Swine City at the Playground

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Tonight at the Playground, www.playgrounddtsa.com, is all "swine". No other meat featured. We had a group of 7 tonight. The 2.0 Room was sold out. The have a capacity of 18 people only. You are seated at a long curved bar and all the cooking and plating is done in front of the diners. A lot of interaction with the chefs and staff. This venue is ideal for a single diner. Always someone to talk with .

When we were seated Jason, the head chef and owner was carving a Jamon Iberico de Bellota ham. The most expensive ham available. They run in the high hundreds of dollars to purchase a whole leg.  The pig is raised on acorns which gives a tremendous flavor to the meat and fat.

We started out with a cocktail called Queen B. Made with VSOP Cognac, Amaretto, milk with honeynut cheerios that was clarified, honey and lemon.  This drink could get very addicting. Not overly sweet but a very refreshing taste to it

First plates up were a house made salted roll with house made butter. So fresh from the oven you had to wait a few minutes to touch it. And a plate of very IDB Secreto, grilled. Otherwise very, very thin slices of the Iberico ham. Melted in you mouth.

A refreshing salad of Arugula, goat cheese, hazelnut, fennel with a orange-sherry vinaigrette. A really good dish. This could have been my entire meal it was so good.

A take on huevos rancheros was next. A dry cured choizo huevos caberos. Loads of flavor, beautiful cooked egg, just perfect to mash into the meat and sauce. This had a bit of a bite to it. Just enough for fantastic flavor but not enough to spoil your palate.

All the pig gets used today. This dish was "Jeff's" logansia stuffed trotter, which is the lower leg, ankle portion of the pig. No feet. Logansia is a Filipino sausage.  A side of marinated carrot spirals, green papaya achara , sticky rice and a Filipino egg roll completed this dish. The fat on the inside of the trotter was like butter. Rich but so good.  Made a beautiful picture taken with the iphone. 

A Taiwanese style fried Sakura pork chop , garlic green beans and corn braised in Tonkotsu ramen broth was the last savory dish served. Everything was super delicious. 

A palate cleanser  of strawberry sauce with a lemonade sorbet cut the richness of all that pork.  Then a baked pear clafoutis with half-semi fredo rounded out the meal Baked in individual cast iron skillets. This was a perfect ending to a perfect meal.

 I cannot say enough about the quality of the food and how it is prepped at the Playground. A few items at previous dinners weren't to my specific taste but even those were good if you leaned that way.  This dinner was $150 inclusive. All food, alcohol, tax, tip etc.  But worth every penny.  But this is not the place for people with allergies (altho the do ask). Picky people would not have a good time at the 2.0 Room as they make no accommodations for them. People with allergies or specific tastes should eat at the walk in Playground restaurant and order off the menu. 

3 people in our group were new to the restaurant and they raved about the food and the dining experience. I have an idea they will be back. 

Wines served tonight  were 2012 Scribe, Sonoma, Pinot Noir, 2015 Albert Mann, Grand  Cru, Furstewtur, Riesling, 2015 Morgoe Beaujolais, 2014 Anthill, Campbell Ranch, Pinot Noir, 2015 Anthill, Campbell Ranch, Pinot Noir and a 2015 Kinheimer Rosenberg, Riesling Auslese.