Sunday, December 26, 2010

New Chef At Fifth Floor

Fish entree at Fifth FloorMichelin starred Fifth Floor restaurant has a new chef, again! This delightful restaurant located within the Palomar Hotel in downtown San Francisco has been a stepping stone in the way up for several nationally acclaimed chefs. Early this summer, Chef Jennie Lorenzo decided to move out and David Bazirgan, whose work I have admired in the past, has now taken charge of the kitchen.

With a new chef we also have a new menu. Given my previous experience in Chef Papa Resto, I was eager to try out David's new creations at the Fifth Floor. Bazirgan has done Brazilian, Moroccan and Provencal before, so he brings a lot of different genres to the plate.

Amuse bouche at Fifth FloorThey started me of with some warm bread and sea-salt sprinkled butter; the amuse bouche quickly followed.

Then came the Oyster with sea-urchin and puffed rice. Very interesting on the plate as well as on the palate.

Oyster at Fifth FloorThe next course was Foie Gras with brioche and a sweet fruit jelly - an instant hit with me. Very luxuriously buttery-salty in the way only good foie gras can feel on the tongue.

Foie Gras at Fifth FloorThe Sea Bass followed. Lightly fried and combined with bok choy in a vinagrette sauce, the gingery tangy taste worked for me.

Fish at Fifth FloorThe Risotto with braised oxtail and bone marrow foam was exquisite. Very different and interesting. Funny thing, oxtail! At one time, oxtail only came from castrated oxen; now almost any type of cattle is used even though some think the traditional variety have the most flavor.

The Duck Breast was served in a large portion with swiss chard and a melange of flavors and textures.

Duck at Fifth FloorThey brought me a pomagranate sorbet with pomagranate seeds as a palate cleanser. The dessert platter of cheesecake, green tea ice cream and macaroon quickly followed.

Sorbet at Fifth Floor
Desserts at Fifth FloorOverall, a very promising new beginning at Fifth Floor. Now to see if they can get the star back at this restaurant. Compared to Jennie, I think David cares more about the taste and flavor than the overall presentation of his dishes; tonight was a good night for me.

PS: Previous reviews of Fifth Floor here, here and here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I slipped in to your blog while browsing for recipes and find your blog interesting.

would like to subscribe to the same but there's no option to subscribe to the same via email.

subscription via reader seems a bit complex for me. could u pls give an option for email ?

thank u so much.

Meena

Shantanu said...

@Meena: Thanks for your comments! Lemme see if I can add email subscription too without too much work. :)