There’s nothing more that I enjoy then a fun dinner date along with mouth watering food, stimulating conversation and amazing wine. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen (as well as even the bedroom) and very soon I am going to go to a farmers market, pick up some items and cook a steak with a red wine reduction sauce and post a blog about it.
I love dinner dates and I would like to mention that when you book a long date with me that is 4+ hrs, we do not always have to go out to eat. I have had indoor cooking dates where we cook dinner together. I have also had dates where the gentleman cooked the meal and brought it over or we order some take out and just stay inside my home or the hotel room for the evening. I am pretty flexible about dates. However, I do love to go out to eat and be waited on and try different types of food. I have yet to try chilean sea bass and so much more!
A few months back I had the honor of dining at a 2 star Michelin restaurant for the very first time. It was the Taj Campton Place in San Francisco. From 2011 -2015 they only earned 1 star and in 2016 they earned 2 stars.
The 9 course meal prepared by Chef Sri’s was exquisite and delightful. Each course was tantalizing and perfectly paired with red or white wine.
My date and I began our dinner course with a glass of champagne while I told him the story about my first time eating caviar and how I did not really like it. The gentleman brought over caviar from bevmo and did not bring over the appropriate accoutrement such as creme fraiche, crackers and vodka (I have heard that peppered vodka is the best). We ate the caviar out of the jar lol. I thought it was very considerate of him to bring it over so I could try it for the first time, but the thing about this delicacy is you really have to buy expensive caviar. This is not something that you buy at bevmo or even whole foods. My dinner date is taking me to the russian tea room in SF for some russian caviar and he told me I would really enjoy it. I am willing to try it again.
The one thing I have noticed is that the Taj Campton takes great pride in not only serving amazing courses, but they also pay great attention to how the dish is presented. We start to eat with our eyes first before the food even touches our tongue. Each course was beautiful and elegant.
The 9 course meal included:
A delicate chilled cucumber soup.
Autumn Salad with pomegranate, raitha crystals and kakhra. Khakhara’s are thin crackers made from mat bean, wheat flour and oil.
Half shelled oyster with caviar. Now my date had this one and because I do not like oysters, the waiter had the kitchen prepare another dish for me made with garbanzo beans, vegetables and a delicious dipping sauce. It was very spicy but tasty.
Maine Lobster (my favorite esp with steak!) combined with heirloom kale, mint, black rice and coastal curry. In another one of my blogs I talk about how I love to eat black rice (aka forbidden rich) and how it is higher than blueberries in antioxidants. It is a hearty rice and similar in texture to brown rice but much healthier. You can buy it in asian grocery stores or whole foods.
Cauliflower, pickles, sweet potato crisp and curd rice. Curd rice also called yogurt rice is a dish of India. I love indian food and all the spices they use. I love spicy food. I am not afraid to use spices when I cook and I love to use fresh ingredients and cook things slowly. This is why I don’t even have a microwave.
Black Cod, coco-pepper crust, green papaya and warm mango nectar. Now this was surprising because I love seafood and esp salmon. I have never thought to pair any kind of fish with a chutney but this was delicious!
Lamb with basmati rice, snap peas and cumin lime yoghurt (picture of this dish is at the bottom of this blog). This was so tender and yummy! The red wine paired with it was fantastic!
Now for the dessert. Even the dessert was paired with wine.
Green apple, chestnut, coffee and cardamom.
Holi pumpkin, pear, yuzu and buddha’s hand. The yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant originating in East Asia. It is believed to be a hybrid of sour mandarin and Ichang papeda.
The buddha’s hand is interesting because this weekend I saw this weird looking thing (see the picture of it at the very bottom of this post – isn’t it alien looking? lol) at whole foods and I never knew what it was. Now I know! It is an unusually shaped citron variety whose fruit is segmented into finger-like sections, resembling a human hand. It is called Buddha’s hand in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
You would think after so many dishes and wine pairings that both myself and my date would be so full, but yet we left the restaurant satiated and not overly full.
All in all I would highly recommend you visit the Taj Campton Restaurant in the City the next time you visit San Francisco and you will not be disappointed. Be sure to allow 2-3 hrs for the dinning experience since this is not a dinner to rush! I would love to go back myself!
