Coi

anyone know more? There was an article in the ny times mag written by patterson and he mentioned a new restaurant.

anyone know more?  There was an article in the ny times mag written by patterson and he mentioned a new restaurant.

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Here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/style/tm...k_tyranny_.html

eje posted a link elsewhere saying Coi was open and giving a menu. Anyone been there?

editted to add: here it is:

Quiet pleasures at Coi

Daniel Patterson's new restaurant opens.

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eje's link

Coi webpage

Oooo, thanks for xdrixn for giving birth to this thread! A number of chefs that I spoke with on my recent trip to the Bay area were really excited about Coi.

I'll be interested to hear what other eGulleters think and experience!

u.e.

I have a reservation on Saturday the 3rd.

I am hoping with the blessing of my wife , to be snapping a few pics of the food for this thread.

I have checked our the yelp reviews and they have been very glowing.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/HG5cvtfUcpMojb2RyB2ZJQ

Shaun

Michael Bauer reviewed Patterson's Coi in today's Chronicle Magazine.

At Daniel Patterson's Coi, a complex interplay of flavors

Patterson is a master at execution, always letting the main ingredient shine. A sea scallop sashimi with Meyer lemon, olive oil, salt, avocado and radish, for example, is a combination in which all the elements are crucial background notes that elevate the creamy salinity of the seafood. He uses braised lettuces laced with pork belly and litsea cubeba, a fruity, lemon-like oil, as a platform for sauteed sea bream, a delicate white fish with a delectable skin that's seared and parallels the flavor of the meat below.

An unexpected trip to the city for the Divine Ms.W was a great excuse to talk her and Mr. B into heading to Daniel Patterson's Coi Restaurant, which I had been dying to try.

Stylistically, the design of the restaurant is warm and inviting, overt with warm brown tones. The entrance brings you to a lounge area - a banquet of booth seating with beautiful cocktails tables made from sliced, polished tree trunks and (regrettably) pillows that were a tad too furry for my taste. A turn around the corner found us in the main dining room. Obviously drawing on the Japanese aesthetic, the various shades of brown -- from the horizontal grass wallpaper to the leaf-laden paper ceiling -- instill a sense of calm and elegance. That calm was soon jolted as the tasting menu was shared amongst the three of us and a barrage of exciting and new flavors were beset upon us...

A glass of bubbly (sadly, name not known) accompanied the first few courses. There was an amuse of fresh roasted pepper and a foam and it was at this point I realized I was going to need to take notes.

The first official course was a pink grapefruit salad, but this was unlike any salad or presentation I had ever experienced. Served in an Oriental, rustic brown bowl was a deceiving mound of mousse. This was served alongside a drop of perfume and instructions were given to rub the oil on your wrists and inhale while consuming the salad. With ginger, black pepper, and three essential oils, at once multiple senses were heightened with aromas in the nose, a smooth and sumptuous mouthfeel, and exquisite layered flavors. This was also when we began to notice the service ware. There has almost become a preponderance of over-sized, Keller-esque white placesettings in haute cuisine restaurants. At Coi, the use of Japanese-inspired earthenware plates and bowls have the tendancy to bring the ethereal offerings down to earth and make them accessible to us mere mortals. Some give the appearance of an abalone shell, rough-hewn and mishapen yet with an inviting glisten in the interior glaze. Brilliant.

Next arrived a three-flavor composed plate with caviar, beet gelee, and fried bone marrow. The immediate reaction was simply the depth of flavor that came about through three seemingly divergent ingredients.

Almost to cleanse the palate - yet brighten it - the next course was a sea bream sashimi with white soy, yuzu, and a scattering of chives. Four bites total but elegant and refined.

At this point the bubbly was finished and we opened a half-bottle of 2002 Etienne Sauzet, Puligny Montrachet - stunning, simply stunning.

At the request of Mr. B, an additional course came out - a potato puree with Kapachi tartare, black truffles, and miniature haricot radish. This dish was all about the potatoes and the concentration of flavors that spoke the terroir of the potato.

