Food | Chicisms

Dinner at 3 Michelin Star Restaurant: Benu

We’ve moved! Read more on our new website: The Tasteful Traveler.

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Benu opened in San Francisco in 2010, and was the first restaurant in SF to receive 3 Michelin Stars in 2014. They have maintained their 3 stars since, and it’s easy to see why.

Chef Corey Lee helms this restaurant and spins up a tasting menu that incorporates delicate but divine flavors using local produce. Everything on their dinner menu is stunning – and their ‘small delicacies’ are truly small delicacies. So let’s get into it.

The top notes of things you should know:

The tasting menu is set up with multiple small dishes/starters, 3 main courses, and 2 desserts to finish
Expect to spend at least 3 hours to enjoy dinner here
The menu is $375/person, and reservations can be made via Tock

Now let’s dive into the full experience:

The menu in December 2022 started off with “small delicacies” which consisted of nine individual small bites. The first dish to hit our table was a thousand year old quail egg which was a stunning sight just with the colors alone. This dish was a great starter though and had some really lovely complex flavors to kick the meal off.

Continuing the small delicacy section was this stuffed mussel with glass noodles and fine vegetables. This was an outstanding bite, both in taste and presentation!

A jellyfish and fine vegetable salad with hot mustard were served next. Again, the flavors here were so nice and reminiscent of the mustard used in the Korean dish mul-naeng myun (cold noodles in a cold broth), and the bowl used to serve this was gorgeous.

Up next was a cod milt in a bath of three mustards. Again with the impeccable presentation and colors. This was a delightful dish.

And then we had a truly perfect shrimp tempura dusted with pine needles.

A flowering tofu dish came out next, and it was really a beautiful tofu that looked like a flowering sea anemone.

Onto the seventh small delicacy – crispy frog leg sautéed with chili. Hidden beneath all those chilis was an incredibly crispy frog leg with a punchy, delicious flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had frog legs before, but this is a frog leg I would eat again and again.

The acorn taco was next. And this was filled with iberico ham and black truffle shavings. Need I say more? This was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Wrapping up the “small delicacies” section was bread and orange blossom infused honey butter.

The last starter, separate from the “small delicacies” above, was the lobster xiao long bao with homemade soy sauce and vinegar. This was perfect in every way, and a great finish to the starters section of the menu.

All the starters acted as a fun – and not too filling – entry point and introduction into the flavors before you get into the rest of the meal.

Following these starters was the next course which was a choice between three options. I went with the short grain rice with raw spot prawn and pollock roe, sesame leaf, pickled salsify, and rock seaweed.

The other two options were 1) charcoal noodles with sauteed black bean sauce, giant squid, fresh and dried caviar, and 2) jasmine rice cooked in gamasot (min for 2) with monkfish liver sausage, trout roe, calabash gourd.

The next course was another option between three. You could choose between 1) mulwhe with iced water, kimchi broth, cured fluke, sea urchin, oysters, radish, seasame eaf, seaweed, 2) whole abalone roasted in butter, potato, red cabbage, green peppercorn sauce, or 3) roast turbot in a delicate fish broth with minari, sunchoke, picked white beets and beet glaze.

For the final of the main courses, you finish with the meat course. Here too, you were able to choose between three dishes. I went with the barbecued quail with celery root and branch, house xo, black truffle. (The other two choices were a coastal pré salé lamb ribeye, and a steamed pork belly slices and charcoal-grilled pork cheek).

I was sold on the quail when the waiter mentioned the chef had been working with the purveyor of the quail for over 20 years, and the purveyor Brent Wolfe, has been raising quails since 1983. He’s dedicated to raising the best quail and it shows.

The whole barbecued quail was presented before your meal and accoutrements come out. The beautiful quail, and the smoky aroma that came with it, spoke for itself. I still think about how perfectly this quail was cooked.

This dish was also fun as it came with a black truffle bao so you could turn the quail into a quail bao sandwich. (However, the black truffle sauce and bao came out mid-way through finishing the quail. Think that might’ve just been a fluke for me as it should be presented with the rest of the meal at the same time?). Regardless, still a delicious dish!

Finally, two desserts to finish! The first one served was omija and olive oil. This one hit a lot of flavor notes as you enjoyed it – from savory, to slightly salty and bitter, to sweet. I’ve never had anything like it and wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first, but it grows on you and is really delicious experience and great way to start wrapping up the meal.

