Forgot to mention where the restaurant is located in the title – San Francisco. (also, I can’t figure out how to post this text along with the picture gallery (it only let’s me post either/or, but not both) when I post from my computer so if someone can fill me in, that’d be great).
My wife and I last ate here in 2019 and had great memories from that. Never got around to booking another dinner here until they had this collaboration with IWA 5. We first tasted IWA 5 at Saison a few months ago and loved it (and I ended up buying a couple bottles from True Sake). It’s a great story with Richard Geoffrey, the wine maker at Dom Perignon for 28 years, going off to make sake, so they did start us off with a 2013 Dom Perignon which was still when he was the wine maker there.
In any case, the food was described as being Pacific NW inspired with using the entirety of the ingredient whether plant or animal. Food was all well balanced and flavorful. We did opt for the caviar supplement. It starts with some cornbread in it’s own little triangle cooking tin. This is then spread with a creme fraiche sauce and then in turn covered by grilled walnut butter. A decent amount of caviar (Tsar Nicolau) is then scooped out and spread onto the cornbread and then served. The cornbread, dripping with the sauces was a delicious vehicle for the caviar…some starch from the cornbread, the richness from the creme fraiche and butter, a bit of nuttiness from the grilled walnut, and the saltiness of the caviar made for some very delicious bites.
The uni/quail course came in three parts. First came the sea urchin/uni cream puff. The uni was sourced from Santa Barbara and had a savory butterscotch sauce. The second part of this course as the “lacquered & smoked” quail. The leg of the quail had a bit of twine on the end to make a more convenient handle. This dish was consumed with our hands and they considerately provided hand towels for afterwards. This dish also came with some “condiments” made of innards (again the complete use of the quail) in an XO sauce. I did enjoy this lighter (compared to the deep fried preparation at[ State Bird Provisions](https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/state-bird-provisions/)) yet still flavorful (the condiments packed a flavor punch) presentation. Normally I’m not a huge fan of quail, but I found this to fit nicely in this tasting menu. The third part of this course came as a broth. This came with a small twine-bundled herbs and some vintage herb scissors in their own little leather case which were a very nice touch and nice way to finish this 3-way serving of quail.
Another course was interesting since it was carrot based. The carrot was dehydrated and marinated and grilled over the coals in the hibachi (we had been watching them grill carrots all evening). This was topped with a sauce made with bone marrow (check out that bone!), huckleberries, and other “spring ferments”. i really enjoyed this carrot dish where the carrot had really been quite transformed and was so rich and flavorful from the multi-stage treatment of the carrot itself of course but also that bone marrow sauce. Yum! The only other extensive carrot treatment we’ve seen was [the one at Saison](https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/saison/) (which wasn’t on the menu the last time we were there) and this was far superior to the one at Saison.
At the end of our meal, we were ushered downstairs. There were a group of folks already seated down there around the small table so we sat at the large table. We were brought some of our additional dessert (a “lollipop”, cookies, a couple fruit based desserts) and we were also joined by Julia who was a VP for IWA who had worked with Richard for many years previously. It was interesting to hear about the launch and all of the different venues they had been to and were going. A couple seats opened up at the smaller table so we moved there where Richard and Chef Chris were seated. The pours of IWA sake kept coming. We had an interesting time talking to them and the other diners and since this was the second seating and there were no more diners coming in, they sat and drank and talked to us for quite some time.
Cornbread dish is still probably one of best dishes I’ve ever had
balldem824
Unpopular opinion but IWA 5 probably the worst sake for price along with Dassai. You are paying 200-300 dollars a bottle for a 30-50 dollar quality sake.
6 Comments
Forgot to mention where the restaurant is located in the title – San Francisco. (also, I can’t figure out how to post this text along with the picture gallery (it only let’s me post either/or, but not both) when I post from my computer so if someone can fill me in, that’d be great).
My wife and I last ate here in 2019 and had great memories from that. Never got around to booking another dinner here until they had this collaboration with IWA 5. We first tasted IWA 5 at Saison a few months ago and loved it (and I ended up buying a couple bottles from True Sake). It’s a great story with Richard Geoffrey, the wine maker at Dom Perignon for 28 years, going off to make sake, so they did start us off with a 2013 Dom Perignon which was still when he was the wine maker there.
In any case, the food was described as being Pacific NW inspired with using the entirety of the ingredient whether plant or animal. Food was all well balanced and flavorful. We did opt for the caviar supplement. It starts with some cornbread in it’s own little triangle cooking tin. This is then spread with a creme fraiche sauce and then in turn covered by grilled walnut butter. A decent amount of caviar (Tsar Nicolau) is then scooped out and spread onto the cornbread and then served. The cornbread, dripping with the sauces was a delicious vehicle for the caviar…some starch from the cornbread, the richness from the creme fraiche and butter, a bit of nuttiness from the grilled walnut, and the saltiness of the caviar made for some very delicious bites.
The uni/quail course came in three parts. First came the sea urchin/uni cream puff. The uni was sourced from Santa Barbara and had a savory butterscotch sauce. The second part of this course as the “lacquered & smoked” quail. The leg of the quail had a bit of twine on the end to make a more convenient handle. This dish was consumed with our hands and they considerately provided hand towels for afterwards. This dish also came with some “condiments” made of innards (again the complete use of the quail) in an XO sauce. I did enjoy this lighter (compared to the deep fried preparation at[ State Bird Provisions](https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/state-bird-provisions/)) yet still flavorful (the condiments packed a flavor punch) presentation. Normally I’m not a huge fan of quail, but I found this to fit nicely in this tasting menu. The third part of this course came as a broth. This came with a small twine-bundled herbs and some vintage herb scissors in their own little leather case which were a very nice touch and nice way to finish this 3-way serving of quail.
Another course was interesting since it was carrot based. The carrot was dehydrated and marinated and grilled over the coals in the hibachi (we had been watching them grill carrots all evening). This was topped with a sauce made with bone marrow (check out that bone!), huckleberries, and other “spring ferments”. i really enjoyed this carrot dish where the carrot had really been quite transformed and was so rich and flavorful from the multi-stage treatment of the carrot itself of course but also that bone marrow sauce. Yum! The only other extensive carrot treatment we’ve seen was [the one at Saison](https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/saison/) (which wasn’t on the menu the last time we were there) and this was far superior to the one at Saison.
At the end of our meal, we were ushered downstairs. There were a group of folks already seated down there around the small table so we sat at the large table. We were brought some of our additional dessert (a “lollipop”, cookies, a couple fruit based desserts) and we were also joined by Julia who was a VP for IWA who had worked with Richard for many years previously. It was interesting to hear about the launch and all of the different venues they had been to and were going. A couple seats opened up at the smaller table so we moved there where Richard and Chef Chris were seated. The pours of IWA sake kept coming. We had an interesting time talking to them and the other diners and since this was the second seating and there were no more diners coming in, they sat and drank and talked to us for quite some time.
More pictures and a bit more writeup on my blog here – [https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/birdsong-sake-maker-dinner-with-iwa/](https://epicureanenthusiast.blog/birdsong-sake-maker-dinner-with-iwa/)
Beautiful photos! That meal looks phenomenal.
IWA 5. Love it
Cornbread dish is still probably one of best dishes I’ve ever had
Unpopular opinion but IWA 5 probably the worst sake for price along with Dassai. You are paying 200-300 dollars a bottle for a 30-50 dollar quality sake.
Love Birdsong and love IWA 5 – looks awesome!