This was followed with a soft-poached egg yolk which lied under some parmesan foam. Hidden amongst the yolk was a bacon-onion relish. This dish provided an amazing array of components; first the parmesan foam on top, but as one dug deeper, the bacon and unctuous egg yolk again displayed stunning depth.

A show-stopper arrived shortly thereafter -- Delicata sqaush soup was poured table-side over walnut brittle, cippollini onions, and cocoa mascarpone. The surprise of the walnut brittle juxtaposed with the elegant squash was neither too heavy nor too playful (it was brittle, after all). Just a tease of sweetness with the layered complexity of flavors.

A very odd dish was served next - Yuba 'pappardalle' with coconut milk and curry. Yuba is skin that develops from soy milk. It has an interesting tooth that is similar to pasta but reminded me or canned glutten. It was easily the most experimental dish of the evening and while the flavors melded together enough, the sci-fi nature of the yuba made it a bit difficult to get overly excited.

We were next served a seared scallop with apple jicama, mint, and a Buddha's hand emulsion. This was wildly successful and I would have happily consumed several of these. The citrus emulsion was more than the pure essence of the Buddha's hand but progressed the sweetness of scallop further.

The white wine being close to finishing, I ordered a 2002 Domaine Morey Coffinet Chassagne Montrachet, a soft and supple red from Burgundy.

With one more seafood course, we were presented with a sea bream atop several varieties of braised lettuce with a citrus/saffron sauce. The saffron was handled delicately (as so often it can be over-done and too heavy) and while the sauce was quite elegant, this might have been the one dish that suffered by virtue of the fact that the fish itself did not stand up to the sauce. Here was the first time we detected a lack of the profound depth we had been experiencing from the beginning.

Three "entree" courses were shared amongst the three of us as yet another potato explosion occurred with a pepper-seared shortrib 'steak' with potato foam, baby dandelion greens, and a red wine vinaigrette. While the short-rib steak itself was quite tasty, almost any cut of beef would have sufficed as this dish was all about the potato. It was the full essence and soul of a potato, concentrated and unyielding.

I was most enamored with Guinea hen roasted with Bhutanese red rice. Both Mr. B and I couldn't get enough of the rice but I got to finish the bulk of it. The hen was perfectly rare and moist and I regret that I didn't jot down the components of the seasonings.

Another course served was squab and foie gras with melted endive on a hibiscus reduction. This dish suffered only in that there was too little foie and too much sweet hibiscus. I adored the concept, but would have preferred a more balanced approach.

Finishing the main courses, a pseudo-cheese course was offered with a cheese tart that easily transcended my being. Naming the producer of the cheese, Rolf Beeler gruyere was melted on a simple rectangle of puff pastry so redolent with butter to have almost floated off the plate. Sitting aside some lightly dressed wild arugula, I discovered a new pathway to Nirvana through this simple presentation. Another show-stopper for me.

The dessert came with a glass of Sauterne (forgetting to get the exact name). Three desserts were shared and chef Patterson seems to have found a pastry chef with the same sense of adventure and daring. A single spoonful amuse was presented to sweeten our palate and comprised of huckleberry tapioca pearls with Malden sea salt. The juxtaposition of the salt and sweet was a miniature explosion of complex flavors that enticed the taste buds exactly as inspired -- wanting more.

An almost savory Manchego cheesecake with a hint of rosemary was served next to an apple sorbet. A baked Alaska with a gingerbread crust and creme fraiche sorbet was served with butter pears. And a brioche bread pudding was scented with lapsang souchong and served with a sorbet (unfortunately, I can't decipher my notes on the flavor of the sorbet). I enjoyed the baked Alaska tremendously, but found it a tad too sweet. I believe Mr. B prefered the cheesecake as it was decidedly the least sweet. Ms. W and I swooned over the bread pudding as the clear favorite.

In lieu of a mignardise, a final touch was offered in the simplest presentation of a single peanutbutter cookie served alongside a few sips of warm malted milk. This was a stunning culmination to the meal and all were shocked how seriously good and hearty the milk was but how it was so well complimented by the peanutbutter morsel.

