Background:
Chef and owner of Saison, Joshua Skenes opened Saison in 2012, which was initially a pop-up only open a few nights a week. Now, Saison has three Michelin Stars, boasts the #27 spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and Skenes has a reputation for getting to the “heart” of his ingredients in a way that goes far beyond “eating locally” (read this article for more on his philosophy)
We went to Saison on our last trip to San Francisco, just two days after our wedding. We were so excited to have some time to ourselves after the whirlwind of the marital festivities and Jason’s work conference that he was attending during the day. We were greeted warmly and given an awesome cozy spot near the bar where we settled in for the tasting menu.
Eat This:
Infusion of herbs from our garden
Starting with an herbal infusion is a lovely and light way to begin; it forces you to breathe deeply and focus on the meal that’s about to come. The practice feels meditative and lovely, and more restaurants should adopt teas and nonalcoholic infusions as an accompaniment to food.
Succulents from the coast
Saison Reserve Caviar
I don't want to say that Saison peaked too soon (did I just say it?), but this course was perhaps the highlight of the entire experience. One pound of caviar is wrapped in seaweed and smoked over a fire, and the servers unwrap the seaweed table side and serve atop toothsome succulents. The caviar alone was worth the cost of admission (well, almost), and had us giddy about the rest of the meal.
Lobster marigold
The claws x.o. sauce, Farm flowers, Golden berries
Oh, man! Lobster?! Golden berries??!! These are a few of my favorite thingggsss. This course was the start of using a single ingredient for each course and presenting it in several different ways, using every portion of the animal or ingredient and mining it for all of its possibilities.
Lobster Tail
Here we had a lobster tail (one portion was from a male lobster, one from a female lobster), claws, served with a tangy accompaniment of golden berries (also known as dried gooseberries), and lightly fried farm flowers.
Sea urchin on grilled bread
A perfect piece of Tartine bread soaked in an elixir of soy, milk, and egg yolk topped with a piece of uni. Whoa, was this combination mind blowing--the soaked bread and the uni have similar textures and the soaked bread is tangy--we really loved this one.
Monterey Bay abalone
with its liver and preserved artichoke broth
A red abalone in a wakame, artichoke, and liver sauce with capers. This was not our favorite, but was delicious nonetheless.
The whole radish & our butter
This dish is a prime example of how Saison uses their farm plot and their dairy cows to create dishes that are simple and focus on freshly curated ingredients. Radish, prepared all different ways, and clarified butter poured over the entire dish upon serving.
Pumpkin hung above the fire for a few days
Whoa, was this take on pumpkin mind blowing! The pumpkin hung above the fire was lactofermented and tasted meaty--if you didn’t know it was pumpkin you wouldn’t have guessed! The torn pumpkin was much like pasta, and the cultured pumpkin with cold pressed seeds tasted rich and fatty.
Torn pumpkin barbecued octopus
Cultured pumpkin cold pressed seeds
Hairy pig
Sweet herbs, Buttermilk herbs, A bouillon made of the bones
The heaviest dish, and one of our favorites. You could make a little pork sandwich with the biscuits, which were the most delicious part! I loved the inclusion of bone broth, which was a warming and healthy way to end the savory courses.
Dessert:
Smoked Sundae
Caramel cooked in the fireplace, Fancy nuts
This dessert was Jason’s favorite dish of the night--the smoky vanilla ice cream elevated the flavors and kept everything from being too sweet. Adding the perfect amount of nuts and caramel to the sundae was a fun (and delicious) way to end the meal.
Fruit & Tea
Orange Sorbet
Just when we thought it was over, we ended the night just as we began, with a delicious herbal infusion and this super fun orange sorbet, served in an orange!
Gold-Leaf Dipped Chocolates
Gold-leaf dipped chocolates were also brought out with this course--talk about a grand finale!
Drink:
Dessert Cocktail
The cocktails were beyond impressive--our favorite was the bourbon concoction served in this tiny pipe, which the bartender told us is often used for absinthe as it helps diffuse the flavors.
Atmosphere:
Cozy and dimly lit, Saison had a romantic atmosphere. Our favorite part was the soundtrack--they played the best 80s beats all night. This kept the atmosphere fun and not overly stuffy as fine dining can often be.
C'est ne pas une pipe
Like the best Christmas present ever
Michelin Hospitality:
The service was impeccable, as you would expect. There was team service, and sometimes the chef brought out a course, which was awesome! We also had a great chat with the bartender--everyone was kind and helpful.
Frankie’s Notes:
Bojangle’s is going to start serving herbal infusions before and after chicken biscuits; Frankie wants more caviar in his life and less Ollie; Golden berries are the most underrated fruit; A grand finale of desserts doesn’t even need fireworks; Eating Michelin Star food and listening to “Jessie’s Girl” is an experience we should all have; Jason drinking out of a little pipe is the image I want to have of him in my head for always.
Rating: 5 out of 5 and two Michigan Pugs
