That's not to say Holland was devoid of good food. Local Dutch bakeries still churn out an incredible breakfast (Saucijzenbroodjes - Dutch sausage rolls - for the win!), and the local butchers offer some incredible meats that perfectly embrace the long summer outings by the grill. The sizable Hispanic population has also led to some excellent Mexican restaurants, with Taco Fiesta holding a special place in my heart growing up.
Prior to dining at Californios, my experience with Mexican food was consistent with my upbringing. Platters of home made tacos, chile rellenos, asado de puerco con salsa verde and tamales. All accompanied with refried beans and yellow hued rice. I wouldn't call it greasy spoon food, but it certainly stuck to one's ribs, and it was/is darn good.
The idea of a Mexican restaurant offering a tasting menu was completely foreign to me. Rick Bayless' Topolobampo offers a Mexican tasting menu, but over the years the family could never seem to get reservations when we would visit Chicago. After dining at Californios, I now know why it's so popular still to this day!
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| The slate gray exterior of Californios on 22nd Street in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood |
Californios is the pride of Chef Val M. Cantu, who prior to launching the Californios concept, worked as sous chef at esteemed Nob Hill restaurant Son's and Daughters. After a year, he launched Californios as a series of pop-up event dinners until he could find the appropriate space to act as his culinary canvas. That space became 3115 22nd Street in San Francsico's Mission neighborhood, and the rest is history.
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| Seating area, featuring dark walls with splashes of color 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
The long, yet narrow, space features seating along the right wall, and a show kitchen with chef's counter along the left wall. Designed and decorated by his wife/restaurant partner Carolyn, the small space features a delightful series of contrasts. The dining side features black paneled walls and chocolate leather bench seating, offset by yellow-hued chandeliers and large pieces of artwork sporting vibrant colors. Furthermore, the kitchen/chef's counter offers a beautiful white speckled marble surface. Pair that with the kitchen staff donning all white, and the space offers an intriguing balance between subdued mystery and vivacious anticipation for the meal to come.
Arriving just in time for my reservation, I stepped in to a completely empty restaurant apart from the staff. This gave me the opportunity, upon being seated at the chef's counter, to take a look at some final prep work from Chef Cantu and the kitchen staff (see video above). One of the more interesting observations from my random jaunts to quality restaurants, is that the most used utensil by the kitchen team is more times than not a pair of kitchen tweezers.
Tonight's service started within moments of the kitchen staff finishing up their final details, and soon I was offered a selection of three small bites to kick things off. First was a Sharlyn melon agua fresca, which was refreshing and offered incredible melon flavor. Second was a small piece of fresh heirloom tomato, served with tomato water, olive oil, and a bit of herb that I cannot remember. To me the killer combination of this bite was the rich olive oil and slightly acidic and herbaceous tomato water. Finally, the masa pan - featuring pineapple al pastor - offered a nice combination of sweet, earthy corn notes, and a touch of spice from the chili pepper sliver served as garnish.
Next up is a chicharrón, or fried pork rinds. This was served topped with some cured wagyu beef and candied pumpkin seeds. The beef itself was seasoned with a little lime, while the chicharrón was seasoned with corriander before being fried, then given a dose of the house spice mix called 'ojo santo' (holy eye).
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| Tonight's small bites (clockwise from top): (1) masa pan; (2) tomato with tomato water; (3) Sharlyn melon agua fresca. 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
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Chicharrón with curred wagyu beef and pumpkin seeds
2017 Californios. San Francisco CA
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Starting with the wagyu beef, the acid of the lime really made this a refreshing and tender addition to the dish. The chicharrón offered a nice compliment of earthy notes from the corriander, and anise/tarragon flavors from the ojo santo. Finally, the pumpkin seeds lent both a sweetness and nice texture to the dish.
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| Fried softshell crab 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
The softshell crab was excellent, offering nice texture and sweet flavors. Aioli added a perfect blend of rich and creamy, along with spicy flavors. Mermaid hair offered a nice texture addition, while the pickled squash flower provided beautifully subtle herbaceous flavors. Finally, the key lime juice hit the dish out of the park, adding vibrant acid to all of the various flavors. Outstanding.
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| Tamale with black bean purée 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
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| Ceviche of sea bass 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
After one bite, I new this dish knocked it out of the park. The fish itself offered nice, subtle saline flavors, while the lemon balm, added that signature acid that makes ceviche such a refreshing dish. The addition of coconut water and flesh offered unique creamy flavors. That being said, the key ingredient is the wax chilies. Their subtle heat, when combined with the fish flavors and creaminess of the coconut, was incredible. Simply excellent!
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| street corn with ground crickets 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
Tonight's next course represents my first foray into the world of insects in gastronomy. Here we have a take on Mexican street corn, with ground crickets, sunchoke purée that's been smoked, sunchoke chips, and tajín (pepper spice mix).