The overall impact of the meal is that with very few exceptions, each ingredient is integral to the other ingredients. Nothing is over wrought or unnecessary. There is an intense purity of flavor and the word of the evening became depth. As opposed to a one-off, special occasion meal (as this was intended to be and many of these meals become), I look forward to returning to Coi to experience more of chef Patterson's brilliance.

When I found out that Daniel Patterson would be presenting at Madrid Fusion 2008 in January, Coi (pronounced to rhyme with the French word for me - moi and not "coy" as I had previously thought) moved from a list of possible restaurants to visit during my brief business trip to San Francisco to one I had to visit.

Carolyn's report above presents an accurate representation of the ambiance and decor as well as the food styling, which is definitely Japanese/zen influenced with a French foundation but with a unique hand.

The front room is all warm and fuzzy. We waited for a great, old friend who lives in Oakland and was my best man at my wedding. Once he arrived we sat over a drink and traded updates until his guest arrived.

We opted for the full tasting menu.

Sunchoke Walnut soup along with Rapini and Sunchoke Salad - our amuse. The sunchoke in both preparations was the predominant note, but well balanced by the other elements of the preparations.

Valencia Orange Green Olive Sorbet, Pink Peppercorn, Litsea Cubeba. The instructions and sensations were very similar to what Carolyn described above in her first official course. This was unusual, but very enjoyable. It reminded me of the scent pillow at Alinea and the perfume desserts at Can Roca, though I have only heard of the latter.

Kampachi Sashimi, white soy, yuzu, shichimi togarashi Simple and delicious secondary to great product and balance.

Little Farm Heirloom Potatoes, McEvoy olive oil, sel gris, chicories I was beginning to feel that I was at Blue Hill at Stone Barns West and that is not a bad thing.

Charred Eggplant, Piquillo Peppers, cumin, cilantro My wife's dish - she loved it.

Smoked Artisan Foie Gras terrine, elderberry-sweet vermouth sauce, pickled fennel, grains of paradise - perfectly fine foie gras terrine, though not memorable over a host of other top foie gras terrines.

Oxheart Carrots and young artichokes braised in our butter, green cardamom, flowering cilantro Silky and delicious without being overly sweet.

Delicata Squash-brioche Pudding, pine nuts, shiso leaf and bud, szechuan pepper oil This was the dish of the evening, subtle, delicate, delicious with a hint of spice and perfectly balanced with great textural contrast - spectacular flavor and execution.

Hokkaido Scallop Grilled on the Plancha, braised and grilled cabbage, bacon, crimson gold crab apple superb.

Whole Wheat pasta handkerchief, ricotta, chanterelles, full belly almonds, nettles My wife's dish in lieu of the scallop. I was tempted, but couldn't forgo the scallop. She liked it.

Anderson Ranch Lamb Loin and Shoulder, la tercera fresh cannellini beans, roasted tokyo turnips, dino kale, sage This dish ws good, but relatively the most disappointing of the evening for me. I would have liked my lamb a touch more rare, but I am splitting hairs and looking for something to criticize. If this was my most disappointing course, and it was, then I Had an outstanding meal, and I did.

Guffanti Moncensio, comice pear-endive salad, honey vinaigrette Nicely affineured cheese and a good accompaniment - satisfying.

Dessert amuse a carbonated smooth beverage, but I don't recall the specifics and it is not listed on the menu.

Caramelized Apple farm Newtown Pippin, thyme, westcombe cheddar ice cream - a reworking of a classic apple pie combination that continued the zen minimalist aesthetic of the meal - very nice.

Michel Cluizel Chocolate ganache, hazelnut, huckleberry, tarragon Delicious even for a filled belly.

Post Dessert

We emptied the restaurant. here is a view of the dining room after all the patrons but ourselves and another couple left. The restaurant was full all evening, but the service was not in the least rushed even as they tolerated us waiting for the last of our party for a half hour. Daniel Patterson came from the kitchen once and spoke briefly with some people known to him though he clearly looked to be uncomfortable in that situation. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet him, though I would have liked to. The meal was truly elegant and sophisticated in a very understated way. I would be very happy to return.

