Seigen: Kyoto, Japan

There's a tiny restaurant in Kyoto that I keep meaning to tell you about. It's called Seigen, and it's an authentic washoku restaurant run by a husband and wife. I dined there last October when I was on vacation with my family in Japan. I didn't write about it earlier because I don't quite know how to describe the food and the flavors at Seigen. Even now, as a write this entry, I can't decide what words to use.

Maybe it's because traditional Japanese food, unlike any other kind of cuisine I've experienced, is so perfectly subtle. The flavors are bold only in their simplicity. The textures and aromas are at once distinctive and harmonious. There are layers of delicate bitterness and umami and understated tang--tastes you wouldn't recognize or even notice unless you really tried. Washoku makes me think of the scene in Disney's Ratatouille when Remy the rat eats the cooked mushroom with the cheese for the first time. Each flavor has its own shimmering note and color.

That's what the food was like at Seigen. We enjoyed an exquisite seven-course meal (I forgot to take a photo of steamed fish and scallions in soy-citrus broth) prepared by the restaurant's proprietors. The dishes were beautiful. The ingredients were fresh and seasonal. The chef used persimmons and yuzu and chestnuts and little citrus-y, edible flower petals in ways I could never have imagined.

I'm certain that this blog post doesn't adequately describe the cuisine at Seigen. So if you're ever in Kyoto, please go there and have a meal. Then you'll know what I mean.

Mesa Grill

Last night I returned from a weekend trip to Las Vegas. I'm exhausted. I have huge puffy circles under my eyes. My ears still ring with the jingling of slot machines. My hair smells like cigarette smoke and no matter how much I scrub, I can't seem to get the ink from the nightclub stamp off of my wrist.

The unsustainable lifestyle I lived while in Vegas was great. But the real highlight of my trip was dining at MESA Grill, Iron Chef Bobby Flay's first restaurant. Those of you who know me know that Bobby is my celebrity chef crush. I watch Throwdown on the Food Network religiously. So when we made the reservations at MESA, I was a bit worried that the experience wouldn't live up to my expectations. It exceeded them.

The restaurant, located in Caesar's Palace, was warm and colorful, with a completely unpretentious atmosphere. Our server, Joel, was friendly, attentive and eager to give us recommendations when we asked. And not only was the food beautifully presented, but it was also exquisitely prepared. The dishes were savory, sweet, spicy, crunchy, tender, fresh, flavorful and balanced. And the portions? Almost too big to finish . . . but we finished them anyway.

Here's what I ordered.
Appetizer: Smoked Chicken + Black Bean Quesadilla with avocado and toasted garlic creme fraiche. The menu doesn't tell you about the sweet and tangy sauce drizzled on top--did I taste balsamic vinegar, sweet chile and roasted red peppers?
Entree: New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon-Ancho Chile Sauce, Sweet Potato Tamale and Crushed Pecan Butter. The pork was tender and moist without a trace of that farmy after-taste that pork sometimes has. And the spicy rub on the pork was balanced by the mild sweetness of the tamale. So delicious!
Dessert: Warm Cornbread Pudding with pear-apple compote, pear butter sauce and ginger-molasses ice cream. Need I say more?

So for anyone who's headed to Las Vegas, New York or the Bahamas (Mesa Grill's three locations), you owe it to yourself to taste Bobby's dynamic Southwestern cuisine. It may be a bit of a splurge (entrees range from 24-48 dollars) but the experience is worth every bite.

But I'm Still Hungry!

Dear Michael Mina,

A couple of years ago my boyfriend took me to your restaurant at the St. Francis Westin in downtown San Francisco. We were excited because we had heard so many wonderful things about the restaurant.

All of the things we heard ended up being true. The room itself was stunning. My water glass was never empty. The 6-course meal was presented with such beautiful plates and silverware that it seemed almost a shame to use them. And the food--it looked gorgeous. I can't say enough about the presentation--the dishes were artfully designed, meticulously crafted, stacked and garnished with such attention to color and detail--we might as well have been at The-Museum-of-the-Most-Beautiful-Food-of-All-Time looking at a masterpiece.

But you know what really disappointed me? That after spending two hours and over $300 sampling tiny portions of your critically-acclaimed, museum-beautiful cuisine, I can't remember whether or not it tasted good. I don't remember feeling the satisfaction of a full tummy and a palate entertained. I only remember that after the meal was over, I felt--of all things--hungry. Hungry enough for a late-night run to Taco Bell.

I'm sure that your fans will attribute my complaints to an untrained palate and an empty wallet. And I would never say that the food at Taco Bell compares to the lovely cuisine at your San Francisco restaurant. But I firmly believe that while every meal should be beautiful and delicious, it should also satiate my hunger. After all, food is one of those rare art forms that is more than a luxury--it's a necessity. The point and purpose of eating is to fill our stomachs and nurture our bodies.

Do I really have to choose between a beautiful experience and a satisfied stomach? I guess you could say I wanted both. Or maybe I just wanted more.

Sincerely,
Jasmine

**The photo above came from Michael Bauer's "Between Meals" at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/category?blogid=26&cat=646&o=10