We decided to visit our son, who moved to San Francisco for his work. It had been a long time since we visited with him there, so Karen decided she wanted to do something special for him. She found a list of Michelin Star restaurants and asked him to select one. He chose Sorrel.
Investigating what he was getting us into, we discovered that we were going to be presented with a nine course, that turned into ten-course… or a few more, set menu, selected by Chef Alexander Hong. The restaurant describes itself as “local Californian inspired cuisine with authentic and vibrant Italian influences.” The history of Sorrel was as a pop-up restaurant, that became so popular, they decided to open an establishment at 3228 Sacramento Street.
On this trip we also decided to visit Napa wineries and chose two. One that did not make the cut was Failla. Owned by Ehren Jordan, who has been making wine since the early 1990s, this estate has multiple vineyards producing a wide range of both red and white wine. On this trip I am looking for Syrah. Failla produces eight different ones, differentiated by the vineyards. For dinner we found Sorrel had the Tin Barn Syrah from 2017. The Sommelier informed us they were the only restaurant to have any of this particular wine, as it was only produced the one year. It revealed itself during the evening as an excellent choice to accompany the wide range of dishes we were to enjoy.
The Sorrel evening began with five snacks, each very different and awakening different taste buds. The form, appearance, and ingredients in each were a delight. I cannot begin to describe them as that would take this entire article to do so. After the snack we sampled a Roasted Little Radicchio, with grains and seeds, anise hyssop and mandarin caramel. It was served on a dish that appeared to be deformed on the top edge, again stimulating a range of senses. The third course was Dungeness Crab with hearts of palm, crunchy melon pearls and bonito. As you can probably tell… this evening turned into a flood of flavors, textures, aromas, and visual delights.
The fourth course was one of the most interesting, Flowering Summer Squash, with miso eggplant, yogurt and bulgar, stuffed into the flower and contrasted with a rather plain squash. At this point we needed a break, so they brought a San Francisco sourdough bread that was just excellent, brushed with olive oil and accompanied by anchovies, lardon with pomegranate, or butter. Each delivered an entirely different taste experience.
Now that we were rested, the fifth course was a raviolo with fava beans, charcoal butter, and a quail egg. The raviolo was half brown and half green and presented to look much like the sun emerging from a dark forest. Since there was no rest for the weary, the next course came as soon as the last was cleared and was a Fricelli, which incorporated clams, tocchetto and pole beans. Karen and I love razor clams from Chile, and that was what we discovered in this dish, although not from Chile. Just a great combination of flavors and textures.
After the warm up courses, we had our choice of the main course. Karen and Byron went with the Main Lobster served with escabeche, boudin and Pernod. I went with the Squab, with pumpkin, black garlic, and barley. I sampled the lobster, which was excellent, but found the squab bites to be flavorful in the extreme. We also opted for an additional entre, which was dry aged duck, served with honey, fennel, and sour cherry. This was lacquered, crisp and moist with the contrasting flavors from the sweet, crunchy, and sweet-sour accompaniments.
It was now time to move on to what the Italians refer to as Dolci. The menu listed a pavlova, with vanilla tapioca, passion fruit and white miso. This came with a crunchy crust and an explosion of the passion fruit. But we were not done yet. This was followed by a small chocolate delight that rested at the top of an ice-cream cone and a semi-circle of contrasting texture and taste, but no information as to what it was… although at this point our great server could have told me and I had lost track. As I was reaching for my credit card, still another dish was placed before us. This had a small square of gelatin fruit and a chocolate raspberry candy.
A Michelin star brought us to this restaurant. A Michelin star presented us with a tasting experience I cannot fathom could be replicated. And somehow the Failla, Tin Barn Syrah, 2017, turned out to be the perfect accompaniment… a single vintage produced and this was a singular dining experience for us.
