Coi

[Carrie 218]

Dinner on Thursday night -- my first visit in some time and my first since Michael Bauer gave Patterson four stars, so I was curious if it had changed much since my initial visit. Of the four of us dining, two of us had the wine pairings, but we all shared.

Amuse. Milk & Honey. A mouthful of concentrated milk flavor and honey flavors. Lovely.

1. Pink Grapefruit. This is the opening dish, served with the essential oil and paired with the Coi Cocktail. No change and still a nice palate cleanser for what is to come.

2. Earth and Sea. New harvest potatoes, cucumber, borage, sea beans, ice plant flowers. Served with [i]Domaine de la Fruitiere Muscadet, France 2006[/i]. An interesting dish which was colored with squid ink. Creamy potatoes and grassy greens were brightened with the ice plant. Fabulous wine, but I'm not sure it did anything for the dish.

3. Inverted Andante Dairy Goat Cheese Start with black olive, vadouvan, preserved lemon, and wild arugula. Served with [i]Gutzler Blac de Noir, Germany 2008[/i]. This was a beautifully-prepared dish and exciting to eat. The vadouvan was barely detectable as the goat cheese predominated in flavors. Creamy and well-complemented with the tang of the preserved lemon, the paper-think black olive start provided an exciting crunch. The wine pairing was too strident to work well with the goat cheese.

4. Winter Into Spring. Chilled English pea soup with buttermilk snow and mint. Pired with [i]Ostatu Rioja Blanco, Spin, 2007[/i]. Heralding spring, what could be better than a bright green, clean pea soup? The soup itself was delightful but it was studded with almost frozen fresh peas. I thought it distracting and masking the flavor of the peas. They did "pop" in the mouth, which I imagine is what Chef Patterson was striving for, but I think it shut down the flavor of the peas. The buttermilk snow added a nice tang and was light enough to not fight the creaminess of the soup.

5. Fried Chicken Consommé. With artichokes, fava beans, radish, and green garlic. Paired with Coenobium Blanco, Italy, 2007. This was a very odd dish; four round fried "fritters" which I can only assume was aspic. Breaking one open, I half expected it to be liquid on the inside, but it was not. Not a very memorable dish for me and the wine pairing made the entire dish taste a lot more earthy than I believe was intended.

Intercourse - Tofu Mousseline with Mushroom dashi, yuba, kelp, pickled daikon, and ginger. Paired with [i]Hitachino Nest White Ale[/i]. The last time I had Chef Patterson's yuba, I was not that thrilled as it was a bit too thick and gummy. He has certainly got it down significantly better, but I found the dish a bit overall too salty. There was barely any detectable ginger and I never did find any tofu mousseline. The pairing was spot on and made me chuckle a bit; the only other time I've had this ale was at a pairing at Bin 8945, by David Haskell.

6. Sautéed Monterey Bay Abalone. With Escarole, caper berry-sea lettuce vinaigrette. Paired with [i]Domaine Tariquet, France 2007[/i]. My dining companions made a point of saying that Chef Patterson Twittered about getting the abalone that day so they were excited about the dish. I found it intensely mediocre; chewy and unbalanced, it tasted incredibly salty and almost unfresh in its overt "bottom-of-the-ocean" flavor.

7. Morels with burnt rice, ash, smoke, and pine. Paired with [i]Louis Latour Marsannay, France 2006[/i]. I was most excited by this dish as I am quite the mushroom fan. And, sadly, it was the most disappointing dish of the evening (with the abalone a close second). In an opportunity to showcase morels in their whole, glorious state, they were chopped up in to small bits. The rest of the ingredients provided no color so the dish was muddy looking. The texture was pasty and many at the table indicated that the dish was too reminiscent of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup -- thick and gloppy. Great wine though!

8. Marin Sun Farms Goat in Different Forms with sprouted seeds, nuts, beans, and wheatgrass. Paired with [i]Chateau Rayas 'La Pialade' France, 2005[/i]. Very well executed protein; rare and tender, showcasing the gamy quality of the goat. Quite frankly, though, I'm not sure how preparing the meat four different ways really showed off Chef Patterson's talent or the ingredient, as they were all piled together on the plate. We had no way of knowing which piece was prepared in which fashion.

9. Comte (Marcel Petite) with spring lettuces.

10. Olive Oil Shortcake with strawberry rhubarb, lemon balm, and long pepper, paired with [i]Elvio Tintero Moscato d'Asti Sori Gramella[/i], Italy, 2008. I could eat TONS of this cake. Moist, light and delightful.

11. White Chocolate, semi-frozen with Brooks cherry, lime, and thyme. Paired with [i]Mas Amiel, France, 2006[/i]. I would like to think that even those who are not white chocolate fans would appreciate this dish. Creamy and rich without being too cloying, it lied on a bed of "crumbles" which were mostly indeterminable, but added a nice crunch. The wine pairing worked with the cherry elements in the dessert.

