For a few years now, I have preferred to eat out in casual bistros rather than formal restaurants. Still, everyone I had spoken to raved about David Kinch, the chef-owner of Manresa, and his cooking. As an added bonus, we would be staying at the Garden Inn where Marilyn Monroe had spent the first night of her married life with Joe DiMaggio.
The Garden Inn was a disappointment, more David Lynch than Monroe. Manresa, however, was a revelation. Kinch’s cooking is sensational and the restaurant manages to be both elegant and casual, while the service is attentive without being overbearing.
We started with a classic Manresa amuse-bouche, what looked like a small square of red pâte de fruit served with a mini madeleine. As I bit into the gelée, an intense red pepper flavour filled my mouth while the madeleine released an unadulterated taste of olives, a perfect counterpoint to the pepper jelly. A most promising and amusing start to the meal.
The last starter was another signature dish, l’Arpège farm egg, which Kinch copied from three-star Michelin chef Alain Passard at l’Arpège with whom he worked. A slow cooked yolk (from chickens reared at Apple Love Farm where Cynthia Sandberg grows everything for the restaurant) served in the shell with cream, maple syrup, sea salt, sherry vinegar and chives.
There is not enough space to describe all the dishes I had but I can still feel the wonderful texture of the lightly smoked foie gras, The quince consommé it was served with added a welcome element of sweetness and a little tartness.
The risotto of root vegetables with chanterelles was not a risotto at all, though it tasted like one. This is because Kinch prepares a proper risotto first. He then strains it to collect the thick juices, which are used to cook the tiny cubes of celery root. Again, this was an unexpected dish that was perfectly executed. This is what Kinch is all about: startling combinations that both surprise and delight.
Another signature dish, called “Into the vegetable garden”, is a mixture of whatever is growing at the farm served with a flavoured foam and “earth”, which Kinch describes as edible dirt made with dehydrated roasted potatoes, ground almonds and roasted chicory root.
We finished the meal as we started, with a pâte de fruit and a mini madeleine but this time they were sweet, with a lovely, intense flavour of strawberry. My meal at Manresa has reignited my interest in haute cuisine.
www.manresarestaurant.com, 320 Village Lane, Los Gatos, California, tel: +1 408-354-4330
Anissa Helou is the author of several books, including ‘Modern Mezze’