Another unassuming but show stopping dessert described as “milk pudding with salt, smoke, peat” came to the table afterwards. And this was absolutely delicious. The caramel had a sweet, smoky flavor and I wouldn’t mind if it was just poured on any other dessert I’ve ever had.

The meal rounds out with a pine needle sikhye. Sikhye is a sweet Korean drink made from malt and rice. It’s sweet and tasty by itself, but I’ve never had it flavored in any way or even steeped with pine needles, and served with some frozen icy sikhye. This was a refreshing finish to the meal (and continues the theme of bright green things in this meal, although I would’ve loved to finish on something warm in the midst of winter).

All in all, Benu is a must-visit in San Francisco if you’re in the mood for a one-of-a-kind experience when it comes to flavors and dishes.

You can make reservations on Tock. Reservations are released 30 days in advance at 10am PT. I’d recommend booking as soon as that reservation window opens at 10am in order to get the date/time you prefer (especially if it’s for a Friday/weekend at 5:30pm).

Let me know if you’ve been to Benu in your comments with your thoughts, or if you’re planning to go!

Leila2023-09-27T11:04:35-07:00February 2nd, 2023|Categories: Food, Travel|Tags: benu, dinner, michelin star, san francisco|0 Comments

A Stay at The Harbor House Inn in Elk, California

A Stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora

We’ve moved! Read more about our stay on our new site: The Tasteful Traveler.

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A trip to Bora Bora is really nothing but paradise. And if you’re looking for a place to stay, and want to live the overwater bungalow life, the St. Regis Bora Bora is the place to go.

Let’s break it down.

The Resort:

When you think St. Regis, you think luxury. And that’s exactly what you get at the St. Regis Bora Bora.

The resort property is huge and you can get around via walking, biking or by calling for a golf cart pickup/dropoff. The overwater villas are also some of the largest in the South Pacific, starting at 1,550 square feet so space is never an issue.

The property also has a Lagoonarium (pictured below) which is the St. Regis Bora Bora’s protected lagoon that hosts a myriad of fish, including a very large Napoleon fish named Terry. Guests are also able to snorkel in this lagoon so you can experience it all up close.

I highly recommend you go to the Lagoonarium for the scheduled fish feeding – it is informative and so fun to see all the types of fish and experience a feeding frenzy.

Even if you visit the St. Regis Bora Bora at peak time (like we did), you’ll find that it’ll feel like you have the resort to yourself. The most people you’ll see will be at breakfast when every one comes out for a few bites, but after that, you likely won’t run into many people. The beach will feel like it’s all yours.

The Room:

We stayed in the Overwater Deluxe Otemanu Villa thanks to an upgrade, and I just have to say that these villas are gorgeous. These deluxe Otemanu villas are facing Mount Otemanu so you get gorgeous views of the mountain and the sunset.

These villas are very spacious, and have an indoor lounge/living room space that’s separate from the bedroom. Both the living room and bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to the outdoor terrace and dining space so you can wake up looking at the gorgeous turquoise waters.

The Amenities:

The St. Regis Bora Bora offers butler service and it is exceptional. From picking you up in a golf cart from the lobby and driving you to your bungalow, helping schedule and manage dinner reservations (and arranging pickup), and even getting your floatie blown up. They’ll check in with you when you’re at breakfast to make sure you have everything you need and talk about your day, and they’ll make sure you’re having a great time. The butlers are so incredibly nice and helpful, and really round out your experience at the St. Regis.

As mentioned above, you can get around the property via bike and that’s because each bungalow comes with complimentary bikes. They’re assigned to your villa number which is great so you don’t have to be on the lookout for a bike to grab at any given point (this is a real thing at some of the other Bora Bora resorts).

The overwater villas also offer in-room coffee/tea service. Just dial the number on the bungalow’s phone and arrange for a french press coffee and/or tea to come over the next morning and they’ll set it up where ever you’d like to enjoy it (highly recommend enjoying out on your deck so you can stare out at the water).

