State Bird Provisions

December 26, 2016

Listen up fools: we apologize for the three month hiatus. We spent the last three months planning to get married and then doing just that. We've done a lot of eating in that time that we've been saving to post, so put on your stretchy pants and buckle up for the ride.

Background: State Bird Provisions opened up in 2012 by husband and wife duo Stuart Brioza & Nicole Krasinski. State Bird is credited with starting the "dim sum" trend of having dishes pushed around on pull carts, outside of traditional Chinese fare. The restaurant has won many accolades, including Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurant in 2012, a James Beard Award, and one Michelin Star. It is also known for being extremely hard to get into, so when we strolled up at 9:00 pm on a Tuesday we thought we'd have to wait for an hour or so. Luckily we got it right away because of a cancellation. The hostess said the best days to walk in are Mondays and Tuesday.

Please Note: Hamiltoe (of Hamilton & Sons, LLC) accompanied us on our journey to State Bird so when it looks like we were ordering for 8 people we were actually ordering for 3, not 2, thank you!

Eat This: State Bird has a small menu with a few regulars - most notably the CA State Bird (see above), which is deep fried quail with pecorino and some other magical accouterments. This is a must get, so go ahead and mark this off your list. They also have a whole section of their menu dedicated to toast and... wait for it...pancakes!!

DO NOT MISS THE PANCAKES OR YOU WILL REGRET THIS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. The one on the menu the night we went was sourdough, sauerkraut, pecorino, & ricotta.

Dip the pancake in the magical dust and don't ask questions.

Just when you think you've figured out the menu and what you want, then the "dim sum" carts start coming. And I swear to the ghost of John Ritter, each one looks better than the next. The first one to come out was an avocado and smoked trout dip with house made potato chips. Imagine the best smoked trout you've ever had served with your all-time favorite potato chips. Then multiply that by 10 and that is what we ate.

Potato chips & smoked trout with avocado dip

Next up were some raw salmon rolls with mint and radishes in a yogurt sauce. State Bird is known for accenting Japanese style dishes, but adding their own signature flare. This dish was a nice cool complement to the salty, hot potato chips.

Raw salmon with mint and radishes in a yogurt sauce

Our favorite dish of the night might have the Yuba Americana, which was tofu skin shaped like chanterelle pasta with guanciale, pecorino, and basil. The taste of the yuba was amazing, and if it were 1995 and we didn't have internet on our phones we would have never known we were having tofu and not real pasta.

Yuba Americana with guanciale, pecorino, and basil

We had a few other dishes, including the carrot "mochi" with brown butter & pistachio dukkah, the heirloom tomato salad with quinoa crunch, and oysters. All of which were amazing, which just goes to our point: you literally can't go wrong here. There is nothing on the menu that isn't amazing.

Dessert: If there is one thing you should know about Javon by this time, is that we love dessert. Naturally we were thrilled by their wide selection of exotic fruit and flower based desserts. The stand out was the hazelnut "ice cream" sandwich with chicory macron, lemon condensed milk, and strawberries. We also got the coconut-lavender panna cotta with askinosie chocolate crunch and a fig, the stone fruit granita with vanilla bean tapioca, peaches, and smoky tea gelee, and last but not least, the world peace peanut muscovado milk.

Hazelnut ice cream sandwich (closest), stone fruit granita (in bowl on right), world peace peanut muscovado milk (in glasses), and coconut-lavendar panna cotta (in clear dish).

Drink: State Bird serves wine and beer (a huge selection), plus a great selection of teas and house made sodas. Jason tried the samovar iced tea with crushed oolong and yuzu simple syrup and gave it two gorilla thumbs up!

Atmosphere: The atmosphere at State Bird is quirky and fun. There are weird UFO pictures on the walls and dotted tables. It feels like a fun, crazy parade with all the dim sum carts going in and out of the kitchen.

Golden State Hospitality: There is a lot of interaction with the waiters, since they are walking around with carts explaining the different dishes they have. They do team serving, and everyone was extremely helpful with a great sense of humor.

Dim sum cart (The guy at the table across was really intrigued)

Frankie's Notes: If I got in a fight with a quail, I'd probably win; Sometimes you walk into a place and actually get a seat; I wish I could be pushed on a dim sum cart for the rest of my life; Don't ever tell someone they are eating tofu unless they ask; Sometimes magical dust is 100% legal and 150% delicious; Maybe one day you will be a stranger eating across from us who is featured on the blog--dream big!