Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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We took a scenic drive to Cetrella in Half Moon Bay:
... where we sat down to a bowl of corn soup ($9.00):
... with little crab cake islands and waves of arugula pesto. Roasted corn kernels lent texture to this shucked and shelled cob-ination.
A souffle-like “goron” of goat cheese ($9.00):
... was filled with rhubarb jam and bordered by salad and spiced, candied pecans. A tip of the syringe to molecular gastronomy was made with fig caviar to egg-sentuate this Harley Farm wheel. This scheme was capped by a Ponzi vineyards 2008 Pinot Gris from Oregon’s Williamette Valley.
The kampachi sashimi ($14.00):
... swam in a dashi sea with jalapeño-yuzu caviar. These caliente-vegetal-citrus spheres worked well with the fish, pickled cherries, daikon, and seaweed.
Seared foie gras ($18.00):
... came on a oatmeal streusel pedestal with a snow of powdered almond butter, pickled ramp and blueberries to further fortify this luxe liver.
Fulton Valley chicken breast ($20.00):
... was moist and perfectly seasoned beside a chicken apple sausage (which was rewrapped in its original casing of chicken skin to give it a flavorful leg up.) This wood roasted bird roosted with carrots, parsnips, tapenade and crunchy, puffed faro accompanied by a 2007 Martin Alfaro Pinot Noir.
I could tell that the halibut ($30.00):
... was going to be good as my fork exposed the perfectly cooked flesh. This pristine, line-caught fish came with a bouillabaisse of tuna, salmon, and tomato in the form of half moons that formed a bay when punctured. Deeply caramelized cippolini onions, greens and a garlicy fava bean toast completed this hali-good entree washed down with Acacia Vineyard “A” 2005 Chardonnay.
A Valrhona chocolate mousse bar ($10.00):
... had little crispy bits to contrast with the creamy richness of this silky cacao-intensive cake. The Smith Woodhouse 10 year old Tawny Port was the tonic for this toothsome tidbit.
Frog hollow cherries made an encore appearance in a clafoutis ($8.00):
... which arrived warm with a scoop of fromage blanc sorbet. This frozen goat milk ball was wonderfully tangy and Binged all of the elements together to Rainier supreme.
References to Executive Chef Sylvain Montassier’s experience at Alinea, Boulevard and The Waterside Inn in Bray are all apparent in the menu at this friendly coastside restaurant.
Cetrella Restaurant
845 Main St.
Half Moon Bay, CA
650.726.4090
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