586689 Sat Jan 10 08:09:03 -0800 2009 1 11 South 0 4313530 On Fridays, Undercurrent is offering a tasting menu special that is a great value. The first menu, whose theme was Asian-Southern fusion, provided three dishes for the absurdly low price of $24. The first course was a Lemon and Black Rice Roll served in a broth. Visually and texturally engaging, this dish featured an unusual contrast of lemon flavors with the Asian ingredients, including white beech mushrooms. My only quibble was that the dish should have been served with a spoon, as the rice rolls tended to fall apart into the broth and it was very difficult to eat them with a fork and knife. Hoppin' John with Jasmine Rice was also very interesting, with more of a nod to the southern infuence than the first dish. It was accompanied by slices of sassy Andouille sausage. The final course was Molasses-braised Pork Bellies and Turnips which offered a contrast between the sweet and bitter elements and snuck a solitary crunchy water chestnut that cotrasted with the softer texture of the chopped turnips. The plating could have been a bit better, but something could have happened between the transer from chef to server. Plated creatively, each of the portions was slightly larger than appetizer size. More importantly, the flavors popped on each dish - not a ho hum dish among the trio. Sadly, for a Friday evening, the restaurant was barely half full. I know times are tough but we are going to lose a lot of good restaurants if we don' t support them and Undercurrent is doing its best by offering a very affordable evening with the tasting menu. The server told us that the special Friday tasting menu would change each month, so this could become habit-forming. Sat Jan 10 08:09:03 -0800 2009 10395 brentk 1 4317360 Thanks for the report brent. i was almost there friday but we ended up going to printworks instead. looks like I really missed out. Sun Jan 11 19:09:31 -0800 2009 4313530 13330 quazi