The Food:

When you’re staying at a resort in Bora Bora that’s not on the mainland (whether that’s the St. Regis or elsewhere), you’ll likely be eating a bulk of your meals at the resort. Which means restaurants that offer a variety of cuisines and types of food is good to have so you don’t get tired of eating the same thing every day (especially if you’re staying at that one resort for 3+ days), and good food is obviously always a must have. Luckily, the St. Regis Bora Bora has it all with five restaurants on site.

Te Pahu is an open-air restaurant located right next to the beach, and it’s where breakfast is served. Breakfast is typically a buffet, but in these times of Covid all dishes were on a menu that we could choose from and then they were brought to our table.

The St. Regis Bora Bora also hosts a Polynesian night on Wednesdays and an Indian night on Sundays at Te Pahu. Both are a treat but Polynesian night is great as you get to experience the delicious local cuisine and a Tamure dance show. Get there early for a seat at the front!

If there’s one restaurant at the resort that you absolutely must go to for dinner, it’s the Lagoon Restaurant by Jean-Georges. This restaurant by the michelin-starred chef serves elegant French-Asian fusion cuisine in a dining room that’s set on the water and has glass panels in the floor so you can take a peek at the fish swimming underneath your feet.

The service is impeccable and all of the food is absolutely delicious. Try the five-course tasting menu and opt to be surprised with each delicious course, or choose dishes a la carte (or go twice like we did and get the tasting menu one night, and a la carte the next time. The uravena fish is highly recommended – pictured below). Make sure to make a reservation ahead of time.

(A hot tip: before your dinner reservation, go to the Lagoon restaurant for sunset and sit outside with a cocktail and appetizers in hand. The views are gorgeous from this spot).

Other restaurants on the resort include:

Bam Boo which features sushi, wok and teppanyaki dishes for dinner,
Far Niente which has Italian cuisine for dinner, and
Aparima Bar for lunch dishes, smoothies and more.

Don’t forget room service! If you’re staying in an overwater villa and prefer to lounge in your room and jump off the deck into the ocean all day (who could blame you?), order room service which is just as delightful as eating out at the restaurants.

The Verdict:

Is the St. Regis Bora Bora really worth a stay? If you’re wanting gorgeous overwater bungalows with stunning views of Mt. Otemanu, exceptional butler service, delicious food, and a gorgeous beach to lounge around in, in addition to other amenities – absolutely. I would go back to the St. Regis Bora Bora any day.

Need to think about what to pack for your trip? Check out the packing list here.

Happy traveling!

Some links in this post may be affiliate links, which means if you buy something, my blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Leila2023-09-27T11:07:15-07:00January 6th, 2022|Categories: Food, Travel|Tags: bora bora, french polynesia, st. regis bora bora, Travel, vacation|0 Comments

Favorite Places & Spaces Along the Central Coast

Update Dec 22, 2021: Unfortunately a couple of the initial recommendations below have closed (I’ve noted them below), so this list has been updated with the latest favorite places and spaces.

The central coast of California is nothing less than a gem along the gorgeous coastline, situated halfway between LA and San Francisco.

From the thriving (and increasingly popular) Central Coast wine countries to the beaches, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Having lived in San Luis Obispo for a few years, and purposely making a visit to the area at least once a year, I have a lot of love for the central coast. So with that, here are the absolute favorite places and spaces along the Central Coast that you have to visit if you’re in the area. Enjoy!

1. Ember Restaurant, Arroyo Grande

Enjoying a meal at Ember Restaurant is a must while in the Central Coast. Featuring a seasonal menu that changes monthly, Ember offers authentic food and an impressive wine list where local wines reign.

Each dish is fresh, honest and served beautifully. Ember also features an open kitchen setup and a wood-fired brick oven where amazing pizzas (and other dishes like Wood Fired Octopus served with padron peppers, baby frisee, pancetta vinaigrette and lemon aioli) are cooked.

Make a reservation and go for dinner. You will not be disappointed.

2. Scout Coffee, San Luis Obispo

My all time favorite coffee shop, probably in the world (and no, I’m not exaggerating). Scout Coffee is a mom and pop shop that roasts their own beans (named HoneyCo Coffee) and serves up a really great cappuccino, as well as a honey tea bowl (pictured below), and housemade seasonal syrups. They also make some mean pastries – their sunshine buns are delightful and sell out quickly in the AM so get there early!

