Saint Martha
Mussel and Foie Butter Bruscetta
Juniper cured salmon with smoked goat cheese, pickle and everything bagel churro
Hamachi crudo with yuzu vinaigrette, avocado and seaweed Doritos
Crab and smoked uni cream “okonomiyagi”
Chicken liver mousse with mushroom, hazelnut praline, pickled blueberries and toast
Brassicas with brewer’s yeast broth, mushroom and egg
Roasted winter squash with treviso, white chocolate mole, pomegranate and mint
Snapper with sunchoke, morcilla, fennel confit and meyer lemon oil
Diver Scallop with vanilla-parsnip puree, bloomsdale and bacon persillade
Chicken thigh with cauliflower, artichoke, chicken skin granola and brown butter hollandaise
Braised Pork belly with black garlic porridge, almost 5 minute egg and a bunch of onions
Pecan wood smoked brisket with lettuce, carrot, daikon and chili-hoisin
Carrot kamut cake with carrot sorbet, coconut jerk leather, pumpkin seed brittle and crème fraiche crémeux
Peanut butter ganache, roasted grape ice cream, griddled pound cake and chocolate feuilletine
Fig Cake, peanuts, popcorn, caramel ice cream, marmalade
Candied Peanuts
Soju
Located in K-Town, and according to some the heir apparent to dearly departed Red Medicine, it was just after 7:30 that six friends sat down amidst the cozy confines of Saint Martha and with Chef Nick Erven channeling the patron saint of cooks and servants as rock tracks added to the ambient noise the only thing more lively than the room was the cuisine itself, a fourteen course feast capped by amuses and mignardises in which not a single course lacked or lagged.
Largely taking an approach that saw several items requested in duplicate so that each trio of diners had plenty to share, it was just moments after seating that orders were crafted and sipping on ginger-cucumber infused soju the first bite of the evening was a good sign of things to come – the subtle sapor of foie beneath a tender mussel again celebrating the luxury ingredient’s re-legalization while also proving a pleasant entry to a duo of raw fishes, the tender salmon clearly riffing on a New York Deli favorite while light citrus enlivened crudo that found balance in creamy avocado alongside briny seaweed crisps.
Treated next to two of the menu’s more funky options it should seem obvious to anyone familiar that a Japanese pancake fried with uni beneath a hefty helping of freshly picked crab was an embarrassment of riches, and although each creamy bite beneath golden exterior was indeed delicious it is perhaps all the more telling of the skills in the kitchen that a quenelle of chicken liver bathed in umami-laden veloute was even better, the blueberries offsetting the iron while additional toast was offered for spreading.
Entirely happy to move into vegetables after the heft of the pate it was two large bowls that arrived next at the table and although the brassicas fell somewhat short of Saison’s signature dish the use of egg and yeast provided a bold flavor profile that proved a surprisingly adept counterpart to the soon-arriving squash matched to smoky cocoa as bites of pomegranate wrestled with bitter radicchio and mint in an elegant top note.
Opting for two fish before finishing with three meats one would be hard pressed to decide whether the skin-on snapper or tender scallops presented more flavor per bite, but as excellent as each plate was it would be equally challenging to claim either rivaled the experience offered by either sous-vide chicken thighs amidst granola and creamy hollandaise or the succulent pork belly matched to deep fried eggs and jet-black porridge that could undoubtedly be smelled – and envied – a few tables away.
Nodding to Korea by way of Texas with Brisket far better than that at Barrel & Ashes served alongside lettuce cups and spicy hoisin it was with plates wiped clean that a dessert order was placed and opting again for the ‘two of each’ approach the only ‘problem’ was teaching oneself how to share – the newly offered fig cake harkening savory sticky toffee pudding while the oft raved carrot cake and PB&J both rivaled the creativity of Los Angeles’ best kitchens with flavors and textures galore – a best bite of the former at once creamy and crunchy as well as salty and sweet with a vegetal finish that lingered on until the end of the night.
http://www.saintmartharestaurant.com/
