Saison

I'm driving back and forth on a dark, quiet street in the Mission looking for any sign at all that indicates the location of Saison, a restaurant I had a vague recollection of making a reservation at. My date for the night is Caroline Trainer, a childhood friend and a good sport when it comes to entertaining me "while I work." Finally, she calls the restaurant and asks for more precise directions. A woman at the other end of the line says, "look for a dark alley on the North side of the street." We park the car and begin walking. Despite the fact that it feels as if we are in the ghetto, there are extremely expensive cars lining the street: Mercedes, Jaguars, Land Cruisers . . . We see the alley and peak in. A newly planted lavender tree in a court yard signifies that there is life in all this darkness. We wonder in, cautiously and at the end of the alley is a small table with 25 champagne glasses on it. A woman emerges, presumably the hostess, and pours us a glace. There are a few other dazed and confused people standing around with champagne glasses in their hands and it is clear that they have a thousand times the income that I do. That's probably a modest estimate. Luckily, Caroline and I are wearing new dresses, nice leather boots and some jewelery. I asked the hostess what the program was and she looked at me suspiciously. It felt like "Eyes Wide Shut" for a moment, like I was the only one without a clue as to what was about to happen. The other twenty or so guests arrived, one couple at a time, all dressed exquisitely. The hostess led the group through the kitchen, a huge space where the chefs watched our every move. The dining room was a sort of extension of the kitchen, with one large table in the center and a couple peripheral tables. Of course, we were sat on the periphery, as not to disrupt the elegant state of things.

In front of us was an 8 course menu, accompanied with wine pairings, all of which turned out to be bottomless. Without going into tremendous detail about the food, I will simply say that it was the best meal I've ever had.

Saison
March 2010

Little leeks, wild caviar, meyer lemon

Our farm EGG, smoked butter & golden trout roe

ROOTS stewed with bonito, caramelized shoots, leaves & flowers

petrale SOLE, artichoke citronne, vadouvan spices

crimson BEET aigre-doux, hibiscus & bone marrow

sonoma LAMB, whole-roasted with warm spices, natural jus

point reyes inverness sun toasted walnuts

SATSUMA ice cream mandarin gratine

chocolate-walnut crumble, salted caramel ice cream

$200