To celebrate our anniversary, we decided to go to Chez TJ in Mountain View. Located in a house in the middle of tech-central, it's been a staple of the area with ups and downs over the years. With a new chef at the helm, we were excited to see the latest incarnation.
Strong amuses to start with cones filled with a nice cream and roe on top.
Several very tasty bites, we are both excited by the strong start to this meal.
A lovely bread and butter presentation with a butter wheel they shaved into a rose looking shape. Was superb and tasty!
To celebrate, we brought a bottle from one of our favorite wineries, Spring Mountain Vineyard. We brought their 1979 Cabernet which was absolutely fantastic with a great aged nose, still medium-full bodied, velvety tannins, earthy and cherry notes.
I'm really getting the feeling that chef was inspired by the TFL menu with his own takes including this one with a dry ice presentation and riff on Oysters and Pearls which is one of my favorite dishes anywhere and this one was fantastic as well.
Comfort food and play on breakfast with a toasted brioche, cream, quail egg, smoked trout and uni on top. The bed of Bernaise pulled the dish together.
Roasted abalone that was plated in front of us:
We were both incredibly impressed with the roasted abalone. Usually abalone is tough, but this is the first time it had a nice meaty bite, yet was tender. Bravo chef!
An amazingly fresh Santa Barbara spot prawn in a chorizo broth. Very Spanish and flavorful!
Getting a little heavier with dry aged duck and pomegranate foam was fantastic.
The roasted Sonoma lamb was flavorful and expertly cooked.
The cheese coarse was a nice fried cheese ball (sorry don't remember which type), but was excellent on top of figs, rhubarb jam and some seaweed thrown in to bring out the umami. One of the best cheese courses we've had.
Nice refreshing cranberry bites that burst in your mouth.
Time for a glass of Madeira with dessert!
A very Alinea like dessert that was tasty and fun.
A lovely ending with bites to cap off an amazing meal. We were very impressed, this is easily 2-star worthy food and we can't wait to dine here again.
Comentarios