Racion

Pasadena, California

Racion delivered an experience that was unexpectedly on point!

This restaurant was established in 2012 with a focus on providing cuisine using local California ingredients with unique takes on dishes that are traditional to the Basque region in Spain. The unique twist comes from incorporating Asian influences into their flavors. In other words, creatively thinking outside the box with the details of each plate, which I appreciate! After eating here, I want to visit again so I can taste the entire menu!

I was looking forward to trying a few of the tapas that I had noticed on the menu that I viewed prior to deciding on this as a dining destination. However, I was not anticipating how multifaceted the flavors would be for each dish that was presented. Here is what I tried:

Smoked White Fish, Cucumber, fennel, lemon aioli, seeded cracker ($12).
This was presented on a single large cracker, approximately three inches by six inches. The cracker was firm, but easily broken in order to take a portion to eat. The cracker was covered in a creamy like white fish mixture that was primarily fish with a subtle, but unmistakeable smokey flavor. I am always relieved when a plate like this is focused on the fish rather than being overwhelmed by a filler ingredient such as mayonnaise or bread. It was complemented by the light freshness of the lemon, cucumber, and fennel, a more unusual combination than the typical pairing of lemon with fish. It really was a refreshing and balanced bite without one flavor unbalancing any other!


Beef tongue banuelos, horseradish creme, pickles ($11). Armed with my knowledge of traditional banuelos, these were nothing like I expected. It was delivered as a small and soft biscuit with a generous tower of tender beef tongue that was draped in thin slices and then topped off with a dollop of horseradish creme and accompanied by pickled onion and peppers on the side. The horseradish was much too mild. I did not experience any of the anticipated zing that one imagines from horseradish, which was disappointing considering that the biscuit was also bland. However, the acidity of the pickles was what was needed. The bite transformed to being lovely as the acidity counteracted the less flavorful intensity of the other components. Clearly it was meant to be consumed with the pickles! I added cracked black pepper to this dish to make up for the lack of spice in the horseradish. It is worth mentioning that the beef was perfectly tender and reminded me of an upscale Italian Beef sandwich reminiscent of street food in Chicago.

Salt cod fritters, lemon cream ($7). This came highly recommended from the waitress. It was a very light and fluffy fried ball that flattened immediately with any attempt to stab or cut it. There was not a trace of the typical crispness of a fried food. The first one I ate was warm and, although it was good, the delicate flavors were masked and I did not understand why the waitress had spoken so highly of it. As the fritters cooled to being warm, the flavors came across as limited to salt and lemon, a point from which it continued to improve as it cooled. When it arrived at cooling to room temperature, I much preferred how well I could taste the lemon cream contrasting with the fishy flavor and it allowed for the potato flavor to be detected as well. I even ate one cold and then it reminded me of a lemon cream pie or lemon cookie. I would recommend inviting diners to eat it only when it has cooled.



Lamb meatballs, basque cider, picon, licorice greens ($12). This was one of my favorites. The white sauce was creamy with salty cheese notes, reminding me of a manchego fondue. This gave way to a rich, but subtle, flavor from the slight caramelization of the picon and cider followed finally by the release of the distinct flavor from the lamb, which was rich and fatty, all balanced by the contrasting mild anise flavor. I requested more licorice greens to add to the meatballs since the heavy flavors of the meat and sauce did well with greens to lighten the bite. I cut the meatballs into tiny pieces since I did not want this dish to end and it was rich enough to savor in tiny tastes.









Gambas al ajillo, nora chile, garlic, horseradish broth ($16). I literally wanted to drink this broth! I never would have known that horseradish was one of the flavors in the broth, as it was so subtle in a wonderful manner. I have a strong association with the word horseradish implying intense, but with this broth, it added a distinct and gentle flavor. Perhaps it could be analogous to a broth with ginger notes. It was a thicker viscosity that must have been reduced, in the same way that a glaze thickening as it simmers. The broth was paired to contrast with a smokey chile streaked on the plate. Additionally, there was a creamy cheese and thin slices of very mild garlic. This created another dish that was so perfectly balanced and subtle that I did not wanted it to end. The flavors combined to create a comforting bite. This item was characterized by lighter flavors than many of the other dishes, making me not want to interrupt the flavor by tasting anything else that would mar my palate until I was completely finished and ready to move on to something else.

Duck sausage stuffed squid

Duck sausage stuffed squid, salsa tinta, duck jamon ($18). This is known to be a remarkable dish at this restaurant and obviously took much time and effort to create. The salty sausage was tasty without being as heavy in fat content as I anticipated, making for a lighter bite that I was prepared for (based on my experiences with eating duck). The sausage was carefully filling tiny rolls of squid and was accompanied by duck prosciutto laid carefully on top and adding a touch of salt to the dish. This was contrasted by what was labeled as "salsa tinta". It adorned the dish with a graceful swish on the plate and reminded me of the richness of a black bean sauce. I chewed each bite so slowly, as it felt like eating a work of art!






