When we arrived at
Danko we found a simple, dark and elegant dining room to welcome our dressed up
selves. It was a high heel, coat and tie kind of night and the hostess took our
jackets immediately for the coat check. Upon sitting we were asked if wanted to
see the menu before deciding upon cocktail or wine. The seduction began as I was
impressed by the thick, luscious red roses in crystal upon our table but the CG
was a bit irritated by the white napkins that were not replaced by black to
mesh in with our darker attire. The room seemed to be filled with either Bay
Area elite families out for early supper or couples who looked like they had
saved up their whole paychecks for this experience. Although formal dress was
called for, most of the men were tie-less. The seats were so close together
that we spent a lot of time avoiding the flash bulb of a female dining next to
us as she alternated between iPhone texting and taking pictures of her soup
slurping mate.
At Jardiniere, we
were welcomed into an equally dark space where the hostess also took our coats
immediately. Upon being whisked up the staircase we were seated at the best
table available at the moment for a perfect glance downward into the bar and
around the spacious second floor at our dining peers. Everyone was dressed up
nicely and the room’s patrons were diverse; a sign of a place where the food
comes first and allures everyone in equally for an exquisite shared experience.
The tables were spaced so far apart that we felt we were alone in our little
romantic world. (Well, that is until a guy on a date nearby started getting
louder as he got drunker and drunker finally admitting to his woman that he was
a really a smoker and needed to step out for a break.)
An Amuse Bouche
should always be something special that you are not used to seeing on the
restaurant’s normal menu but that still harkens to the kind of food the chef is
known for preparing in his kitchen. The merguez sausage meatball at Danko
failed these two tests but the small and cheesy gougeres at Jardiniere were
perfectly Harmonique with the wine.
Extremely nice but overpriced wine at Danko while our first choice at
Jardiniere was not available at all.
While neck and neck
up till now, the charcuterie plate at Jardiniere quickly put it into first
place. Everything was made in house and included a soft and fleshy country
pate, jambon, spicy coppa, completely fatty and rare pancetta on toast and a
rosette de lyon.
It made the pistachio
encrusted sweet bread at Danko fall short not to mention that the sweetbreads,
although cooked to a creamy oblivion which I like, were still connected by
sinews and there is nothing grosser than having a cow sinew wedge itself into
your teeth like floss mid-bite.
Jardiniere’s roasted
eggplant soup with shelling bean escabeche, nicoise olives and chevre was
beautifully fresh and hearty. I loved the small pile of mushrooms, beans,
olives and olive oil that were piled atop the center of the soup, which we
speared small bites from during each dip into the luxurious broth.
At this point, I
don’t even recall what our entrees were at Danko because I am remembering the
insanely rich and filling carnaroli risotto with porcini mushrooms I had for
dinner. I chose this starter as a main and still could only eat half. It came
topped with a sumptuous fried squash blossom stuffed with sheep’s milk ricotta
cheese.
The CG had an Alaskan
salmon with cherry tomatoes, artichokes, borlotti beans and castelvetrano
olives – a sprightly plate with fish that was verging on raw which is top notch
in his book. He likes to see fish cooked on the verge of that frightful line
but rarely finds anyone who will do it.
Oh yes, speaking of
fish, now it comes back to me that I had a branzino at Danko which was a plate
of paper thin filets, overly dry and flavorless.
Jardiniere came out
on top until the dessert was served. The dry and crumbling cake was not
memorable neither were the caramels we were given as a consolation prize. The
desserts at Danko were the best parts of dinner starting with the macaron ice
cream sandwiches were stuffed with pineapple, raspberry and pecan praline. The
CG’s butter cake was moist, dense and delicious.
If that weren’t
enough, we were given a plate of custom made candies that we shared bite by
bite.
And I was presented
with a special pineapple vanilla cake in gold wrapping to take home as a gift.
We shared it the morning after for breakfast.
It’s hard to say what
I liked better. If I were just grading on food, Jardiniere would win hands down
and that is because a place like Danko’s shouldn’t have a Michelin star if it
can’t seduce in the food department as well as the perks. But those perks were
awfully seductive and out of the ordinary in this foodie’s world and sometimes,
for someone who eats out all the time, it is the little things that do count.
In a perfect world, these restaurants would merge the best things about each
other, freshen up the dark atmosphere, train the waiters a little better on the
merits of consistent service, and become one.
Yes, I realize this blog makes me sound completely spoiled in the food department. Good old San Francisco tends to have that affect on my soul. I will be back down to earth shortly as the trip becomes more of a memory.
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