Super, doc! Thanks for the report and the excellent photography. I'm pleased to see that the cuisine is a lot less hyper-modern in presentation than I had thought it might be (which is a good thing for me). The apple and cheddar ice cream sounds awesome. Was the ice cream savory at all?

Super, doc! Thanks for the report and the excellent photography.  I'm pleased to see that the cuisine is a lot less hyper-modern in presentation than I had thought it might be (which is a good thing for me).  The apple and cheddar ice cream sounds awesome.  Was the ice cream savory at all?

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It was indeed savory. This was apple pie a la mode and with cheddar cheese all in one. This was a good example of a deconstruction/reconstruction that worked well even if there is nothing wrong with the original.

The presentations were not hypermodern in the Alinea, elBulli, wd-50 way, though I suspect that Patterson uses modern technique in his preparations. He is adventurous with ingredients with a very strong Japanese ingredient palette amongst other areas of influence. The restaurant minus the decor and atmosphere reminded me of Blue Hill at Stone Barns more than it reminded me of any other single restaurant.

I just got back from a casual lounge dinner at Coi, as opposed to 16 course with wine pairing extravaganza that we did a couple of months ago. It's hard to find a good restaurant in SF that can serve reasonable food on a Friday evening without being unpleasantly loud and packed, especially when one hasn't planned ahead with a reservation. The lounge area of Coi was comfortable and space was not a problem when we arrived at 7:45 (did call ahead but didn't reserve), although it did fill up by about 8:30 or 9pm. We ordered mostly from the simpler lounge menu, including the pork rillet (homemade, I'm sure, rich and unctuous with cornichons on the side), the grilled Gruyer sandwich (a reason to come back by itself, according to the other half), the slow cooked pork with cabbage and mashed potatoes (slow cooked for 15 hours and yet somehow completely juicy and delicate, an amazing feat really). We also got one dish off the tasting menu, the charred eggplant one that's been documented above and the apple dessert; the a la carte versions we received were both about twice the size of what's pictured in the photo, although I can't promise that it wasn't a result of preferential treatment. Aside from what we ordered, we also got the sunchoke amuse, an extra greeting from the kitchen of roasted baby beets with a pomegranate sauce (?), and a palate cleanser of creme fraiche ice cream with persimmons (I think). To drink we had an open glass of sauvignon blanc and one of Oregan pinot noir, followed by a recommendation of a half bottle of a 2001 Amarone, which was a gorgeous multi-layered wine.

I would really recommend the lounge if one is local-ish and not feeling up for the full tasting menu experience, as everything on the tasting menu plus the lounge menu is available to order separately in the lounge at very reasonable prices, and the service was absolutely professional and thoughtful. If it's your first or one time visit though, do get the long tasting menu as it has a number of highlights that you might not think to order individually.

Great report and pictures, docsconz!

Wow, I am quite pleased and somewhat surprised to see the number of vegetable courses offered in the tasting menu at Coi! That is very cool.

I had the chance to visit Coi for the first time last week. My thoughts on the meal are below, and the photos can be seen HERE.

“Suck it up,” a friend and fellow blogger told me. “I think Coi has the potential to impress us.” Quite a reasonable reaction to my unreasonable hypocrisy. You see, I was just back from a trip to Paris, and suddenly I was Mr. Popular. I’d gotten mail from MasterCard and Citibank on the same day, and they both wanted to know how my trip had gone! Suddenly it seemed everybody wanted to talk to me, and I let it get to my head. These financial… souvenirs made me wonder if perhaps there was a better time to try a restaurant that carries a $120 minimum tariff. Any time I spend that kind of money in the Bay Area, I tend to play it safe and head back to my happy place.

But Chuck was right this time. What did I have to lose? If I’d cross the Atlantic to go to dinner without the slightest consideration of the associated consequences, there’s nothing that should keep me from the same sort of exploration closer to home. And so it was that we found ourselves at Coi last week. We sat down and filled in our ballots for the dishes on the 11-course menu that had an A-or-B choice. We ordered a bottle of 1997 Max Ferdinand Richter Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese (for a mere 240% of the retail price!). And the parade of plates began.

