Commonwealth
Nori Chips with Vinegar Foam
Wizard’s Sleeve – Sake, Earl Grey, Cocoa Nib, Lime, Liquid Nitrogen
Uni, Cured Egg Yolk, Seaweed, Cracker, Asparagus Gel
Carrot Fennel Soup, Crème Fraiche, Dill
Smoked Olive, Puffed Grains, Trout Roe, Cannelini Beans, Puffed Grains
Morrel Mushrooms, Fava Bean and Nettle Porridge, Fermented Carrot, Black Walnut, Pickled Carrot
Squid and Pork Belly, Soft Boiled Egg, Hay Smoked Potato, Pickled Onion, Fine Herbs
Tea Smoked Duck, Sprouted Wheat Berry, Burnt Tangerine, Crispy Duck Tongues
Celery Sorbet, Verjus Soda
Peanut Butter Semifreddo, Chocolate Ganache, Frozen Popcorn, Caramel
Matcha Marshmallow, Grapefruit Meringue, Garden Mint Bon Bon
Again making time for a second dinner, this time solo, a brisk walk to Jason Fox’s Commonwealth would see me seated not just at the pass, but literally in the kitchen of the small restaurant where a meal originally intended to include a few small plates slowly morphed into a nine course tasting comprising dishes from both the a la carte section and the tasting menu, some ordered and some gifted, and all remarkable in not only the ingredient quality but also in the execution – simple, unexpected pairings becoming far more than the sum of their parts. Beginning first with the best ‘salt and vinegar’ chips I can imagine alongside a slushy-style cocktail that was playful yet spirit forward before transitioning to plates walking a fine line between modernist and classical, esoteric and accessible perhaps the most impressive aspect of the meal was just how well each plate bridged to the next, a symphony of textures and flavors touching every part of the palate – creamy uni balanced by brine, rich morels finding harmony with bitter black walnuts and nettles, and snappy squid and fatty pork belly melded by smoke and vinegar…each standing on their own but building on a theme that kept my attention from beginning to end, a task rarely achieved and all the more impressive as it arose outside the framework of a traditional tasting menu.
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