They’ve opened up a couple locations in the past couple years, but the Garden St. location is the OG and is located on a pretty street in downtown San Luis Obispo. At the Foothill St. location, you’ll find loads of parking and a slightly bigger set up in store. And if you go to Cal Poly, consider yourself lucky because they’re on campus now! (Although it’s probably for the best that they weren’t on campus when I was, because I would have been an even broker college student).

3. Sycamore Springs and Resort, Avila Beach

Nestled in the hills right before you hit Avila Beach, you’ll find Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort and Spa where you can escape and relax.

You can choose to stay at the resort if you’re spending a couple days in Avila, but for those who are just looking for an hour of relaxation, visit their hot springs.

Sycamore has 23 naturally heated hillside mineral spring tubs that you can reserve by the hour. You can unwind with a drink in the hot springs and enjoy the hills surrounding your secluded mineral spring tubs. Sycamore’s hot springs are open year round until midnight with the last reservation at 10:45 pm.

Friendly tip: Make a reservation beforehand.

4. Thursday Night Farmer’s Market, San Luis Obispo

Thursday night’s in San Luis Obispo are known for a farmer’s market that brings life to downtown SLO from 6-9 PM. Higuera Street (the main street downtown) is taken over with the smell of BBQ, fresh produce and the sounds of people dancing, cheering and enjoying the night.

With over 120 vendors at the Farmer’s Market, you don’t want to pass it up. Of course you’ll find the many booths of flowers and fresh produce from local farms as you walk along Higuera, but you’ll also find an incredible amount of food. From the tri tip and mini donuts to kettle and roasted corn, surely you will find something for dinner or to snack on as you walk through downtown.

Don’t miss a chance to experience a lively and fun stroll through San Luis Obispo’s popular Higuera Street on Thursday nights for Farmer’s.

5. Daou Vineyards, Paso Robles

Paso Robles is located about 30 min north of San Luis Obispo, and is home to a beautiful wine country that has over 200 tasting rooms. The wines are delightful (to say the least), and the drive to get to a majority of the wineries is stunning.

One winery in particular that has it all is Daou Family Estates. The winery is located located at the top of a hill, making for a beautiful wine tasting experience. You’ll find exceptional wines (step aside Napa Valley), stunning views and amazing service. What more could you want out of an experience? There’s also the food – they offer shared plates and pairing experiences as well. Make a reservation ahead of time and enjoy a beautiful afternoon sipping on delicious wine and enjoy the view.

6. Black Hill, Morro Bay

Enjoy the outdoors and hike Black Hill in Morro Bay. The hill is a 661-foot volcanic peak and is part of the Nine Sisters of San Luis. The Nine Sisters are a group of nine ancient volcanic mountains that extend in a line from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay.

Black Hill is a fairly easy and short hike at 0.6 miles round trip but you get a stunning view of Morro Bay and the surrounding coastline.

7. Goshi Sushi, San Luis Obispo

I’m very confident in saying this is the best sushi in San Luis Obispo, and along the greater central coast. And I almost didn’t want to share this because I wanted to keep it a little secret, but here we go.

Goshi Sushi is the place for sushi. Hands down. The fish is fresh, the sushi bar is fun and everything else is lovely. It’s located in downtown San Luis Obispo but hidden in a little area that’s been redone recently (and is charming) called The Creamery Marketplace. So get some sushi, and head over to Nite Creamery after for some ice cream made more exciting by liquid nitrogen.

8. Montaña de Oro State Park, Los Osos

For a beautiful hike or walk, visit Montaña de Oro in Los Osos. You’ll find the gorgeous Pacific Ocean as you walk through the trails, as well as beaches, canyons and cliffs. It’s a beautiful place to talk a walk and take in some fresh coastal air.

Any other favorite places along the central coast in California? Let me know in the comments!

Unfortunately the below two places closed over the past couple of years but keeping these in as a note!

1. The Station, San Luis Obispo

An old gas station transformed into a wine shop, market and event space. That’s what The Station is.

You’ll find carefully curated wines from across the globe that aren’t readily available anywhere else. Peruse the shelves, buy a bottle or have a glass of wine they’re pouring and take it into their open space to enjoy.

The Station also has a variety of great gifts from Stumptown Coffee and small-batch bitters and shrubs, to other specialty goods.