The first bite was called MILK & HONEY, and it was exactly that. The two ingredients made up a small liquid-filled sphere surrounded by a thin membrane. We were told to first smell the star lily flower, since its honeysuckle-like aroma was a preview of the flavors in the sphere. It was a sweet and creamy beginning to the meal, deftly balanced by just the slightest touch of salt.

Visually, the next course was like a pumped-up version of the first, but the flavor and texture were quite different. The combination of PINK GRAPEFRUIT ginger, tarragon, black pepper was sweet, tart, bitter and slightly spicy. Pink grapefruit gel was topped with a thick foam spiked with ginger and black pepper essential oils. I loved not only the taste of this, but also how it felt in my mouth. The combination of the gel and foam had a textural character that really made the flavors linger. There was also a dab of Coi perfume — no I am not kidding — on the plate. We were told to rub it on our wrists before eating this course, but I didn’t feel like it added much to the experience. That quibble aside, I really enjoyed this.

We were in for a pleasant surprise now, since we had both chosen the other menu option for the next dish. But the waiter smiled when he set the KAMPACHI SASHIMI white soy, yuzu, shichimi togarashi in front of us. The chef would like for us to try the whole menu, he said, so we would be having everything. Sweet. The fish here was fresh and well-seasoned. A small radish on the side was a crunchy, piquant palate cleanser. There was nothing wrong with this simple course, but for me it wasn’t as compelling as the ones that preceded it.

As much as I badmouth my new home state of California, it’s nice to live in a place where Spring actually begins in March. And the next course was a vibrant reminder of that: ASPARAGUS PANNA COTTA coconut milk, makrut lime leaf, cilantro. Under a layer of creamy coconut milk panna cotta was a purée of asparagus juice, blanched asparagus, olive oil, and vegetable stock, all set with gelatin. The shaved ribbons of asparagus and radish on the side tasted as bright and refreshing as the panna cotta. And though the lime leaf and cilantro lifted the flavors of those vegetables, I think an extra hit of acidity in the panna cotta itself would’ve made a nice difference.

The DAIRY FRESH GOAT CHEESE TART beets, dill, caraway was a refreshing spin on a dish that sounded kind of boring on paper. The tart crust was made with dehydrated and ground pumpernickel, ground caraway, and rye flour. A layer of fresh goat cheese inside was topped with goat cheese mousse, so the range of textures was fantastic. Red beet purée and roasted golden beets, fresh dill, and caraway seed all went really nicely with the tart.

The intriguingly titled OCEAN AND EARTH lobster in two textures, sea palm, cauliflower, borage came next. There were small pieces of lobster cooked sous vide with lobster oil, and noodles cut from lobster consommé gel infused with konbu and a little bonito. There were a few types of both raw and cooked seaweed, pickled cauliflower, borage, and a cauliflower-seaweed purée. My favorite part of the dish was the delicious purée, but I wonder if the textures of the lobster wouldn’t have been better appreciated without it. The subtle sweetness of the lobster was given more richness by the dashi-like infusion in the gel, but I’m not sure the cauliflower was enough to hold up the “earth” end of the title here.

The next dish was new to the menu, the waiter said, so he wanted our honest feedback on the CHILLED ENGLISH PEA SOUP creamy ricotta, lemon, nasturtiums. It turned out that my only complaint here was with myself — both for the Puritanic restraint I showed in not asking for a second bowl, and for lacking the healthy curiosity one should always have about whether or not the second bowl could be quite as delicious as the first. The flavor of the soup was exactly like the color — vibrant and green. The housemade ricotta was delicious and the lemon brought a bright top-note to every spoonful. Chuck and I both agreed this was the highlight of the savory portion of the meal.

