Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Charcoal - A Love Affair Dinner at the Playground

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Back to the Playground. www.playgrounddtsa.com.. I did this themed dinner earlier in the year and liked it so much I had to do it again. I also knew that the food dishes would be completely different. 13 courses and 2 desserts tonight. 

We started out with a cocktail made from Gin, Genepi, Citrus simple syrup and Charcoal Tincture. Dark grey in color and had a very slight smoky taste to it. Quite good.

Started out with a bread that was very dark grey/black in color. They took the flats of housemade dough and grilled them. Bread puffed up nicely. Had a really interesting taste to it. Served with their housemade butter.

Grilled dates with chicken liver mousse, pistachio, berbere, (Ethiopian Spice Blend)  candied lemon, mint.  Grilling dates makes them far more interesting and it really brings out the sweetness of them.

Charrred eggplant, tahini, pine nuts and zhoug. ( A green paste made with middle eastern spices, chilis, cilantro, parsley and garlic).  I am not an eggplant fan but had seconds of this dish. It was that good, I would had more except I knew the amount of food that was coming up.

A Poe, Rose, Sonoma County was served  with these dishes.

Grilled and chilled flank steak with grilled labne (Lebanese cream cheese) and crunch tabbuleh.

Grilled Gem Lettuce, pumpkin seed miso, lime and agave vinaigrette, radish, corn puree, grilled corn, tomatoes,  cranberry and cotija. Salad was a kitchen sink - very good, loads of flavor.

14 day aged Kingfish sashimi, charcoal oil and puffed rice.  Supple and flavorful.

Grilled Sea Bass, bone sauce and XO. (dried innards coked with shallots, garlic, chili and oil)

2017 Domaine La Ruse, Puligny-Montrachet, Premier Cru La Garenne was the wine with these dishes.

Christmas Lima Beans with charcoal butter, grilled scallions and chives. Not a fan of lima beans but these were smaller and I had seconds and took the leftovers home. 

Grilled pork jowl ( so good)

Hen of The Woods mushrooms, marinated in oil and grilled.

Grilled suckling lamb chops, vadovan (spice blend) yogurt marinade and pomegranate molasses. Lamb was cooked perfectly. I did not expect anything other..

2016 Once & Future, Contra Costa County, Oakley Road Vineyard, Mataro (Mouvedre) was the pairing.

Grilled cabbage with shiro-lime emulsion and Bubu-Acacia. (nuts)

Grilled A5 Wagu Beef.

2005 Hendry Vineyards, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lemon Sorbet

Chocolate caramel tart with charcoal cream.

San Rafael, Spain, Jerez-Xeres. Sherry

All the food is outstanding at the Playground. I have never been disappointed in anything. It is hard to describe how innovative the food is here. There go oit of their way to make sure dishes are not repeated on their themed dinners. Looking forward to "Road Trip, Israel next month.


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