This spot also hosts its own events (such as an art bar, blind tastings and seminars) and has local food trucks swing by during the week (currently The Grilled Cheese Incident and Granada’s Raw Bar that has a rotating menu of oysters on the half shell).

So visit The Station and grab a glass or a bottle (because wine not) of wine you won’t find anywhere else in SLO.

2. Centrally Grown, Cambria

Secluded along Highway 1 right across the Pacific Ocean is a place where you can enjoy lunch and dinner, take a free yoga class, have some drinks, and shop around the market. Centrally Grown is a unique happy place where you can take in all the Central Coast has to offer.

The restaurant is upstairs and overlooks the ocean, giving you a beautiful view as you enjoy a meal that features fresh and contrasting flavors that blend beautifully together. The vibe is comfortable and cozy yet fun and vibrant.

The Centrally Grown grounds also feature edible gardens and ocean view patios for you to relax in. There’s plenty of seating throughout the grounds so you can grab a couple glasses of wine from the market and enjoy lunch or a snack outdoors.

Leila2022-12-27T15:52:24-08:00December 22nd, 2021|Categories: Food, Travel|Tags: california, central coast, Travel|0 Comments

Foremost Wine Company: Where Wine Meets Global & Local Food

Does it really get any better than good wine paired perfectly with fresh, local and eclectic food? I didn’t think so. And that’s exactly what Foremost Wine Co. in San Luis Obispo, Calif. brings to the table, literally.

Foremost Wine Co. is a new restaurant opening in downtown San Luis Obispo. Not only is it a restaurant, but Foremost also features…

A wine lounge where you can relax and enjoy a glass of wine,
A wine retail shop where you can purchase wine at discount prices,
A wine bar where you can taste different flights of wine,
A charcuterie and provisions bar where you can sit sushi-bar style and watch the cooks cook in front of you and still get full dinner service at the same time.

Owner Rob Murray, a viticulturist and farmer on the Central Coast, hatched the idea for Foremost Wine Co. He owns 1,000 acres of grapes between Paso Robles and Santa Maria, Calif. and is passionate about growing the best possible grapes. Murray also produces four different wine labels that include Force of Nature wines, Tooth and Nail, Statis and Amor Fati.

The idea for Foremost began as a simple wine bar but it soon expanded into what it is today. Foremost general manager Johnny Kenny said that the idea “grew into this co-op of foodies, farmers, grape growers and winemakers that came together to create something more that what we initially intended on doing.”

The wine bar, restaurant and lounge aims to create and serve a global cuisine while using all local products. Acclaimed chef Julie Simon helps make that happen.

Kenny said that they source everything as local as they can. For example, Foremost gets all of their eggs from chickens in See Canyon.

“We also have an organic farm, a 4-acre organic farm, at See Canyon Fruit Ranch and See Canyon as well, where we plant all of our own produce and try to grow as much produce as we can for the restaurant itself,” Kenny said.

The concept for the restaurant is to bring together the farm-to-table aspect “to where we actually are growing from our own farm” and the same for the grape-to-glass concept, Kenny said.

I had the opportunity to experience Foremost at one of their soft openings. Simply put, my friend and I were blown away. The atmosphere of Foremost is inviting and exciting. The decor is unique in that wine bottles line the walls of Foremost and chandeliers made from deer antlers hang from the ceiling. The waiters are friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and wine pairings, and they’re obviously excited to be working there.

My friend and I started with a glass of Artezin Zinfandel 2012 and halibut cheeks served with lychees and strawberries served atop a bed of braised greens with a sauce made with coconut milk (below).

We also ordered a charcuterie platter, hoisin braised duck leg, steak au poivre and fingerling potatoes. For dessert we had caramel budino and a chocolate tourt with rose jam and strawberries.

Every single dish was amazing. You can taste the freshness and the complex and contrasting flavors of each dish that blended beautifully together. Needless to say, I’ll definitely be back whether it’s to enjoy dinner or to buy a bottle wine.

I encourage you to check out Foremost as well. You won’t be disappointed.

Foremost is located in The Creamery at 570 Higuera St. The restaurant is planning to open to the public on Wednesday, November 12 beginning with dinners.

Leila2022-12-27T16:12:29-08:00November 11th, 2014|Categories: Food, Travel|Tags: foodie, Foremost Wine Co., good eats, San Luis Obispo|0 Comments