This was followed by a course I wasn’t as crazy about: WARM SALAD OF SHAVED ARTICHOKES, FAVA BEANS AND LEAVES carolina gold rice, green garlic, baby leeks, mint. I did enjoy the fact that it was served warm, and I liked the texture that the rice lent to the dish. But I guess for me the flavors didn’t really come together how I had expected they would. The taste of the artichoke became a kind of one-note tune, not really changing or developing with the other accompaniments. I should point out that Chuck disagreed with me on this one, so maybe he’s got more of a predilection for artichokes than I do.

I was excited about the HODO SOY YUBA ‘PAPPARDELLE’ chantenay carrots, baby fennel, flowering bok choy, vadouvan. I know that tofu skin may conjure up some scary images for people, but a restaurant in Tokyo I visited a few months ago taught me that it can be a beautiful thing. Long wide ribbons of yuba were floating here in a vadouvan-scented broth, along with pieces of very flavorful baby vegetables. I loved the yuba “noodles”, which had the delicate texture of fresh pasta. And I thought the broth and the vegetables made for a very tasty soup. Chuck disagreed, since he didn’t think the vadouvan flavor really came through. But I think my only complaint with the dish was in the naming. Seeing the word “pappardelle” on the menu had me expecting a plate of pasta; not noodles floating around in a broth. But honestly if that is not nit-picking, I don’t know what is.

If I had wanted traditional pasta before, we got it anyway with the BLACK TRUMPET RAVIOLO celery root, flowering chervil, hazelnut, perigord truffle. I thought for a second about how not too many years ago, before the attempts at Italian cuisine in this country and before even your local neighborhood restaurant had a chef’s tasting menu, most people wouldn’t have known the singular form of “ravioli”. Then I realized I am a food nerd, and I should really get a life. In any case, it turned out the menu description here was like a USDA-approved food label — the ingredients were listed from most to least prominent. The mushrooms in the filling were flavorful, the celery root foam made a nice condiment, and bits of chopped hazelnut brought a very welcome bit of crunch. Unfortunately any truffle flavor or aroma was AWOL, granted it was late April so a look at the calendar could have predicted as much. Overall, another course that was good but not great.

Next we had a cooked fish course: the SAUTEED MADARA manila clams, agretti, red endive, smoked oil. Madara is another name for Pacific cod, and here it was cooked pretty well. The flesh was fork-tender and flaky, though a much crispier skin would have been nice. The fish rested in a small pool of tasty clam broth-based sauce dotted with smoked oil. The salad on the side was acidic, salty and slightly bitter, and I thought it went well with the fish. I don’t think Chuck was too thrilled with this dish, but I found it to be pretty tasty.

Another sure sign of spring was the MORELS slow cooked beck farms partridge egg, spring onions, pea shoots. These mushrooms are among my favorites: spongy in a good way, and a fantastic vehicle for the flavors around them. The morel broth they were served with here was given some extra thickness and richness from the runny egg yolk. A few tiny croûtons scattered around the plate brought some much-needed crunch, and the onions and greens were tender with a subtle natural sweetness. Still, I’m not sure all of this amounted to anything more than the sum of its parts. Don’t get me wrong — it was good, I just wasn’t crazy about it like I thought I might be.

Next we had two different cuts of POZZI FARM LAMB baby turnips, bloomsdale spinach, chicory. There was a slice of loin meat (probably cooked sous vide judging from the uniform pink inside) and a fat chunk of braised shoulder meat. The shoulder meat was really dry and kind of bland, although I thought the chicory sprinkled on it was a nice touch. The loin on the other hand was quite good. Very tender and flavorful, I only wish there had been more of it. I also thought the sautéed spinach, chicory and flame raisins were nice as a sweet counterpoint to the rich lamb jus.

Looking at the menu, I didn’t have a clue what CAVATINA (SOYOUNG SCANLAN) peppercress sprouts was going to be, but it turned out it was a cheese course. Soyoug Scanlan is the cheesemaker at Andante Dairy with a penchant for giving her cheeses musical names like nocturne, minuet, and in this case cavatina. I don’t remember the waiter’s description of this cheese, but if I had to guess I’d say it was goat’s milk. It had a semi-firm paste, an ashed rind, and a slightly tangy flavor. Not life-changing, but pretty good.