Vanilla Milkshake -- I guess this has replaced the much-loved warm malt drink. The new offering is topped with olive oil which made for a very bright mouthfeel.

Petit Fours - Chocolate truffles with finely ground cookie crust. I could eat these all day.

Now, reflecting on this meal a few days later, I am more unimpressed than impressed. It is the mediocrity of the abalone and the morels that I am remembering more than the successes (which, quite frankly, were the desserts). By and large the meal was too heavily salted and a bit ponderous in its seriousness. There seemed no attempt at levity in the intent of showcasing fresh, raw ingredients; uncooked items were mere garnishes or -- in the case of the peas -- frozen as a "trick." Too many bells and whistles without letting the ingredients speak for themselves.

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Coi
373 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

[rworange]

FWIW, COI will be closing down June 28–July 8 for a kitchen remodel Reopening is targeted for July 9. For the next two days, May 29 and 30th, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski will be taking over the kichen and serving their own menu while Patterson is in Copenhagen

[sfbing]

The yuba is actually made by Hodo Soy. Maybe it is because I grew up eating a lot of tofu, but Coi's tofu dishes are almost always a highlight for me. At least in part because they taste like nothing you would find in an Asian restaurant.

The egg is really excellent. It is really too bad that it is paired with the only protein on the menu, so I think a lot of people miss out on the egg. Coi will allow you to add dishes, so it is conceivable that you could have egg and meat too. The meat when I was there was spring lamb done sous vide on top of a bed of chard. Very nice.

[mariacarmen]

Not sure i understand - our egg did not have a protein with it (except of course that it is a protein itself!), - it came with a grain (farro) and greens (chard), so very veggie friendly.

[sfbing]

Coi's menu for certain courses allows the diner a choice between two options, usually when one of the options is not okay for vegetarians. There is usually only one "red meat" offering in the entire meal and that is almost always paired with the farm egg. For example, when I went in early spring, one could choose between "spring lamb with swiss chard" or "poached farm egg in parmesan butter broth." In my observation, people who are not vegetarians are more likely to opt for the meat dish simply because it is the only one available for the entire meal, thus they miss out on the egg.

I get around this by persuading my dining companion to order the alternate choices and then sharing.

[mariacarmen]

Gotcha. I opted for the egg because i'd heard so much about it, and my sister got the lamb, which she loved, but which i thought was just fine, not exceptional. but you're right, in a normal circumstance i might have chosen the meat option rather than the vegetarian option - the egg dish's reputation was the deciding factor here for me.

[ulterior epicure]

sfbing: I too have an appreciation for the fine art of making soy food products. The yuba I had at coi was definitely a highlight.

[mariacarmen]

My sister and i ate there about 2 weeks ago and had a very similar menu. i totally agree with you about the amuse and the first three courses. but it was our first time, and i found the meal more thought provoking than any i've had. I'm still thinking of certain dishes - in particular the pea soup - you didn't mention the surpirse of lemon gelee at the bottom, which added a fantastic bright tartness - so i'm wondering if yours didn't have that? i actually liked the pea flavor of the soup, and agree that the peas while maybe a tad too cold, had the right pop in your mouth. we loved the fried chicken consomme - the chicken flavor was so deep and rich in the consomme itself (it is reduced several times, per our server) and the crunchy crust was a nice foil. i found the tofu mousseline soup jarring only in that it seemed a departure of the overall menu that night. the asian flavors did not seem to harken back or forward to any of the other dishes - and maybe that was the point, to show a demarcation in the progression of the meal. it didn't work for me - as i say, jarring - but, i did love it, especially the silky yet chewy texture of the yuba "papardelle". our menu that evening included a poached sturgeon, which i did thing was too salty - the addition of a paper-thin slice of "pig head" - like bacon, only so thin you couldn't even see it on the fish. that dish was to me the only disappointment. or rather, just not exceptional. Next we had the slow cooked farm egg with green farro, erbette chard, and brown butter parmesan sauce. This was probably the highlight of the meal for me - the egg was so rich and so creamy and went really well with the nutty butter sauce, which was also made into a foam on top of the egg. Another standout for me, was surprisingly, the incredibly simple pairing of the comte cheese with the spring lettuce, napped very slightly with a champagne vinaigrette. the cheese was so nutty and warm, and so assertive, and the lettuces so tender and springlike - a great contrast. again, so simple, but very well thought out. As a palate cleanser we were offered a lovely little spoon of blood orange/beet sorbet, with a peppermint powder. Very light, tangy. We loved the tahitian vanilla milk shake with the olive oil floating on top - i still have daily cravings for that grassy/sweet/creamy combo! we raved about it so much that they gave us a second helping. This has been my favorite fine dining experience overall - much more memorable to me than Gary Danko or Masa's.

