A wonderful NYE dinner at Saison and other San Francisco adventures

For New Year’s Eve I spent a fabulous evening at Saison. This restaurant completely lived up to its hype. I loved it. Loved the place, the food, the service everything. Its no. 46 and its 3 michelin stars are well earned!

First some pictures of the restaurant below. Loved that it is an open concept kitchen and you can be present for the whole experience.

Here’s the menu of what we ate:

• Saison Reserve Caviar – it really was a caviar tamale! (two things i loved) they roast the caviar on plantain leaves and the textures and highlighted flavors are amazing
• Japanese Butterfish: silky and smooth with the perfect balance of acidity 
• Lobster and Roasted Chestnuts: smooth and hearty with a great mix of color
• Cauliflower from the wood oven: Loved the presentation, how they carved it table side. Im not a huge cauliflower fan but with this sauce i would eat a lot!

  

• Sea urchin on Grilled Bread: one that i didn’t try as i have a uni allergy to top my gluten allergy (this one was a double wammy) but my fellow diners loved it. 
• King Salmon cured over sake lees: beautifully cooked salmon (total crispyness of the skin) with a delicious broth. The broths they make here are just all spectacular
• BBQ squab: I loved the play on different textures on the same colour. Although not my favorite protein of the night it was still delicious and expertly cooked.
• whole radish: again when they make me love a dish of an ingredient i usually dont like, its mayor points to them. this is what happened here. The gelatins (of radish) where a great textural contrast and all together was a very solid dish.
• millbrook Farms Venison: I love venison and this did not disappoint. The sauces were beautiful and i loved the accompaniments, grilled avocado and a type of chicharron which was so good. 
• Hida Wagyu: Can one really go wrong with wagyu?
• Warm Broth: again every sauce and both here were stellar
• Pear & Yuzu & Hachiya Persimmon: some great palate cleansers, especially the pear and yuzu. My dad’s comment on the persimmon: its literary just a persimmon. I guess you cant really impress colombians with just fruit!
• Smoked Milk Sundae: Ice cream and caramel are my ideal dessert so i was loving this. The smokiness was evident and it was a nice size dessert which is highly appreciated at this stage of the night.

The wines were spectacular and probably as good as the food. dueling 1982 (its a great year 😉 ):

Some NYE specials:

Our time in San Francisco also had some other great  experiences

• State Bird Provisions: I loved the concept of this restaurant. The come around in dim sum sort of trays with tapa style food that you can pick and they just keep tallying your bill. There are also a small list of things to order by menu (of which you must order the fried state bird). A great concept and a great night out of food, casual but spectacular at the same time.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• NOPA: a cool brunch spot although not very gluten free friendly. My family had an awesome burger, i had a very nice short rib (pictured below) 
• Great views o the Wharf and Ghirardelli market

Oh and even though i would never recommend our hotel (do not stay at the Fairmont) I had to highlight the beautiful real life gingerbread house they had.