Pre-dessert came as a tall shot of ORANGE SODA. A simple housemade soda made with orange juice, sugar, and a little salt. It was topped off with crème fraîche that had bubbled up like an ice cream float, so it was a little difficult to get the drink out without a spoon. But once I did, it was a refreshing transition to the sweeter end of the meal.

The first dessert was a tasty wake-up call. Raised eyebrows and smiling faces were our first reactions to the CARROT CAKE carrot ganache, celery sherbet. This was fabulous — the carrot ganache, the moist cake, the celery sherbet — everything. Just the right level of sweetness, and a surprising show-stealer. This was my favorite course of the meal.

I’m not really a chocolate guy, but the MICHEL CLUIZEL “LOS ANCONES” GANACHE albion strawberries, wild licorice anglaise was great, too. The bittersweet ganache had rich chocolaty flavor that really lingered. The texture was almost like a thick mousse, keeping it from being too heavy. The strawberries tasted like actual strawberries, which is a big complement considering the flavorless watery impostors by the same name that one might find at the local supermarket. The licorice-spiked custard sauce was delicious.

But even those two delectable desserts were almost trumped by the McEVOY OLIVE OIL MILKSHAKE chocolate truffle. A non-custard based vanilla ice cream was blended with sweet buttermilk, vanilla-infused olive oil, and salt. The result was truly fantastic. After each sip was the buttery olive oil was what coated my mouth, rather than the lingering creaminess that you might get from a typical milkshake. The chocolate truffle on the side was nice, too, with a few coarse grains of salt on top to tame the sweetness. I can’t say enough good things about the shake, though, except to say that we asked for a second round posthaste.

The meal, I’ll admit, was a bit disjointed. Many dishes seemed to be on the cusp of something great, but few made the leap over the edge. And I’m not sure there was a unifying sense of direction in what we’d tasted. But honestly, maybe there didn’t need to be one. Chuck had insisted that Chef Daniel Patterson’s food had the potential to be impressive, and in the end, I found myself impressed by its potential. I have a lot of respect for the handful of Bay Area chefs with enough ambition and imagination to eschew being just another Chez Panisse derivative. Coi has the same great ingredients, even listing their provenance on a menu page of their own. But Patterson has the audacity to take these foods and do something beyond putting raw vegetables on a plate and calling it salad, or fresh fruit in a bowl and calling it dessert. His food has flashes of simplicity and flashes of technology, but both suggest a chef concerned not only with extracting flavors, but also with accentuating texture and exposing aroma (he wrote the book on it, in fact). And that suggests to me that Coi is a place well worth revisiting.

I was in SF and Napa for the last week of 2008 (I had been in SF earlier in the year). I went to many restaurants but only two made me really want to write something about them.

COI/Chef Patterson

I was not prepared for this menu. I had been there once before and I enjoyed it. However, this time it was incredible, one of my best dining experiences of the year for me.

We had everything on the menu. The favorites were the Oysters, the Crab melt, the Earth and Sea, the Matsutake and the two desserts.

I did not care much for the "Abstraction of Garden in Early Winter." I thought the plating was too full and the chocolate did not do anything to enhance the vegs. THe "Abalone" and the "Fromage Blanc Tart" were pretty standard for my taste. The Cheese plate was also fantastic (big fan of Scanlan here).

Great service, great room and an outstanding meal. I am planning a one-weekend escape just to go to COI. It is worth 3000 miles and more.

Questions, ask.

l

Based on our shared experiences and the restaurants you enjoy, I am not surprised that you enjoyed Coi. I would say that Chef Patterson's food is the closest thing stylistically to Andoni Aduriz' that I have seen in the US.

What was the other restaurant?

How well do you know me!

I think Chef Patterson entered my personal pantheon of great Chefs. It was a perfectly executed meal, it is top five for me. The variety of the menu, the permutations of the very different ingredients into a plate never ceased to amazed me. The "quince and huckleberry parfait," for example, does not sound very appetizing but it was phenomenal.

You are absolutely right that he works in a manner not too different from Chef Aduriz. Different elements and techniques but similar culinary philosophies.

l

Michael Mina was the other one.

