored with bacon's natural oil. The mash potato was also in two dishes above (the fish and the sweetbread dish).
The most memorable dish of the night was the Hudson valley grade A foie gras, with apples, huckleberry, port & custard brioche. This dish made the night. The waiter told us that this is one of the best foie gras dish in town, and I would not disagree. First bite of the foie gras and my mouth was bursting with flavors. It was extremely soft, and almost melts to the touch. The huckleberry added a sour sweetness to the taste. This dish provided a ecstastic pallet experience and should not be missed.
-David
