24192 Sun May 18 13:58:27 -0700 2003 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 93875 On Friday night Dee Glaze and I decided to give Three Seasons in Palo Alto a try. For weeks we'd been noticing the crowds and had actaully been turned away the previous weekend without a reservation. Generally I try to avoid the "hot" places but the menu looked interesting and they had a table available. Billed as contemporary Vietnamese, Three Seasons offers a wide selection of spring rolls, satays, small plates and large plates. Of the 10 spring roll offerings we chose the ahi tuna variety. Inside was cubed, seared ahi with a disappontingly thin slice of mango, and the obligatory vermicelli, mint and cilantro. A nice presentation didn't hide the unintersting and bland taste of the roll. The ahi wasn't well-seasoned, the mango barely came through and had they not provided some ginger-infused soy sauce and a powerful wasabi my taste buds would have stayed completely asleep. Thumbs down on the ahi rolls. Next we tried a satay called "Cha Ca." This was basically grilled, skewered chunks of white fish that had been marinated in dill and galangal. The fish was right on the money in terms of texture but the dill and galangal were barely evident. What could have been a bold and powerful flavor combination was muted and rather limp. It's as if the chef was holding back - teasing us with the list of ingredients and then failing to deliver the knockout punch. Frustrating. Our first large plate was a steamed Chilean sea bass in a shiitake mushroom broth. This was easily the best dish of the night. Served in a steaming bowl of powerfully flavored - thank goodness - broth were two large hunks of fish, cooked just right. Texturally, it had that melt-in-the-mouth feel that you look for in sea bass. Also in play were lily buds that provided a more toothsome texture and some crunchy fried garlic. This worked. The second large plate was duck a l'orange. Normally I would have passed this by but the description on the menu reeled me in with promises of star anise, cayenne and paprika. Four or five slices of duck breast were fanned out on the plate covered by an orange sauce that 1) completely covered any hints of spices that might have been present on the duck skin and 2) suffered from an unappealing gummy texture that literally mucked up the entire proceeding. Mid-bite, I asked Dee Glaze if she tasted any paprika or cayenne or anise. She said, " I think so, hmmm, maybe a little." I didn't at all. Another thumbs down. For dessert we split a banana spring roll with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce. This was fried phyllo-wrapped pieces of banana topped with the butterscotch. We enjoyed this. The crunchy phyllo was perfect with the soft banana and the ice cream smoothed it all out. Yummy. The bill, for one large bottle of beer and the food described above, came to $70 before tip. I doubt I will return to Three Seasons. Evertything tasted tame - no oohs and aahs here at all. Those looking for bold, identifiable flavors should look elsewhere. Three Seasons 518 Bryant St., Palo Alto www.thethreeseasons.com Sun May 18 13:58:27 -0700 2003 0 ChewToy 1 93879 Just to chime in here on this one -- I thought the Cha Ca had great flavor -- Chew and I likened it to a symphony at a very low volume. I think that this these permeated many of our dishes. The banana rolls were tasty -- not so much for the tight roll, crispy fried but for the butterscotch sauce, which made the dish. The vanilla ice cream was the real stuff, bean nubs and all. To concur with Chew's assessment, there are many more Vietnamese fusion places to try before giving Three Seasons another try. Sun May 18 15:57:12 -0700 2003 93875 0 Dee Glaze 1 93880 Unbelievably, I was also at Three Seasons Friday night, and also ordered the ahi spring rolls AND the Cha Ca. I agree with you that the ahi rolls were not great -- stingy with the tuna and the mango and not very flavorful. In fact, the thing I tasted the most was the baby lettuces they used in place of the more common leafy greens. I enjoyed the Cha Ca satay - the white fish was moist (I usually assume that generic "white fish", whatever the preparation, will be overcooked and bland). The flavors were not huge -- I don't remember tasting dill at all. But for two skewers it was hardly worth the effort. The ahi roll was $8 and the Cha Ca satay was $10. My tonic water was $2. With tip, $25. Too much for too little, but they did have a nice outdoor patio..... Sun May 18 15:57:15 -0700 2003 93875 0 bubbles