Dinner last night was at Manresa for the much anticipated guest chef night featuring David Hawksworth of West in Vancouver, British Columbia. Unlike the last guest chef evening where they had one seating at 6:30 and tried to keep every table at the same course, this time they had three seatings. We probably could have made the early seating at 6:30 but I didn’t want to rush and made our reservations for 7:30.
Each place setting had a menu of the evening’s dishes along with the wine parings. I was glad to see the wine parings because normally the sommelier does such a detailed description of the wine you forget the basics like what country it’s from. We began our evening with the amuse – little single bite treats. I was a little surprised that they had a wine paring for them. We started off with the wild salmon with avocado and pineapple. The salmon was very rare (that’s why it said “lightly seared” on the menu) and didn’t have the strong flavor I normally associate with salmon. It went very well with the subtle avocado and pineapple.
They also brought out the pomegranate sangria at the same time. The server recommended that we drink the sangria slowly to allow the flavors to mingle. It was the best sangria I’ve ever tasted. The pomegranate flavor was very sweet and tasted really fresh.
Next up was the chestnut croquette. Again the server gave eating instructions; this time we were to pop the whole thing into our mouth at once because it had a liquid center. I haven’t had a lot of deep-fried food lately and the chestnut croquette made me realize how much I missed it. It was wonderful.
The final little treat was served on one of those big white soupspoons you see in Chinese restaurants. On top of the spoon were the crispy sweetbreads with pancetta and a truffle sauce. The flavor I tasted the most reminded me of bacon (that would probably be the pancetta). I liked it.
After the little appetizers we had the first “real” course. It was yellowfin sashimi with golden kiwi and jalapeno citrus jus and fresh wasabi vinaigrette from the visiting chef. It was amazing and may have been my favorite dish of the evening. The golden kiwi was prepared as a chip and had an incredibly intense flavor. The sashimi (yes it was raw – that’s what sashimi is) matched perfectly with the jalapeno citrus jus and the wasabi vinaigrette. I could have sat and eaten that all night.
The next item was from Manresa’s chef. It was roasted sea scallops on a bed of onions perfumed with cumin and dates. This dish ranked right up there with some of the best scallop dishes I’ve ever had, and was a very close second to the sashimi for my favorite item. The scallops were cooked perfectly and sat on a bed of onions that had been cooking for about 7 hours. The cumin flavor was really nice. In fact, I had just used cumin with scallops myself last Friday so I kind of knew what to expect.
Following the scallops was an offering from the guest chef: marinated sablefish with pine mushrooms in an oxtail broth. I though the sablefish (or black cod as it is also known) had a very powerful flavor; something I normally don’t care for in fish. However, the oxtail broth seemed to mute the strong fish flavor and I was surprised to find that I had finished the fish and was looking for more. I could see how a person could acquire a taste for it. Usually I’m not a big mushroom fan but the pine mushrooms in the oxtail broth were wonderful. They disappear as quickly as the sablefish did.
Manresa’s chef was behind the next item: slow roasted squab with dried fruit and nut risotto. The squab breast was very rare – you could almost hear the cooing – but it was very good. The first time I tried rare squab breast I wasn’t a big fan, but I’ve come to really like it. The squab sat on a bed of dried fruit and nut risotto, and it was the best risotto I’ve ever had. I could see using it as a base for lots of different dishes. After dinner I was talking to the chef and he told me how he finishes off a risotto. He takes a spoon of whipped cream and mixes it in just before serving. That keeps the rice grains separated and imparts a nice creamy flavor. I loved that risotto.
The final savory dish was from the guest chef. It was lamb served with tomato and basil ravioli. The lamb was encrusted with herbs and like most of the evening’s dishes was served very rare. It didn’t have the overpowering flavor you sometimes get from a really rare lamb. Possibly that was masked somewhat by the liberal use of herbs. The ravioli accompanying the lamb was wonderful; the tomato and basil flavor exploded in my mouth.
Dessert was spiced panna cotta and gingerbread “croustillan” with pear caramel. The caramel-flavored pear was wonderful and went well with the panna cotta. The panna cotta reminded me of frozen custard. I liked this dessert a lot.
Finally, they brought out a couple of little dessert treats to end the evening. Every dish served last night was amazing and it was a nice way to spend a Thursday night.
The menu can be found below the fold.
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