Now this post is gonna be a real treat. I was lucky enough to go to the acclaimed
Michael Mina with my dad and Geoff. Michael Mina has a very strong pedigree, with a history that includes Aqua and Charles Nob Hill (but also the ill-fated Redwood Park). The Aqua empire has spread quite significantly, with major projects going on at the Bellagio and MGM Grand in Las Vegas as well. Michael Mina is Mina's new flagship, right at the heart of Union Square in the St. Francis Hotel, and is probably the hottest restaurant opening of 2004. Geoff was a bit excited for this meal because he apparently saw a Food Network special back home about the construction of this place. The restaurant is in the hotel lobby, up some stairs in a massive, open-air space. The decor is clean and simple, with huge columns rising up to the ceiling. The result is a dining room that is at once professional (even formal) but at the same time comforting and relaxed. Simply put - the place looks great.
The place has a few options for ordering. You can get a $78 three-course meal, which is deceiving because each course takes an ingredient and serves it in a multitude of different ways (as many as six!). There are also two $120 seven-course tasting menu options - one is a seasonal tasting menu, while the other is Michael's classic menu, which includes many of the dishes that made Mina famous. I chose the classic menu.
osetra caviar, creme fraiche, smoked salmon, egg, fried potato cake
This was the freebie opener. My dad and Geoff, who both got the seasonal tasting, got a slightly different caviar based dish. This thing was delicious. I've never particularly loved caviar, but in this dish it was perfect, a great combination with the salmon and the potato cake. I thought it was a little funny to combine caviar with something as simple as a hash brown, but I love hash browns, and it turns out they're a perfect starch to soak up the saltiness of the caviar and the salmon. It was also pretty decently sized - perhaps too big to be considered an amuse bouche!
ahi tuna tartare, scotch bonnet peppers, sesame oil
Tuna tartare seems pretty much ubiquitous nowadays, but I think Mina deserves credit for popularizing the dish at Aqua - it's still the restaurant's specialty. Michael Mina's tuna tartare is mixed at the table as it should be, and as delicious as I remember it at Aqua. I think the thing that really makes this tartare is the use of scotch bonnet (aka habanero), which gives the tuna a legitimate kick that is not found in any other version I've tried.
lobster pot pie, brandied lobster cream, seasonal vegetables
I wish I could have gotten a picture of this as it was being served. It came out still in the pot, with the pie pastry still covering it. The waiter served it by peeling the pie (almost like a puff pastry) off, putting it on the plate, then carefully placing the ingredients and pouring the sauce over it all. As a result the pie part is kind of buried, but believe me it's there, under the lobster. And boy was it delicious - tender lobster, flaky pie, and a mouthwatering sauce. It was almost like an extremely rich lobster bisque. As you have probably guessed, I soaked up every last drop with my bread.
miso glazed sea bass in consomme, shiitake, bok choy, scallop dumpling
I'm often a bit weary about these Asian-style Western dishes, but this one was excellent. The fish was cooked perfectly and melted in my mouth. Neither the soy nor the miso were overpowering. The scallop dumpling was creative and delicious, though I admit the skin was not as good as a great Chinese dumpling's can be.
roasted foie gras, maui gold pineapple, young ginger
The menu listed just the roasted foie gras, but there was also a torchon which you can see at the back. Both were good, but I preferred the hot one. It had a nice subtle glaze, and didn't have the big chunks of overly sweet candied fruit that foie gras always seems to come with. The brioche was nice as well.
pan fried poussin, truffled macaroni and cheese
By far, the lowlight of the meal. My dad, also underwhelmed by his poultry course, played devil's advocate and argued that poultry is often the hardest course to make "special" so to speak. My poussin was just okay, but I remember a few bites of it being a little dry. The macaroni and cheese had too much cheese and sauce going on to really get a good taste of truffle. The only disappointing dish of the night. The side of veggies (I think that's broccolini!) was crisp and delicious.
steak rossini, seared foie gras, pinot noir sauce
The steak course almost made me order the seasonal tasting - their version had some kind of Kobe rib roast that sounded great. But I was reassured by the presence of the seared foie gras and soldiered on. This dish, though not quite as good as the Kobe version across the table, was still wonderful. The sauce was a great complement, perhaps even more so to the foie gras than to the steak. The side was a sort of potato au gratin, and very yummy.
banana tarte tatin, caramel sauce, cinnamon ice cream
Whatever points the classic menu lost to the seasonal one on the steak course, they were made up with dessert. This banana tarte tatin really hit on all cylinders. The tarte was smooth, rich, and not too sweet. The intense banana flavor matched with the subtle cinnamon ice cream was a perfect combination. In other words, I really, really liked this dessert.
milk chocolate bon bons with espresso ice cream, dark chocolate bon bons with raspberry sorbet
From what I understand, every meal at Michael Mina ends with the presentation of these bon bons in 2 flavors. They were both delicious and refreshing... I just wish I had a box of them in my freezer. The presentation was delightful.