Crema Catalina was the dessert I tasted. It had candied pistachios with tiny meringues, a caramel sauce made of dates and nuts to accompany a light citrus mouse with a delicate pistachio crusted cookie. Although there were many components to it, the dessert was fairly straight forward making it a nice ending to a long meal. It was light with the clean flavors of citrus, but with richness brought in through the creaminess. Furthermore, the date caramel intensified the sweetness without being overwhelming. It was refreshing while still being rich, but I did not appreciate the addition of the meringues, as they were not flavored and simply added to the presentation of the dish, as well as adding another texture, but the crunchiness of the nuts and cookie would have been adequate for the purpose. I thought it surprising that the meringues did not appear to be contribuing to the dish considering each of the other dishes we tasted had an unmistakable purpose for each ingredient. Perhaps the meringues could have been pistachio flavored?


This was a very nice meal. As I mentioned at the beginning, it was characterized by unexpected detail in each dish.

Chez Panisse

Berkeley, California.

Before my experience here, I had read about the history of this particular dining destination, Chez Panisse. It is a place where notable individuals who impacted the evolution of food in the United States, specifically California cuisine, have participated in various roles. Alice Waters and Paul Aratow established the restaurant in 1971, and it has since impacted many chefs. It has been credited with for the creation of the California style pizza, as well as the goat cheese salad, and they developed and continue to serve house made carbonated tap water. The restaurant has received many accolades over the years as being a top restaurant, so needless to say, I was excited to experience it for myself. At the same time, having read current reviews, I did have an inkling that the establishment might be riding along on its historic dominance to carry it forward. I wondered if it might currently be somewhat outdated and historic, but still serving solidly satisfying, albeit predictable, cuisine.



Nonetheless, I remained thrilled to be stepping through the historic doorway! I found the indoors to be shrouded in dark wooden tables and benches, a stark contrast to the airy openness of the indoor seating area with French doors open to the outside. Once seated in the area upstairs, I requested recommendations from the server, although I had my eye on several menu items from the start. After our discussion, I decided on the carrot with ginger soup with mint and yogurt ($9), Grilled Sonoma duck breast, black mission figs, and herb salad ($14), Grilled Devil's Gulch Ranch rabbit with fried pink potatoes, green beans, sage, and mustard sauce ($26). Honestly, I was most interested in the duck and rabbit, but the soup was suggested and it sounded like it would have a lovely layering of flavors. That was a very wrong assumption! I enjoyed the experience aside from the soup, which turned out to have the flavor of baby food. I wish that I could say that was an exaggeration, but it was truly bland, which seemed incomprehensible based on the description. I actually did not eat it due to the lack of flavor, but my dining partner was very hungry, so she consumed it, although she agreed that it completely lacked flavor. That disappointment did cause concern for me as to how we would find the remainder of the meal. In contrast, I enjoyed the salad very much, as the fatty nature of the duck was balanced with the lightness and sweetness of the figs and vinaigrette.



Next, the kitchen was so kind as to accommodate my body's baneful intolerance for chicken and put the sauce (that contained chicken broth) on the side rather than on the rabbit. My friend loved the rabbit with the accompanying sauce. Although I was grateful that the kitchen accommodated me, the rabbit was not the same without the sauce! I recognize this was my fault for ordering something that required an alteration, although one would hope that this caliber of restaurant would have a substitution that would be comparable or, if this was not possible, that they would kindly suggest ordering something else. Unfortunately, neither was the case. It turned out to be a well-executed, albeit predictable dish (as I had feared). The rabbit was tender and juicy, but lacking in flavor with the substitute sauce that was sent for me. Surprisingly, the potatoes were one of the best aspects of this dish in my opinion. They had a lovely light fry with a nice saltiness to contrast the rest of the plate. Speaking of plates...I did not find that the plating for anything presented was worth noting at all.



Finally, I enjoyed a beautiful black mission fig galette with marsala ice cream ($12). This was a delightful finish to the meal. The soft and sweet characteristics of the figs were satisfying without being overdone, and the ice cream was a perfect compliment. I was pleased to see this combination rather than a more predictable ice cream flavor with the dessert.

Overall, I am glad that I went and experienced the restaurant for myself, but I do not feel that it is a must-have experience. I was disappointed by the soup and that the chefs did not rise to the occasion to modify my meal with a fantastic substitute sauce or deter me from ordering the dish altogether. However, the food was generally very enjoyable, nicely portioned and, for me, the duck was most memorable, as was the marsala ice cream!

Cheers!

Fanatical For Food!

Food. We must eat. Therefore, why are we all not fanatical about it? At the least, might we all be mildly passionate about the activity that we engage in multiple times a day? In a way, are we all a little obsessed with eating? I am ready to admit that I am!

Growing up, learning to cook was one of the many chores that my parents required that I do in order to facilitate me in becoming a functional human. I routinely chopped lettuce and diced fruit amid sibling banter on holidays and boiled water for pasta and frozen vegetables on the daily. We rarely went to a restaurant.

During college, I was gradually exposed to what felt luxurious when I began purchasing prepared foods at chain restaurants of the midwest eatery options. Over time, I was introduced to more diverse cuisines and a passion began to grow as I learned to navigate menus with all types of foods. I started the adventure of tasting things that I never knew existed. This was never intimidating for me. Rather, it had a magnetic pull, as I was drawn to any food that I had not tried before. My curiosity became insatiable as I tasted more foods. I began requesting to order "whatever was most unique" from menus. I was mesmerized by the variety of foods in the world and the vast preparations of those foods.

This progressed to taking those ideas and trying them in my home cooking and has now evolved and integrated into my cooking style: unique, fusion, never-use-a-recipe preparations. Join me as I continue to adventure in the food world! Let's share the joy of exploring food together!

Cheers!