How well do you know me!

I think Chef Patterson entered my personal pantheon of great Chefs. It was a perfectly executed meal, it is top five for me.  The variety of the menu, the permutations of the very different ingredients into a plate never ceased to amazed me.  The "quince and huckleberry parfait," for example, does not sound very appetizing but it was phenomenal.

You are absolutely right that he works in a manner not too different from Chef Aduriz. Different elements and techniques but similar culinary philosophies.

l

Michael Mina was the other one.

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The latter surprises me a little. I found the food to be a little uneven when I was there. You must have ordered well. Did you try Canteen? That is one that I would guess that you would like as well.

It was a very, very good and solid meal. Classic yet with interesting twists. I could not get into "Canteen" but I am going to SF as soon as I can....and I really do not care much for the city to tell you the truth.

I really do not care much for the city to tell you the truth.

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What a shame -- can I ask why? (As a resident, I'm curious if it is something we can rectify).

BTW, I agree with you on Patterson but not on Mina... I would eat at Coi any day of the week but can't be encouraged to return to Michael Mina.

I was actually expecting not to enjoy Michael Mina at all. Not only because the night before I had eaten at COI and it was such a wonderful and surprising experience, but also because it is not my kind of place. I went there to do a "been there" kind of check. However, it was a very, very good experience.

About San Francisco, I have traveled to SF 10 times approximately and I do not seem to connect with the city at all. I must be the only European who does not enjoy SF. I find it messy and dirty. I do not get North Beach at all for example. However, I am sure that it is me. If it were not for professional reasons and restaurants, I would not go there again.

But, next time, we will go to COI and Mina (and many others) and you tell me where to go.....

L, in Frankfurt

Thanks, Leski -- I can understand not getting North Beach; it has become mostly a tourist trap filled with mediocre restaurants, crowds, and rudeness (akin to Fisherman's Wharf with only *slightly* better food).

We have had an influx of homeless which is not helping the cleanliness of the city but having traveled extensively to more than a handful of European cities, I would challenge that we tend to be a bit more on the friendly side with pockets of delight that you have yet to experience.

Drop me a PM during your next visit and I'll be happy to introduce you to some of the charms which I have discovered since living here in the past three years, including little-known eateries that stay off radar.

It looks like I have one dinner and possibly (hopefully) one lunch in San Francisco next week. Coi sounds fantastic. Can I eat at the bar w/o a reservation? I'll be solo and bar dining is my preference. Is that the "lounge" menu? Just as good as the dining room or not? Any guidance would be very much appreciated. thanks.

ETA: I just called the restaurant and its closed till Jan 13. i'm so sad.

It looks like I have one dinner and possibly (hopefully) one lunch in San Francisco next week.  Coi sounds fantastic.  Can I eat at the bar w/o a reservation?  I'll be solo and bar dining is my preference.  Is that the "lounge" menu? Just as good as the dining room or not?  Any guidance would be very much appreciated.  thanks.

ETA: I just called the restaurant and its closed till Jan 13.  i'm so sad.

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Sorry you'll be missing Coi. Consider Canteen for your lunch, though. What are some of your other dinner thoughts?

Sorry you'll be missing Coi. Consider Canteen for your lunch, though. What are some of your other dinner thoughts?

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Canteen was on my list (and it's a short list)! Go there for lunch and not dinner? (Not sure when In N Out is happening. maybe breakfast?) I need to hit Alembic on the one night I have in town (Thurs) for cocktails. Any suggestions for dinner after cocktails?

Sorry you'll be missing Coi. Consider Canteen for your lunch, though. What are some of your other dinner thoughts?

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Canteen was on my list (and it's a short list)! Go there for lunch and not dinner? (Not sure when In N Out is happening. maybe breakfast?) I need to hit Alembic on the one night I have in town (Thurs) for cocktails. Any suggestions for dinner after cocktails?

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The only In-N-Out in the city is at the tourist-trap area known as Fisherman's Wharf and it is not a good enough reason to venture into that neighborhood. Further discussion continued over in this thread on one-nighters...