In all honesty, I am not sure what the ground crickets add beside a touch of texture. That being said, this was a very good course. The sunchoke purée had wonderful texture, and subtle smoke that melded perfectly with the tajín. The corn was grilled, offering a nice mix of charred and sweet maize notes. A unique take on a classic dish.
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| Butter poached lobster taco 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
Simply incredible; the ultimate fish taco. The lobster was rich and buttery, due to both the innate qualities of lobster, as well as the preparation. Hollandaise sauce was a wonderful pairing - akin to a traditional white cream sauce for fish tacos - whose richness is tempered by the chili powder. The pickled fennel reigns in the richness even further, while offering its herbaceous notes. Just wow!
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| Octopus caldo 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
While the octopus was good (more on that later), the broth was exceptional. A nice balance of herbaceous notes, along with a touch of acid from the tomatoes, partnered with some heat from the chili pepper. The octopus was rich and tender, with subtle butter and salt flavors. Finally, the cherry tomatoes offer more overt tomato flavors that bridge nicely to those found in the broth.
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| Three beans topped with caviar 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
Overall, just an excellent take on a classic refried bean/bean dip/bean soup dish. The different preparations of the three beans provided three unique textures, and all three offered a slightly different earthy bean flavor. Onion was a nice foil, offering savory herbaceous notes. Finally, the caviar not only added a beautiful presentation element contrasting against the lighter bean element, but provided beautiful contrasting saline notes.
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| Seared striped bass with three carrots 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
Moving along, we now start to dabble into the main entrées with a seared striped bass dish. This is served with three carrots: raw, pickled and fermented. Also along for the ride are some goose berries and finger limes.
The fish was perfectly cooked: moist, with the flesh having a touch of flake. The sauce itself offers a nice zesty element, with the three carrots each offering a slightly different flavor and texture. Goose berries further give the dish a texture bump, while the finger limes added citrus to balance the palette.
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| A5 Wagyu with pickled pearl onion 2017 Californios. San Francsico, CA |
Tonight's penultimate dinner entrée is A5 Wagyu beef, served with pickled pearl onion, chanterelle mushrooms, green spinach chip and mole jus. The chantarelle mushrooms were sautéed in fat rendered from the beef itself.
The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and incredibly tender and juicy. Pearl onion adds a bit of sour pucker, contrasting the rich beefy flavor of the steak. Mushrooms carry on the flavor of the steak, while adding some additional earthy tones. Finally, the mole adds an incredible accent to the steak, with its chipotle flavors tempered by cocoa offering earthy, spring notes. Excellent.
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| Lamb shoulder with avocado mousse 2017 Californios. San Francisco, CA |
The lamb was super tender, easily falling apart with my fork, and offered excellent cumin, coriander and other spice flavor. The fermented and grilled radish and cucumber offer a nice salty and herbaceous foil to the rich lamb. Finally, the avocado mousse - having a hint of mint from the yerba buena - lends both a creamy element and contrasting flavor to round out the dish. Bravo!
Desert came in the form of three dishes. The first was a cornmeal cake, topped with goat cheese, fresh berries and a golden raspberry on top. Beautiful presentation; I loved the balance of flavors between the sweetness of the berries, earthy creaminess of the goat cheese, and rustic maize notes from the corn meal cake. A touch of lavender honey offered a nice floral note to cap off the dish.
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| Tonight's deserts (clockwise from top): (1) very vanilla bean ice cream; (2) cornmeal topped with goat cheese; (3) espuma of chamomile 2017 Californios. San Francsico, CA |
Finally, the meal comes to close on a "very vanilla bean" ice cream. This was served with strawberry granita, alpine strawberries, and strawberry water. The dish was very refreshing, driven by the various strawberry components. Finally, the vanilla ice cream complimented the fruit flavors by providing a creamy, earthy vanilla undercurrent.
A couple finishing touches by the kitchen staff really accentuated how amazing this meal was. First, instead of the traditional mignardises, the pastry chef presented a small homemade digestif. Second, Chef Cantu stopped over and introduced himself. We had a five minute chat, and it was nice being able to thank him in person after such a wonderful meal. And finally, the music in the background was excellent. A mixture of classic 80s and 90s songs, standouts include Hall and Oates and a few songs from Jock Jams. It showed that, while the end results were all business, the kitchen can have a little fun too.
And that is what makes Californios such an incredibly place. Chef Cantu and team have fun putting together an incredible collection of flavors, drawing upon both heritage and California bounty. Service is impeccable, and the ambiance a nice balance between fun and serious. And at $157 per person, an excellent option to celebrate a special occasion.
Dining date: August 12, 2017
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