Overall, our meal at Michael Mina was fabulous, even despite high expectations going in. Only the poussin wasn't extremely good (that doesn't mean it was bad - just decent), and I'll let them slide on 1 out of 9 items. The service was impeccably professional, and not the least bit pretentious or snotty, especially given that Geoff and I were proabbly by far the two youngest people in the whole restaurant. Also note that my shoddy photography does not do justice to the presentation of the dishes - everything looked as beautiful as it tasted. Some of the dishes from the regular 3 course tasting that we saw floating around the room looked even more impressive. Mina apparently spent a significant amount of time designing china and plates and whatnot, and you can tell some of them are custom-made specifically for certain things on the menu. My dad thinks Michael Mina is now the place to be in SF proper for high-end fancy dining, and from what I've tried I think I can agree.
osetra caviar, creme fraiche, smoked salmon, egg, fried potato cake
This was the freebie opener. My dad and Geoff, who both got the seasonal tasting, got a slightly different caviar based dish. This thing was delicious. I've never particularly loved caviar, but in this dish it was perfect, a great combination with the salmon and the potato cake. I thought it was a little funny to combine caviar with something as simple as a hash brown, but I love hash browns, and it turns out they're a perfect starch to soak up the saltiness of the caviar and the salmon. It was also pretty decently sized - perhaps too big to be considered an amuse bouche!
ahi tuna tartare, scotch bonnet peppers, sesame oil
Tuna tartare seems pretty much ubiquitous nowadays, but I think Mina deserves credit for popularizing the dish at Aqua - it's still the restaurant's specialty. Michael Mina's tuna tartare is mixed at the table as it should be, and as delicious as I remember it at Aqua. I think the thing that really makes this tartare is the use of scotch bonnet (aka habanero), which gives the tuna a legitimate kick that is not found in any other version I've tried.
lobster pot pie, brandied lobster cream, seasonal vegetables
I wish I could have gotten a picture of this as it was being served. It came out still in the pot, with the pie pastry still covering it. The waiter served it by peeling the pie (almost like a puff pastry) off, putting it on the plate, then carefully placing the ingredients and pouring the sauce over it all. As a result the pie part is kind of buried, but believe me it's there, under the lobster. And boy was it delicious - tender lobster, flaky pie, and a mouthwatering sauce. It was almost like an extremely rich lobster bisque. As you have probably guessed, I soaked up every last drop with my bread.
miso glazed sea bass in consomme, shiitake, bok choy, scallop dumpling
I'm often a bit weary about these Asian-style Western dishes, but this one was excellent. The fish was cooked perfectly and melted in my mouth. Neither the soy nor the miso were overpowering. The scallop dumpling was creative and delicious, though I admit the skin was not as good as a great Chinese dumpling's can be.
roasted foie gras, maui gold pineapple, young ginger
The menu listed just the roasted foie gras, but there was also a torchon which you can see at the back. Both were good, but I preferred the hot one. It had a nice subtle glaze, and didn't have the big chunks of overly sweet candied fruit that foie gras always seems to come with. The brioche was nice as well.
pan fried poussin, truffled macaroni and cheese
By far, the lowlight of the meal. My dad, also underwhelmed by his poultry course, played devil's advocate and argued that poultry is often the hardest course to make "special" so to speak. My poussin was just okay, but I remember a few bites of it being a little dry. The macaroni and cheese had too much cheese and sauce going on to really get a good taste of truffle. The only disappointing dish of the night. The side of veggies (I think that's broccolini!) was crisp and delicious.
steak rossini, seared foie gras, pinot noir sauce
The steak course almost made me order the seasonal tasting - their version had some kind of Kobe rib roast that sounded great. But I was reassured by the presence of the seared foie gras and soldiered on. This dish, though not quite as good as the Kobe version across the table, was still wonderful. The sauce was a great complement, perhaps even more so to the foie gras than to the steak. The side was a sort of potato au gratin, and very yummy.
banana tarte tatin, caramel sauce, cinnamon ice cream
Whatever points the classic menu lost to the seasonal one on the steak course, they were made up with dessert. This banana tarte tatin really hit on all cylinders. The tarte was smooth, rich, and not too sweet. The intense banana flavor matched with the subtle cinnamon ice cream was a perfect combination. In other words, I really, really liked this dessert.
milk chocolate bon bons with espresso ice cream, dark chocolate bon bons with raspberry sorbet
From what I understand, every meal at Michael Mina ends with the presentation of these bon bons in 2 flavors. They were both delicious and refreshing... I just wish I had a box of them in my freezer. The presentation was delightful.
Overall, our meal at Michael Mina was fabulous, even despite high expectations going in. Only the poussin wasn't extremely good (that doesn't mean it was bad - just decent), and I'll let them slide on 1 out of 9 items. The service was impeccably professional, and not the least bit pretentious or snotty, especially given that Geoff and I were proabbly by far the two youngest people in the whole restaurant. Also note that my shoddy photography does not do justice to the presentation of the dishes - everything looked as beautiful as it tasted. Some of the dishes from the regular 3 course tasting that we saw floating around the room looked even more impressive. Mina apparently spent a significant amount of time designing china and plates and whatnot, and you can tell some of them are custom-made specifically for certain things on the menu. My dad thinks Michael Mina is now the place to be in SF proper for high-end fancy dining, and from what I've tried I think I can agree.