[uninvitedsaint]

You forgot to mention the lamb I got! Perfectly cooked, very tender and rich, set of nicely by the sprouted beans it was served with. Great!
Plus we got an extra olive oil vanilla shake- for my bday?

[mariacarmen]

i did mention the shake - how much we raved about it! i can't stop thinking about it.

[Carrie 218]

What I haven't gotten around to writing up is the lunch I ate the following day at Murray Circle which ALSO served a pea soup... It is the Murray Circle soup that I liked better which is probably why I sort of forgot about the Coi version. The Murray Circle soup also had a citrus ice, but tasted significantly brighter and more enticing.

Then there was the Pea Consommé I had at Ubuntu today.... <sigh> I'll write that one up in a bit!

[Aaron]

Yes, I went on Friday, and the soup did have the gelee, which was a very nice addition of acidity and another texture. As for the frozen peas, I'm not entirely sure how cold peas could "mask the flavor" of peas, seeing as they are peas themselves. As for making their own flavor more subtle, well yes, freezing will do that, but they were swimming in a very intense pea soup, so I'm not sure how one could somehow want any more of that flavor.

[Carrie 218]

Because liquid portion of the pea soup was not just peas -- it had other ingredients. If it were 100% pea puree, that would be one thing about offering forth that flavor. I found the frozen peas a distraction more than a flavor component since I believe a frozen vegetable has less flavor. I do not think it added anything to the dish other than a textural trick.

[Paul H]

"other than a textural trick."

... other than textural interest. Adult food is usually not exclusively purees. :-)

[Carrie 218]

Adult food should also not contain useless ingredients. Why put in something that does not add flavor? It added texture but nothing else -- and why put something in that detracts?

Dined at Ubuntu yesterday and had my third pea soup in three days. Suffice to say that Patterson's was my least favorite, in taste, texture, and finesse. Jeremy Fox's Pea Consomme with macadamia nuts and white chocolate blew every other one out of the water. But between the two purée-based pea soups, I would still take Murray Circle's version over Coi's.

[sfbing]

Food doesn't just have to be about taste, it can also be about texture. Chinese cuisine, for example, holds texture to be equally important as flavor.

I personally found the peas to be simply a reminder of where the pea soup came from.

[Carrie 218]

Which is what I said in the beginning; I believe they were "a trick" to add texture and little flavor. I don't think it succeeded because I believe the Chef intended for them to add flavor and because of the mis-intentions by freezing the peas, the dish did not succeed on that level. Why have frozen peas AND frozen buttermilk? You don't need that many frozen elements in a soup. The peas were fresh enough to offer the "pop" which was probably desired. But freezing them ruined that intention.

[sfbing]

Hmm. Looking back on it, I don't recall my peas to have been actually frozen. They were cold, but not colder than the soup itself.

[ulterior epicure]

I agree wholeheartedly with sfbing. I had said at the table (at coi to my fellow diners, including Carrie), that the peas added a textural burst, which I appreciated. It wasn't that they were flavorless. But, next to the soup, they seemed less intensely "pea." That being said, they did have a very grassy pea flavor to them. And, for what it's worth, I don't they were frozen, rather, very chilled. A frozen pea would not have burst. It would have crumbled.

[susancinsf]

I had the pea dish at Ubuntu a few weeks ago and am still thinking about it (in a good way), but I wouldn't call it a soup/consume at all (and I didn't think the menu did either, though I could be wrong about that). So, looking forward to seeing your write up so I can figure out if it has changed...

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Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio
1140 Main Street, Napa, CA 94558

[ulterior epicure]

sasancinsf: Yes, the pea "consomme" at ubuntu is very much a consomme - it is a distilled soup of pureed peas. It is clear.

[susancinsf]

not what I had then, unless we are talking about two different components of the same dish. I had a dish of fresh English peas, with white chocolate and macademia nuts, in a soupy base, which could easily have been the 'consumme' portion. I don't remember it being added at table, however, which was mentioned somewhere (perhaps in Carrie's other post). At the time, I thought it was the peas themselves that made it so memorable. Now I am wondering if it was the peas and the pea consumme playing off of each other. I am afraid I was so excited to see peas on the menu that I didn't pay enough attention. Time to go back... :-) (if it isn't too late for this year)

[ulterior epicure]

@ susancinsf: See for yourself: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulterior...

[susancinsf]

yes, that is it....perhaps minus the pouring at the table, but it could be I was just concentrating on my handsome dinner companion and didn't notice that. thanks! Nice pic....

[ulterior epicure]

Wait, I've never eaten with you at ubuntu. *wink*