Dinner at Parcel 104 - Again

I am the world's worst food blogger. Every time we go out, I mean to take pictures of the dishes so you can see how wonderful they are, rather than just relying on my descriptions. Instead, we get about halfway through the meal before I remember, and then I start to eat each subsequent dish before I again remember to take a picture. So I've got one picture of a half-eaten plate of foie gras from last night that definitely doesn't do justice to how fabulous that dish tastes.

With that in mind, here is what we ate last night. I have no idea what was actually on last night's menu since we never saw it - we sat down at the counter by the kitchen (my favorite spot and where you should really plan on sitting if you go) and Chef Anthony and Chef Carlos just started bringing us food. I don't know how they do it, but I think it gets better every time we go.

Amuse buche: Corn mousse topped with arctic char roe (beautiful little yellow spheres that tasted of the ocean), topped with herbs, served on an interesting curved silver spoon.
Course 1: Dungeness crab salad with avocado and cashews, rolled in thin slices of cucumber with a drizzle of green curry sauce.

Course 2: Pan-roasted salmon with summer vegetables. I could eat this every day. It's still one of favorite dishes.

Course 3: Northern California seafood plate: two steamed mussels; one raw Tomales Bay oyster; one Monterey Bay spot prawn; one steamed Sacramento Delta crawfish; one squid, separated into steamed tentacles and the body stuffed with potatoes that were mashed with the concentrated liquid from the mussels; a piece of fish, called mero, or Japanese sea bass, that was coated in salt and pan-roasted; and uni; all topped with some kind of foam and garnished with seaweed. This is a new addition to the menu and honestly not something I would have ordered if I had just seen it on the menu. It was absolutely incredible, though, and I'm so glad I ate it! I had never heard of this fish before and it is the most flavorful, succulent fish I've ever eaten. I hope Chef Anthony uses this fish more often, because it is really amazing.

Course 4: Barbecued foie gras, served with cranberry beans and corn dumplings. We've had this several times before, but Chef knows it's one of our favorites, so he always serves it.

Course 5: Round steaks cut from the cap of the ribeye, served with thinly sliced and layered potato and fresh garbanzo, butter, and cranberry beans. So simple, yet so incredibly good.

Course 6: Watercress and nectarine salad, with pluot sorbet. Something nice and light to move us into dessert. The sorbet was fantastic!

Course 7: Carrot cake "sandwich" with cream cheese filling, vanilla bean ice cream, and candied carrot.

Course 8: "Coffee" A small glass of Bailey's Irish Cream, an espresso cup of coffee ice cream with a small piece of cake and foamed milk on top, and coffee creme brulee. This is a new one for Chef Carlos and the creme brulee was fantastic!

Course 9: Trio of sorbets: peach, raspberry, and mango. My favorite was the raspberry.

It was, once again, a fabulous meal. It's always fun to see what the chefs will come up with and to chat with them throughout the evening. It's also amazing to watch the kitchen in action. Everyone works so well together and there is a wealth of talent putting the food together.

If you ever go, let us know what you think of it.